27 Feb Meet the People Behind BlackMilk
Meet the People Behind BlackMilk
Graphics and Design
Our design and graphics team looks after all the designs you see on your gear. If you’ve ever wondered what the secret to their creativity is, they run on 100% coffee and chocolate.
“I’ve been working at BlackMilk for just over a year, and in that time, everything I’ve designed has matched my hair!”
“The coolest thing I’ve worked on was the Space Gummies print – I started by making polymer clay models of the shapes and then photographed them and turned them into the print that you see on your clothes. I ended up making the clay models into earrings and I wear them all the time.”
– Jasmine, Graphic Artist. Wearing a new Galaxy Peephole Skater you might see soon


Product Development
When they’re not partaking in their strict 8am tea time ritual, this team takes all our crazy product ideas and turns them into workable designs ready to be manufactured. These guys do heaps of testing on every piece and work super hard to get the best fit possible for you. This often involves jL joining in and getting a little scissor-happy.
“I have just celebrated my 7 year anniversary with BM and I have worked across 3 different teams! My favourite thing about working here is that BM has been like a family to me, supportive, accepting – I have really grown into myself while working here. And of course I love the unique clothes we get to create!”
– Aisha, Product Development Team Leader
Cutting
This is where the designs come through from our Product Team ready to be cut out. We have this really cool machine that is programmed to cut out each panel of fabric that makes up your clothes. Our Cutting team programs the machine and makes sure everything runs smoothly.
“My favourite thing about working at BlackMilk is the people! The culture is really cool and it makes work fun.”
– Jolie, Cutting Technician


Printing
Then it’s over to our printing team, we call them BMS (BlackMilk Sublimation). These guys get the epic prints from Graphics out of the computer thing-ma-bob and onto your gear!
“I’ve worked at BlackMilk for 7 years and my favourite thing about it is working in such a positive environment with great people.”
“The sublimation process we use is really cool – we take an ink that turns into a gas and is then absorbed into the fabric. It’s what allows us to create really vibrant prints with great detail and accuracy.”
“I think the coolest thing I’ve worked on was the Iguana Be With You BBQ Shirt, it was just such a unique print and the colours looked amazing.”
– Turoa a.k.a Toots, BMS Assistant Manager
Sewing
Once the fabric is cut and printed, it heads into sewing to be finished. We have three teams in sewing who specialise in different areas: our usual printed garments, Inside Out pieces and designer pieces – anything with detail or made from fancy fabrics like sheer mesh, lace or velvet.
“I first started at BlackMilk in 2013 and since then I’ve sewn too many pieces to remember but I was really proud of myself when I mastered the Inside Out Dress.”
– Heather, Sewing Machinist in the Printed Team
“I’ve been working at BlackMilk for 6 years and I still remember the first dress I sewed – it was in the Almond Blossom print. I love BlackMilk because everyday when I come to work, it’s like seeing my family.”
“Sewing the Inside Out Dresses is really interesting because you need to check every single one – if there’s one small fault in the stitching, we unpick the dress and start again.”
– Hadi, Senior Sewing Machinist
“Next month I will have been working at BlackMilk for 8 years. I just love all of the styles we get to make, they’re very interesting. I love all the lovely people here too”
“I work with all the lace and more complicated things – I enjoy the harder ones because the outcome is so beautiful. I feel so happy when I see things I’ve made sell out!”
– Edith, Senior Sewing Machinist in our Designer Team



Quality Control
This is where we check your gear to make sure it meets our quality standards. They have their own room at BMHQ and always have the best music pumping in there.
“I’ve been working at BlackMilk for almost 7 years. I like it here because it’s fun! Everyone is like family.”
– Betty, QC Coordinator
Warehouse
Once your gear is ready to go, it gets stored in the Warehouse ready to be picked and packed when you order. These guys are known as our Packing Ninjas for a reason – they handle a huge volume of orders. They’re current record is 1144 orders dispatched in a single work day. That’s a lot of nylon.
“I love working here because it’s like a family and I get to work with super talented people.”
– Swaty, Storeperson, wearing our Hyper Alien Slouched Tee Dress.
Fun fact: Swaty drawings featured on our Hyper Unicorn Slouchy. SO CUTE.


Merchandise
Numbers, spreadsheets, something, something. That’s all we really know about what these guys do. They’re job is super analytical, but they’re actually really fun.
“I’ve worked at BlackMilk for 4 years and love that I’ve gotten to work with so many different people and teams. Before joining Merch I actually worked in Printing, Cutting, QC and Warehouse!”
– Thea, Merchandise Assistant
Fun fact: In Merch, we’re actually obsessed with glitter. Last year in the office Easter competition we made everyone in these bunny ears that were made out of a spreadsheet covered in glitter.
Customer Experience
Our Customer Experience team looks after you through your whole shopping journey! If you’ve ever reached our for support you’ve probably chatted to one of these mega hotties before.
The really cool thing about our CX team is that they’ve all worked in other areas of the business like Sewing, Printing, Marketing, eCommerce, Cutting and Merchandise – so they really know the products inside-out (literally).
“I’ve been shopping BlackMilk since 2013 and working here for 5 and a half years. I still remember my first ever order, it was three pairs of legs; Galaxy Purple, Peacock and Starry Night.”
“But my favourite piece of all time would be a tie between my Crazy Cat Lady and Top Dogs Skater. My boys Hugo and Ziggy are actually featured on the Top Dogs print!”
– Lorelei, Customer Experience Team Leader. She’s wearing one of our Custom 10th Birthday Touchdowns!


People & Workplace
These guys are responsible for making sure we have a great place to work and leading that awesome workplace atmosphere everyone keeps talking about.
“I first discovered BlackMilk when I was living in Fortitude Valley and saw all these people lining up outside a shop across the street – that was the old BMHQ! I’ve been here for 2 years and love the variety in my job. I do everything from looking after facilities, reception, being a PA and even helping out with photoshoots! I love that everyone here can be comfortable to dress how they want and be themselves every day – there’s nothing else like it.”
“My favourite BM piece is actually these Cheetah Gold HW Legs I have on. The material is just so comfortable, the fit is amazing – and a little sparkle never goes astray.”
– Kate, Office Manager
Finance
These guys do more things with numbers that hurt our brain, but they’re a really key part of keeping everything running.
“My first impression when I started at BlackMilk was it was so different to anywhere I’d worked before. It’s very unique.”
“It’s really cool getting to work in a big company that has such a good environment and people to be around.”
– Nic, Accounts Officer


IT
Being an online store, our IT team is pretty important to us! They keep all of us set up with the tech gear we need to do our jobs every day (and help us out when we forget how to do something for the 3rd time this week).
“I’ve worked at BlackMilk for 5 and a half years and I love that I can get involved in things I wouldn’t be able to in another business. I can roll things out quickly, which helps us stay innovative. I always get to work with lots of other teams like eCommerce and HR. My first BlackMilk piece was the Jawesome BFT – I still wear it all the time!”
– Matt, Head of IT
Marketing
Marketing is a big team here at BlackMilk! This includes all the peeps who tell you about new gear and keep you entertained with terrible puns.
“My favourite thing about BlackMilk is that we just have the best and craziest photoshoots ever. At any given shoot, we’re smashing cakes, wrangling dalmatians, going to castles, covering models in head to toe glitter… There’s never a normal shoot at BlackMilk. The models love it too because they get to do the funnest things!”
“I personally own over 200 pieces now but I’ve lost count of exactly how many! My favourite piece is The Bound Catsuit – I wear it out a lot.”
– Eden, Styling and Content Producer
