SFF170: From Factory Worker to Successful Fashion Freelancer

On this episode of the Successful Fashion Freelancer Podcast, we bring on Darci, who took an interest to sewing at a young age and followed her interests to fashion school. But, after moving to Florida, USA she quickly found that the only market for her skillset was in factories as a seamstress.

This didn’t stop her from continuing her education, since along the way, she picked up crucial skills in software for patternmaking, started listening to the SFF podcast, and took a few of Heidi’s courses. Then? She took the leap and QUIT her job to pursue fashion freelancing.

Listen in to hear about Darci’s journey in more detail including her struggles in confidence with business skills, English as a second language, navigating projects, and how she started getting clients. Plus, she did all of this with NO formal portfolio!

In the interview (which you’ll love), we will cover:

Why you don’t really need a formal portfolio
Getting the confidence you need to DIVE in to freelancing
Raw numbers on project rates and income
And more!

Press the orange play button below to listen here, or listen on Apple Podcasts:

Or read the full transcript here!

About Darci

Darci is a pattern and sample maker with over 12 years of experience. She went to a fashion school in Puerto Rico that was dedicated to made-to-measure and couture sewing. While attending school, Darci learned everything from pattern making to handmade beading. After years of dedicating her career only to one-of-a-kind garments, she moved to Florida, where she started working in factories. Darci’s career changed entirely because she had to learn how to move from the traditional pattern-making processes to CAD software. After 8 years of working in factories, she decided in 2020 to quit her job and pursue a career as a Fashion Freelancer doing product development for small and start-up brands. It has been a challenging path for her, but very rewarding so she can be in control of my time, especially as a mom and being able to work on projects she really loves. Darci currently lives in Tampa, Florida working remotely with projects found on Upwork and also working with local designers.