For much of my time at Michael Graves Design Group, I was responsible for managing the Closet Organization & Laundry categories for our JCPenney collection. My initial role was to develop new products, such as flocked hangers and shoe storage solutions, and to improve on successful designs from the earlier Target collection. For example, our existing triple sorter hamper was expensive to make, so I redesigned the frame to use less material and to fold for storage. (The new triple sorter became one of our best-selling products at JCP.) After being promoted to Staff Designer in 2013, I was responsible for creating specification documents for over 30 products that went to market. I collaborated with four manufacturers to reduce costs and maintain the original design intent before approving final samples.
