Associate Designer, Textiles

Description

Our family of brands is comprised of Schoolhouse, the lighting, home furnishings, and lifestyle  brand based in Portland, Oregon; Food52, the community-driven cooking and home company,  based in Brooklyn, New York; and Dansk, the heritage home brand founded in 1954.  

Schoolhouse is a lighting, home furnishings and lifestyle brand dedicated to thoughtful living  and purposeful design. From iconic lighting to one-of-a-kind homewares, our mission is to  provide a new generation of heirlooms that inspire people to create unique, meaningful spaces  in which to live and work 

ABOUT THE ROLE:  

The Associate Designer, Textiles brings along a proven track record of compelling textile  design work and will work closely with the design and category teams to execute the design of  textile products for the Schoolhouse brand. With direction from design leadership, you will support the cross-functional process and be responsible for the design and development of  textiles products, from design to market readiness for the Schoolhouse brand. 

This individual  will spend their time conceptualizing, sketching, designing and prototyping designs in  collaboration with Design leadership, Merchandising, and Product Development to deliver  designs that meet the holistic opportunities and needs of our business. This individual will  quickly develop a keen understanding of the Schoolhouse business, brand, values, team,  innovation agenda and design aesthetic which they can translate into fresh, heirloom quality  and successful textile developments. 

** This is a hybrid role, with the expectation of working Tuesday - Thursday in our Portland, OR office. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Research and document research industry trends to inform insights that feed design  inspiration and new collection development  
• Supports merchandising to understand opportunities in our current assortment in terms  of style, function, customer needs and retail price and provide strategic plans to fill  those needs. 
• Pull inspiration and assemble concepts and color palettes for assigned category. 
• Working closely with the senior designer and category team, translate seasonal concepts  into designs that respond to business needs for the relevant product category. 
• Understanding of fabric qualities and constructions, techniques, and how they affect  price points, look, and end use  
• Provides clear and thorough hand offs of design specifications/technical drawings to the  development team and remains available to help as needed throughout development  process. Update and document specifications as needed through the design and  development process 
• Support product development category partner to manage the development process  through daily communication with, vendors and agents. 
• Manage textile development samples both physically and digitally.  
• Coordinate sample and prototype management of in-development samples to ensuring  smooth set ups for presentations and approvals.  
• Coordinate archive samples for brand record keeping 
• Coordinate organization of design storage areas including prototype and material  sample storage. 
• Assist Product Development category partner in reviewing design samples, creating  sample reports, and maintaining sample labeling and organization 
• Create and maintain digital seasonal overviews and presentation boards  
• Conceptualize and support seasonal milestone presentation set up physically and  digitally.  
• Work proactively and adhere to calendars, timelines and lifecycle documentation to  ensure project updates are provided regularly and design and development milestones  are reached on schedule 
• Supports management of category collaborations and contractors with clear and timely  communication that drives progress. 

ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS  

• Provide administrative support through notetaking and recordkeeping, managing the  updating of design decks and plotter maintenance 
• Helps coordinates and facilitates collaborative design workshops and inspirational  outings. 
• Special projects within and beyond textiles as assigned. 

SUCCESS METRICS 

• Achieve annual demand and revenue targets 
• Achieve Supplier & Manufacturing KPIs 
• Reduce return rates, specifically damages and quality 
• Supplier & Manufacturing Partner on-time shipping 
• Achieve on-time purchase order placement 
• Achieve category IMU% targets 
• Manage sample budgets (sample, tooling, and product testing) 
• Achieve target product adoption rates 
• Deliver press worthy collaboration assortments at target cadence.