How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
Alison Hoenes | women's apparel patternmaker
126 episodes
1 day ago
How Fitting® is the podcast for slow fashion designers who want to create clothing and grow a business that fits their customer, lifestyle, and values. In biweekly episodes, hear how relatable fashion entrepreneurs (the kind who run their businesses from kitchen tables and cutting tables, not boardroom tables) navigate the fashion industry with integrity and define success based on their own principles.
In each conversation, host Alison Hoenes (a freelance women’s apparel patternmaker) explores the things that all slow fashion business owners experience: the vulnerability of launching something new, the deeply empathetic process of designing clothes that fit a niche market, the challenges of pursuing both financial and environmental sustainability, the late nights of reckoning with your values that make you consider shutting the whole thing down, and the rewarding moments that make it all worth it.
In addition, hear from experienced fashion industry resources that are helping indie designers make a difference and a profit – like low MOQ factories, fashion marketing and business coaches, or sustainable fabric suppliers.
How Fitting® offers validation that you are not alone in your fashion entrepreneurship experience, ideas to try on in your fashion business to create a better fit, and a curious look into how other slow fashion brands are making it work. How fitting is that?
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How Fitting® is the podcast for slow fashion designers who want to create clothing and grow a business that fits their customer, lifestyle, and values. In biweekly episodes, hear how relatable fashion entrepreneurs (the kind who run their businesses from kitchen tables and cutting tables, not boardroom tables) navigate the fashion industry with integrity and define success based on their own principles.
In each conversation, host Alison Hoenes (a freelance women’s apparel patternmaker) explores the things that all slow fashion business owners experience: the vulnerability of launching something new, the deeply empathetic process of designing clothes that fit a niche market, the challenges of pursuing both financial and environmental sustainability, the late nights of reckoning with your values that make you consider shutting the whole thing down, and the rewarding moments that make it all worth it.
In addition, hear from experienced fashion industry resources that are helping indie designers make a difference and a profit – like low MOQ factories, fashion marketing and business coaches, or sustainable fabric suppliers.
How Fitting® offers validation that you are not alone in your fashion entrepreneurship experience, ideas to try on in your fashion business to create a better fit, and a curious look into how other slow fashion brands are making it work. How fitting is that?
Why Handwoven Fabrics Are More Relevant And Easier For Independent Designers To Get Made Than Ever Before with Jackie Corlett of Motif Handmade
How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
55 minutes 10 seconds
2 months ago
Why Handwoven Fabrics Are More Relevant And Easier For Independent Designers To Get Made Than Ever Before with Jackie Corlett of Motif Handmade
In today’s world, technology has woven its way into nearly every aspect of our lives and work. The fashion industry is always looking for ways to make things faster and automate work that always used to be done by humans – but not Jackie. She’s been working with hand weavers in Bangladesh for over three decades and is more passionate about the future of fair trade, hand-crafted fabrics than ever. Jackie teaches designers how to design their own handwoven fabrics and helps them get their textiles made through her business Motif Handmade.
In episode 120, Jackie shares how designing your own handwoven textiles is more accessible to you as an independent designer than you might realize, how she’s seen fair trade sourcing change lives, and the value that threads through all of Jackie’s work.
Jackie Corlett is the founder of Motif Handmade, a Brit who swapped the rolling hills of England for decades in vibrant Bangladesh, and now calls the wide-open prairies of Illinois home. As a textile designer, Jackie’s lifelong passion is for handcrafted fabrics and the remarkable artisans who bring them to life. Over the years, she’s helped students, designers and brands weave artisanal goods into their collections, creating beauty with purpose.
Today, through her course KIND FABRIC, Jackie’s mission is to empower designers with the skills and confidence to develop their own fair trade certified, custom fabrics and finished goods. She believes sourcing can be 100% transparent, giving you 100% peace of mind. From fibre to fabric to finished product, Jackie champions a world where creativity isn’t just about making things ... it’s about making a difference.
This episode explores:
Fitting the customer
Why handwoven textiles are more accessible to you as an independent designer than you might realize
The two big shifts that have accelerated the demand and accessibility of fair trade textiles over Jackie’s career
Fitting the lifestyle
What captured Jackie’s interest back in 1989 that started her on the path towards the work she is doing today
How fair trade sourcing changes us as designers
How long it takes to design your own handwoven fabrics and get them made
How the MOQs and cost of handwoven fabrics compare to other fabric options
Fitting the values
The thing that matters most to Jackie in her work
Why creating products with integrity is easier now than ever before
The ways that Fast Fashion mindsets creep into our work
The real impact of fair trade
People and resources mentioned in this episode:
Motif Handmade website
Motif Handmade Instagram
Jackie’s email
Jackie’s LinkedIn
Kind Fabric course
Previous How Fitting guests who use Motif fabrics in their collection: Mrs. Emily and Glean & Grace
Cyclo recycled fiber yarns
Plaidmaker plaid design tool
Future Fabrics Expo
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How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
How Fitting® is the podcast for slow fashion designers who want to create clothing and grow a business that fits their customer, lifestyle, and values. In biweekly episodes, hear how relatable fashion entrepreneurs (the kind who run their businesses from kitchen tables and cutting tables, not boardroom tables) navigate the fashion industry with integrity and define success based on their own principles.
In each conversation, host Alison Hoenes (a freelance women’s apparel patternmaker) explores the things that all slow fashion business owners experience: the vulnerability of launching something new, the deeply empathetic process of designing clothes that fit a niche market, the challenges of pursuing both financial and environmental sustainability, the late nights of reckoning with your values that make you consider shutting the whole thing down, and the rewarding moments that make it all worth it.
In addition, hear from experienced fashion industry resources that are helping indie designers make a difference and a profit – like low MOQ factories, fashion marketing and business coaches, or sustainable fabric suppliers.
How Fitting® offers validation that you are not alone in your fashion entrepreneurship experience, ideas to try on in your fashion business to create a better fit, and a curious look into how other slow fashion brands are making it work. How fitting is that?
