Category: Blog
SFF145: How This Textile Designer Is Charging $60/hr on Upwork
November 22, 2021
Pitching on Upwork can be tough. Despite knowing you’re THE perfect fit for a project, it can be a struggle to get the right clients. Today’s guest, Lucia, found herself in the same situation. After 6 months of failed pitches, she was left thinking, “Is this really it for me? Why can’t I be a […]
SFF 144: Fashion Freelancer Q&A: Why Your Emails Aren’t Getting Replies (+ more on pricing, starting without experience, and finding clients)
November 08, 2021
Starting a new career is scary, and it can be easy to underestimate what you bring to the table when you do. In this interview, Heidi helps new freelance patternmaker Vanessa dissect Vanessa’s current outreach approach and strategize how to receive more email responses, starting without experience, what her pay rate should be, how Upwork […]
SFF143 FROM $100 TO $3K/MONTH… AND THEN I REALIZED I WAS PERMALANCING…
October 25, 2021
“Just realized I’m permalancing and I hate it! How do I ‘quit’?” Finding yourself in the world of permalancing can be unexpected. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned professional, it can still come as a shock to find that your part-time gig has become a full-time drain. What are the telltale signs that […]
SFF142: How to figure out your services as a fashion freelancer
October 18, 2021
One place new fashion freelancers get stuck all the time is figuring out what services to offer. If you’ve been spinning your wheels thinking you need to learn flats, and repeats, and tech packs, and patternmaking, and sourcing, and… maybe graphic design? before you can start freelancing, there’s good news: You don’t have to offer […]
SFF141: Why I Hired This Freelancer (and then hired her again, and again, and again!)
October 11, 2021
Ever wondered what your clients & potential clients are thinking? What makes them decide to hire a freelancer from a cold pitch? What are they thinking while you’re working together? And how do they decide whether to lose your info, or hire you again (and again, and again)? In this interview with freelance graphic designer […]
SFF140: Fashion Freelancer Puberty
October 04, 2021
Ah, puberty. That fun phase we all have to go through. When surprises pop up that NO ONE prepared you for… Everything is awkward AF… And you’re just trying to figure yourself out. Puberty may suck, but it’s a mandatory phase–there’s no getting around it. But I’m not talking about middle school, body hair, and […]
SFF139 Fashion Freelancer Q&A: CLO 3D as a service? Project pricing? And what about portfolios?
September 27, 2021
Even if you’ve been in the fashion industry for years (or decades!), transitioning to a freelance career presents a unique set of questions and challenges. Today’s guest has a decade of experience, but she still has tons of questions about how to turn that knowledge into a thriving freelance business. And we cover it all, […]
SFF138 How She Did It: A Fashion Freelancer with No Industry Experience
September 13, 2021
“It’s practically impossible to break into fashion.” If you’ve ever believed this myth, you’re not alone. And that’s how today’s guest, Brittany, felt after she graduated from fashion school. For 15 years, Brittany couldn’t get her break. But within two months of launching her freelance career, Brittany has already landed her first client and completed […]
SFF137 Fashion Freelancer Q&A: I feel like I’m losing my skills and confidence…
August 30, 2021
If you’ve ever felt rusty or worried that you’re losing your edge in your fashion career, this episode is for you. Tina is a freelancer in Germany. Coming from the activewear category, she now exclusively designs workwear, and loves it! But will her workwear clients notice that she’s “lost” her activewear skills? And how can […]
SFF136 Creating Stability and Fulfillment as a Fashion Freelancer
August 16, 2021
You shouldn’t have to choose between your fashion career and your family. That “9 to 5” (more like 7 AM to 10 PM!) corporate job might feel stable and safe, but sometimes sticking with what you know isn’t worth the trade off. As a freelancer, you CAN build a stable, fulfilling career in fashion–and still […]
SFF135 Fashion Freelancer Q&A: What should my services be? (The skills I have or what I LOVE?)
July 29, 2021
As a freelancer in fashion, should you offer the skills you already know how to do well, or learn new skills so you can do what you really love? Some aspiring freelancers get so stuck on this question that they end up doing neither (and putting off their freelance goals yet another year… or two… […]
SFF134 How to Be a Remote Freelance Patternmaker
July 19, 2021
Freelance patternmaker Alexandra doesn’t have a fashion degree, and she doesn’t live in a fashion hub. Yet with only a couple years of experience, she is now making more in one day as a freelancer than she made in two weeks at her old full-time job. Better yet, she loves the freedom to make her […]
SFF133 The Fashion Freelancer Who Never Wanted to Be a Freelancer
July 05, 2021
If you’ve never considered freelancing as an option for your fashion career, you’re not alone. Today’s guest, Amy, liked working in-house and was never interested in becoming a freelancer. But when she became a mom and needed just a little more work-life balance, she came face to face with how inflexible this industry can be. […]
SFF132 Fashion Freelancer Q&A: Pricing and retainers, WTF to do!?
June 21, 2021
In this Fashion Freelancer Q&A you’ll hear from Mari, a freelance knitwear designer who’s working on perfecting her pricing strategy. She’s built a successful freelance business, and she loves her work and the “limitless opportunities” that freelancing provides. But like most newer freelancers, she still has questions about charging for her services. From undercharging to […]
SFF131 How this fashion freelancer is charging $85/hr (during the pandemic!)
June 07, 2021
One of the most common myths about freelancing in fashion is that brands won’t pay a fair hourly wage. Today’s guest blows that myth out of the water–sharing how she’s been charging up to $85 an hour over the past year (yes, during the pandemic!). From tips on finding clients, to pricing, retainers, and contracts, […]
SFF130 Fashion Freelancer Q&A: What if brands think I’m an idiot?
May 24, 2021
Sometimes the thing you think you’re stuck on is just a distraction from what’s really holding you back. In this Fashion Freelancer Q&A, technical designer Jaylene asks where to find freelance clients. But over the course of the conversation, she realizes that it’s not finding the brands that’s most challenging, but putting herself out there […]
SFF129 How this designer freelanced while starting her fashion brand
May 10, 2021
Launching a fashion brand is expensive. And many designers who dream of having their own brand find themselves stuck in this dilemma: You need to work to support yourself while you’re starting your brand. But a full time job hardly leaves any time to work on your line! In this interview, Atlanta-based sustainable designer Christina […]
SFD128 Saying Goodbye to the Successful Fashion Designer Podcast
April 26, 2021
This is a very special episode–and the last episode of the Successful Fashion Designer Podcast. But don’t worry. Better things are coming, and we hope you’ll be along for the ride! In this episode, Heidi & Tara chat about the future of Successful Fashion Designer, and what this huge change means to you. Click here […]
SFD127 How this 22 year old designer got featured by Vogue
April 12, 2021
This is my second interview with Noémie Jouas, a young designer who started creating bespoke dresses from her college housing in small-town Scotland. Since I spoke to her last, she’s had her first runway show, adapted to the pandemic, and gotten her work featured by both Teen Vogue and Vogue. You can listen to the […]
SFD126 How to Find Freelance Fashion Design Clients
March 29, 2021
Learn new strategies for finding freelance fashion design clients, charging a retainer for consistent income, and growing your freelance fashion business even when it seems like there’s no work out there. Sophia is a full-time fashion freelancer who moved from NYC to Texas and grew her freelance business–during Covid! If you’ve been struggling to find […]
