Host Heather Zager welcomes listeners to the inaugural episode of the MADE Apparel Services Podcast. Heather started the podcast to offer tips, tricks, and advice on getting a sewn product idea into development and manufacture. Today she begins a four-part series called Concept to Customer and explains the first step, design concepting boards.

Design concept boards ensure that your idea is being developed correctly. Heather noticed that many clients don’t know what design details to communicate and how to communicate them effectively through their concept boards. So to start, she defines a concept board as a single-page illustration of your design idea that visually describes all the features and details of your design. She then lays out five easy steps for understanding and creating a design concept board. 

Heather’s five steps are: determine the platform you want to work on, find a reference garment that most closely matches your design idea, describe everything you don’t like or want to change about the reference image, organize all the detailed images on the board, and print the design. Through each step, she explains what is being done and why and offers examples of how to accomplish the task. Heather breaks down processes with ease and clarity in a way that will make your design journey, from idea to finished garment, smooth and efficient. 

About Heather Zager | MADE Apparel Services Founder and Owner

Heather Zager found her calling when she signed up for a beginning pattern making course and realized she had a passion for technical design. She subsequently enrolled in the Apparel Design and Development program at Seattle Central College and graduated two years later with her Associate of Applied Science Degree.

After graduation, she began working with Meta assisting in developing and designing augmented and virtual reality wearable tech gear. In 2020, MADE Apparel Services was born with the idea of helping makers, inventors and designers bring their own sewn product ideas to manufacture. Since then, she has worked with various businesses such as Santa’s Tailor, Feathered Friends, Wolfpack Gear and Classic Accessories, helping them achieve their goals in design, development, pattern making, sewn construction and manufacture.

Today, Heather continues to grow her knowledge and share her experiences with others to bring their visions to reality.

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Resources discussed in this episode:

• Request the Design Concepting Guide PDF: email
• Fashionary.org croqui templates

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Contact Heather Zager | MADE Apparel Services: 

• Website: MADEApparelServices.com
• Facebook: MADEApparelServices
• Instagram: MADEApparelServices
• Linkedin: MADEApparelServices