Katie Wittenberg
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About
Technical and Design Product Development Expert
Design Management | Industrial Design | Technical Design | Project Management | Manufacturing
Highly adaptable problem solver with comprehensive cross-category experience designing and creating engineering hand off specs for functional, high-quality products, value engineered to meet customer needs and margin goals. Reliable Industrial Designer with excellent attention to detail. Experienced in developing products through collaborative partnerships with manufacturing and cross-functional teams including sourcing, merchants, and marketing. Accomplished mentor with a passion for leadership development.
Core competencies in:
Product Design | Product and Value Engineering | Managing Project Execution | Manufacturing | Materials Concept Design | Market Research | Consumer Research | SolidWorks | Sketching | Furniture Construction
Technical Product Development and Industrial Design skills:
Experienced in designing for manufacturing in the following materials and manufacturing techniques:
• Cast iron, wood, steel, aluminum, stainless steel, foam, polyester batting, textiles, and plastics
• Sand cast, welding, injection molding, extrusions, cut and sew, finishing, and upholstery
Value Engineer to achieve high value perception at mass retail cost and margin goals.
Collect consumer insights through customer interviews, ethnographic studies, and surveys. -
Education
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Business Leadership Certificate Business LeadershipCentury College2019 - 2020Problem Solving Through Critical Thinking | Situational Leadership | Dealing with Conflict Confidently | Responding to Conflict: Strategies for Improved Communication | Leading with Emotional Intelligence
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Certified Solidworks Associate (CSWA) Solidworks Workforce Certified Training ProgramSymmetry Solutions2015 - 2015Courses included: Solidworks Essentials- Oct. 2010, Advanced Part Modeling- April 2015, Surface Modeling- May 2015, Assembly Modeling- May 2015, Sheet Metal- May 2015, Drawings- June 2015, Weldments- June 2015, File Management- June 2015, Mold Design Essentials- June 2015, 135 hours of instruction
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Human Factors workshopUniversity of Minnesota-Twin Cities2014 - 2014
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Electrocoating seminarThe Electrocoat Association2012 - 2012
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powder coating, water and solvent based wood finishesSherwin-Williams2011 - 2011
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Bachelor of Fine Arts Visual Arts - SculptureSaint Cloud State University2000 - 2004BA Minor: German Honors: Summa Cum Laude, Participated in Honors general education courses
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Furniture Design Summer Program Scandinavian Furniture Design and HistoryDenmark International Studies2003 - 2003Dansk Design Skole, Copenhagen
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Experience
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Design Manager- FurnitureMay 2022 - Present (4 years 1 month)Lead 3 Senior and 1 Junior Furniture Designers in design and development of Patio Furniture goods for major US and Canadian retailers.
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Lead Designer | Maker | OwnerSecret Basement Lab Studio/KDKD DesignSaint Paul, MNJun 2005 - Present (21 years)Designed and manufactured furniture and reclaimed material jewelry products sold in juried craft fairs, art galleries, farmer’s markets (as Secret Basement Lab Studios). Produced custom product for clients.
• Designed furniture line that won the Northern Woods Exhibition Judges Award in 2006, pieces from the collection sold through 526 Gallery in Saint Paul and were featured in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Woodworker magazine, and Twin Cities Metropolitan magazine. -
Industrial Designer IILakeville, MNJan 2016 - Apr 2022 (6 years 3 months)Utilized trend research, market awareness, and design tools to develop new hearth products for multiple brands. Created SolidWorks models and renderings of new hearth appliance concepts to deliver on design brief goals and timelines. Collaborated with Category Directors, Product Managers, offsite engineering teams, and suppliers to create cost effective and manufacturing friendly new product designs and improve existing offering through the development of exclusive finishes and interior panels.
Developed Visual Brand Language and Differentiation Guidelines to drive aesthetic direction and brand differentiation strategy for the nine core HHT stove and fireplace brands.
Designed the first new cast iron stove and fireplaces in 20 years for heritage brand, Vermont Castings.
Created and executed multi-year interior panel strategy for five industry leading fireplace brands. -
Industrial Design ManagerRichfield, MNJun 2015 - Dec 2015 (6 months)Managed relationship with Best Buy Design and Engineering team for fixture Sourcing/Procurement group.
• Quarterly all company award winner for Innovation in role. Mobilized and managed LogicSource HQ team (Norwalk, CT) to gather hundreds of fixture specs in three days, meeting a quick turn deadline. -
Technical DesignerTargetMinneapolis, MNAug 2010 - Mar 2015 (4 years 7 months)Indoor Furniture: 2014 to 2015 | Wall Décor: 2013 to 2014 | Outdoor Living: 2010 to 2013
Partnered with design team to create concepts and product direction for thousands of products per merchant objectives. Collaborated on product development with overseas vendor partners. Partnered with marketing teams on multi-channel quality messaging strategy. Products included 2 utility patented and 28 design patented items including knockdown furniture.
• Created process to reduce testing failures resulting from packaging call outs, reducing failures 90% by testing rather than overriding to ease workload of QA engineer and overseas team members.
• Led development of low-cost consumer research-based design process; created insights gathering process and mentored team members through multiple projects including a project that shifted wall décor quality strategy to align with consumer needs.
• Designed a storage mirror, which ranked 3rd in sales for mirrors when launched in only half the chain. -
Furniture Designer | MakerDuff Thury Studio FurnitureSaint Paul, MNJun 2005 - Jul 2010 (5 years 1 month)Produced sketches, drawings, and scale drawings of products. Presented designs to customers including architects, interior designers, homeowners, and to company owner for approval.
• Researched production costs, materials, and manufacturing methods, directing and coordinating product fabrication. Created estimates for company owner.
• Handcrafted unique products, utilizing multiple materials and custom manufacturing techniques.
• Created expertly crafted high-end furniture products using woodworking, welding, and finishing skills. -
Furniture Design and ManufacturingA&B FurnitureSt. Cloud, MNMay 2004 - Jun 2005 (1 year 1 month)Designed and engineered furniture and operated multiple manufacturing tasks during production, including final assembly. Developed manufacturing procedures and inventory control process.
• Developed 30+ furniture items from concept to implementation and manufacturing.
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Awards
LogicSource, Inc.:
•October 2015 All company "Spark" award for excellence and innovation in role
KDKD Design:
•Winner of the Northern Woods Exhibition Judges Award 2006
Target:
•June 2013 PD&D VP Trailblazer award-Trained Target.com guest services to troubleshoot typical patio guest issues
•August 2014 DHIL Divisional 365 development award- Leveraged advanced development to achieve a 43% inline update for Mirrors for May 2015
•December 2014 DHIL Divisional know the market award- Established standards for indoor furniture to beat benchmark quality -
Affiliations
Advisory Board: Customer Experience Certificate Program, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2022
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Industries
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Skills
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Elsewhere on the Web
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On Coroflot@katiewittenberg, member since 2010
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