We had another great collaborative event with Gabrielle Enfield and Virginia Barden of Living Room Realty, this time for Portland Textile Month. Woonwinkel sponsored, and owner Kristin Van Buskirk moderated, a panel discussion with five textile industry experts who have lived the reality of creating a scalable textile business from scratch—from small batch to the big time. Topics included product design, manufacturing, and entrepreneurship-- and folks had a chance to ask questions and network, making it a super fun and valuable night out. The taco bar was just the icing on the cake (or the salsa on the nachos, if you want to look at it that way).
Want to learn about how to go From Small Batch to Big Time? Check out the video.
Thank you so much to all the panelists and hooray for the collaborative effort between several organizations and folks who made it all come together! Caleb Sayan of Portland Textile Month, Haley Dunham of Woonwinkel, Elissa Breitbard of Kinstitch, Virginia Barden and Gabrielle Enfield of Living Room Realty and of course all the panelists who shared their knowledge:
Susan Matteucci: Founding executive director of Southwest Creations Collaborative (SCC), a contract sewing manufacturer and women driven social enterprise based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Kerry Cotter: Founder and owner of Belmont Blanket, a textile company designing and producing products in Portland that work for the modern urban adventurer.
Rebecca Ward: Chief Creative Officer and Co-founder of Creative Capital Design, a local design consulting firm offering services in everything from product planning to execution.
Shay Carillo: Founder and owner of Non Perishable Goods, a lovely home wares line featuring made-in-Portland linens and textiles that speak to a cozy but elevated PNW interiors perspective.
Rob Jungmann: Founder and owner of Jungmaven, a made-in-the-USA line of sustainable and simple hemp clothing with an effortless, relaxed vibe. Also founder of HEMP 2020, a campaign to raise awareness around the positive environmental impacts of hemp farming.
