We recently connected with Melissa DeWenter and have shared our conversation below.

Melissa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

As any freelancer knows, it is not always easy to maintain a steady income. I hoped that one day I could make freelance patterning/technical design my only job, but I was worried about making enough money (and making it consistently). So, when I first started freelancing, I had a full-time regular job. I worked my full-time job for one year while working to build up my clientele and my reputation. There were a lot of late nights and missed outings with friends. I was focused on the hustle. I was fortunate enough to land a big paying client pretty quick into my freelancing. While I didn’t feel financially stable enough right away, that client ultimately allowed me to quit my day job. From there, I took on more clients and booked up really quickly. The consistent work was what I was looking for. I always wanted a full planner. At some points, I thought I took on more than I could handle, but I was always able to manage.
I realize now that working for yourself/owning a business requires you to do a lot of “work” that doesn’t directly earn you money. You have it reach out to clients, set up meetings, give price quotes, etc. In my case, I had to set up profiles on social media platforms and create a website. I now have a blog and an online store. These things are time consuming. If I had realized how important they were, I would have focused on more on those tasks than on finding clients while I had my day job.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Fashion has always been something I am passionate about. My love of all things fashion lead me to get my Bachelor’s of Science in Apparel Design and Development with a minor in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin- Stout. Through school, I discovered that I love the creativity of designing but also the rules and structure of patterning. That combination has lead me to this wonderful opportunity to help fashion start-ups! I specialize in helping start-up fashion brands get their designs from a concept to mass production through technical design. Specifically, I offer pattern making services (both digitally and physically), technical flats, and technical packets. I can also create home sewing instructions, digitize patterns, and grade patterns.
One thing that sets me apart is that I grade patterns to fit within a custom size chart, allowing my clients to tailor their products to their specific target market. This is really great for my clients, especially when working in women’s wear as there is no standard sizing.
I have been doing this niche professionally for three years. Through the years, I have never stopped learning. I am always exploring new software and techniques that will help to elevate my work while also saving me time. In the last month, I have invested in a new pattern software that has allowed me to cut my time in half (and I am still learning how to use it!)

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I have a website, Instagram account, LinkedIn account, Pinterest account, and Etsy shop as well as a profile on Upwork. I have business cards that I distribute locally. Despite having all of these, the most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been word of mouth. I have gotten a lot of clients through referrals from previous clients. I pride myself on doing my best with every project, so every time I get a new client through a referral, it feels like extra reassurance that I have done a fantastic job. Naturally, that pushes me to continue to do even better.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When I was in college, we were taught pattern making two different ways: on paper and using a CAD software called Optitex. When I graduated, I did not have the funds to purchase Optitex for myself, so I used the only other CAD software we were trained on to create my digital patterns: Adobe Illustrator. While that works and I have gotten rather quick at using it, it is not the best pattern making software. I wish that I had spent some time early on in my journey exploring all the other pattern making softwares. I had no idea there were so many until recently. I wish I had been less intimidated by software I was unfamiliar with in the beginning. I also wish I had joined more groups of similar individuals (Facebook groups, networked more on LinkedIn, etc.). A lot of people, especially starting out, feel that to befriend others that do the same thing is going to decrease the amount of work they get or be intimidating. However, being in touch with others that can help you is so important! It helps you to grow in your skills and can even generate more leads for you. There is more than enough work to go around and people are willing to share your name with clients they don’t have time to take on or don’t want to take on for whatever reason.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.melissasuedesigns.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissasue.designs/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-dewenter-04272614b/
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/melissasuedesigns/

Image Credits
Liz Drevlow Photography