If you'd like to hire me or take a class...

In addition to consulting, I offer classes in industrial pattern making, construction or whatever else you think you'd like to know. Of these, I feel that industrial pattern skills are the most important and that every designer should have solid competency in this area.

Read this carefully: being able to reduce production costs rarely —if ever— requires reduction in product quality. Using industrial production standards is the only proven method of lowering production costs at the outset. The basics covered are how to check a pattern, how to mark it so that it can be used by people who do not speak English or maybe cannot read at all. You will learn to transmit precise information through the use of schematics, notches, punches and color-coding. You will learn how to manage a pattern library through the use of a pattern number inventory system.

Be advised that I am disabled and due to these conditions (see accommodations) I am unable to handle more than one appointment per month. By appointments, I refer to both on or off site trainings, meetings or other business activities.

I do not hold any regularly scheduled classes or seminars but you are welcome to solicit an appointment from me. I prefer to conduct the classes at my location and in very small groups, perhaps no more than 3 people at a time. I feel the time needed to cover the material well (and get in some production sewing too) is a minimum of 3 days although it can be less depending on your particular needs. My most popular seminar has been described as "manufacturing boot-camp" because it is hard work. You must have the physical stamina and personal discipline to focus on the task at hand. We'll eat lunch on site (I prepare a home-cooked vegetarian meal) and there is homework every night.

A note to designers; do not assume a pattern maker you have hired knows these things although they must. If they do not know, they need to learn them just like everybody else. Industrial pattern making is a prescribed set of skills that anyone can learn regardless of whether they have studied pattern making or not. Were a person to learn these skills well, these would qualify them to work as a pattern technician or assistant pattern maker but it does not involve pattern drafting per se. Industrial pattern skills are closer to a program of industry standards and procedures that are required for quality construction in manufacturing.

Fees:

On site: Roughly, the fee is $500 per day for classes at my location.

Off site: Roughly, the fee is $1,000 per day with a two or three day minimum, depending on your location. Please note; although you may be unaccustomed to the pricing structure of professional level services, be advised that my rates are dirt-cheap. In fact, these fees are what I charged when I first started my business and have not been raised since. It is possible to negotiate a lower rate if you want to learn something I do well but have little or no experience in instructing the topic. Please feel free to propose your idea.

Accommodations:

I am a disabled person. As an autistic (Asperger's Syndrome) person, I need certain accommodations to be functional in the work place. I am not telling you these things to make you more comfortable with me; I'm telling you these things so I will feel more comfortable with you. I regret the necessity of the discussion of this topic altogether but I have not worked in four years because I could not talk about what I needed. So yes, just like somebody in a wheelchair, I need "curb-cuts".

If you want to hire me or take a class, you'll have to read about Asperger's Syndrome. As this site progresses, I will put out more specific information to help you. In the short term though you should know that my senses are heightened. Perfumes and colognes are largely intolerable and can induce massive headaches and projectile vomiting in seconds. I cannot tolerate certain noises; cell phones and beepers are a common problem. You must have yours on vibrate. I'll forgive you but do realize that some noises are so piercing that my ears hurt to the extent that I'm sure I'm bleeding. Also, I will lose my concentration and it'll take me time to re-focus.

There is a little quiz you can take at Wired Magazine's web site. It's called the AQ Test (autism quotient) and is designed for the average adult. I use this quiz as a screening method to determine the kind of attention that a person needs so you will need to take it. For my purposes, the higher your score, the easier it is for me to work with you and the reverse is true as well. I need to know your score because a class consisting of 3 people with scores of 16 or less is impossible. Taking this quiz will also give you an idea of the problems that I have. One caveat: the test describes feelings/reactions that nearly everyone experiences from time to time. You may be misled in thinking it's not a big deal because it happens to you too but there is a difference. It's a matter of intensity and degree. You may only have these problems 10% of the time while I experience them 90% of the time, so be compassionate. There is a companion article as well.

Autism Quotient Test Compassion Article

And speaking of compassionate, please, please don't be one of those people who think or say that being a genius makes up for it. It doesn't. The phone company has yet to give me a break just for being bright, the grocery won't give me food just because I'm smart either. For the sake of comparison, I score a 43 if that helps any of you. I like one additional essay on the web that I wish you'd read. It's called "Don't mourn for us" by Jim Sinclair and you can find it at: http://web.syr.edu/%7Ejisincla/dontmourn.htm

The only thing I’d add to his essay is a discussion on the shame of autism. By this I mean that autism is not a choice. We can never be non-autistic, ever. Brilliance cannot cure it. Our own intelligence cannot cure it. Will power, wrought-iron determination and ceaseless perseverance cannot make it go away either. Just as someone cannot choose to be autistic, one cannot choose to be non-autistic. We do not get to pick. We do not have a choice. Please, just be compassionate.

If you have read this far and I haven’t managed to frighten you off and you’d still like to hire me, then great! I'd love to hear from you.