Brian Wahl Email & Phone Number

Milford, Ma, Us

Memphis, Tn, Us

I directed the development, design, sourcing, and strategic direction for the Key Account Department, including support for the sales teams both domestically and internationally. Shortly after onboarding I revamped the design team’s processes and protocols from the ground up to make better use of our team’s time and streamlined the overall process to be more efficient including cutting sample costs and evaluating our strengths to add adjacent untapped categories to our current customers. Managed all licensed art from several agencies, including percentage negotiations, to meet customer's categorical themes.

Mount Pleasant, Us

I played an integral role in the day to day operations of the company with specific attention to driving the bottom line. During my tenure SunbeltGifts experienced significant growth, strengthened our current key accounts and new ones added along the way as we branched into carefully analyzed adjacent categories in order to expand the business successfully. Part of driving the company forward also required effectively managed the various licensed brands such as Coca-Cola, General Motors, and Ford. I also managed the website analytics and gave SunbeltGifts a social media presence for the first time. Combining all the above with my presence on-site to develop and train production teams & bring costs down for our “Made in the USA” product line allowed me to meet and exceed budgeted projections.

As the Director of Design I worked with our offices and factories in China and the US and was responsible for concept to launch product design and development, marketing material and photography direction, eCommerce collaboration, and adjacent category analytics. Chesta specializes in sublimation printing of home décor products, but also manufactures many other consumer products. A few of of the additional details of my job responsibilities were:Chesta Co. Inc.• Troubleshoot any product, packaging, or related problem that our company or any affiliate had, and if there was an issue, it came to me• Analyze home décor trends and identify opportunities which paired well with Chesta strengths• Master the process of sublimation, the operating capabilities of Mamaki printers (troubleshooting, printing, and color adjusting), ErgoSoft software, large mass production printers, inks, heat presses, and product capabilities and maximizing them with new technological and base material advancements • Responsible for directing the design & development of all indoor & outdoor home decor products, including patent design work• Engineered packaging for hard to display products, PDQ, and in-store displays• Solved planograms issues for customers and optimized product display for maximum sell through• Regularly conducted field visits to retail customers for random sampling of products to identify any exceptions to quality or display that may negatively impact sales• Overseas trips to work with factories & our china office• Active role in sales & marketing meetings• Photography direction including lifestyle shots, location work, green screen, and 3D turntable in-motion photography

Covington, Ky, Us

I was privileged to be recruited by Designs Direct to co-establish a new lamp division for their company. Creating a new division included everything from the ground up including establishing the new company with Chinese Factories, recruiting top talent to form our QC office in Dongguan, and creating a whole new line of Lamps and coordinating accessories, creating new finishes, and everything that goes with creating a successful & profitable new division. Here are the details:• Responsible for: concepts, designs, sourcing new materials including cardboard, bamboo, & non-flammable rubber/plastic, recommending a person to hire to handle lamp orders in Southern China and to oversee QC inspections, and using the glass markets, fabric markets, metal markets, YiWu commodity open markets• Direct sourcing of quality factories (testing compliant & met quality standards)• Built relationships with Chinese factory owners & contacts • Directed sample production & approval• Oversaw sample departments during the mud mold sculpting process, including personally sculpting & teaching to correct any anatomy or design concepts while in that process that did not meet exact specifications• Oversaw the paint departments & painted with them to create new finishes and establish processes to handle more complicated finishes in a more efficient and timely manner • Worked with factory owners & quality control teams to ensure passing UL (electrical) and ISTA (packaging) inspections• Improved Quality Control inspections & approved control samples for production• Designed packaging and hang tags• Engineered lamps in such a way as to reduce cube and cost of shipping • Creatively designed and developed implementation of new sourced materials into products to reduce the COGR% and met target pricing & design goals

At JW Pike I enjoyed working with an established sales team. The key to success here was to really research each of their already established customers and then assist the sales team in “mining” the accounts by analyzing sales data, designing uniquely relevant items for each customer, and going after additional categories where we had strong relationships. I was on the road researching customers, attending sales meetings in the US and China, overseeing set-up and showroom layout & attending trade shows, and working with my team in China and our partner factories as well as sourcing new factories & materials. Here are the details: • Product Development Categories: Lamps, Clocks, Vases, Finials, Spheres, Bowls, Furniture, Wall Décor, Garden Décor, Themed Décor, Coordinating Sets, etc.• Materials include: Resin, Glass, Fabric, Leather, Brass, Various other Metals, Ceramic, Porcelain, Paper/Parchment, Wood, Rope, Plastic, Wicker, etc.• Developed over 2,000 new finishes• Trend Research & specific consumer base targeting for custom lines• Worked with partner factories to reduce COGR% through design modifications, material selections, & process improvements• Worked with factories to meet needs of customers with last minute open to buy to execute fast quality control sample approval, production, and shipment turn around times (tightest time was approximately 35 days from order placement to delivery FOB Hong Kong)• Directed sample departments during the mud mold sculpting process, including personally sculpting & teaching methods required for some designs• Oversaw sample production and approval for testing with Bureau Veritas & Intertek - sometimes with a tight shipping deadline• Worked with factories on product compound composition to achieve lower import duty rate classifications• Available 24/7 between US Office and China Office & would answer questions in the evening in order to prevent delays• Executed photo shoots and staging for products & packaging

Being the Lead Artist for Dick Idol was a fun & rewarding position. I was able to create amazing wildlife inspired Fine Art, design concept art for the Klausner & Shadow Mountain furniture lines, do field research and build a photography reference collection, create textile patterns for Springs Industries, and learn the world of home décor. My job responsibilities included:• Fine Art Paintings and illustrations in Water Color, Oil, Acrylic, Graphite, and Pen & Ink and worked on Vellum, Canvas, Tanned Hides, 140# Arches Water Color Paper, Wood, and Masonite• Created all flat art for the brand to be used in paintings, textiles, apparel, including art and patterns for the clothing line in Cabela’s and large paintings for D.I. Signature Wall Art Line• Drew out designs for 3D sculpture artwork that was inlaid in the furniture• Designed furniture and created the concept art for the Dick Idol line with Klaussner & Shadow Mountain• Created fabric patterns (repeat & ½ drop repeat) for the Dick Idol line with Springs Industries• Field Study and Reference Photography for original references