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10 years ago
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This week, I caught up with independent designer Amber Jimenez Garcia, founder of Ambit NYC, who just completed an impressively large-scale project with a well-established lifestyle brand recently.
Known for producing locally-sourced, handmade designs, Ambit NYC, is growing as Amber uncovers new ways to diversify her brand. Via e-mail, she offers some insight to Art For Progress readers!
1) Can you fill us in about the experience of producing a high volume of hats for a top lifestyle brand, all on your own?
In my experience, it is really about who you know. Every time I have had an opportunity to work for an interesting company on a freelance basis, it was due to a friend's recommendation.
For this company, which is branded as high-quality, a friend who works there in accessories design, [reached out to be as] she was looking to push work with an American-made brand in millinery. She has a few of my hats, and really believed in the quality of my work. [However this project was on] a much larger scale than what I'm used to. It was a great challenge, and I am happy to have had the opportunity.
2) Got any pro-tips for those looking to work with companies on a freelance basis?
One of the most important lessons that I gained from the project was to make a timeline, and to stick to it. Even with several setbacks along the way, sticking to a time-and-action calendar helped me meet each setback head on.
3) Are you still making baby booties [...]
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10 years ago
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This week, as Kim Kardashian's Paper Magazine cover attempts to #BreakTheInternet with her booty, I chat with Brooklynite Amber Jimenez Garcia, creative director and designer of Ambit NYC, about another kind of booty---the baby shoe variety. Her label, known for locally-produced, handmade designs, using quality materials, is currently undergoing an evolution with the birth of Jimenez Garcia's son. The designer has found that incorporating her little one into her career plans is helping her to find her balance as a first-time mother and designer. Discover more about her new venture after the jump.
-Jacqueline Colette Prosper, @yummicoco
Inspiration:
Some of the reasons why moccasins appealed to me for him: The shoes are soft so he can feel the ground, and they don't interfere with his balance. The bottoms are suede, which is better than keeping him in socks because they are more sticky, and have more movement in them. My son is learning to walk, and moccasins are really easy and functional. I had some leather, and thought, I can do that. Once I started, it became more complicated than that, because you have to think in a different way [when designing for a baby]. I'm used to making adult things. [In this instance] I had to think, considering what would be good for a baby, which I had never really done.
Challenge:
I didn't study shoemaking, I studied clothing. I've always been interested in making adult shoes but it feels a little inaccessible, because i[...]
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