Talent Spotlight - Amy Levine
Meet Amy Levine, a product and business development executive with experience working with mass retailers all the way through to precious jewelry at independent retailers, top department stores and direct to consumer. Having worked with jewelry brands such as GURHAN and Ritani, Amy specializes in building new brands and product offerings, and expanding into new markets creating new revenue streams and increased sales.
One of Amy’s proudest moments is when she successfully launched a new Lab Grown brand from product inception to in-store roll out. From product development, pricing formulas, and merchandising, to inventory budgets, assortment planning, and gross margins, Amy knows it all! Including a great gluten-free banana bread recipe.
Amy works in all ends of jewelry, and she is looking to bring her leadership skills, market insight and product knowledge to her next role. From Amy’s creative product strategies to her highly analytical skills, Amy is the leader you want on your team. If you are looking for talent like Amy, then connect with her here or reach out to EMERGING BLUE.
Talent Spotlight - Jana Hunt
Meet Jana Hunt – a Creative Director with experience in the Outdoor and Performance industry across apparel, footwear and equipment. Jana has worked in all facets of the apparel business from retail, wholesale and manufacturing to corporate and startup, where she delivers a wealth of knowledge, perspective and insight. Working with brands like The North Face, Avani Activewear, and Rainbeau, Jana drives a brand vision through impactful storytelling, influencing executive leadership, and attaining cross-functional alignment among regional and global teams.
At The North Face, Jana developed and launched The North Face Iconic Color palette delivering a unified presence of brand DNA in the global market, while simultaneously reducing the corporate palette by 50% eliminating waste and streamlining production. Jana provides a clear and focused path to achieve goals, fosters design thinking, and motivates team members to deliver their best-in-class work that leads innovation. As an inspirational leader, Jana empowers her team members to achieve objectives. As a founding member of the Women’s Empowerment Network (WEN) at the VF Outdoor Campus, Jana is very passionate about empowering women leaders.
What’s next for Jana? She is excited for an opportunity where she can provide forward thinking creative vision, deliver on organizational goals and values and develop a rock star team. If you are looking for a creative leader in the San Francisco Bay Area or remotely, then Jana is the talent you need. Jana is also offering coaching sessions and workshops for professionals who want to develop their leadership skills. Click here to connect with Jana or reach out to EMERGING BLUE.
Talent Spotlight - Jessica Valdez Cantor
Meet Jessica Valdez Cantor, a multicategory retail and merchandising executive with over 15 years’ experience in the e-commerce, wholesale, and retail spaces working with brands Guess?, Inc., Carter’s, Perry Ellis, and Tacori.
Jessica has a strong fashion sense and visual aesthetic spanning creative campaigns, digital content and in-store display. Additionally, she is an operations and data junkie who enjoys working to improve and advance the consumer experience, internal reporting, and SOPs. Jessica has cross-functional international and domestic experience with Design, Product Development, Sales, Planning, Marketing as well as 3rd party vendors.
Next up for Jessica is a full time or consulting role in merchandising/buying or product development. She is interested in apparel, non-apparel, jewelry or home, but is open to most consumer goods categories. If you are looking for an accomplished, strategic merchandising professional with robust planning experience, then Jessica is the leader you need. Connect with her here or at EMERGING BLUE.
Talent Spotlight - Patrick Fraley
Meet Patrick Fraley! Patrick is a senior apparel executive and product marketing specialist with over 25 years’ experience in the outdoor and action sports market. He has spent the past few years working on social change and environmental projects, but is also missing our dynamic fashion and consumer goods industries.
Patrick has worked for large brands like Quiksilver, Billabong and Guy Harvey, focused on product marketing, brand management, and building actionable strategies. The majority of his career has been spent in the role of Brand Director where he has been hands-on in the launch of numerous brands and products. He also spent many years' in sales management, working with some of the largest retailers in the country including REI, Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Bass Pro Shops.
A leader and critical thinker, Patrick is also a passionate team player. He follows a brand-first, big-picture philosophy to managing the business, and he loves all things creative. He is especially passionate about men’s fashion. If you’re looking for an apparel leader in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, or Denver, or even remote, then Patrick is the talent you need. Connect with Patrick here or at EMERGING BLUE.
Talent Spotlight - DeMarcus Burks
Meet DeMarcus Burks! A self-defined footwear enthusiast who is an U.S. Air Force Airman turned FIDM graduate. His passionate gravitation towards fashion began in retail, and he has since been committed to a career in design. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Footwear Design & Development as well as an Associate's Degree in Merchandise Product Development. He also has solid Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop skills to create footwear sketches and tech packs, along with a keen eye for concept and trend.
DeMarcus is passionate about the sneaker culture and is looking for an assistant footwear designer role with an innovative footwear brand. Valuing sustainability, he wholeheartedly believes we can make an incredibly positive impact on our environment when we focus on being in balance with nature. A fun fact about DeMarcus is that he has visited 8 countries. He believes traveling is a must for all designers as it helps open the mind to fresh, new ideas and the different trends and designs every culture brings. He sounds awesome, right?
While currently Los Angeles based, DeMarcus is open to relocating for the right opportunity, and is open to full-time, temporary and project-based roles. Are you in need of an assistant designer with experience in Adobe applications like Illustrator, Photoshop, and Rhino 3D? Then DeMarcus is the creative talent you need! Connect with him here or at EMERGING BLUE.
Talent Spotlight - Sarah Laws
Meet Sarah Laws – a color, trend and concept design director with more than 15 years in the apparel and footwear industries. Sarah worked at Nike in color design & direction for 10 years, where she started as a junior designer and worked her way to director. Additionally, she spent five years as a footwear designer in NYC and Boston. She is a passionate design leader who has strong skills in concepting, connecting seemingly disparate links in trends and culture, color expertise, and mentoring other creatives. She has many proud moments in her long, successful career such as working with the Los Angeles Rams to create new color for their uniforms that launched this year.
Want to know something fun about Sarah? She studied to be a Master Chocolatier in France! One of her hobbies aside from design is making French-inspired chocolate confections like Bon Bons and bars.
Next up for Sarah professionally is a creative role focused on Color, Trend, Concept and Direction. If you are looking for a creative who is a people-driven, conscientious leader, then Sarah is the talent you need. Connect with Sarah here or at EMERGING BLUE.
Talent Spotlight - Annamarie Gavin
Meet Annamarie Gavin, a digital native with a BFA from Parsons in Interdisciplinary Design. She is a designer and brand vocalist who is passionate and driven within the fashion, home, and beauty industries, having worked with companies such as Airbnb, Tata Harper Skincare, and Soludos.
Annamarie led and managed content and photography while styling for Airbnb Plus listings. She has also created content for email marketing, as well as copyediting, web design, and social media management. While working at Soludos, she designed custom textiles for footwear. As you can see, Annamarie is obsessed with design! She is proficient across Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, InDesign, Bridge and AfterEffects. She similarly has extensive experience with Trello, Hubspot, and Planoly. As a style enthusiast with a creative background in design, Annamarie knows how to bring a clear, concise voice to her work.
What’s Annamarie’s next role? While she is based Vermont, she is open to relocating for a full-time graphic designer role. Her goal is to be an art director in the fashion industry, but for now she is focusing on her creative graphic design skills. Looking for an awesome designer? Connect with Annamarie here or at EMERGING BLUE.
Talent Spotlight - Matthew Cohen
Meet Matthew Cohen – a creative design leader with a focus in footwear and accessories. Working with brands Vida Shoes, Tommy Hilfiger and Hanesbrands, he is a self-identified “shoe guy” who is all about form and function, with a strong passion for product. His biggest strengths are creativity, commitment to design, as well as his seasoned business acumen. He loves to be at the beginning of a product’s journey and enjoys watching it grow from concept to reality, meeting successful milestones along the way.
Matthew began his career with Vida Shoes where he focused on a streetwear aesthetic, Going forward he joined Jimlar Group - where he worked with Tommy Hilfiger, and then collaborated on the launching of a footwear partnership with Macy’s, and private label brands Alfani, and Bar III. In his most recent role at Studio Ray, he took their outerwear line, Gerry, and he designed and built an outdoor performance footwear extension from the existing line. From the concepting and the ideation, all the way to the execution stage, that is where Matthew thrives!
Matthew is searching for a creative role in the NYC area or remote. In his next role he would like to be in a position to add value to the market, and world through a design process. If you’re looking for a footwear or accessories design leader, then Matthew is the creative you need.
Talent Spotlight - Meet Kristine Vegas
Talent Spotlight - Meet Felix Eduardo
Meet Felix Eduardo, a SF Bay Area senior art director who specializes in bringing process, strategy, and foresight to each brand he works with. From leading #art and #creative teams at Benefit Cosmetics, Rodan + Fields and Kendo Brands, Inc., Felix has propelled each brand through creative storytelling, compelling 360 campaigns, and digital expertise. He loves working on creative strategy, leading and collaborating on teams, and delivering high quality work.
What’s next for Felix? He would love to join an agency or consumer brand who has an insatiable craving for rich storytelling and big ideas, no matter whether they are in tech, beauty, or somewhere in between, because no extraordinary brand should ever be bland!
Interested in Felix leading your creative strategy and art direction? Connect with him here or reach out to us!
Want to be the next #TalentTuesday spotlight? Email your information to info@emergingblue.com.
Talent Spotlight - Meet Jess!
Meet Jess Brown, a creative force with a unique blend of both product design and marketing expertise. As an industry leader, Jess brings her innovative style and marketing experience, and pairs it with her surface design and product design skills. Does she love to build things? Yes. Does she design print and digital campaigns? Definitely. Team leader, decision-maker, and creative mastermind? All of the above!
Jess is a rare gem with a stellar hybrid background. As part of the Nike design team, Jess led the consumer goods category with creating product for the Men’s World Cup and the Olympic Games. As a designer at Columbia, Jess created both the seasonal marketing collateral as well as surface designs for apparel. Having collaborated with over 60 labels, it’s no secret Jess is fantastic! What’s next for her? Jess loves action sports and performancewear and would love to bring her design and leadership skills to a leading company where she can solve problems and create amazing things, either as a creative director or a product design director.
Interested in Jess Brown joining your team? Reach out to Jess here or by contacting Emerging Blue.
Talent Spotlight - Meet Alex Goldberg!
Alex is a brand focused Merchant with a keen eye for driving sales through curating innovative product assortments that hit the mark. As a merchandising leader, he has the skills to bring a team to the next level. Product development? Check. Brand Positioning? Check. Strategic inventory planning? Check. Analytical, a leader, and mentor? Check, check, check!
Alex has been on product teams at J. Crew & Best Made Co. His biggest achievements at J.Crew were around 3rd party sneaker collaborations and launches. At Best Made Co., he led the men’s team assortment strategy to transition Best Made Co. from a seasonal gifting destination into a men’s lifestyle brand to drive customer frequency and lifetime value. As you can see, Alex has it all! What’s next for him? Great question! Alex is looking for an innovative, growing brand that has a collaborative and clear company mission.
Reach out to us if you’re interested in Alex being a part of your team!
Want to be our next #TalentTuesday feature? Email us at info@emergingblue.com
Top Five Resume Tips from a Recruiter
Simply put, we love to find and place creative talent! However, as recruiters we have come to realize that applicants do not have a clear understanding of the recruitment, application and hiring processes. In turn, we see applicants send in old resumes with missing jobs and roles, put incorrect contact information on their resume and cover letter, and do not maximize their resume format in the best ways. Our team of Talent Matchmakers here at Emerging Blue pride ourselves in helping job seekers find jobs, so we have put together a list of the top five resume tips that will help any job search.
Submit an updated resume
We cannot stress enough the importance of an updated and current resume. Even if you are currently employed and do not have plans to transition to a new job, it is extremely beneficial to always keep an updated resume saved on your computer or your iCloud. In addition to always having an updated resume, your resume needs to tell your amazing story! You have achieved big things, so be sure your resume reflects your true accomplishments, and does not simply list your duties and tasks of each job you held. Additionally, your LinkedIn profile should match your resume (making sure job titles and dates align) or it could confuse the recruiter, HR manager or company.
The “Summary” is an overview of your greatest skills
Now that you have an updated resume on hand, it is imperative that your “Objective” or “Professional Summary” on your resume matches the position you are applying for. This means you may need to tweak the “Objective” or “Professional Summary” for each application you submit. Recruiters have time constraints when reviewing resumes, so help recruiters out and showcase your skills and achievements in an easy to read format, and whenever you can toss in numbers – do it! For example, a well-written “Professional Summary” would read, “Cosmetics Marketing Manager with 15+ years’ experience leading beauty brands to success, while saving clients $500k a year in costs.”
Understanding Applicant Tracking Systems
There is a lot of talk out there about Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Simply put, ATS’s house resumes and candidate information for companies. When applying to a company, some companies have it set up where once you submit your application you are automatically input into their ATS while others have it set up where they manually enter the information into the ATS. A key point to remember is that some systems are automated to catch key words. Particularly if you are using an image-based resume – such as a PDF – sometimes ATS’s cannot extract the information from the image-based file to catch the key words. Therefore, set yourself up for success and submit your resume as a Word Document.
Email Address Etiquette
Next up is the importance of a professional email address. You are probably thinking, ‘what is wrong is my email address’ or ‘does my email address really impact the recruiter or hiring manager’s perception of me?’ The short answer is YES. Email addresses matter. They actually matter a lot! The first thing to make certain is that your email address is correct. Many times, we’ve reached out to applicants and candidates to hear ‘oh, that’s my old email address’ or ‘I should have updated that, I don’t have the password for that email account anymore’ or sometimes no reply at all because the email and phone number were incorrect. It is important if you are job searching to make sure you have the correct email address and phone number listed so that recruiters and hiring managers can get into contact with you. It also shows that you’re detailed, organized and highly conscientious. If you cannot update your resume to reflect your current email address, do you think a company will want to hire you as a manager?
Another aspect to consider with email address etiquette is the format of the email address. As a job seeker and applicant, it is critical to have a professional email address. Our best advice is for applicants and job seekers to create a specific email account strictly for job purposes. When creating a professional email address, it can simply be your first and last name combined together. For example, JohnSmith@emergingblue.com or JaneSmith@emergingblue.com (those are not real email address). Lastly, it is best to not use email addresses like sexy420@...com or biga$$@...com. While we are all human and want to show our fun and unique personalities online, it is best to remain professional while job searching, so leave behind the sexy420 and the biga$$ email addresses, and create a professional looking email address.
Spellcheck, spellcheck, and spellcheck again
The last key point we want to go over is spelling and grammar. You never want to ruin your chances of landing a job right at the resume review stage, so watch out for misspelled or incorrectly used words on your resume. Many times we have seen the title “manager” spelled “manger” as well as the incorrect use of their, there, and they’re. Always use spellcheck and read your resume aloud to catch any spelling or grammatical errors. Reading a resume aloud also helps to create a conversational tone to your resume.
About Emerging Blue:
Emerging Blue is a creative recruitment agency that represents full-time and freelance talent in Fashion, Home and Beauty. We fill jobs from San Francisco to New York, and everywhere in-between. We represent top candidates, the hottest brands and innovative companies of all shapes and sizes. If you need recruitment and hiring support, we would love to support you. We have filled jobs from Technical Designers and Brand Managers to Luxury Retail Store Managers and Sales Associates. Our talent is your strength.