Ellie Rivkin
Freelance Technical Designer · Freelance
Portland, OR
In My Own Words
<p><p>Hi, I'm Ellie! I am an apparel and technical designer with 14 years experience bringing inclusive, sustainable active lifestyle and outdoor products to life. My mission is to create long-lasting, versatile products that fit and feel good, allowing every body to enjoy nature.</p></p><p><p>SUMMARY:</p></p><p><p>-Creative problem-solver that utilizes hands-on sewing and patternmaking knowledge to solve detailed construction puzzles from prototype to production.</p></p><p><p>-Organized leader and adaptive team player, forever on a quest to learn more, think big, and improve the status quo.</p></p><p><p>-Ability to drive proven category growth through strong assortment planning, eye for market trends and innovative materials. </p></p><p><p>SKILLS</p></p><p><p>-Apparel Design (specializing in Outdoor/Active/Sustainable apparel)</p></p><p><p>-Technical Design, Grading</p></p><p><p>-Inclusive Sizing and Expert Fit Analysis: Misses, Plus, Mens, Blocks</p></p><p><p>-Concept Design, Market Research</p></p><p><p>-Material Development</p></p><p><p>-Optitex, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign, NedGraphics, Backbone PLM.</p></p>
Work Experience
Freelance Technical Designer
Freelance2023 – Present
Create full graded Tech Packs, Technical Sketches, and Product/Trim Development for men’s and women’s outdoor technical outerwear, jackets, tops and bottoms. Fit analysis on 2D and 3D patterns. Concept and apparel design. Communicate with factories to manage production. Clients: NW Alpine, Birdie Blue, Daughter Judy Patterns, The S-Group, Exit 21
Senior Apparel Designer, Material Developer
Wool&Prince2017 – 2023
Lead designer for over 150 annual styles for Misses, Plus, and Mens apparel. Drove assortment growth 8x and net sales to over 1M. Custom-developed over 20 innovative merino wool fabrications for active lifestyle functionality, including synthetic and natural fiber blends. Reviewed lab tests for quality approval. Initiated block creation project to improve fit consistency, producing 4-12% reduction in return rates. Managed development team training, tools, and workload. Led concept and color palette creation by a strategic mission to create timeless, sustainable garments. Traveled to domestic and global factories to improve manufacturing and team efficiencies.
CAD Textile Designer
Gap2014 – 2017
Designed, cleaned, and colored original hand drawn textile artwork for yarn dye wovens/knits, prints, and sweaters (100 SKUs/300 CCs per season). Research and present seasonal pattern ideas relevant to trend and brand-right initiatives.
Associate Designer
Perry Ellis Intl2013 – 2014
-Designed styles and pattern artwork for Men’s Wovens and Outerwear -Participated in fittings, monitored and approved samples and handlooms -Communicated daily with oversea contacts to achieve all design requests -Prepared sketches and maintained tech pack through Illustrator and PLM
Software Specialist
NedGraphics2010 – 2013
Conducted in-depth trainings on all textile design software modules for companies such as Target and Patagonia. Created original CAD artwork such as: highly detailed surface design prints, 3D-mapping, sweater cable designs, fabric textures, color-correct test printing. Provided excellent customer service by helping designer through their workflows.