About Us
Built on decades of real apparel development experience
Thread & Method was founded to help apparel brands move from idea to production with clarity, structure, and confidence.
Behind the company is Sandy Graef and Kellie Teixeira, both product design and development leaders with more than four decades of experience between them building commercially successful apparel programs for major national retailers and brands. Throughout their careers, Sandy and Kellie have led design and product development across global supply chains, translating ideas into production-ready products while balancing creativity, cost, quality, and manufacturing realities.
After years working inside large retail organizations, Sandy and Kellie saw first hand how many new brands struggle with product development simply because they lack the structure, process, and guidance that established companies rely on.
Thread & Method was created to bring that expertise to founders building the next generation of apparel brands.
What Makes Thread & Method Different
Most emerging brands approach product development without a clear process.
Ideas move forward without defined timelines, development milestones, or production preparation which often leads to delays, expensive revisions, and manufacturing challenges.
Thread & Method brings the structured development framework used inside major apparel organizations to founders and growing brands.
Every project focuses on helping brands:
• Build a clear product foundation
• Develop commercially viable products
• Avoid common development pitfalls
• Prepare products properly for manufacturing
The goal is simple: turn great ideas into strong, production-ready products.
Brands & Retailers
Throughout their careers, Sandy and Kellie have contributed to branding, design, merchandising and product development across a wide range of national retailers and brands.
Selected brands and retailers include:
Who We Work With
Thread & Method typically partners with:
• Founders launching their first apparel collection
• Emerging brands preparing for production
• Small apparel teams needing development expertise
• Brands looking to improve product development processes
While many clients are early-stage brands, Thread & Method also supports established companies looking to strengthen their development workflows or bring new product initiatives to life.
The Philosophy Behind the Work
Every successful apparel brand is built on two things: creative vision and disciplined product development.
Thread & Method exists to connect those two worlds helping brands maintain their creative identity while building the structure needed to successfully develop and produce product.
Because when great ideas are supported by the right process, they move forward faster, more efficiently, and with far greater confidence.
Meet the Founders of Thread & Method
Sandy Graef
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Sandy Graef is a strategic product and design leader with over two decades of experience building and scaling apparel brands within some of the largest retail environments in the industry. Her career spans leadership roles across design, merchandising, sourcing, and product development giving her a rare, end-to-end understanding of how successful products are created, positioned, and brought to market.
Throughout her career, Sandy has led the design and development of multi-category apparel businesses generating hundreds of millions in annual revenue. At companies including Kohl’s, Belk, JCPenney, Russell Corporation, and Carter’s, she has been responsible for shaping brand direction, leading high-performing teams, and driving product strategies that deliver both creative impact and commercial success.
Sandy has directed large-scale private brand portfolios across kids, men’s, and women’s categories including knits, wovens, denim, activewear, outerwear, swim, basics, sleepwear, and accessories while managing large teams of designers and artists. Her work has influenced brands with annual sales over $700M and has contributed to significant business growth, including the successful launch and expansion of major retail programs and new brand concepts.
What sets Sandy apart is her ability to bridge creativity with structure. She doesn’t just design product she builds the systems behind it. She has led cross-functional initiatives to improve product development processes, implemented PLM systems, streamlined fabric development strategies, and partnered closely with global sourcing teams to balance cost, speed, and quality.
Her experience working directly with international vendors and cross-functional teams spanning design, technical design, merchandising, marketing and production has given her deep insight into how to turn ideas into scalable, production-ready product. From early concept and brand positioning to development, costing, and manufacturing alignment, she understands where brands succeed and where they break down.
Today, as Co-Founder and CEO of Thread & Method, Sandy brings that expertise to emerging and growing apparel brands. She helps founders move from scattered ideas to clear, structured product strategies eliminating guesswork, reducing costly mistakes, and accelerating the path to market.
Her approach is grounded in real-world experience: building product that not only looks good, but sells, scales, and sustains a business.
Kellie Teixeira
Co-Founder & Chief Design Officer
Kellie Teixeira is a creative design leader with over 20 years of experience shaping apparel brands through strong vision, thoughtful execution, and a deep understanding of the product development process. Her background spans multiple areas of the industry, giving her a well-rounded perspective on how to translate ideas into compelling, market-ready product.
Throughout her career, Kellie has led design across major retail organizations including Belk and Kohl’s, where she directed multi-category apparel lines across kids, men’s, and women’s businesses. Her experience includes leading design for high-volume private brands, developing trend-driven assortments, and building cohesive product strategies that strengthen brand identity while driving sales growth.
At Belk, Kellie played a key role in rebuilding and transforming the kids department implementing process improvements, elevating product quality, and increasing overall efficiency. Her leadership contributed to stronger brand positioning and measurable year-over-year business growth.
Kellie has deep expertise across a wide range of categories, including knits, wovens, activewear, outerwear, swim, dresses, and accessories. She is known for her ability to create clear, compelling product direction from color and print to silhouette and detail ensuring consistency across entire assortments and alignment with both brand vision and business strategy. She has also been instrumental in developing and launching product within the growing active and outdoor space across men’s, women’s, and kids categories building assortments that respond to evolving consumer demand for performance, versatility, and lifestyle-driven design. Her experience in this category gives her a strong understanding of how to balance function, comfort, and aesthetic to create product that resonates in a highly competitive market.
Her experience also includes working closely with global vendors and cross-functional partners across merchandising, production, and sourcing. She has led teams through the full product lifecycle from concept through development maintaining design integrity while balancing cost, speed, and scalability.
A strong and collaborative leader, Kellie has extensive experience managing and mentoring design teams across all levels. She fosters creativity while maintaining a high level of accountability, guiding teams to produce innovative, brand-right product that performs in the market. Kellie also brings a forward-thinking approach to design, actively exploring how AI and emerging technologies can enhance creative workflows, streamline processes, and support more efficient, personalized product development.
As Co-Founder and Chief Design Officer of Thread & Method, Kellie leads the creative vision for client brands. She works closely with founders to define their aesthetic, refine their product direction, and build collections that feel cohesive, elevated, and aligned with their brand’s long-term growth.
Her approach combines creativity with clarity ensuring that design is not only inspiring, but purposeful, executable, and built to succeed in today’s market.