Elizabeth McGarrigle and The Sellable Sketch

We are proud to share another fabulous collection created by a recent graduate of our Sellable Sketch course. Elizabeth McGarrigle, a.k.a. Liz Mac Designs, created this lovely women’s activewear collection in response to a market that “seems to be flooded with black and neon designs.” I loved Liz’s approach in perceiving a hole in the market and creating her collection to fill that need. That is the mark of an innovator and something we should all aspire to, don’t you think?

About the Collection

I used trends as a guide and a focus customer who was a personal trainer fed up of wearing the same style of workout gear everyday. My hand drawn florals gave a feminine touch to my main print and geometrics with feminine colours was the focus of my coordinates. Through my market research I discovered that activewear collections tend to have only one print and block colours to coordinate, I feel that my collection offers a multitude of uses from accessories like bags, to pants, t-shirts and even sneakers. It has been great to get to know more about my possible customers and how to provide them with an irresistible design collection.

My Sellable Sketch Story

The Sellable Sketch course has really helped me progress as a designer, it has taught me to refine my style through a process of combining what I love to look at with what I love to do.  Before I started the course I had never considered the possibility of selling my designs, the course really assisted me in focusing on which market my designs would fit.  It also gave me the tools to make designs more sellable by analysing trends, brands and connecting it with my style.

The support network of the course facilitators and students has been invaluable, the facilitators are always quick to reply providing suggestions on how to make my work more sellable.  At the beginning I was constantly second guessing myself and unsure about what I had produced but through my interactions with people within the course I have gained so much more confidence as I have now realised that my gut feeling about my designs is generally correct.

When I first started I was terrified about producing a collection of designs but I am so happy with what I have produced I feel that each piece can stand alone by itself while coordinating with the other designs.  This is a smart way to sell more design work and within The Sellable Sketch we were given a comprehensive guide about how to do this.

 

Links to my work can be found at lizmacdesigns.com (my website is a work in progress) or @lizmacdesigns on Instagram.

As a Textile Design Lab member you’ll have access to The Sellable Sketch along with 18 other courses, weekly live art critiques, and our community forum. Connect with other designers, watch a webinar or explore a guest expert training. Membership is just $49/month. Learn more here…