Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cortney Souther. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cortney, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

HI Product Consulting is a private label apparel consulting agency focused on USA Made Apparel in the Active and Outdoor space. Founded in 2020, HI Product Consulting was launched from the need and desire to move the apparel design and development process toward more thoughtful and inclusive practices, one brand at a time. We specialize in Made In The USA  Apparel in the Active and Outdoor space because we believe it to be our mission to support American jobs, to provide full visibility to the Apparel process, to contribute to a cleaner environment for our generation, and our future, and to strengthen relationships with compliant innovation partners.

Cortney, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi! My name is Cortney and I am a Mom, Wife of an Active Duty Military Member, Outdoor Enthusiast, and Apparel Industry lover who turned my passion for Apparel and the Outdoors into a business. Being Outdoors lowers my stress levels, creates a sense of community for me and my family, and inspires me to be my best self. I know I am very lucky to be able to create product that allows consumers to be outfitted in this space and call it my job.

I started HI Product Consulting in 2020 after I left a role I absolutely loved as a Technical Apparel Developer for the North Face. The HQ was relocating from Alameda, CA to Denver, CO. My Husband’s career ultimately wouldn’t work with relocating to Denver, so I had to leave The North Face. Only a few weeks after I left my role at The North Face, the Pandemic shut everything down.

During the Pandemic I started getting inquiries from different brands to join their team as a contractor and manage various areas of the Design and Development process. With 15 years in the Apparel industry at the time, I had solid network connections, great suppliers, and wonderful manufacturing, mill, and printing partners from previous roles I held. My partnerships are really what catapulted me into gaining the confidence to turn all of these contract jobs into a business.

Side note, every Military Spouses’ greatest fear is “relocation season.” We were up for relocation in 2022 and every single Military Spouse can back me on this: I thought, it’s silly to start a new full time role somewhere if we are about to move, and I have no idea where we were moving. Starting my own company where I can work from wherever my husband’s career takes us, is where the Universe and all my partnerships were pushing me. I applied for an LLC and HI Product Consulting was born. HI are the initials of my 5 year old son Harper and 3 year old daughter, Isla.

HI currently works with a Lifestyle/Fishing brand in the Panhandle of FL, called Choona and a Performance Pickle Ball Brand out of NJ, called Play-PKL. I spent a lot of my career working in Licensed Sports, so we are lucky to work with a few NHL athletes on their private label, March & Mill Co. as well as a private label Hockey Performance and Lifestyle brand, PVCK. One more, HI recently partnered with Insomniac’s team to Develop and execute Apparel and Headwear for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, that just happened in November, and will be partnering again with them for 2024.

I think the most common problem I see when I take on a new client is that the Founder often does not have a background in apparel, gets connected with wrong or uneducated partners for their brand, and spends a fortune with no results. So if you’re reading this and you’re like shoot, that’s me, you’re fine. You don’t have to have experience in Apparel to build a brand, you just need to know the right person who does. HI takes pride in educating the teams and Founders we work with as we venture through the wild process of concept to production together. Some Founders want to be involved 100% in the process, some don’t, and instead entrust HI to carry the process fully. I like the mix of both. Lots of people don’t understand this industry or the depth of development that needs to take place in order to produce a quality, functioning piece that is being born to perform, so that’s where HI comes in. We offer full brand support packages from design concept through to production, or a pick and choose model, whatever supports the brand vision!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Referrals! Every single client I have worked with since I have started HI has been a referral through my network. The Apparel industry can be so toxic if you are surrounded by the wrong teams or in the wrong space. This industry is very quick to point out failure and negatives and slow to recognize talent and successes. I one thousand percent embody that you can be kind to everyone no matter what and still be successful in this industry. So, be kind and honest, and they will come.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

This question is a good one because as a Military Spouse, you must pivot and adapt every 2-3 years as long as your spouse is active duty. I have been with my Husband for 10 years, so for 10 years i’ve had to pivot life and career and business to adapt to a new setting and new proximity to resources. When we were stationed in San Diego and in San Francisco, I had a lot more reach to suppliers and mills and being close to the Apparel hot spots. Everything was in-person. In 2022 we relocated from San Francisco to Virginia. New clients always laugh and say, how do you design apparel from Virginia? Well, I get smarter and work harder. I pay more attention to online resources. I plan out my travel further in advance to trade, fabric, trim, and fashion shows to make sure I get the most out of my year. I joined more network groups tailored to my industry, and carve out time monthly in my calendar for them. Virginia isn’t so bad.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.hiproductconsulting.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hiproductconsulting/?utm_source=qr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/91531126/admin/feed/posts/