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KEN DONHAM
San Francisco, CA
Email: ken@kendonham.com
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
SAKS FIFTH AVENUE
1999 – 2004 / 2013 - Present
DIRECTOR VISUAL MERCHANDISING
Direct the Visual Merchandising needs of the iconic West Coast flagships in Beverly Hills and currently the San Francisco location, which consists of over 200,000 sq. ft. of selling area within two stores on Union Square and is one of the top performers of the 40+ channel specialty chain of stores, with sales in excess of $100M.
Responsibilities included:
Direction of multi-level in-store teams of Design, Production and Visual Merchandising staffs to support the men’s, women’s and home accessories businesses. As part of the corporate team, supported store openings, visual prototypes, displays windows, event & seasonal visuals.
FASHION INSTITUTE OF DESIGN AND MERCHANDISING
April 2009 - Nov 2013
INSTRUCTOR VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS
Instructed students within courses supporting two and four year programs at the Los Angeles based campus, courses include Visual Presentation, Lighting Design Techniques, Business Entrepreneurship for Visual Presentation, Trends Forecasting, Lifestyle Presentation.
Current projects include:
Industry based instruction programs, including the launch of Los Angeles based men’s clothing mfg. life/after/denim corporate showroom visual elements - utilizing student designs, and also providing men's & women's merchandising concepts for Hurley Inc. national visual teams.
VIRGIN MEGASTORES USA
2004 – Feb 2009
SENIOR CORPORATE MANAGER STORE ENVIRONMENT AND VISUAL MERCHANDISING
Developed engaging store environments & traffic stopping Visual Merchandising concepts for Virgin Megastores North America locations with a focus on creating entertaining selling experiences supporting the world’s largest selection of music & DVDs, games, fashion & personal electronics.
Responsibilities included:
Overall store environment - interior look and feel, visual merchandising, POP fixture design, production & roll-out, navigational graphics & signage, also innovative retail marketing programs supporting promotional, seasonal and event driven selling themes.
Developed interactive visuals and shop in shop selling areas for Apple, MTV, Levi’s, Warner Brothers & Xbox, also partnered w/ CBS, NBC & HBO to create branded selling areas.
BLOOMINGDALE’S
1996 – 1999
COORDINATOR VISUAL MERCHANDISING
Coordinated the production & installation of Visual Merchandising elements, including corporate directed promotions and also original prototypes including: themed visual presentations and window displays supporting the men’s, women’s and home area businesses, including the roll-out of West Coast based stores.
DONHAM DESIGN STUDIO
1995 – Present
DIRECTOR VISUAL MERCHANDISING
Full-service Visual Merchandising consulting service which provides concept, design, production, installation and maintenance of imaginative and unique visuals which include: New store or remodel projects, special event planning, merchandising layouts and film/art department production services.
KNOTT’S ENTERTAINMENT PARK AND RESORT
1986 – 1995
DIRECTOR VISUAL MERCHANDISING
Knott's Berry Farm, America's oldest themed amusement park and entertainment complex is a member of the Cedar Fair Entertainment family, combining quality, wholesome family entertainment with nostalgia and history all within 150 acres of fun-filled excitement.
Responsibilities included:
Directed multi-leveled visual presentation departments and staffs, covering the visual merchandising needs for over 48 retail operations within the park and off-site businesses.
Designed and coordinated construction of interior - exterior environments and visual elements for retail, themed attractions and foods operations. Coordinated needs of park management, operations staffs and product buyers to support multi-million dollar revenue responsibility within a non-union environment.
NEIMAN MARCUS
1983 – 1986
DIRECTOR VISUAL PRESENTATION
Directed and administered visual department, office and staff to support promotional installations, including: feature displays, window display presentations, seasonal décor, fashion shows, graphics and storewide themed promotions and special events.
THE BROADWAY
1981 – 1983
COORDINATOR VISUAL MERCHANDISING
As part of traveling visual merchandising regional team, maintained corporate directed visual presentation standards within Southern California stores. Also created original and unique interior visuals and display windows, supporting promotional and seasonal merchandise selling events.
THE MAY CO.
1979 – 1981
COORDINATOR VISUAL MERCHANDISING
Hired as trainee to support the visual presentation department, gained valuable experience in visual merchandising and production, basic product merchandising, also signage & graphics within a multi-department store including: men’s, women’s, junior’s, kid’s and home selling areas.
EDUCATION
Grossmont College, La Mesa, CA.
Portfolio highlighting completed work is available for review.