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| Name: |
Sarah |
| Company: |
Oshkosh B'Gosh, Inc. |
| Degrees: |
B.S. Textiles with a concentration in Design, Minor in Music |
| Graduation Years: |
1994 |
| Current Title: |
Manager of Fabric Quality, Trim Development, and Color |
| Time in Current Position: |
under 1 year |
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| Why is the College of Textiles special? The College of Textiles- NCSU programs offer the best of both worlds. A small college atmosphere within a large university. The education I earned provided me with the tools needed in my career. I feel very fortunate. |
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| Current Responsibilities: Fabric Quality- Responsible for preventing and resolving any quality issues regarding fabric (whether the problem is in a roll of fabric or in a garment) with garment factories and/or fabric suppliers.Did this ever happen to your brother/sister? A blue shirt is purchased and after wearing it, your family realizes that your brother/sister turned blue SMURF blue! What happened? This shouldn't have been an Oshkosh garment. But if it were, then it would be my job to identify the cause of the problem and help resolve and prevent it.
Trim Development- Responsible for managing the trim development process from design to production. The design team provides the direction of the ideal trim. The trim ideas are reviewed with a variety of sources for the best quality, quickest delivery, and best price. The quality of the trim is checked to make sure that government and Oshkosh B'Gosh, Inc. requirements are met. For example, will a small plastic spider sewn to dangle on an infants garment be a possible choking hazard?
Color- Manage a team responsible for making sure that the fabric, prints and trims match the Oshkosh B'Gosh, Inc. color standards. |
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Career Path: Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS). This outdoor retailer is privately owned and offers outerwear, sportswear, footwear, packs, camping gear, etc. As the Testing/CAD specialist, I was responsible for making sure that the product met government and EMS standards. For example, would the fabrics for rainwear pass government requirements? Would the results be documented correctly so that there would not be any delays with U.S. customs for an on-time delivery to EMS? Will the down considered for an EMS sleeping bag keep the customer warm in harsh weather? I was also responsible for developing the seasonal color palettes, working with the merchandising department (for coloring product lines) and color approvals of raw materials. A Computer Aided Design (CAD) system was used to help color the product lines each season. We certainly want the outdoor enthusiast comfortable, safe and fashionable!
The J Jill Group (J Jill). As the Textile Technician, I was responsible for implementing a formal fabric testing program to ensure that government and J Jill standards were met. J Jill products include: linen pants, silk dupioni shirts, cotton sweaters, cashmere tops, tencel jumpers. And did you every wonder why care labels are included in a J Jill (or U.S. brand) garments? My responsibilities at J Jill also included the accuracy of care labels.
Victoria's Secret Stores (VSS). As a Textile Technologist, I focused on color matching fabrics for Foundations and production issues related to color. This product category includes synthetics (lace, knits, embroidered fabrics) for mainly bras and panties for approximately 65-85% of VSS' business. The biggest challenge I was faced with was to keep up with quick color approvals of fabrics from all around the world that may be sewn in 1 garment or within a collection in order to meet the customers' expectations. |
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| What is your work environment like? I work in a 4 story office building for a 100+ year old company located in downtown Oshkosh. The town of Oshkosh is about 60,000 in population and located on Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin. My colleagues and I are dedicated to developing, producing and delivering products for households worldwide. We're a 300+ strong team dedicated to our corporate values (which include integrity, innovation, teamwork, financial success, continuous improvement and corporate citizenship.) We take our jobs seriously but we also like to have fun. The offices at this location also include a CAD studio, pattern making center and R&D (which includes a mock up sewing and embroidery factory environment.) Our office hours are 8am - 4:30pm (Monday - Friday.) We dress corporate casual all week long. Some jobs require traveling within the U.S. or internationally, while others do not. |
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| Return to the Alumni Profiles Page. |
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