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Accessories Design Director & Artist

Jen Larkin

Brooklyn, NY
Available Now
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  • About
  • About

    Head of Design with 20+ years experience in the accessories industry, with an expertise in luxury leather goods, outdoor, travel, and lifestyle bags. Proven track record of directing products that drive retail revenue goals, with top products grossing $10M cumulatively.

    Proven strengths; driving efficient processes with a focus on building both women's and men's lifestyle collections, launching new business initiatives, and trend research and analysis, within the billion dollar luxury to contemporary markets.

    Built, managed, and mentored design teams across both small and large companies.

    Most recently; Design Directing and Leading Design, at Timbuk2 Designs, has resulted in triple growth, year upon year. The team and I contributed to an overall revenue growth of 20% in 2019 at Timbuk2. Recent NEW YORK TIMES press, highlights my design as the #1 laptop bag in the industry, read the WIRECUTTER section article here:

    https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/our-favorite-laptop-backpacks/ WIRECUTTER

    Additional knowledge and experience in creative direction, product design, fashion illustration, brand identity, material R+D and outerwear design. Further areas of interest are painting, printmaking and photography.

  • Education
    • Continuing Education Brand Identity
      School of Visual Arts (SVA), NEW YORK, NY
      Brand Identity: Creating An Image - taught by Creative Director Anita Zeppetelli
    • Continuing Education Printmaking
      School of Visual Arts (SVA), NEW YORK, NY
      Silkscreen & Textile Printing - taught by Master Printer Larry Wright
    • Continuing Education Fine Art Painting & Illustration
      Polimoda (in association with FIT), FLORENCE, IT
      Summer abroad immersive studies in Italian Culture, Painting & Illustration
    • Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Illustration
      Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), NEW YORK, NY
      Graduated with honors
    • Associate of Applied Science (AAS) Fashion Illustration
      Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), NEW YORK, NY
      Graduated with honors
  • Experience
    • Design Director Consultant & Artist - Contract
      JENPROPS: Art & Design
      Brooklyn, NY
      Jul 2020 - Present (2 years 7 months)
      Project based consultant focused on accessories direction for the women’s and men’s fashion markets, fashion illustration, branding, & the graphic arts.
      CLIENTS:
      KATE SPADE / Design Consultant for Women’s Handbags
      NEW YORK, NY
      MACY’S / Design Consultant for Women’s Handbags
      NEW YORK, NY
      LUCKY BRANDS / Design Consultant for Women’s Handbags
      NEW YORK, NY
      FLYWHEEL BRANDS / Design Director Contract
      HIXON, TN
      OUR TEMENOS / Illustrator & Graphic Designer - Logo Design
      BROOKLYN, NY
      SOFT SHAPE BAND / Graphic Artist - Album Cover
      OAKLAND, CA
      BENNI AMADI INTERIORS / Artist - Large Scale Commission
      SAN FRANCISCO, CA & GENOA, IT
      COURTNEY COY INTERIORS / Artist - Mural Installation
      SAN FRANCISCO, CA
    • Accessories & Outerwear Designer, Illustrator & Graphic Artist - Freelance
      AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS
      New York, NY
      Apr 2003 - Present (19 years 10 months)
      Accessories, outerwear, and T-shirt graphics designer. Focus on Women’s Outerwear and Accessories, & Men’s Graphics. Reported into VP of Design & Art Director.
    • Head of Design - Full Time
      TIMBUK2
      San Francisco, CA
      Nov 2015 - Jul 2020 (4 years 8 months)
      Head of Design promoted from Design Director. Responsibilities included: concept, color, materials, branding, & collaborations direction, for bag & accessory lines. Overseeing the design team to keep brand aesthetic consistent, & ensure completion of key milestones . Partnering with the CEO, Creative Director, & Art Director, to influence branding, packaging, logo, print & pattern, & hat designs for Women’s, Men’s, & Unisex products. Partnering with Product Development Senior Director & team, to enhance strategies for sourcing, editing, & creating new materials development, with a focus on eco & recycled. Extensive travel to Vietnam, Indonesia, & China based factories. Attending trade shows, & shopping the market in NYC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, & Portland.

      KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
      ● Grew business profits approaching 20% over 4 years - by sharing my knowledge with the factories to reduce costs & material waste, & by using simple pattern making & engineering constructions
      ● Award winning design creation for the unisex commuter backpack category, year after year, while expanding the Corporate Sales assortment & growth
      ● Leather Expertise & Resources - designed the multi-functional Women’s leather & fabric collections, while bringing resources from my tannery and mill relationships
      ● Eco Materials Research & Development - material sourcing & design
      ● Trend Research & Analysis - identified relevant macro & micro trends, with an exceptional color POV
    • Design Director - Full Time
      COACH
      New York, NY
      Feb 2007 - Mar 2013 (6 years 1 month)
      Created & implemented innovative Heritage Collections, with iconic fashion silhouettes, for the multi-billion dollar, internationally renowned brand. Women’s & Unisex Collections included; Soft Legacy, Legacy Weekend, Legacy, Saint James Collaboration, Pinnacle (flagship stores only), Chelsea, Tribeca, Ali, Soho, & Bleecker. Conducted seasonal line presentations to former Creative Director Reed Krakoff, the CEO, the EVP & SVP of Women’s Design, Corporate Merchandising, & cross-functional partner leads. Collaborated with cross-functional teams on merchandising, production, & the overall design calendar. Worked extensively with factories & international counterparts in Italy, Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Vietnam. Shopped the market in the U.S, Japan, & Europe.

      KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
      ● Design Direction & Team Management - led, guided, & served as the visionary for stellar execution with my design team; approving a smooth sample development process, technical specifications, & high quality standards, to ensure timely completions for ordering & market
      ● Revenue Growth - exceeded profits, above and beyond, line plan expectations
      ● Trend Direction & Analysis - researched, developed, & translated cutting-edge global consumer trends to ensure adherence to design strategy
      ● Product Identification Opportunities - concept creation & identification to fill white space in the accessories marketplace
      ● Vendor Relationship Management
      ● Leather & Eco Material Research & Development
      ● Fashion Illustration & Art Direction- figurative drawing for internal use, logo design and typography knowledge to manipulate branding techniques on leather & fabric
    • Senior Designer - Full Time
      CLUB MONACO
      New York, NY
      Nov 2004 - Jan 2007 (2 years 2 months)
      Designed, researched, and collaborated on all accessories categories for Women’s and Men’s Bags, Small Leather Goods, Belts, Hats, Scarves, Gloves, and Cold Weather Knit Accessories, in partnership with the VP of Accessories Design. Managed designers and worked closely with the Product Development & Merchandising Directors, to ensure hitting timelines and creating relevant products for each category.
    • Design Consultant, Fashion Illustrator & Graphic Artist - Freelance
      GAPKIDS
      New York, NY
      Feb 2001 - May 2004 (3 years 3 months)
      Contributed to design for children’s RTW, branding, and graphics.
    • Design Consultant, Fashion Illustrator & Graphic Artist - Freelance
      GAP
      New York, NY
      Feb 2001 - May 2004 (3 years 3 months)
      Contributed to design and tech specs for women's handbags, lifestyle bags, & accessories. Designed Men’s tech accessories for collaboration with Apple. Created lifesize fashion illustrations for seasonal concept presentations. Designed hand illustrations & graphics for embroidery, appliqué, & printing applications.
    • Design Consultant, Illustrator & Graphic Artist - Freelance
      OLD NAVY
      Mar 2002 - May 2003 (1 year 2 months)
      Illustration & graphics for Boys RTW & T-shirts.
    • Designer - Freelance
      CARTERS / OSH KOSH BGOSH
      New York, NY
      Feb 2001 - Apr 2002 (1 year 2 months)
      Designed for Girls & Boys Accessories & RTW.
    • Design Director - Full Time
      YAK PAK
      Brooklyn, NY
      Aug 1999 - Jan 2001 (1 year 5 months)
      Designed & directed backpacks, handbags, lifestyle bags, travel bags, fashion & home accessories, & licensed brands, for Women’s, Men’s, & Unisex consumer markets. Collections included - Yak Pak, Yak Pak APT, Levi’s RedTab, Levi’s SilverTab, Dickies, Coleman, & Nervous Records.
    • Designer - Full Time
      ACCESSORY NETWORK
      New York, NY
      May 1998 - Jul 1999 (1 year 2 months)
      Designed handbags, lifestyle bags, travel bags & accessories, for Women’s & Girls divisions. Worked with outside brands to design private label programs.
    • Assistant Designer - Full Time
      JACLYN INC
      New York, NY
      Feb 1995 - Apr 1998 (3 years 2 months)
      Designed children’s bags & licensed products for Disney Winnie-the-Pooh, Warner Brothers Looney Tunes, & Dr. Seuss, within accessories & plush categories. Hand illustrated print & pattern designs for children’s bags. Designed Women’s vegan leather handbags for the mass market.
    • Inker Apprentice & Illustrator - Freelance
      MARVEL COMICS
      Sep 1994 - Jan 1995 (4 months)
      Worked closely with established inker Rey Garcia, on Fantastic Four, Conan, & Force Works (Avengers) comic books. Illustrated areas that needed changes.
  • Awards

    TIMBUK2 - “NY Times Wirecutter Pick” 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, Authority Pack, “NY Times Wirecutter Pick” 2020, 2019 Timbuk2 Authority Laptop Backpack Deluxe, “Most Valuable Team Award” 2019, for design, innovation, leadership, creativity, aesthetics, product quality, and growing brand excitement, both inside and outside of work, Carryology Feature, 2018 Timbuk2 Launch Backpack

    COACH - “Elle Magazine Feature: Best Collaboration” 2009, Coach x Saint James

    JENPROPS - “PRINT Design Award” 2003, Fashion Illustration on used skateboard deck from Nylon Magazine spread, “Best of Award” 2002, Nylon Magazine, Artist Feature, “Who’s Who in American Sportswear” 2001, Sportswear International Magazine, Presidential Scholars Award in College, Dean's List in College

  • Affiliations

    * Public Speaking for Design Companies, Art Organizations, & Students; undergrad, graduate college & high school levels (U.C. Berkeley, BERKELEY, CA, Academy of Arts, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Ash Studios, DALLAS, TX, Fashion Institute of Technology, NEW YORK, NY)

    * Design Mentorships, across U.S.A.

    * Keep-A-Breast Organization, YUCCA VALLEY, CA

    * Brewbies, SAN DIEGO, CA

    * Stoked.org, BROOKLYN, NY & CHICAGO, IL

    * Fashion Institue of Technology (FIT) / Alumni Association, NEW YORK, NY

    * Polimoda (in association with FIT) / FLORENCE, IT

    * Branding & Printmaking Departments, School of Visual Arts (SVA), NEW YORK, NY

  • Industries
    • Apparel
    • Bicycle
    • Luxury Goods
    • Materials
    • Soft Goods
  • Skills
    • Art Direction
    • Creative Direction
    • Creative Suite
    • Design Management
    • Design Research
    • Fashion Design
    • Graphic Design
    • Illustration
    • Illustrator
    • Trend Research
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