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Learning to sew at the age of 9 and sketching clothing designs in the margins of my homework were tell tale signs that I would go on to pursue Fashion as a career. I graduated cum laude with my BFA in Fashion Design from the #1 public art school VCUarts where I finished my senior year with two critics' choice awards. New York City was my next stop.
Ralsey Group Ltd of LF USA is where I began my career and assisted the designer for a branded line of missy, plus, and petite cut and sew knit tops and sweaters sold in Dillard's. Being on a 6-9 week calendar, I was able to thrive in a fast paced environment. Working closely with technical, sales, and CAD departments, I received formal training from each, including PLM. On Mondays and Fridays my supervisor, a senior designer, was not in office and I was trusted with the responsibility of addressing all urgent design related decisions and independently followed through with development. Corporate downsizing brought things to a halt so I took what I learned in NYC and my entrepreneurial spirit back home to Virginia and launched SACdress.
My environmentally conscious online dress company was based around a one size fits all customizable convertible dress made primarily of jersey knit. I was a one woman show doing everything from sourcing the material and sewing the dresses, to styling, photographing, marketing through social media, gaining press, packaging and shipping to customers all over the world. As a designer I was so motivated by this challenge to constantly evolve a simple sack design and translate it for the current trends.
I knew in my heart that the big city wasn't my vibe but discovered the great potential for a small business to thrive in a smaller city like Denver. I moved to the mile high city and instead of continuing my dress company I found an incredible design opportunity at a social enterprise. Working for a small apparel and accessories company which manufactures everything in house sustainably, has been an incredible experience. I have been a part of almost every aspect of the business at some point in time and worked my way up from designer to design team lead.
While browsing my resume and portfolio, you’ll notice that I have experience in many different areas of design. With a strong belief that you should never stop learning, I have a desire to be the most well-rounded designer that I can. I truly enjoy the challenge of problem solving through design and pushing myself to be the best that I can.
