Design Projects
I graduated with a BFA major in Illustration from Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids MI and I have been working professionally as a designer in Chicago since the early 2000's. I have worked in a variety of industries including apparel, giftware, educational publishing, toys/gaming and even court room sketching! Below are some highlights from some of these positions.
Owner & Designer
I design, produce and sell fiber and hobby inspired illustrated products. Wanting to marry my professional experience with my hobbies and illustration passions, I joined forces with my sister to push and expand my product lines further.
In 2025 we took eight of my hand embroidered illustrations and had them printed on jigsaw puzzles. I sourced the puzzle companies and shipping supplies from ethical and sustainability focused vendors. We also invested in equipment to make stickers inhouse allowing us more control of inventory and designs by printing on demand. I then refocused my website, handmadebybuffy.com from a portfolio site to a ecommerce site offering the puzzles, enamel pins, and vinyl stickers. We plan to expand more product lines as our production abilities grow.
Handmade by Buffy Products
Product Developer II & Merchandising Manager
As product developer for four and a half years with the Bradford Group in the Checks division, I used my own designs as well as licensed art work to develop checks and accessories. In addition to product design and development, I did all the creative needs for our team: design and mockups, marketing imaging, advertising layouts for print and web, copyrighting, licensing submittals, and vendor correspondence for prototype approvals.
Being assigned to a new protects team to expand our offerings beyond checks and check accessories, we launched a new feature of personalization to our accessories lines. This was a huge company undertaking involving several departments and outside vendors. From there we expanded more product lines to include personalizable pet accessories, travel accessories and desk decor.
New Product Development
New Personalized Check Designs
Personalized Giftware Designer
I worked 6 years for Snappy's PG establishing and designing products and branding for an online personalized giftware shop, Snappy's Boutique. We went from owner/one employee drop-ship printing services to starting up our own customizable shop which hit $1M in sales on Etsy within 5 years and added staff of six more employees. We expanded several more shops but I maintained the first one.
For the Boutique, I constantly researched trends and market fads to see what was selling and what would keep our shop fresh and relevant. I then created seasonal patterns, fonts, and color templates with selection guides for personalizable gifts. Customers would make their selections and then we would send proofs to the customer for approval before printing on-demand. As our inhouse team grew, I directed our designers to follow brand guidelines, aesthetic and customer service etiquette. I also maintained the shop's social media.
In addition to the core product, I also expanded our design lines to include pre-designed combinations and pet breed designs. These offered less customization but more fashionable aesthetics and were my favorite lines. They also did well in sales.
Customizable Accessories
Educational Publishing Illustrator
For 6 years I was a returning contract illustrator for Riverside Publishing, a subsidiary of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. I did clean up and creation of spot illustrations, graphs, timelines, tables, etc. for standardized tests, K-12. Initially the tests were fill-in forms accompanied with printed booklets which used one color tonal shading or line art. Later on-line testing was added in so we would create color versions of the art as well.
Standardized Testing Illustrations
Toy & Online Gaming Illustrator
For a little over a year I worked on an amazing team at Ty (as in Beanie Babies fame). I worked on the TyGirlz.com site, a virtual online world for plush fashion dolls. A customer would purchase the doll or accessories and receive a code to access an online gaming world.
I illustrated fictional and new product elements, characters and fashions and optimized flash files for game developers inhouse and outsourced animation for use on the website. I also did research for fashion and cultural trends and assisted with focus groups.
My favorite roll was as "team leader" overseeing the art assets for our International revamp. We decided as a team to update the TyGirlz's World to be more culturally accurate and fun. Each illustrator had an assigned focus based on their artistic strengths (food, clothing, scenery) and then with the developers we combined these elements into new international city themed boutiques, cafes, and chatrooms. As short as this project lasted, it was my all time favorite position.
TyPetz
New Product Pose Illustrations
New TyGirlz Dolls and Avatars
Revamped TyGirlz Online Shops
Apparel Designer
For 6 years (yes, the magic number), I worked as a designer for Wormser, a children's pajama company. I designed licensed and private label screen prints, repeat patterns, embroideries, etc. for boys, girls and infant sleepwear. Our pajamas were sold in big box stores such as Sears, Kohls, Walmart, and JcPenneys.
I prepared mechanicals and tech files for factory production and was a direct contact with licensors for approvals: Warner Bros, MGAE, Hit Entertainment, and Scholastic. I participated in trend research and trade shows with merchandisers and prepared mock ups and presentation boards for sales meetings. I proudly assisted in creating and maintaining a catalog/library of design sku numbers and corresponding images. I then trained new designers and merchandisers to follow this system.
In addition to designing our polyester and cotton sleepwear lines, I was on a team to revive the Dr. Denton license by introducing a line of infant sleep'n play and layette. This was a beautiful line with higher price point detailing.
Girls Sleepwear Line Boards
Girls Swimwear Line Boards
Dr. Denton Line Concept Board
Garment Concept Sheets