Ripstop on the Record
Welcome to Ripstop on the Record. The podcast for makers, by makers. Where we talk about all things Make Your Own Gear (MYOG). You'll hear from gear companies, textile engineers, cottage vendors, and other leaders in the Textiles + Outdoor Gear industry. Brought to you by Ripstop by the Roll.
Ripstop on the Record
How Zpacks Hires their Sewing Machine Operators
Zpacks is well known for a lot of things. One of which is that they produce all of their gear here in the US. What this means is that they need to hire and train nearly 100 people to make all of this gear. In this episode, we talk to Rob Kibitz, Training Manager at Zpacks about the course that he designed, the techniques they teach, and the attributes he looks for in a sewing machine operator.
Check out all that Zpacks does here.
Submit your story for Ep. 100 here!
Chapters
00:00- Introduction and Rob's Role at Zpacks
01:02- Learning to Sew and Joining Zpacks
06:09- Challenges in Training Sewing Machine Operators
07:50- The Sewing Trail Map at Zpacks
10:36- The Foundation Phase of the Sewing Trail Map
25:13- Attributes of Proficient Sewers and Funny Stories
27:52- Handling Different Materials in Sewing
38:19- The Training Process and Production Goals at Zpacks
42:46- Challenges in Sewing: Curves, Zippers, and Webbing
44:49- Teaching Thread Tension: Visual Cues and Adjustments
50:34- The Importance of Humility and Pride in Sewing
57:10- The Role of Tools, Equipment, and Goal Setting
01:05:31- Pride in Craftsmanship and the Impact on Customers
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