Cynthia Byron-Isanski, Product Development Coordinator

Creative By Nature

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"I think you need to be creative by nature. I don’t think you can learn how to design something just by taking a class.

"I think you have to sort of have a knack for it to begin with. But, if the option is there, then I'd go for it"

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My Job

MY JOB

Title: Product Development Coordinator
Key Tasks & Responsibilities:
- determine customer’s needs
- research design ideas
- choose and source fabric/colours
- design garments
- customer satisfaction
Started Job: 2001
Works with:
- sample sewers
- pattern makers
- U.S. retail customers
- overseas fabric vendors
- overseas factory managers
- purchasing department
Reports to:
- Sales Manager
- Vice President, Product Development
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World Traveller?

World Traveller?

I’ve been design shopping as far as Minneapolis but that’s about it. I do travel a lot to see my customer in the states.

I fly down every three or four weeks in the wintertime to present them with design concepts and fabric options.

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Teamwork

Teamwork

Nobody works for me as much as with me. We're more of a team. There are people who have to do things for me, but they don’t report to me or work under me.

That’s their part of the job and this is my part of the job and I need them to do theirs so I can do mine.

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Customer Satisfaction

Customer Satisfaction

One of my main responsibilities is customer satisfaction. I deal directly with my customers every day and they can be quite demanding. They too have customers relying on them to provide a good product so it's very important that I make sure they’re satisfied with our performance and the product we make for them.

If they aren't satisfied, they could decide not to do business with us anymore. So customer satisfaction is a priority.

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Concept To Completion

Concept To Completion

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"You know when you go shopping and you look at something, you see 'one piece'? Somebody had to think of every single component that went into that, every seam. That’s me.

"I do everything from starting a garment from concept and following it right through to final product, end of manufacturing."

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Where I Work

Where I Work

Gemini Fashions employs over 60 people in its Design and Product Development Department in Winnipeg. It specializes in men’s, women’s and children’s outerwear fashions in all sizes and in sportswear fashions of all types.

The company develops and produces everything from the most detailed fashions to generic products, from the most basic styles to highly technical designs.

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About Me

ABOUT ME

Background
- grew up in Lac du Bonnet
- married for two and a half years
- recently bought a house in Winnipeg

Interests/Activities
- working on my new house
- camping, rollerblading
- the beach TOC

New Fixer-upper

New Fixer-upper

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"My husband and I just bought a house a year ago. It's a little bit of a "fixer-upper" and that's every spare second that I have, that's what I do.

"Even here in my free time I like to look stuff up on the internet; interior design ideas and that's all I have in my head right now is 'what am I going to do to make my house look nice?"

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A Cool Story

A Cool Story

I took the Human Ecology courses in high school and I actually failed the sewing classes. Normally they want you to sew a pillow or something but my project was a batik. I refused to do it because I didn’t think it had anything to do with sewing.

My teacher wouldn’t let me do a different project so I failed. I think that’s such a cool story. I tell everybody, "I failed Human Ecology in high school".

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Magnificent Manitoba

Magnificent Manitoba

I like the fact that I can drive from one end of Winnipeg to the other in less than half an hour, even on a busy day. I also really like the fact that my family is here, only an hour away.

I’ve never lived anywhere else so I don’t really have anything to compare to Manitoba. I just like it here. I have no desire to leave.

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Designing At Home

Designing At Home

I used to be very much into sewing but now that I’m doing it for a living, it’s not as exciting anymore.

Every year around Christmas time I'll gear up to make Christmas party clothes for my family and my friends and that's pretty much most of the sewing, most of the designing that I do now.

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My Day

MY DAY

9:00 am: Read, research, answer e-mails
9:30 am: Work on current designs
11:00 am: Study sample clothing for design ideas
1:00 pm: Lunch
1:30 pm: Sort through fabric feelers
2:30 pm: Customer consultations by phone
3:30 pm: Meeting with Sales Manager
4:30 pm: Meeting with sample sewers
5:00 pm: Make sketches on the computer
5:45 pm: Write reminders for tomorrow
6:00 pm: Go home! TOC

Controlling Stress

Controlling Stress

I think stress is self-inflicted. I come to work and I get my job done; I’m very focused. I set goals each day and I stay until I finish, whether it’s eight o’clock at night or later.

Then, when I go home, I can just leave work behind. I do, however, leave notes to remind me of things I'll need to take care of the next day, so I don’t have to think about it when I get home.

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Hands On?

Hands On?

Everything I do is on computer. I don’t have to do anything by hand really except to physically touch materials and cut colour swatches. I don’t even have to draw a design by hand.

We use a program called Style Manager. It has a database and the ability to store all of our components. You just go in, pull what you need and bring it into your own spreadsheet. Every department has access to the same information.

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Busiest Season

Busiest Season

Fall is our busiest season. I start my fall line in August the year before and work on it through until spring. Then I start designing for the following spring.

That's also how far in advance we have to sense what the fashion trends are going to be.

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Variety

Variety

I don’t really have a specific schedule. My days are always different. I could spend a whole day just sketching and putting in pattern requests for new styles.

If that part is already done, I could spend a whole day picking colours, clipping little swatches or putting together storyboards for new designs.

That’s part of what I really like about my job; there’s always something new. It's never the same, never humdrum.

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Seasonal Pace

Seasonal Pace

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"It really depends on the time of year for what I can do in a day because everything here is based on a year. So you start one project; technically you don’t finish it for a year and then you start the same project.

"During busy season when I’m submitting things for production, there’s lots of problem solving and you can’t expect to sit still and finish anything."

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Me and My Job

ME AND MY JOB

Likes
- drawing/creating the designs
- picking colours for the new season
- shopping to get different design ideas
- browsing through paint chips and magazines

Challenges
- getting things ready for production
- checking little details and all the paperwork
- occasional customer misunderstandings TOC

High Pressure

High Pressure

There’s pressure from all different angles, whether it’s my customer wanting a sample in a hurry or the purchasing department saying "We need that information!"

But I like it. I like pressure. I’d rather have people pushing me so that when I finish, I can say, "You didn’t think I’d do it but I did!"

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Design Ideas

Design Ideas

My customer will sometimes send a specification booklet, or 'spec pack' of a style they want us to make. It will have the measurements and details like where the pockets should go or how a trim should look.

But ninety-five percent of the time, what I do comes from looking at other samples. I'll take ideas from four or five different styles and put them all together into one. That’s usually the way it works.

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My Personality

My Personality

My Sales Manager says my personality allows me to do whatever I have to do to get the job done. For instance, if I have to start at 6:30 in the morning and work until 8:00 at night, I do.

It's how I am and it really fits the demands of the job.

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Favourite Things

Favourite Things

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"My favourite part is drawing 'cause, you know, it's obviously the most exciting part. And then after that I really like picking colours. You have to go shopping, you have to look through paint chips, you have to look through magazines.

"The third thing that I really like is seeing the final product because you can say 'that’s mine, eh? I did that. I started that right from scratch. Didn’t this turn out awesome? Looks great!"

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My Resume

MY RESUME

Education
1998: B.A. (with Distinction, Silver Medal) Human Ecology in Clothing and Textiles, U of M
1994: Pre-Marketing, U of M
1993: High School Diploma (Honours), Lac du Bonnet Senior School

Experience
2001-2003: Product Development Coordinator, Gemini
1999-2001: Assistant Product Development Coordinator, Gemini
1998-1999: Domestic Production, Gemini
1998: Textile Lab Assistant, U of M
1994-1998: various clothing/fabric retail stores TOC

Made My Choice

Made My Choice

I went straight to university from high school but I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. My Dad urged me to try marketing but after a year of pre-marketing courses, I knew it wasn't for me.

Then when my Mom and I were looking through the university calendar, she said “You like to sew and you were in 4H. Why not take Clothing and Textiles?” So I did and I'm very happy with my choice.

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My Path

My Path

I worked my way through school in retail and fabric stores and in the fabric testing laboratory at the university to make sure that I had some experience in all the areas.

When I first started here, they told me I'd be about two years in Domestic Production but after about six months, they moved me into Product Development.

I was an assistant for two years and I’ve been a full Product Development Coordinator for over a year and a half now.

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Learning Every Day

Learning Every Day

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"I learn through the job every single day and every single day I’m given a new challenge of, 'find this' and 'learn how this works' and 'how I can get this' and that kind of a thing.

"I’ve been asked if I wanted to take my Master’s and I’ve turned it down. I think I’m learning more here than I could by going back to school."

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Necessary Skills

Necessary Skills

High School
I recommend Human Ecology to learn how things get put together, and art classes to learn how to sketch.

Computers
Basic computer skills are probably enough to work with what we use here.

Garment Construction
Knowledge of garment construction will help you understand why the sewers can’t put something together.

Interpersonal Skills
People skills are very important for communicating with both co-workers and customers.

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My Future

MY FUTURE

I really like what I'm doing at this point in my life. Perhaps in two or three years I’ll be looking for more of a challenge, maybe a management position, but for the moment, this works for me. TOC

Glitz and Glam?

Glitz and Glam?

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"Don’t expect it to be the glamorous 'I’m a designer' type of a job. It’s not like that. It’s creative, it’s fun, it’s different - but it’s not like I’m going to be on a runway with people taking my picture.

"A lot of people that don’t really know what’s involved, that’s what they think because if I go and I tell people I meet that I design, they're 'wow that’s so cool' and 'where will I see your stuff?' and it's just not like that."

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Experience

Experience

Try to get work experience even if you have to go to a company and work for free. Just try to get yourself in the door because it’s the same story you probably hear for every other job - that it’s just hard to get in without experience when you’re new, fresh out of university.

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Training

Training

I’ve been trained the Gemini way so I don’t think I would have to take a course to move up here. I already understand the company enough, just by being here.

Generally promotion is based on knowledge and dedication to the company so I can see myself advancing here.

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A Changing Industry

A Changing Industry

I've only been here for five years and even in that time our industry has changed so much. Many retail stores are now learning how to do what we do for them.

I’m not saying we're not going to be around, just that the way we do things will likely keep changing.

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Useful Links

MORE INFO

Fashion Designers have a variety of duties depending on the company. In this case, Cynthia combines designing with product development. There are several paths you can take to enter this industry. Below is an example based mostly on what worked for Cynthia:

- High School Human Ecology and Art
- Part time retail work experience (clothing/fabric stores)
- College or University Fashion Merchandising, Fashion Design, Clothing and Textiles
- Paid/unpaid work experience in the industry (co-op/internship)
- Domestic Production experience
-Assistant Product Developer – 2 years
- Product Development Coordinator

The links below will help you search for your place in the world of fashion and design. TOC

Job Market Info

Job Market Info

The links below take you to federal and regional government information on employment, education, salary ranges and long range prospects for this career.

The official name for Cynthia's occupation is "Fashion Designer" and its NOC* code is 5243.

Job Futures

Manitoba Labour Market Information
(Select Manitoba, the Area in Manitoba, enter NOC code 5243 then click Search)

Human Resources Development Canada

*Each occupation has an official name and unique number called the 'National Occupational Classification' code or 'NOC'.

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Education

Education

Useful High School Subjects*

- Visual Arts
- Graphic Design
- Computer-related courses
- English

*Source: Job Futures.ca

Below are links to various programs and courses that will put you on the path to a career in Fashion Design.

University of Manitoba
Faculty of Human Ecology

Tec Voc High School
Human Ecology

Murdoch MacKay Technical Vocational High School
Human Ecology
(Click on 'Courses', then 'Human Ecology')

In Ontario:
The following colleges in Toronto Ontario provide training that is not yet available in Manitoba and to which many Manitoba students go with most returning to work here:
The Ryerson School of Fashion
The George Brown Centre for Fashion Studies

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Related Careers

Related Careers

Some related careers from the Human Resources Development Canada web site:

Clothing Factory Manager (0911)

Supervisors, Textile Processing (9216)

Textile Inspectors, Graders and Samplers (9444)

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Professional Associations

Professional Associations

The Canadian Apparel Federation web site provides information on the garment industry, trade regulations, publications and educational programs.

The Apparel Human Resources Council provides opportunities for garment industry employers to connect with skilled professionals seeking employment. The site also offers work search assistance to students, graduates, and professionals wishing to pursue a career in the Apparel Industry.

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