Eileen Wilson
An apparel industry veteran with more than 35 years of experience in design through production, Eileen has worked for high profile brands like lululemon, O'Neil, BCBG, Quiksilver, Roxy, and others. She is passionate about synthesizing technology, artistry, and precision to create beautifully executed products. A deep curiosity drives her to continually seek out new ways of working, leveraging innovative technology for more efficient and sustainable ways to develop and produce product.
"There are two things you will never hear me say: That's not my job. And, that's the way we've always done it."
After learning how to sew at age 11, Eileen began making her own creations by "hacking" patterns by McCalls, Butterick and others and made most of her own clothes from junior high through university. This desire to create and expand her knowledge base has served her well throughout her career.
"I love it when smart, creative people push me to think beyond my own experience so that we are always looking forward, and not looking back. It's so important to keep pushing the apparel industry to evolve, to be less polluting, and to create product that consumers actually want so it doesn't end up in landfill."
TekGurl Contributors
Susanne Gade
Trained in Germany as a Master Craftsman for men’s and women’s tailoring, Susanne brings a keen understanding of fit and function to her work. Her experience covers a broad assortment of product categories including highly technical outdoor, ski, and snowboarding apparel for Schöffel, and high performance activewear for Adidas and lululemon. Susanne has a strong understanding of different size ranges having worked with men’s, women’s and kids and is brilliant at creating 3D prototypes across categories and sizes.
Susanne is passionate about men’s tailoring and historical costumes and loves a challenge when it comes to creating patterns and 3D prototypes. In addition to her considerable expertise in the digital creation realm, she is a talented and passionate seamstress and brings this deep knowledge of garment creation to new products and offers insights on fit, construction, articulation, and performance to TekGurl clients.
Susanne continually strives to learn and grow, as reflected in one of her favorite quotes:
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
John Makowsky
Upon finding his niche in 3D while attending school for Digital Media and Design, John has spent over a decade honing the craft. His focus is primarily on utilizing digital tools to benefit the prototyping process whether it's creating rich virtual visualizations or physical embodiments with the help of 3D Printing, laser cutting/engraving, or mold-making techniques. This skillset and his attention to detail is invaluable for blurring the lines between digital and physical worlds creating assets that facilitate forward momentum within projects.
Following a seven-year stint with Product Innovation at lululemon where he worked on a myriad of projects and contributed to multiple patents (including one for sports bras), we are thrilled to have him apply his considerable skills to apparel products in collaboration with TekGurl. His work also supports host of other industries such as UAVs, railway accessories, bicycle components, luggage, and motorcycle accessories.
“Learn just enough to make almost anything” is a mantra that drives John’s curiosity and desire to accumulate and share knowledge.
Emilie Rastoll
With training from L'École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Techniques du Théâtre (National School of Theatre Arts and Techniques) in France and an apprenticeship in Men’s tailoring in Paris, Emilie began her career in the movie industry, Opéra de Paris, and other large theatre companies doing costuming and men’s tailoring. Her love of travel and desire for new experiences then took her to Australia where she spent a year working at the Sydney Opera House. Always on the lookout for new techniques and ways of working, Emilie returned France and further broadened her skills by working for luxury ready-to-wear brands like Lanvin, Yves Saint Laurent and others. She also applied her talent to haute-couture and runway for Jean-Paul Gaultier and Givenchy.
Emilie shared her expertise by spending 3 years as a patternmaking instructor for a fashion design school in France. Wanting to continue expanding her experience, she turned to sportwear and relocated to Vancouver, BC upon accepting a patternmaking position with lululemon. Integrating function and high-performance garments with fashion was a fun, new challenge! Along the way, Emilie learned 3D prototyping, adding again to her considerable skill set. She says that using 3D in her day-to-day work has been a game changer.
Emilie is back in France and continues to love the challenge of creating new patterns and garments. TekGurl is excited to be able leverage Emilie’s talent in support of our client work.
Marie-Noelle Legere
Based out of Vancouver, BC, Marie-Noelle holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Ryerson in Fashion Design with a minor in Marketing. She is a creative, fit-focused freelance product developer with over 15 years of industry experience. She has spent most of her career developing activewear and outerwear apparel for brands like lululemon and Aritzia and lives an active lifestyle!
Marie-Noelle knows her product from the inside out and is well-versed in local and overseas production. She synthesizes her ability to create technical sketches, comprehensive material and construction tech packs with her knowledge of prototyping and bulk production to provide excellent output for TekGurl and thoughtful guidance to her own clients.
A new way to create teams
One of the most powerful realizations coming out of the shift to "work from home" in 2020 is that we are not limited to proximity in attracting talent. TekGurl Solutions leverages talented freelancers with different skill sets and expertise from around the world.
We are always looking for new talent to add to our freelance roster! If you are an experienced digital patternmaker, grader, 3D designer, prototyper, or artist, please reach out and connect with us!