More Information

Stephanie White
Creative Designer
ph (615)509-8703 theartfarm.us@gmail.com

Professional Experience:

Ryman Hospitality Properties- Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, WSM am Radio, Nashville, TN
Creative Director/Product Designer- 4/09-6/14
Created designs for private label merchandise for Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, WSM Radio, & Hee Haw to ensure trend right merchandise and the appropriate merchandise mix to maximize sales.  
Product line includes hard goods (glassware, toys, stationary) and soft goods (apparel, footwear, hats).
Developed style guides for product licensees.
Directed photography for online sales of products www.opry.com/shop
Met annual financial goals through products developed (Opry Shop retail revenue of $3,226,000 (combined Day & Show business).  Ryman Museum Store total revenues of $1,185,000 and EBITDA of $535,000
Licensing Revenues and/or Guarantees of $75,000 for the Opry and Hee Haw (excluding Time Life, Cruise and other music and video projects, except distribution and wholesale agreements).

Goody’s Family Clothing, Knoxville, TN
Designer- Missy Mountain Lake 9/08-4/09
Interpreted the seasonal fashion direction, assortment opportunities and merchandise trends for women’s missy apparel area.
Responsible for tops, bottoms, intimates, and accessories (knit, woven and sweaters) approx. 90 million dollar business as a whole.
Shopped all appropriate markets & attend print shows for new trend & color direction.
Approval of all strike offs, reviewing final assortment for fit, and responding to vendor in timely fashion.
Worked with Buyer to analyze financials & develop plans for seasonal deliveries.

Fresh Squeezed Designs, NY
Freelance Textile Designer 5/08-9/08
Freelance textile designer for apparel, textiles, & stationary products.

Dillards Corporate Headquarters, Little Rock AR
Designer/Merchandiser- Newborn & Infant 4/07-9/08
Designed/Merchandised Dillards private label program “Starting Out”.
Traveled overseas to factories 3 times yearly to ensure product quality & time lines are being met effectively & work on new concepts for upcoming deliveries.
Shopped all major markets & attend print shows for new trend & color direction.
Responsible for style detail information for all designs.
Worked with Buyer to analyze financials & develop plans for seasonal deliveries.

Cintas Custom Division, Henderson , NV 1/05-4/07
Designer/Merchandiser
Designed/Merchandised custom uniform programs for major Casino accounts, Hotels, and Restaurants.
Attended input meetings with customers and sales for design direction.
Resourced fabrics, trims and contractors to produce custom designs.
Attended fabric & gaming shows for new resources.
Developed garment specifications & prepare costing for garments.
Worked with pattern and production to ensure lead times and target costs are met.
Presented final designs to customers- board illustrations, model, & fashion shows.

Wal-Mart Headquarters, Bentonville , AR 5/03 to 11/05
Creative Manager Girl Connection
Worked with factories, agents, and buyers to develop seasonal lines & ensure time lines are being met efficiently.
Developed internal seasonal apparel & accessory line as well as coordinating bedding products such as comforters, quilts, sheets, decorative pillows, and room accessories.
Developed accessories such as purses, socks, scarves, hair accessories, hats, and gloves that coordinate with the Girl Connection seasonal assortment.
Lead in the development of artwork, graphics and designs for apparel, bedding, and accessories.
Designed seasonal collections based on sales direction and trend direction.
Directed a staff consisting of three artists.
Provided leadership at the team level, initiating opportunities for continuous improvement by training staff on fabrications, trims/embellishments, manufacturing capabilities/limitations, and artwork techniques.
Created technical drawings, graphics, designs and color combinations that support buyers line plans, price points and overall creative direction, while remaining within the capabilities of the factories.
Stayed on top of trends by researching the market through domestic & European shopping,analyzing competition, attending fashion presentations and reviewing forecasting services.
Managed the design process and assist in the development of seasonal timing and action calendars.

Fashion Snoops, Fairlawn , NJ 02/03 to 05/03
Designer/Merchandiser-Freelance
Trend research for online fashion apparel service used industry wide.
Responsible for Girls size ranges 4-6x online collections consisting of apparel and accessory products.
Analyzed market trends and provided reports on the overall market of specific category.
Researched new fabrications, trims, and embellishments.
Directed photographers located in US, Canada , and Europe to stores for photographs of identified trends, silhouettes, and artwork techniques to publish online.
Reviewed photographs and merchandised them for online layout to provide
clients with seasonal trend information.
*Temporary position while searching for permanent employment

Kleinert's Buster Brown, Chattanooga , TN 07/01 to 12/02
Designer-Private Label Apparel & Accessories
Developed innovative and creative designs to support market initiatives for all Private Label programs with key accounts such as Dillards, JC Penney, Wal-Mart, and Belk.
Designed for all size ranges and genders of children's apparel and accessories.
Managed a staff consisting of three artists, one product manager, and two patternmaker/technical designers.
Worked in depth with woven and specialty fabrications such as denim, yarn dyed plaids and stripes, canvas, ripstop, and velour.
Developed accessories such as hats, purses, and scarves that merchandised back to apparel assortment.
Initiated design prototype packages and proactively follow the execution of all product details such as fabrication, color, construction, styling, and fit.
Worked with artists, patternmaking and product manager to ensure a feasibility of design, meeting price point, merchandising needs and product creation timelines.
Contributed to seasonal creative strategy for products and line direction.
Presented seasonal collections to multiple buyers for review.
*Company Purchased Entire Corporate Staff Eliminated

Fruit of the Loom, Bowling Green KY 07/99 to 07/01
Designer- Intimate Apparel
Utilized computerized system to create original graphic and textile designs that reflect the FTL design philosophy.
Produced presentation materials that communicate the concept behind the line for buyers.
Analyzed & forecasteed trends by domestic shopping, attending trend, fabric, & color
presentations, and appointments with print studios.
Responsible for development of all silhouette concepts and production including
artwork, fitting issues, technical specifications and vendor approvals.
Initiated all phases of product development from creating technical sketches of garments to generating sample production and specification packages.
Performed sample reviews evaluating design, measurements, construction, pattern problems, color, fabric, components and function of sample.
Analyzed competition on a regular basis.
Maintained product development files and project status to reflect current situations.

Tech Specs:
ADOBE CREATIVE SUITE
MAC & PC PROFICIENT
GERBER PRODUCT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
U4IA
FINAL CUT PRO
POWERPOINT