Friday, February 21, 2014

Industry Insiders - Rikke, Technical Designer.

Today I am starting a new and ongoing series...well, ongoing until I have been through all my friends and friend's friends and their interesting sewing and fashion related jobs.

I feel like I have already told about my own story way too many times (and in case of the minimal chance that you missed it, you can catch up HERE) so I decided it was time to tell you about other jobs and directions from the world of fashion and sewing. It can both seems like a very closed world but it is certainly also a world with tons of directions and opportunities and ways in! And today we are looking at one of them.....


The first one up is my very good friend Rikke (yeah, this is a very typical Danish name but if you are English speaking don't even try to pronounce it - just ask my British husband, ha). 
We have the same education (that's where we met and became friends over a delicious curry dinner (not eaten while sewing)) and her story is a very good example of how you, with the same starting point, can end up somewhere completely different career wise. 
We have even shared an apartment in Copenhagen at some point and we designated the biggest room to sewing room, ha. 
After we moved apart we continued sharing various workshops where I worked on my business and Rikke did her freelance sewing work (for various small designers) in the evening and weekends while working during the day at her first job that she is also telling you about below. She always came back teaching me all these tricks she learned from her colleagues - many which I have shared with you here on the blog - and I always think of her when I am sewing something she taught me.
FUN times as you can probably imagine.

Okay, I think it is time for Rikke's story:


Tell us a bit about yourself:

My name is Rikke, I am 37 years old. 
I am married to Soeren and together we have 3 1/2 year old Matias (cutest kid EVER) and then we are expecting a baby brother this summer. (yay)
We also have Soeren's son, 17 years old Victor in the weekends and on holidays. 

Education:

I am educated a seamstress (not the type who works in a factory - you can read more details HERE, edited to add.) with Mie in 2003 from a school near Copenhagen, Denmark.

Former (sewing related) jobs:

Baum und Pferdgarten: Danish brand where I worked for 6 years in various positions in the production department. Sewing show pieces, sourcing supplies and being in contact with the production abroad to mention some. This is where I grew up in the fashion world and I still adore and simply love this brand.

Wood Wood: Danish brand where I worked for 4 years as a paper pattern maker. I still miss my colleagues and the work I did there.


Current job:

Moss Copenhagen. A new Danish brand.
I work as a Technical Designer. I am making the shape of the styles, requested by the designers, by sending measures, drawings and pictures to the suppliers. I have only worked here for 3 months, so everything still feels quite new.

What does a normal work day look like for you:

8:00 am: Starting the day by making a cup of coffee and starting up the computer. 

09:00 am: Measuring samples, making comments about workmanship and overall look of the styles to prepare for fitting in the afternoon. 

12:00 am: Lunch

01:00 pm: Fitting samples on a doll or a model together with the design team.

02:00 pm: making final comments and measures to send to the suppliers.

04:00 pm: hurrying out the door to pick up Matias from daycare.


What do you like the most about your current job? And the least? 

The best is that this company work with very short deadlines, so no collections, but a constant flow of new styles being born and produced.
The worst is that there is no actual paper pattern making in the office, all styles are made by measurements, drawings and pictures and then sent to the supplier. 


If you could forget about logistics, family, sleep, money etc: what would your dream job be:

I would be thrilled to gather all the lovely and very talented people I have met in my working life in one great company, where creativity and sound business practice could be united.

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And lastly a few photos of some things she has sewed for her son. By the way she was the very first person to introduce me to Japanese Sewing Books and I am pretty sure these things are made from some of those books. 



Awwwwwwwww! TOO cute!

Rikke THANK YOU SO MUCH for being part of this!

And I can already say now that you can look forward to next week where we are going in a completely different direction with our (mine and Rikke's) friend Lone who is a dressmaker working for the Royal Danish Theater.
Stay tuned for separate hand sewn beads, tutus, silk and velvet...basically wearable art!
So long! 

11 comments:

  1. oh how i LOVED this post mie! i cannot wait til next weeks! you have some amazing and very talented friends...not a big surprise there:)

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  2. what a lovely idea for a series. it will so interesting to see all the different fashion related jobs. and you have the coolest friends. you know what that means, right?

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  3. I love this series Mie! I will be following along for sure. What a coincidence as I posted about my theater costuming job over on the blog too!

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  4. What a cool post! Loved reading about your friend. A great idea for a series.

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  5. Im a friend to Rikke, and I do envi her work. Rikke is sweet to help me, whenever I get to do a little sewing.
    And once Rikke made pants to all 6 kids in our "mothers group"!!!
    :)

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  6. This is interesting!! Looking forward for the next post!

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  7. Looking forward to reading more! Very interesting and educational, too!

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  8. Loved this. Looking forward to the next.

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  9. Great post! I am a technical designer here in the US and Rikke's job description sounds very much like mine

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  10. Lovely post, can I just say I wished I knew how much I loved sewing when I was young and in a position to get trained in it professionally? Love your story and the ones you are detailing for us here :)

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