Product & apparel design — British Columbia
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Turning technical materials into products that ship.
Jordan Grace designs and develops apparel and hard goods for outdoor and performance brands.
Jordan Grace designs and develops apparel and hard goods for outdoor and performance brands.
A career in product and apparel design, moving between technical design, raw material sourcing, and brand development for outdoor, action sports, and performance brands. Work has ranged from raw material sourcing and supplier management to quality and fit development for major performance brands.
Currently running Abri Parasol — a launched brand of premium umbrellas and parasols — and building an independent outdoor apparel brand, Cariboo Yarns Exploration, from the ground up.
A launched, live brand of premium umbrellas and parasols designed in British Columbia — compact automatic rain umbrellas, UV-blocking parasols, traditional maplewood-shaft umbrellas, and beach shade systems.
Full ownership of product design, material development, and brand — from canopy finishes to hardware to packaging. Website development by a collaborator; everything else built independently.
An independent brand in development: rugged performance wear with a street silhouette, built for exploration work in the backcountry. The flagship piece is a 1-of-1 jacket, patterned and sewn entirely by hand — construction quality benchmarked against Arc'teryx Veilance.
The woven neck label is adapted from an original painting of a remote peak in northern-central British Columbia. Development work has also extended into garment alteration and embellishment — overdyeing and tie-dye treatments across shirting, tees, pants, and socks.
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Senior Men's Designer, 2004–2010. The longest tenure of any single brand, and the widest range of product across it — apparel, headwear, denim, footwear-adjacent accessories, and tech accessories, all designed and taken to market. This is the body of work with the deepest archive of references — bold, street-influenced styling that's seeing renewed relevance in current niches.
Worked directly with pro snowboarders Simon Chamberlain, Lauri Heiskari, and Ronson Lambert to develop their signature products.
First in-house designer, 2010–2013, joining as the brand was acquired into a larger distribution parent company. Resolved fit issues across the line, updated fabric and trims, and led print design for new colorways and patterns.
Also supported trade show presence as the brand scaled under its new distribution structure.
Raw Material Manager, 2014–2017, leading raw material development with an assistant and working with some of the best suppliers in the world. Sourcing trips included RIRI in Switzerland — the same zipper and hardware supplier used by Louis Vuitton, capable of precious-metal luxury finishes and plating.
Managed full trim development boards spanning zippers, buttons, cord ends, labels, and snaps for seasonal collections.
Freelance Designer, hired through an existing industry connection for rebranding and collection work. Back Country and Classic outerwear for men's and women's lines — YUKON Jacket, ALTA Anorak, GLACIER Pant, WM-51 Jacket, Spearhead 3/4 Anorak, and Prince Anorak, across multiple colorways — plus logo and patchwork concept development for the brand.
A full technical and brand design package built independently for a client, from concept through color and construction.
Trim development, 2023–2026. Prepared concepts and technical drawings for hardware and trim components, taken through to final-appearance renders at scale with front, back, and side callouts.
A concept design exercise created for a design role application at lululemon, separate from an in-house Quality Design Technician position held with the brand from 2018–2022. The board develops a cohesive branding package for lululemon's men's performance line — mood and color direction (Performance, Definition, Refinement) alongside early trim concepts.
Included here as a design exercise rather than a production credit.
Quality Design Technician, 2018–2022. In-house Quality Design technical work, spanning third-party lab testing coordination, materials research, and cold-weather performance validation.
Coordinated third-party garment testing with labs including Bureau Veritas, and partnered with Kansas State University's Institute for Environmental Research on a thermal insulation study for cold-weather outerwear, using a heated thermal manikin and FLIR infrared imaging to validate insulation performance. Led original zipper materials research ("Science of Feel") comparing water-repellent zipper systems against industry competitors, and maintained a full technical reference guide across zipper types and constructions.
Freelance trim development, 2017–2018. Developed a full trim master package — content labels, patches, waistband trims, tack buttons, and hem tags — specified down to size, supplier (K n K Accessories, PRYM Asia), unit cost, and minimum order quantity. Work included hands-on trim application on physical samples, fitting and positioning custom hardware and patches directly on garments, using an in-house development lab equipped with sewing machines.
Freelance, 2017–2019. Designed full underwear collections for the brand — boxer briefs and tailored boxers across multiple fabrications (Micro Modal, Pima Cotton) and colorways, all shipped to market.
Across apparel design, raw material development, and technical product design.
Prepared concepts and technical drawings for hardware and trim.
In-house Quality Design technical work.
Designed full underwear collections on a freelance basis.
Freelance trim development work.
Managed raw material development with an assistant, sourcing globally from suppliers including RIRI in Switzerland — makers of precious-metal luxury hardware for brands like Louis Vuitton.
Joined as the brand was acquired into a larger distribution parent company. Resolved fit issues, updated fabric and trims, led print design, and supported trade shows.
Designed men's and women's apparel and accessories that shipped to market. Worked directly with pro snowboarders Simon Chamberlain, Lauri Heiskari, and Ronson Lambert on signature products.
Additional brand experience: STAgency, Ransom Footwear, Roxy Outerwear, Chance Skateboards, AL13, Strike Movement.