Karen Pearse Global Direct, San Francisco, Director of Design & Global Sourcing

This was a year for evolving and repositioning the KPGD brand – an industry-leading, turnkey supplier of stone, tile and materials, providing global support and service to architects, developers and commercial retail & hospitality clients. KPGD has overseen the installation of over 150 million square feet of material, in over 22,000 projects, for clients around the world such as Hudson Bay Company, LVMH and Federated Allied. 2016 – 2017 achievements included:

• Analysis and update of the product and brand strategy to meet 20% top line revenue growth targets per year.
• Research, design & oversight of the launch of the new products and KPGD interactive website to support A&D clients.
• Consumer insight and team engagements for the design, merchandising and launch of the new KPGD design showroom.
• Expanded company’s vendor partner and category product lines to support the full range of luxury hospitality, restaurant and commercial retail projects in North America and Europe, keeping KPGD on the leading edge as the authority in providing new materials and fabrication techniques to our clients and facilitating successful real estate projects.

Jeff Oakes Design (JOD) • JEFF SHOP, San Francisco, CA, US, Founder - Owner

Founder and Creative Director ∙ www.jeffoakesdesign.com
Co-Founder • JEFF (now GALLERY1317)

Orchestrated the JOD & JEFF business plans; spearheaded the mission, vision, branding, marketing, day-to-day operations, customer experience and sales of artisan-to-customer handmade textiles, furniture and art. Managed international design & production studio, overseeing the design collaboration and creation of casual luxury women’s apparel, accessories and home furnishings collections. Delivered on our commitment to building a global community by offering beautiful, ethically sourced products that were affordable and that enhanced customer individuality. https://www.facebook.com/pg/jeffoakesdesign

• Responsible for bringing designs to market via ongoing market research, customer relationships, artisan relationships, trade shows, rapid prototyping of ideas and production management for each collection. Oversaw retail customer and wholesale accounts development. Devised creative and cost-effective in-house marketing and promotional strategies via social media tools and the creation of storefront window and in-store merchandise displays to attract customers.

• Opened JEFF (Now Gallery 1317) in 2013; a collaborative retail space and platform for fashion, architecture, furnishings and visual arts in the heart of North Beach, SF. This was a joint venture with a friend and design colleague. Together we created the business plan, negotiated the terms of the lease, designed the space, lighting fixtures, retail fixtures and actually built out the space with our own hands. We opened for business three months after signing the lease. As soon as we adopted a retail model JOD sales increased 82% 2013-2014. Three year sales forecasts indicated positive revenue growth with a break even at year 5.

• Oversaw planning and execution of daily and weekly in-store merchandising, marketing and social media. Organized and executed guest designer Pop-Up events; coordinated all aspects for featuring and promoting artists we loved.

• Cultivated marvelous relationships with guest designers, artists and neighborhood merchants to host events, increase foot traffic, generate sales, and create a positive shopping experience in North Beach. Efforts led to feature articles in the SF Chronicle, monthly North Beach Art Walk events, and collective marketing advertisements.

• Invested time, capital and travel to support Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Economic Impact projects with Women Weave Charitable Trust, MP, India (2009 – Present) https://vimeo.com/100165750