Silas Beebe
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About
As a seasoned independent design consultant, I enable emerging and established companies to transform concepts into consumer-driven products.
With over two decades of experience working for leading brands and design consultancies - as a consultant and in-house. I offer clients guidance and support from design to delivery.
Over the last five years I have provided strategic direction and design counsel to Samuel Hubbard Shoes - including footwear design and development, branding, graphics, fit testing, as well as trend research. I also conducted a dozen trips on behalf of Hubbard Shoes to factories in Europe.
AWARDS - In collaboration with friends, designers, engineers, and clients I have won awards from Red Dot, the Industrial Design Society of America, Price Pfister, and the Oregon Manifest.
MEDIA - My creative and innovative designs have been featured on CNN nationwide and local Fox News, published in The Wall Street Journal, Fast Co., ID Magazine, the LA Times, and The Portland Tribune.
CLIENTS - Keen Footwear, Danner Footwear, Samuel Hubbard Shoes, Chrome Industries, Swiss Gear, Superfeet, Wenger, to name a few. -
Education
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B.S Product DesignART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN2002
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B.A Architecture and Art HistoryWILLIAMS COLLEGE1996
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Experience
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Senior Footwear DesignerMill Valley, CANov 2013 - Present (12 years 7 months)Since a year before we launched the brand, I have been on retainer with Hubbard. In close collaboration with owner Bruce Katz (co-founder of Rockport), I drive innovation in all stages of design and development of our premium comfort footwear. Using only the best European leathers and manufacturing, we prioritized perfecting the fit of every shoe to provide consumers with footwear they fall in love with. Our designs are amongst the best selling and most loved shoes at top retailers across the country. They are highly rated online, and favorites of celebrities from Bill Clinton to Peter Gabriel.
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OwnerPortland, ORDec 2012 - Present (13 years 6 months)My fifth-generation Portland family brand specializes in Luxuriously Useful tech and travel accessories made in America. We make and sell trend-resistant smartphone holders for cars/bicycles/motorcycles, soft cotton city and trail maps, and leather accessories. I have worn many hats for the brand, including: branding strategy, product design, sewing prototypes, USA materials/hardware/production sourcing, art direction for website/social media/catalog, international sales, etc.
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Footwear & Softgoods Contract DesignPortland, ORMar 2008 - Present (18 years 3 months)Specializing in helping companies grow through innovative design solutions. Example projects include: Keen footwear concepts applying advanced new constructions and materials; winter cycling footwear and clever bag concepts for Chrome; design of the first line of branded bags for Danner (made-in-USA); first line of footwear for Superfeet (a leader in orthotics for 30+ years); patented adjustable-fit footwear design for Wenger; technical military boot design for Belleville; design/development of high value and high comfort snowboard boots for Celsius; accessories design for Swiss Gear; branding strategy for the relaunch of Wild Things US-made outdoor gear; for Equipois, design and prototyping of an exo-skeletal arm support that reduces workplace injuries and increases productivity and much more.
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Senior Industrial DesignerAug 2006 - Mar 2008 (1 year 7 months)Senior designer of waterskiing and wakeboarding gear - Spent six months in China and Korea sourcing a new factory, innovating light weight new construction techniques, and designing/developing a full line (23 models) of boots. Managed complete footwear process for three brands across two sports. Went from concepts to market with the lightest boots in the industry and many industry-first features in only ten months.
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Junior Footwear DesignerBoston, MAJul 2005 - Jun 2006 (11 months)Helped grow and evolve New Balance’s classic Dunham brand with disruptive and attractive footwear designs for women, technical outdoor sports, and rugged work footwear. It is now owned by Rockport.
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Contract Industrial Design and StrategyID+ DESIGN SERVICESLos Angeles, CAJun 2002 - Jun 2005 (3 years)Product and softgoods design consulting: design and strategy of Reef shoes and Infinity speakers with LifeStyleDesign; Clorox design strategy with HerbstLazarBell; a hotel lounge and Red Bull event displays with Finien Design; soccer bags, and technical performance socks for Adidas/Agron; unique concepts and factory sourcing of beverage containers for Drinkworks; branding for Himalayan Tea Co.
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Junior Industrial DesignerStockholm, SwedenAug 2003 - Jul 2004 (11 months)Collaborated with multi-disciplinary teams on design strategies and industrial design for medical, professional, sports and consumer products. Example projects include an award-winning and much-imitated design for a gender-specific ergonomic bicycle handgrip for Ergon, branding and design strategy for 5000+ products for Bahco, hand controls for Volvo, footstool for Baby Bjorn, and work gloves for Ejendal. One year work visa.
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Design Research & StrategyPortland, ORAug 1996 - Jul 1998 (1 year 11 months)As a member of one of the design industry's leading design research and strategy teams, I learned award-winning Ziba techniques for uncovering insight that leads to more successful designs. I did user-centric investigation for a variety of clients and industries, such as: user interviews, trade-off analysis, context analysis, ergonomic issues, use scenarios, persona definition, etc.
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Awards
Oregon Manifest 2011: Second Prize for my utility bike design
Price Pfister: $10,000 First Prize in Pfaucet of the Pfuture competition
ID Magazine: 2002 Best of Student Concepts
Red Dot: 2004 award for Ergon bicycle handgrips done with team at Ergonomidesign -
Industries
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Skills
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Elsewhere on the Web
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On Coroflot@silasbeebe, member since 2003
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Following 7
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Followers 13
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