Chelsea Willingham: Product Developer / Sustainability Coordinator in Ventura, CA
Chelsea Willingham
Product Developer / Sustainability Coordinator
Ventura | United States
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Summary
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Work experience
AFTCO
Product Developer / Sustainability Coordinator | 09/2020 - Current
Manages approximately 100 new styles and 50 carryover styles for Men's, Women's, and Youth
products each season from design concept through to production ready hand-off while ensuring
the fit and construction/BOM meets or exceeds expectations of quality and cost.
• Partners with Design to understand the fit intent of styles and the overall aesthetic and translates
this to Proto Samples.
• Plans and tracks the development schedule of prototypes.
• Communicates with overseas factories to ensure on time delivery.
• Works cross-functionally with marketing, product development, production, and design to implement and maintain responsibility across economic, social, and environmental categories.
• Oversees the sourcing and development of sustainable materials in packaging, trims, fabrics, and hard goods.
• Works with suppliers to obtain certifications for materials and ensure they are up to date.
• Establishes vendor workplace requirements and ensures proper working conditions are being met
across the supply chain.
• Monitors and improves supply chain practices through the reduction of water consumption,
carbon emissions, and waste generation.
Southern Shirt Co
Product Development Manager | 11/2018 - 06/2020
Directed the Technical Design department by: maintaining standard for customer fit; creating
pattern blocks and spec bases; organizing production fittings on live models; updating PLM
construction callouts and stitch types; and conducting quality and value analysis of samples to suggest product improvements that deliver customer expectations.
• Negotiated costing and reduced costs as necessary without sacrificing product quality to maintain
retail margins, despite the 15% punitive tariffs with China.
• Communicated clearly externally - with international & domestic factories, and internally - with cross functional teams.
• Developed collaborative relationships with our existing vendor base to drive the sourcing of new
vendors for new and existing categories.
• Established and implemented an Apparel Quality Standards Manual for the company's sampling
procedures, construction quality, technical specifications, and labeling/packaging requirements.
• Renegotiated payment terms with all manufacturers and reduced deposits by an average of 20%
to improve cash flow.
The University of Alabama
Adjunct Professor - Apparel Design | 01/2017 - 12/2018
Taught and developed a curriculum for: Apparel Construction, Pattern-making, and Product
Development.
Waters Bluff
Senior Technical Designer | 03/2017 - 03/2018
• Created tech packets, including design, fabrication, Bill of Materials, CAD drawings, and construction details to send to overseas factories and communicated any changes as needed.
• Tracked sampling of products from prototypes to TOP samples and maintained on time deliveries.
• Worked with the team to identify trends, fabrications, colors, and styles and plan collection
assortment.
Billy Reid
Product Development/Fashion Design Assistant | 05/2015 - 05/2016
• Worked with the design team to develop tech packs, including creating CADs, BOMs, and construction details using ASTM/ISO stitch numbers.
• Attended all fittings and took detailed notes to apply changes to tech packs.
• Maintained spreadsheets and tech packs with fabrics, trims, and construction details and ensured
changes were applied after fittings and line reviews.
Education history
The University of Alabama
Bachelor of Science | 2013 - 2015
The University of Alabama
Master of Science | 2015 - 2017
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