The Warp & the Weft of Failure!
Jeremy Picker
Creative Director ?? Founder ?? I partner with companies who value design, creativity & quality to 1) Create better merchandise 2) Strengthen their brand 3) Increase their impact.
If you are familiar with this fashion terminology then these images will make sense. For those who aren't familiar, I have the definition at the bottom. Anywho!
This post is mainly about how good design isn't enough. As one who puts design at the frontline of all merchandise development, sometimes problems don't arise until they are inline for manufacturing.
We had a huge debacle a couple years ago when we created these large woven locker tags for a client flannel & added self stick backing thinking it was going to be easier for the embroidery team to stitch on. Fail!
Being a rush job, there was no time for failure. Our embroidery manager said the sticky backing was gumming up the needles on the machine and they couldn't produce.
Fast forward two years, we sent the same embroiderer woven locker tag with no backing thinking we would not repeat the same mistake. Welp! The picture below is how it came back. The torquing of the label when sewing paired with a unique placement = disaster!
Another failure, but another chance for a solution. The image below is something we had the factory help develop to keep the label from torquing & no adhesive to keep the embroidery machine from gumming up. The final product is what we originally envisioned albeit coming from a detour and work around.
All this to say is that good can come from failure if you have the right perspective. Even though we lost the client 2 years ago, we continued to push & learn from our past mistakes to come through for our current client. This is a priceless lesson to add to our Guru app!
WIKI: Warp and weft are the two basic components used in weaving to turn thread or yarn into fabric. The lengthwise or longitudinal warp yarns are held stationary in tension on a frame or loom while the transverse weft (sometimes woof) is drawn through and inserted over-and-under the warp.
Marketing Director at The Wilbert Group | A Marmon | Berkshire Hathaway Company | Innovating brand strategy, driving market growth, and delivering impactful campaigns that transform industries across diverse sectors.
3 年Fail! Can you spot where thread got caught in the screen? Small, but noticeable. I won’t be selling a small batch to customers because of it.
Marketing and Licensing for HOLY JOE Streetwear. Founder and Creative Director at Swordmaker Studios. Marlboro | Heineken | Jarritos | Bacardí | Calvin Klein | Gatorade | U2
3 年In college I learned to distinguish between warp and weft because the teacher told us weft goes from weft to wight.