Last spring, I had the good fortune of contributing to the west elm holiday packaging. It’s amazing how far in advance you think about the holidays when it comes to retail.
Over the summer I took an assignment in the Sports Illustrated marketing department. Talk about a fish out of water. I’m pretty much a non-athlete ; I have coordination issues following my aerobics teacher and I used to do a bit of surfing but that was 3 years ago prior to becoming a mother and now I’m afraid of inflicting bodily harm now that I have someone else who depends on me.
But while I’m totally unaware of what goes on in the sports world, I have a small working knowledge of golfers that only can be chalked up to my husband’s 24-7 obsession with the sport. TV is always burning a hole in our house Sunday and Monday night due to football; I have even considered messing with his fantasy football line ups. The guys at SI took a chance on me and let me play around with one of the Sportsman of the Year campaign, its way to commend heroic and fair play in the world of sports. My take on the ad campaign never made it into production but I feel that it put up a good fight in the ring.
(Note: photos are part of SI archives)
Post Holidays
In over my head
As per usual, I think I can pull off making my own gifts along with working, keeping
10 years
West Side Highway
34th Street and 9th Avenue
A year and half in the making and my swan song debuts: price tickets at J.Crew appear on fall merchandise.
McQueen
I’m not talking about the nansy-pansy dress Kate wore to marry William nor the farce of Lady Gaga. I’m talking about the dark romantic interpretations of 19th century fashion, nature and pure genius. Visit the Met now; I’ll be there at least 5 more times before the exhibit closes trying to figure out how you can fit so much in to such a short lifetime. Really. Go.
It couldn’t get any better than this.
Just pieces of paper.
A collection of items from flea markets, tears, travels, family history of law enforcement and the laundry business. Luckily, I’m a long time friend of the owners of Three Potato Four, so they help fuel my cork board of inspiration and as do the streamer trunks filled with treasures in my childhood home.
The colander in my kitchen
The keepsakes in my closet…J.Crew.
I’ve established that I’m pretty much a tomboy but if you ever looked down on my feet, I would most likely be wearing impractically high heels of metallic leather or green satin collected from my years at J.Crew. However, lack of space and the practicality of chasing a 13 month old son prohibits me from glamming up and continuing to add pairs to my collection.
Whipping up marketing confections to target the ladylike consumer was also a huge part of my role as a designer. The look of most of my work for women’s was restrained and modern, with hints of blush or a flicker of silver, unlike the previous preppy era. I helped update the entire store packaging program propelling it way past the dated brown paper bag that had lived too long. Should you go into the J.Crew Bridal Boutique and buy something, you might have it wrapped up in the packaging program that I created to keep treasures for a special day to come.
The desire to elevate the shopping experience also fell to updating the staid look of the credit card program, store signage, various look books, clothing labels and event invitations. It was like cutting off waist length hair to a chic bob; away with the hunter green and happy fonts, in with silvery gray and tall, slim Avant Garde.
I hope that one day soon, I too one day will get a makeover and fill those lonely shoes collecting dust in my closet.
J.Crew and bridal packaging, women’s seasonal look book, promotional items and credit card.
Seasonal editorial showroom invitation.
Seasonal editorial showroom invitation detail.
Women’s suiting button envelope hang tag.
Burning down the house
We live in a fairly old apartment with old steam heat that flows via radiators and heat
Never enough denim…Madewell.
Madewell, the girly utilitarian brand, was very new when I started at J.Crew. While I was pretty enveloped with designing J.Crew materials, I occasionally got a chance to help shape the early iterations of this jean shop with packaging and environmental graphics.
Madewell Soho storefront window, zipper decal.
Madewell holiday tissue paper.
The J.Crew man and the tomboy.
I’m a tomboy at heart. Sure I love frilly, girly clothes but you are more likely to find me in motorcycle boots, jeans and some sort of workwear plaid shirt. I get crazy about ticking fabric on the inside of a chino waistband and rugged looking bags that only get better with wear and dirt. Plus menswear with a peek of a distinctly feminine item is just plain sexier than something very obvious.
J.Crew Men’s Shop promotional items, packaging and seasonal lookbook.
During my last year at J.Crew, I helped shape how marketing spoke to the customer. The menswear business was enjoying a face lift; updates on basics like polo shirts to heritage items spoke to function but designed with fashion in a quiet enough way that the old consumer base would purchase without knowing it and magazines would take notice because the clothes were so darn good. The infusion of partnerships and openings of smaller, edited boutiques gave way to a renaissance.
I had the good fortune of designing packaging for the 484 Broadway shop, grand opening marketing materials and created some in store graphics turned handpainted signs. To round that out, I worked with the clothing designers to publish several lookbooks, invitations to showroom viewings, and developed advertising. Lastly, I art directed an initiative capsule called “Jack know best,” aimed at dispensing fashion dude do’s and don’ts with the copy and online teams. It continues to evolve today.
J.Crew 484 Broadway Men’s Shop Newsletter detail.
Unpublished New York Times advertising.
Spring 2008 Lookbook
Ask Jack campaign online component produced by interactive team.
Everything looks better smaller
Baby kimono sewn out of repurposed fabric from men’s button down shirt.
A very frugal Christmas
Before December began, I updated my 1920’s Singer sewing machine with a newer
