“Be Like Water”
”Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.”
As a Designer I always try be open to any opportunity to put my passion to use. I have always considered myself an athlete, my involvement and love of sports are what initially connected me to design, and the design of athletic shoes in particular. Once I discovered footwear design was a career, I sought out and found online forums like core77.com, Kicksguide.com (back when it held online design competitions), & Niketalk where r. Through a 3 month internship with Fila in their footwear concept division I got my 1st exposure to the professional world of footwear design. Working alongside talented designers I learned & got to know close up & firsthand some of what it meant to be a professional designer, that experience along with some serendipitous (super random story) connections made through participating on online design forums, directly led to me having the opportunity to work as an Associate Designer within an in-house startup footwear division for a children's apparel company, The Children's Place (TCP). Working in that newly formed team to established their footwear business not only taught me some of the principles & skills necessary to work as a professional, but also how to work cooperatively in a fast paced environment with counterparts in other parts of the company to build a successful business. After a year with TCP, i got the opportunity to work in the world of performance sport product, with Reebok Basketball. Working in basketball I was able to contribute to many products and a few that found their way to the to professional players on NBA courts, and although basketball has been almost a life long passion, at Reebok I got the opportunity to learn some of the nuances of different activities/sports by working in various categories with different types of athletes and consumer groups, travelled on product development trips to complete projects, all with the goal of creating the best product possible.
Thanks for looking!
Work History
-me myself and i nowhere in particular, 2016-currently
Artisanal extended unintended sabbatical professional
rode across the country on my motorcycle - Boston to Los Angeles (with a 2 year layover in Chicago)
visited the country of my parents birth
took some random but interesting online courses with coursera
watched A LOT of youtube, some of which was actually productive
-Reebok Intl. Canton, ma 2008-16
Designer II 2014-2016 Running
idea generation & sketching, colorways, inspiration/mood boards, tech-packs
project leaderships with delegating to & managing of interns
managing projects at overseas factory visits
Designer II 2012-2014 Walking & Outdoor
idea generation & sketching, colorways, inspiration/mood boards, tech-packs
project leaderships with delegating to & managing of interns
managing projects at overseas factory visits
Designer II 2010-2012 Basketball & Training
idea generation & sketching, colorways, inspiration/mood boards, tech-packs
Designer I 2008-2010 Basketball & Training
lots of idea generation & sketching, colorways, inspiration/mood boards, tech-packs
-The Children’s Place Secaucus, nj 2007-2008
Associate Designer
data entry, proposing design ideas, printing & collating design documents, translating senior designers drawings into adobe illustrator
-Fila Futura, Montebelluna Italy Summer (July-October) 2005
Intern
Worked in a team setting to propose various conceptual designs for future production consideration
Education
-University of Illinois at Chicago 2002-2006
Chicago, Illinois
School of Art and Design / Industrial Design BFA Industrial Design
-Interdisciplinary Product Development, Pactiv
Student, Co-operative Learning
Worked alongside students from both business and engineering collaboratively to take product from concept to working prototype
-South Suburban College 2001 South Holland, Illinois
Traditional Drafting & Basic Sciences
-Western Illinois University 1999-2001 Macomb, Illinois
Majoring in Pre-Architecture
Awards
Dean’s List summer 2003
IDSA Merit Award recipient 2006
Kicksguide.com Artist Series
“Empty your mind, be formless...
Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash.
Be water, my friend.”