I'd like to share the story of one of our Makers: Ann. Ann is the successful boutique owner of Ever After Boutique in South Dakota.
You Can Get into the Fashion Industry without a Degree – Like Ann
Ann did not have a formal education in fashion design (and that's fine!).
One of her most successfully selling items had been a jacket that she and her clients loved a TON. In fact, she would have to place reorder after reorder in large quantities. Unfortunately, the brand that produced the jacket went bankrupt, leaving her without her best-selling product.
Even though Ann had never studied fashion design and had no private label manufacturing experience, she decided that if she couldn’t buy and sell that jacket anymore, then she would create a better one herself.
She got in touch with MakersValley, who gave her the tools to become a fashion designer without a degree. We connected her with our independent network of high-end manufacturers and artisans, and got her started making her dream private label jacket a reality.
How She Designed The 'Perfect Jacket'
Ann discovered MakersValley after hearing Ashley Alderson, CEO of Boutique Hub – a platform that connects communities of boutique owners, brands, designers, and influencers to allow them to collaborate, learn, and find the tools and resources they need to grow their business – talk about the benefits of MakersValley on a boutique owner community training video.
Ann contacted MakersValley in January 2017, discussed her idea with us and explained what she wanted to do, and how it had been her dream to become a fashion designer even though she did not have a degree in fashion. We were happy to help her and connect her to our network of 200+ carefully vetted manufacturers & artisans who could help her pursue her dream of manufacturing her perfect jacket.
Studying Fashion Design: Do You Really Need To?
Ann was ready to leap right in.
She shipped her jacket reference sample to our MakersValley Italy office and selected the MV Essentials membership plan ($49/month). Next, she uploaded all the specs about the private label jacket the she wanted to create as a tech pack.
In just 10 working days, Ann received 3 bids directly from luxury manufacturers who wanted to help her create her first jacket sample.
After carefully looking at the bids and the factory reviews inside the MakersValley platform to understand each factory’s strengths, she selected the best bid for her needs and matched with that manufacturer. The MakersValley team delivered Ann’s reference garment to the selected jacket manufacturer, who immediately started the sampling phase of the project.
Over the next three weeks, Ann received live status updates and pictures directly from the factory floor where her sample was being made.
Your Manufacturer Did Study Fashion Design
Ann's manufacturing partner used the MakersValley platform to keep her updated on the prototyping process first-hand.
The factory finalized her jacket sample in just 3 weeks, and the MakersValley team performed a quality check on the product to make sure it matched Ann's specifications. Before long, the sample and the fabric swatch book shipped to Ann’s boutique in South Dakota.
In 5 days, Ann received her sample garment. She was over the moon about the stitching done by the artisans on her Perfect Jacket. Now, she’s getting pre-orders from her customers, and is ready to place a small batch production order of her very own brand and design.
Ann has become a fashion designer without a degree and can now sell her Perfect Jacket to everyone!
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