Full name?: Diane Carleton
Position / Job title?: Creative Director for FIGI JEANS
1) When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was 9 years old, I wanted to be an architect.
2) Fast forward several years/decades. How did you land (create) your current position?
Along with having years of experience designing and directing apparel particularly jeans, I have also built many great connections in the fashion field. A VP of product development that I formerly reported to connected me to some entrepreneurs looking to start a clothing line. In our first conversations, we found we had similar work ethics and enjoyed the thrill of building something new, while our experience and skills complimented each other for this project.
3) Did you take on internships to get there? How important do you think are internships?
As I have past experience designing I did not need to take on an internship. Having brought on interns in past positions, I think this is an excellent way to learn about a business while the company gets a good opportunity to see how you can help improve or grow their business. I have hired former interns.
4) Tell us what a typical work day looks like for you? What is your job REALLY like, both the glamorous and not so glamorous parts?
As I am starting a new business, I don’t know if I have a typical day. I start out by checking my emails between 5-6 am, to answer and ask questions concerning fabrics from Asia. If I can communicate at this hour, I save a 24 hour delay on starting weaving or shipping fabric. Packages arrive of leg panels (for wash or print) or fit samples that I need to review, measure, fit and comment on. I spend many days on the phone with colleagues for their recommendations on mills, factories, printers. We also discuss logistics, accounting and sales.
I spend most of the day emailing and calling our factories, mills, marketing firm, and graphic artist to discuss and direct the product line. On the glamorous side, I travel to fun cities for inspiration, go to photo shoots to create the seasonal Look Book for the jean line working. And I get to spend days sketching new designs and manipulating artwork by talented artists.
5) What is the biggest career mistake you’ve ever made?
Staying in a position that I was not advancing in for much too long.
6) What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to other career-minded women?
Find work that you enjoy; whether that satisfies your need to care for others, be creative, solve problems, organize others or other desires you wish to fulfill.
7) Let’s talk about work/life balance. What does that mean to you? Is it important?
Work/life balance is important to me, as I would suspect it is to everyone, although what is balance may vary from person to person. I enjoy spending time with friends and family, as well as, doing many activities. Earlier on in my career, I spent many more hours at work, but what I found was that the quality of the work went down considerably as the hours wore on. In order to do my best work, I need to have inspiration and time away from work for reflection.
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