Melanie Stranzl Haines
Apparel Technical Design and Product Developer · Ocean View School District
Huntington Beach, CA
In My Own Words
I have experience with both technical design and product development in the apparel industry.
Work Experience
SENIOR TRIM DEVELOPER
Hurley2015 – 2016
- Responsible for the product development, approval, and testing for all Hurley trims and packaging - Analyzed and developed trims that meet our cost requirements while keeping with the designers intensions - Liaison between Hurley teams in regards to trim development: Design, PLM, Marketing, Copy, and Product Development - Maintained the trim development WIP - Communicated trim development updates to both the internal team and factories - Started the process of changing all factory sourced trims to be nominated - Negotiated price, minimums, and set projections if needed with suppliers - Ensured all Hurley factories are in compliance with Nike policies and procedures in regards to trims - Established the Nike trim testing procedure for Hurley trims - Worked directly with the Nike GLAM team
SENIOR SMU TECHNICAL DESIGN and PRODUCT DEVELOPER
Hurley2012 – 2015
- Managed the technical design and product development of SMU T-shirt and fleece development for men’s and woman’s - Created and maintained the technical design illustrations, BOMs and tech packs for factories - Developed fabrics that meet our cost requirements while keeping with the designers intension - Managed the approval process from 1st proto to production samples, labdips, fabrics, and print approvals and comments - Managed and tracked development time and action WIP - Attended the fit sessions- as SMU technical developer was responsible for the fit for the different SMU accounts - Liaison with both the SMU internal sales team and directly with the different SMU accounts in regards to development - Communicated daily with domestic and overseas vendors in regards to development needs - Negotiated price with vendor and responsible for achieving required margins
SENIOR TECHNICAL DESIGN and PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Under Armour2008 – 2012
- Responsible for the management of the technical design, fit, and product development of men’s training, golf, outerwear, run, mountain, tactical, hunt, and fish apparel for both US and Europe - Communicated daily and interacted with the Under Armour teams: materials, trims, color, sourcing, production planning, design, and product line managers (PLM) in regards to development - Had bi-weekly fit sessions in which I organized and led the meeting with design and PLM in attendance - Established and maintained the technical design illustrations for each style in AI - Created technical packs for the factories, including AI technical construction illustrations, sewing instructions, measurements, grade, and BOM - Responsible for specing and fitting all protos, making any revisions to fit, and communicating these revisions to the factories - Adjusted and revised patterns as needed - Help established the four men’s fit types: Compression, Fitted, Regular, and Loose - To better streamline the fit and consistency of fit- I assisted in the creation of block measurements, patterns, and garments based on the above fit types and product category- polos, knit tops, knit bottoms, woven bottoms, woven tops, fleece, sweaters and outerwear - Reviewed and adjusted as needed Under Armour’s complete grading system, tolerance, and measurements - As part of the management team, attended and participated in meetings in regards to procedures, strategies, and business goals and relaying this information to my team - Solved issues and mentored team growth - Tracked the fit and product development status - Made sure that team met the calendar dates and updated tracking - Communicated to factories in regards to product development
SMU PRODUCT DEVELOPER AND PRODUCTION MANAGER
Hurley2006 – 2008
- Responsible for management and development of the SMU product management team (development, sourcing, and production) for the SMU apparel for men’s and woman’s - Managed the approval process from 1st proto to production samples, labdips, fabrics, and print approvals and comments - Created tech packs for factories, including BOM’s - Communicated daily with domestic and overseas vendors in regards to development needs - Negotiated price with vendor and responsible for achieving target costing goals and required margins - Managed and tracked development and production time and action - Developed fabrics that meet our cost requirements while keeping with the designers intension - Determined production placement, placed and confirmed buys with the factories/agents - Attended the fit sessions- as developer had final say on any revisions and comments - Handled all Quality Control issues and problems - Interacted with the customs broker, freight forwarder, and trucking company in regards to shipping
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Hurley2004 – 2006
- Responsible for management of the product management team (development, sourcing, and production) for men’s and woman’s apparel, accessories, and trims - Oversaw the development, implementation and enhancement of strategies, policies, systems, and procedures to improve efficiency, in regards to product development, sourcing, and production - Interacted with management of other divisions to streamline procedures for the team and other team leaders as well as working with the divisions - Built and managed the internal and external relationships to achieve on-time delivery of commercially feasible products that meet cost and quality requirements that is in line with direction and goals - Lead cross-functional teams and built processes to deliver results - Effectively trained and developed the Product Management teams with clear accountabilities, deliverables and measures, and that process improvement opportunities are identified for growth. - Created Hurley’s Product Development process and procedures - Established Hurley’s Apparel Product Performance Standards and fabric testing procedures and standards and ensure that they are met - Enforced and helped create the seasonal calendar dates and timelines - Ensured all factories are in compliance with Nike policies and procedures. - Created and maintained vendor reporting for monitoring performance such as margins, vendor performance and rating, compliance, factory audits, SHAPE training, and product lead times - Established many of the processes that Hurley uses - Met with sales team in regards to style adoption, placing orders and reorders, deliveries, minimums, and cost - Analyzed and developed fabrics that meet our cost requirements while keeping with the designers intension - Placed and confirmed buys with the factories - Negotiated pricing to meet our target gross profit - Handled all Quality Control issues and problems - Interacted with the customs broker, freight forwarder, and trucking company
PRODUCT DEVELOPER
Oakley2002 – 2004
- Responsible for dual sourcing and product development of the men’s and women’s fleece and t-shirt program for the USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Japan markets and distribution - Strictly adhered to design and development calendar - Monitored approval process from 1st proto to pre-production samples, labdips, fabrics, and print approvals and comments - Attended the fit sessions- as developer had final say on any revisions and comments - Communicated daily with domestic and overseas vendors in regards to development needs - Negotiated price with vendor and responsible for achieving target costing goals and required margins - Determined production placement and grow vendors by increasing capabilities in all areas of development - Established standards prior to production (fabric, trim, finishes, fit, etc.) - Created and established Oakley’s Apparel Product Performance Standards and fabric testing procedures and standards - During production, reviewed quality and production problems and determined appropriate action
MERCHANDISER MANAGER
Rusty2001 – 2002
- Managed all sourcing and product development of the men’s apparel, trims, and accessories program for both USA and Europe distribution - Oversaw all development requests - Created and updated BOMs - Created and assembled development technical packages for vendors - Attended the fit sessions - Enforced time and action calendar due dates - Assisted with creating seasonal color palettes and trim/label packages - Vendor communication of development needs with domestic and overseas vendors - Handled labdips, fabrics, handlooms, knitdowns, print strikeoffs, trims, proto to salesman samples approvals and comments - Participated in the line presentation and oversaw the fit process to maintain initial vision/request
DEVELOPER
Eddie Bauer1999 – 2000
- Managed all sourcing and product development of men’s and women’s sweaters - Daily vendor communication and management of development - Interpreted designs to be commercially feasible for production and communicated product aesthetics to vendors - Initiated product development packages - Received and approved costing - Monitored approval process from 1st proto to pre-production samples, labdips, fabrics, patternwork/knitdowns, and trims - Participated in fit process to maintain initial vision - Verified that all fabrics and trims were tested and passed the company’s established performance standards - Advised design, merchandising, quality assurance, global sourcing, and technical engineer of all product development issues
ASSOCIATE DESIGNER
Nautica1995 – 1999
- Responsible for the design and product development of men’s sweaters - Designed sweaters on CAD program - Created development packages for factories - Vendor communication of all development needs - Oversaw the fit process by specing and fitting protos, salesman samples, and pre-production samples - Tracked approval and comment process from 1st proto to pre-production samples, labdips, fabrics, patternwork and knitdowns prior to production - Researched trends, attended trade shows and forecasting seminars - Assisted with creating seasonal concepts, themes, and color palettes - Created line plans, participated in line presentation and selection, and presented the line to the licensees - Liaison between design, sales, retail development, licensing and production
