Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
Experienced Materials Specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the apparel and fashion industry. Skilled in Printmaking, Logo Design, 2D CAD Drawing, Sourcing, and Print Design. Strong operations professional graduated from UWIC .
I am a creative thinker with strong computer literacy in a wide variety of computer software and a number of highly developed skillsets in clothing from design and concept through to production. I posses strong administration experience in raw materials and an advanced knowledge in accounting. I am organised and strong with data but equally competent at creative skills such as drawing and design. Before working in clothing I worked in accounts and Publishing and Advertising.
Having managed the department responsible for inhouse alterations this gave me a great foundation for understanding garment construction. Initially responsible for all Raw Materials the role evolved into a more technical support remit. The role was introduced at the same time as the new Technical database system and ERP, meaning all existing data was repurposed with a greater level of detail than before. Key achievements were designing and implementing a robust coding system to better organise the data legacy from previous systems as well as improve the overall integrity and accessibility of the data. The administrative role included good general knowledge of fabric performance and testing. Generation of the fabric and trims database which included the physical task of building and maintaining a new fabric library. Tracking and chasing submissions for the whole team including PO generation and reviewing reports to track those outstanding. Mounting lab dips and acquiring approvals in accordance with critical path objectives. Technical specs generated by senior members would require ongoing alteration as the prototypes were developed. Day to day tasks involved populating the BoM and any design drawing alterations that were required. In addition to this I was also responsible for updating the company Technical Manual, censoring sensitive information (such as supply chain) when sending specs out to customers.
As manager of the Embellishment Team and Sample Room my primary responsibilities were the fulfilment of stock supported business requirements. I have comprehensive understanding of the all print, embroidery and sewing equipment as well as the limitations of its use. Part of my role was to originate print and embroidery digital files for company use as well as to organise repair/maintenance of department machinery/equipment whilst simultaneously managing consumables and staff. I achieved this by means of running regular reports and some key spreadsheets I designed myself to improve efficiency and raise awareness of departments systems and equipment requirements. I personally re-designed many administration tools to better suit the department needs as well as launching the new facility at Aston. At its height, my team comprised of 15 people, 9 of which were permanent staff split over two sites. The team comprised of a variety of roles from seamstresses and Heatseal operators to Goods In for the procurement of generic stock.