Avery Dennison Apparel Solutions Blog

NYFTL 2018

At Avery Dennison we are committed to empowering female innovators and were thrilled to have been a sponsor of New York Fashion Tech Lab 2018. We had the opportunity to work with founder and CEO, Sarah Krasley of Shimmy Technologies, who is changing automation for apparel design and manufacturing with a cloud-based platform.

We sat down with the founder and CEO of Shimmy Technologies to learn more about her motivation and vision.

How did Shimmy Technologies get started?

We started in apparel by making a custom swimwear line using 3D technology for design and quickly realized that the pieces of technology we were building to make that happen were far superior to our swimwear designs.

How did you find out about NYFTL?

I got connected with Jackie early in our history and kept in touch with her as our solution matured and we were ready to begin scoping pilots with brands.

What did you enjoy most about working with Avery Dennison during NYFTL 12 week program? 

The mentorship I received from Avery Dennison folks was PHENOMENAL. I had never been in a customer-facing role as the head of a start-up before and the Avery RFID folks were so knowledgeable about taking a ground-breaking idea and making it easy for brands to understand.

What are your plans now that the program has ended? 

After a week off chasing icebergs in Newfoundland, back to work connecting with investors for our seed raise and preparing to head to Bangladesh to pilot Shimmy Upskill.

What is your vision for Shimmy Technologies?

We want to be THE platform used by the 75 million people who design and make clothes

Where did the name come from?

Someone I really admire did this dance move during a televised debate.

What about your job most excites you? 

Seeing my team assume more responsibility and develop new skills.

How many hours do you sleep?

I sleep at least eight hours most nights. I had a realization a few years ago that because I am curious and constantly taking on more responsibilities, my life will only get more stressful. I hear the advice often that one should “remove stress from your life” but I’ve chosen to think about it in terms of protecting my body from the innate stress in my life -- so at least eight hours sleep is a non-negotiable for me.

What’s on your home screen?

My beloved grandfather

What are you reading right now?

Human + Machine by Paul R. Daugherty

Best piece of advice your have been given? 

Live your life.

What keeps you up at night? 

Binge-watching M*A*S*H episodes and the future of our country (in the opposite order)

Learn more about the New York Fashion Tech Lab

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