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Where All The Susan Graver Magic Happens

by on ‎09-23-2014 03:30 PM

Remember how much fun it was to take field trips when you were a kid? I got to relive that feeling recently when Pat James Dementri and I took a road trip to see Susan Graver's design studio in Manhattan.


 



Susan has explained to me many times about how she comes up with ideas for her line, how prints are picked, and how hard her team works to make sure the clothes will look good on every body type. Still, visiting her studio falls into the "You have to see it to believe it" category. I had no idea how much work it takes to create a garment for QVC. If you are someone who likes creativity and/or organization, this blog is for you!


Our visit started with a full tour of the office. This is where ideas are turned into the clothes you see us present on QVC. It was absolutely unbelievable. You can't even imagine how many people work so diligently on just one garment at a time. The patience!!!


This is where Susan and her team store all of their inspiration. They bring in the latest trends from Europe. Having physical samples is just one way they monitor what is going on in the world of fashion.



Then we made our way down to the design room. Every design Susan comes up is passed on to her team to create the actual samples. This way, Susan can gauge how her vision will actually translate into a physical garment. 




Once she is able to see the sample pieces, she can then make adjustments based on how the garment will fit every body type.



Once Susan has put her final touches on each sample that comes through, it is then passed to a team that will take the measurements, fabrics, prints, etc. and create a digital sketch. This sketch is the "blueprint" that eventually goes to the factory making the pieces, so it has to be very specific. 


   


I loved seeing this! There is a labeled bin for all of the amazing ideas and designs Susan sends to us!


 



This was an exciting stop on our tour. This closet (not fully shown in this picture) holds the best of the best from Susan Graver. All of your favorites, from the beginning of her time at QVC through the present, are here in this closet. It's like taking a trip down fashion memory lane!



 There is even a section of the office that holds all upcoming Susan Graver Today's Special Values. Pat and I wanted to raid this closet, but we resisted the urge!



    Welcome to the Susan Graver fabric closet! Every print, color, or fabric we've seen from Susan is right here!



I wanted to share a picture of the work room because Susan claims this is the only room in the office that is allowed to be messy. Keep that in mind as we move on to the most organized office system I have ever seen!



Did you ever think about all the paperwork that goes on in a designer's office? I never really did before until I visited Susan's office and saw these filing cabinets. Below you'll see how everything works...


  


At the press of a button the cabinets separate and display millions of files. Every detail regarding EVERY garment is placed in one of these files. I told you this place was organized!!



Here is another slice of organizational heaven! Because there are millions of shades and colors out there, the team must be extremely specific when it comes to picking colors for the designs. Each one of those binders represents a color and inside are all the possible shades that color can come in!



I knew Susan paid a lot of attention to buttons, but I had no idea that she had a button wall!! Silver, gold, wood, enamel.. she appears to have every button ever created. And it is all so neat!!



Once our tour was over we were able to see a sneak peek at what Susan has for us coming up this season! Pat and I are so excited about what Susan will bring to QVC. I can't wait for you to see!


    


    



So that wraps up our visit to the Big Apple! I hope you enjoyed the tour as much as we did! You can join Susan and me on Sunday nights at 10pm and you can catch Pat and Susan on Thursdays at 9am. In the meantime, you can follow my fashion, beauty, and family updates on social!


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