elhofferdesign

Elhoffer Design was formed into an official company in 2016, though I'd been sewing and making pieces for friends, work, and myself for over a decade. I had been fired from my job as a designer for a licensed geek fashion company, was being blocked from getting a job at any of their competitors, and decided enough was enough. There's so very little available to women in the geek fashion world, as the Junior's market is catered to and big companies feel that juniors = women. It does not.

So, with the mission in mind to design and create pieces that women can wear in the workplace, out in the real world, and of course at cons, without getting eye rolls or knowing, patronizing looks from others, but can still stand out to fellow geeks who want to connect, I decided to form a company. We are small (just me), but we are growing.

I started by hand making all my orders. I've been sewing for over 15 years, and had recently learned how to sew spandex/stretch fabrics. I decided to start there. And then, when my Galactic Scavenger dress had way too many orders to be able to make in a few weeks, I reached out to a Los Angeles-based factory. I then started taking many of my handmade pieces to this factory, as I knew what I was creating wasn't insane or hard to make, just different and using textiles that the fashion world stayed away from due to price (I love nice fabrics, and nice fabrics tend to cost more money).

Then I expanded even further into sweaters/knit, which took a lot of research on my end to find a great Los Angeles-based factory that was willing to work with my strange designs and odd requests (like gauntlet-style thumbholes). And I found what I was looking for with my sweater maker!

I now offer many pieces for Pre-Order, which allows me to get the funds raised for the production costs while letting customers lock in their order so they don't see a 'sold out' option for their size. My pre-orders also help me determine which sizes to order! I almost always order extra product when it's up for pre-order, so there can be a small amount of stock on hand once it arrives in my studio. But it sells fast, and I don't always reorder product (due to colors no longer being available, timelines not working out, or not a huge demand for it).

I am not taking handmade orders any longer, as I just don't have time between running this shop daily and developing new product. If you want to message me to inquire about a handmade piece to see if I'm going to get it produced with my factory, I always love to know if there's demand for a product. And I'm always on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, so any of those channels you can message or comment on too! :D

I hope you like what you see! I take great pride in what I design and make. <3

- Catherine