MAKE YOUR IDEAS INTO REALITY
SINCE 2004
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I am a freelance product development & production manager, specializing in made in USA garments and accessories. I work mainly in NYC and Los Angeles, but can also connect you to manufacturers in the San Francisco Bay Area. I have also produced in Italy, Portugal, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, China, and Indonesia.
I work with dozens of fabric, trim and material suppliers, so I can help you find all the raw goods you need to put into your products.
I am expert in product development, with a strong understanding of construction, so I can help you take your designs to a factory with well thought out details that are realistic and designed correctly for your target price point. Building a strong foundation with well-organized product development is the key to ensuring production runs smoothly, so ideally I participate in both the development and production management process.
I have been working as a freelance product development and production manager for my entire career, with a few in-house stints in my days. Most of the people I work with have known me for a decade or more, so I can help you answer the questions you don’t know to ask and connect you to the people who can help make it happen.
I genuinely love what I do and am happy to admit that I continue to learn daily, even after being in the industry for what seems like forever.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Courtney Cady began her career in fashion in 1999, selling handmade surf trunks by seamstress Sato Hughes, who had been making bespoke shorts for Kanvas by Katin since 1961. A few years later, Courtney worked as a vintage buyer for Japanese distribution company Ragtime Cowboy and Imonni alongside owner and designer Eiko Wise. Eiko was ahead of the curve in terms of vintage reconstruction, ‘up-cycling’ oversized caftans and dated maxi dresses to create renewed clothing. From these two women, Courtney learned the details of fashion construction and handmade clothing production.
In 2004, Courtney established Shallow Fashion, in order to provide production assistance to emergent and established brands; manufacturing mostly in the US. As a result of her experience working closely with fabric mills, pattern makers, sample makers, tech designers, graders, cutters, sewers, printers and finishers—all in a factory setting—Courtney gained a diverse skill-set while establishing Shallow Fashion over the course of more than a decade in the industry. Given this tenure and her background in design, Courtney is an expert with regards to construction and production.
Courtney studied at the University of Southern California, earning a bachelor's degree in Visual Anthropology, and a second in Philosophy.
Courtney lives in NYC with her husband Daniel Kine, working bi-coastally between NYC and LA.