Fashion Designers Get Paid: Build Your Fashion Career On Your Own Terms

• 258: How This Mom Built a Freelance Business With a Toddler at Home

  What if you could build a thriving freelance fashion business… while raising a toddler at home? That’s exactly what Philippa Cooper—aka Pip—has done, working just two days a week. In this episode, Pip shares how she went from a COVID layoff to building a client roster using platforms like PeoplePerHour and LinkedIn. You’ll hear how she doubled project rates, started integrating Clo 3D into her services, and got consistent inquiries without even having a website. If you’re trying to make freelancing work in the margins of your day, Pip’s story proves it’s 100% possible.What if you could build a freelance career during nap time and weekend evenings? That’s exactly what Philippa Cooper—aka Pip—has done. Specializing in technical outerwear, she shares how she turned part-time hours into consistent £1K+ months, how Clo 3D transformed her workflow, and why LinkedIn has become her go-to marketing tool. This episode is packed with real strategies, mindset shifts, and tactical advice for freelancers trying to make it work with limited time.Resources:216: What 3D Fashion Design Software Is the Best? With Sylwia SzymczykFacetuneapp.com for professional AI headshotsAbout Philippa: Philippa “Pip” Cooper is a freelance pattern cutter and outerwear specialist based in Southeast England. She helps UK startups develop technical outerwear with a focus on fit, precision, and performance. Using tools like Clo 3D and leveraging her extensive industry experience, Pip creates efficient workflows that support startup founders from concept to production.Connect with Philippa:Email her at [email protected] out her websiteFollow on Instagram Connect on LinkedIn  🎟️ Register for my training on July 24th: The Secret to Remote Clients and a Steady Paycheck in Fashion — now updated for 2025!Sign up  at www.sewheidi.com/live

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• 257: Why Afroditi Quit Upwork After Hitting $100K (Part 2)

  What happens after you hit $100K on Upwork? For Afroditi, it meant finally stepping away. In this second half of our in-person interview, she shares how she scaled her freelance business, raised her rates, and built a system that brought clients to her. But she also reveals why she chose to leave it all behind. From pricing mindset to proposal tips and her 2025 pivot strategy, this is an honest look at what growth really takes.In Part 2 of our conversation with Afroditi, we pick up after her rocky first year and dive into how she built a stable, high-paying freelance business. She talks about growing from $15 projects to $70/hour clients, using Upwork to teach herself strategy, and why she ultimately chose to leave the platform.Resources:Afroditi's Upwork Profile253: Tabitha’s First $1K Month (and Why She’s Quitting Her Day Job to Go All In on Freelancing)256: From $15 to $100K: Afroditi’s Fashion Freelance Journey on Upwork (Part 1)About Afroditi:Afroditi is a fashion technical designer who earned $100K on Upwork while living in Greece. She now helps early-stage brands with tech packs and development—and is shifting her freelance business off-platform to gain more control.Connect with Afroditi:Follow on InstagramConnect on LinkedIn 🎟️ Register for my training on July 24th: The Secret to Remote Clients and a Steady Paycheck in Fashion — now updated for 2025!Sign up  at www.sewheidi.com/live

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• 256: From $15 to $100K: Afroditi’s Fashion Freelance Journey on Upwork (Part 1)

  What if your first freelance project paid just $15 and took a week to complete... would you keep going? In this first episode of our two-part series, I sit down in person with Afroditi, a Greek fashion freelancer who started on Upwork with no clients and no portfolio. She opens up about landing that first $15 sketch job, the fear and uncertainty she faced, and why Upwork felt safer than anything else.Afroditi shares the raw, unfiltered truth of her first year freelancing: her strategies, the emotional toll of working without boundaries, and the surprising reasons she didn’t give up.Listen to this powerful story of grit and growth, especially if you’re just starting out or need a reminder that every expert was once a beginner.Resources:Afroditi's Upwork Profile 253: Tabitha’s First $1K Month (and Why She’s Quitting Her Day Job to Go All In on Freelancing)About Afroditi: Afroditi is a fashion technical designer based in Athens, Greece. She transitioned from teaching cello to fashion, and after a tough start in the industry, she built her career on Upwork (eventually crossing $100K on the platform).Connect with Afroditi:Follow on Instagram Connect on LinkedIn 🎟️ Register for my training on July 24th: The Secret to Remote Clients and a Steady Paycheck in Fashion — now updated for 2025!Sign up  at www.sewheidi.com/live

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• 255: From Laid Off to $75/Hour: How This Textile Designer Booked Her First Client Without a Portfolio

  Could you land a $75/hour freelance gig without even showing a portfolio? Sara Bleske did—and her story might just change the way you think about pitching.After being laid off from her full-time design job, surface and textile designer Sara Bleske didn’t wait until everything was “ready.” Instead, she led with sincerity, curiosity, and a desire to be helpful—and ended up landing her dream client from a cold email (yes, really). In this episode, Sara opens up about the moment she hit “send,” the nerves that followed when she thought she got ghosted, and the surprising way it all came together.You’ll hear how she navigated the leap into freelancing while juggling motherhood and self-doubt, and how she figured out her niche when her skills felt all over the place. From crafting thoughtful outreach messages to experimenting with social media and tools like ChatGPT, Sara shares the real, raw, and refreshingly simple strategies that helped her get started—and get paid.If you’re new to freelancing or have been at it a while, click play now to hear how genuine connection and a little courage can open big doors—even without a perfect portfolio.Resources:008: Freelance Textile Designer: How to Have A Successful Career with Michelle FifisAbout Sara:Sara Bleske is a textile and surface pattern designer with over 15 years of in-house corporate experience in home textiles, decor, apparel, and craft ribbons/trims. She is passionate about creating patterns and surface designs that make people happy.Connect with Sara:Email her at [email protected] on InstagramConnect on LinkedIn 🎟️ Register for my training on July 24th: The Secret to Remote Clients and a Steady Paycheck in Fashion — now updated for 2025!Sign up  at www.sewheidi.com/live

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• 254: How This Ex-Engineer Used a Super Specific Niche to Land $4K in Clients (With Zero Reviews)

  From Zero Reviews to $4K Clients: How Danielle Steman Broke Into Freelance Fashion With Just 8 PitchesEver wondered how to stand out on Upwork without a single rating, review, or testimonial? Danielle Steman did just that—and banked $4,000 from her first two freelance clients.In this episode, you’ll meet Danielle, a former engineer from The Netherlands who left behind a stable tech career to carve out a bold new path in fashion. Specializing in made-to-measure and latex pattern making, she built a niche business from scratch—landing high-paying clients with just eight targeted pitches and zero experience on her profile.You’ll hear how her technical background gave her an edge, how she uses mobile scanning and CAD to wow clients, and why saying no to non-niche work helped her grow faster. She also shares the mindset shifts that helped her go all-in, and the exact steps she took to start attracting international clients (hint: it’s simpler than you think!).If you're new to freelancing or have been at it a while, click play now to learn how confidence, clarity, and a super-specific niche can unlock your freelance fashion career.About Danielle:Danielle Steman is a freelance patternmaker for liberated brands committed to sustainable practices and inclusivity.She specializes in designs that fit like a glove, focusing on made-to-measure and latex garments. A fashion tech aficionado, she thrives on technical challenges and is a strong advocate for Made to Measure and Made to Order as the future of fashion. Over the past two years, she has been deeply engaged in exploring the integration of 2D, 3D, and scanning technologies to craft perfectly fitting patterns at the touch of a button.Connect with Danielle:Visit her website: https://daniellesteman.nl/Email her at [email protected] on InstagramConnect on LinkedIn 🎟️ Register for my training on July 24th: The Secret to Remote Clients and a Steady Paycheck in Fashion — now updated for 2025!Sign up  at www.sewheidi.com/live

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