Barb Howe Email & Phone Number

Longmont, Co, Us

Head of all things design at Rhubarb. Providing apparel design, development, product development timelines, line planning, color, and graphics for outdoor apparel brands. Working with brands large and small to build great fitting market relevant apparel.• Work with brands to strategize seasonal product lines, find white space in the market and create innovative, top quality apparel.• Create apparel designs and tech packs, including fabrics trims, and branding for factory handoff.• Arrange and lead prototype fittings, update spec sheets/tech packs and technical drawings.• Create seasonal palettes, apply color and design to product, prepare graphics for sublimation, screen printing, or embroidery.

Louisville, Colorado, Us

Creative design lead for the Road Cycling and Women’s mountain bike category, including compression bottoms, woven bottoms, technical outerwear, performance tops, padded protection, and gloves. Annual sales exceed $25M.· Collaborated with PLM's, Materials Developers, and other Designers to construct a unique visual aesthetic based on color, aesthetics, materials and trims unique to Pearl Izumi.· Built seasonal mood boards to support color direction, trim development, and seasonal aesthetics. Used mood boards to design cohesive product lines through the use of color, aesthetics, and materials.· Strategized implementation of sustainable materials and trims for all SS21 and beyond for Road and Mountain bike products and identified opportunities where deadstock material could be utilized.· Designed, coordinated, and managed technical design sketches and tech packs from conception to completion of over 30 seasonal styles.· Applied color and graphics to over 100 seasonal styles. Prepared sublimation graphics, roller print art, and screen print graphics for select styles· Designed, developed, and applied trims to product, meeting consumer needs and target margins.· Explored and prototyped unique constructions for garments, including pockets, cuffs, bib (suspender) designs, hoods. Current patents pending: one piece cycling suit design and an updated bib construction.· Led design-oriented live model fittings and worked closely with development team to achieve intended on-body function and aesthetic vision· Created custom sublimation graphics for clubs, teams, events, and shops

Greenville, Sc, Us

Designed and developed cycling clothing, including waterproof outerwear, soft-shell jackets, jerseys, bottoms, gloves and other accessories.· Collaborated on product lifecycle from concept to finished garment. Including determining market needs, market research, concepting, developing color palette, fabric and trim development, creating tech packs, writing garment specs and fitting garments.· Directed creation of a product testing program to synthesize customer feedback during product development process, and resolve garment fit and function issues prior to production.

San Francisco, California, Us

Lead product developer of garments sourced and sewn in the United States.· Managed development calendar, spec sheets, sample production, contractors, and factory partners.· Updated tech packs, performed QC checks on finished goods, initiated and tracked lab dips, sourced US made trims.

Matched customer needs to proper clothing and equipment choices for a variety of activities, including rock climbing, backcountry skiing, mountaineering and backpacking.

Advised owner / designer on production design details for women's cycling jerseys and compression bottoms including fit, sizing, color palette, and materials selection.

Tracked timelines and vendor deliverables against seasonal calendar to ensure target delivery dates.· Communicated with factory partners and visited sewing facilities weekly to monitor progress and solve production challenges.· Maintained over 100 existing accounts via phone and in-person visits in California.

Sales Associate, Softgoods Buyer, Bicycle Mechanic, Bicycle fitting

General manager, Softgoods Buyer, Retail Sales, Merchandising

Bachelor Of Arts - Ba, Environmental Science

Certificate, Apparel Design & Merchandising