Design, price and sell interior window covering through various channels including JC Penny, Macy's and Decorview to consumers in home.

Teach various college level courses on line for business and interior and fashion design.

EXPERIENCE2012-Present APPAREL & ACCESSORY MERCHANDISER independent contractorWinston Retail Solutions•Work as an independent merchandiser to ensure women and men’s apparel and accessory brand products are represented on the sales floor, properly merchandised & signed. Train employees and interact with customers. Retailers include Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Dillard’s with brands including Splendid, Barbour, Sam Edelman, Cole Haan, Hugo Boss, Timberland, Zimmermann, Jones NY, Masai, Diesel and Adidas. •Complete training, submit reports to clients and receive critical feedback via web-based applications.

2008- April 2020 INSTRUCTOR, FASHION PROGRAM Art Institute, Houston, TX •Taught Merchandise Management, Brand Marketing, Apparel Evaluation, Textiles, Elements of Retail Operations, Fundamentals of Advertising, Fundamentals of Marketing, Sales and Event Promotion, Event and Fashion Show Production, Product Development, Fashion History I and II, Visual Merchandising, Applied Textiles and Surface Design classes.•Keep up to date with current fashion trends using industry tools such as WGSN, WWD and social media.•Previous Program Coordinator duties included planning course schedules and books, student persistence, speaking at Open Houses, student orientations and award programs. •Used Microsoft Office (excel, word, power point) and college based Bright Space system to aid in teaching.

2004-2009 RETAIL GIFT STORE OWNER My Mix, Houston TX Retail Gift Store •Responsible for managing, sourcing, buying, pricing, merchandising, displaying, accounting, promoting and selling products in apparel, bath body & gift shop. Maintained and updated company website.

2000-2004 RETAIL ACCOUNT PRODUCT MANAGER Home Fragrance Holdings, Houston TX Candle Manufacturer•Worked with retail customers to manage seasonal product development launches from design concept to delivery. •Gathered market information including researching color, fragrance and lifestyle trends to identify market opportunities. Shopped domestic trade markets.•Communicated and facilitated regular meetings with Customer Account, Design, R&D, Manufacturing, Purchasing and Operations. Utilized timelines to create, produce and ship quality products.•Presented newly developed collections to internal departments and outside customers, including Federated Merchandising and May Company as well as managing in house accounts such as Yankee Candle, Talbot’s and Pottery Barn.•Worked with sales team & major retail buyers including Target, Linens & Things, Bed Bath & Beyond, Mikasa, Kohl’s and Costco to create private label collections; developed, merchandise assortments, marketing strategy, time & action calendar, and planograms. Assisted with store set-ups and displays.•Communicated with domestic and overseas manufactures in Guatemala, India, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Turkey, Philippines, Belgium, and Mexico.•Gathered and negotiated costs. Worked with accounting and administrative staff to properly price and set up items in systems as well as created pricing lists. Utilized Excel spreadsheets.

1997-99 MERCHANDISE/PRODUCT DEVELOPER, Federated Merchandising, NY, NY Home Textiles-Table Linens, Throws, Dec Pillows, Bedding•Collaborated with Federated designers, overseas offices and outside vendors to analyze color and fabric trends, fiber and construction of materials to develop and source a growing bi-annual private label line. •Worked with buyers and Merchandise Product Director to assess assortment, select, source and manage a $160 million per year directed line for Federated divisions. •Assisted in negotiating and calculating costs, mark-up, margin, advertising and rebate dollars for the directed line as well as analyze and manage private label inventory. •Assessed business sales, & trends utilizing Federated computer tracking system and Excel spread sheets. Presented this information with divisional buyers and other key Federated Corporate personnel.