In addition to the commercial & advertising work I book for Lamp-Lit Productions I am also available for freelance gigs. Since moving my primary residence to Los Angeles on January 1st 2015 I've filled a lot of the slower parts of the years and time in between larger advertising projects doing freelance Producing and Production Design in music videos, documentaries, independent features, and online media content. I'm available throughout the year for the right projects and love getting the opportunity to work with new crews. In terms of availability I am in charge of the master schedule for Lamp Lit Productions so scheduling conflicts are not a concern. Instead they are a great support network that wants me to have all of the opportunities I chose to take. Beyond working together we are all great friends. So if you have a project that you think I might be right for don't hesitate to contact me about it. I enjoy new challenges so don't balk at sending me your complicated projects. Also available for pitch and conceptual work. www.melissalahti.com

I am the Lead Producer, Production Designer, and Writer for Lamp Lit Productions. http://www.lamp-lit.comHead hunted in 2012 by director Landon Donoho. Within 2 months I was producing full time. Over the next year my position within our projects evolved to encompass the diversity of my skills and I began writing & doing production design for most of our work. In particular my attention to detail, memory, communication skills, and upfront hardworking eager personality make me a valued member of every crew. Within my position at Lamp Lit Productions I have written, produced, and designed for hundreds of brands including - Playstation, RAM, NISSAN, KRAFT, Listerine, Ocean Spray, Frito-Lay, Lipton, Kimpton Hotels, Disney, American Airlines, Chevrolet, Coca-Cola, Dr. Scholls, Foot Locker, AT&T, Nature Valley, Toyota, PepsiCo, Purina, B & G Foods, British Airways, Chase, Clarins & many more. Each year around 1/2 of these projects have been on road productions. I am an experienced and capable travel producer, location scout, and casting agent. I have strong research and communication skills allowing me to find and recruit locations and actors all over the world. As a writer I've accumulated a large number of credits in commercial comedies & documentary narratives. I also do the majority of our companies pitch work. I like the challenge of conveying humor in short engaging segments, often wordlessly and in crafting the overall thematic for a documentary project through the narration. Because of my extreme attention to detail deconstructing projects for production design is something I do automatically when reading a script. By doing my own production design I'm able to improve the quality and consistency of my projects while saving in costs. Prop production is my favorite hobby though my availability as a prop designer is schedule based. I have a great network of prop designers for commission or referral for use as necessary.

I technically began my crafts business in second grade selling penny necklaces to the other kids in class. From that point on I always had a creative side business going throughout grade, middle, high school and even college where I also worked a full time job. During the time I was with Beadworks I established a lot of connections in fashion, jewelry, and gemstone industries. I also launched a startup in the industry so taking those experiences and skills to my own business was an easy direct step to take. I rebranded my crafts business (Neko-Bot Crafts) and opened Tekne Designs. Where I would design and create gemstone and precious metal jewelry, for wholesale, retail, and commission. In addition to making all of the jewelry I managed all of the bookkeeping, inventory, and accounting for this business I also designed and created a retail website & marketed my work to businesses as a wholesaler. I even took on some periodic event marketing under the umbrella of this company managing and contributing to several charity auctions and arts events. Accomplishments:~ Designed, Created, and Maintain www.shoptekne.com~ Built bookkeeping, ar/ap, and customer databases and policies.~ Award winning designer and craftsman

At Beadworks I set up and launched both their Atlanta physical store location and their upgraded retail website. I worked as both the Internet Store Manager/ Webmaster and the Atlanta Store Manager. I was also responsible for a significant portion of their company marketing including the webpage’s and newsletters for all locations. I was also one of their primary educators and taught both on site classes for customers and training courses for employees.Accomplishments:~ Set up, staffed and opened Atlanta store.~ Redesigned and built their primary retail, store marketing, and affiliate webpage’s transitioning them from html to css code.~ Received numerous accommodations for both my managerial skills and artistry.

In this position I spearheaded an in store event and community event marketing campaign. I was also responsible for managing the store staff during my shifts including during inventory season. I designed and implemented numerous elaborate displays, updated the stores technologies, and was a driving force in sales.

In this position I was responsible for the children's toy & gift, business gift and office supply, and store logo sections amongst others. I was in charge of every aspect of these sections including buying, bookkeeping, accounting, and managing staff.