Browse popular categories
Most recently posted
By Danika Herrick on March 8, 2024
By Courtney Napier on February 12, 2024
By Arlette Hawkins on January 12, 2024
Celebrating Women's History Month
Spoonflower’s independent Marketplace is made up of over 1 million designs—most of which were designed by women. It’s no surprise that behind the scenes making decisions at Spoonflower are strong, smart, creative women at the helm, keeping us motivated and reminding us of our mission: to support a platform where self-expression thrives. Today we’re introducing you to a few of the leaders who make our work at Spoonflower possible. They’re sharing everything from their morning routines to the best (and worst!) advice they’ve ever received. Get to know—and love—a few of the women in leadership at Spoonflower.
SVP, Human Resources
What character trait do you feel is most vital to your role?
An interest in understanding the story below the surface of what one might assume is really important in my job, especially over the past two years. Employees are impacted by so many challenges every day – family, health, unanticipated roadblocks—that can affect their ability to be present when they are at work. Seeking to understand exactly what is going on, in an objective way, is the principal way I can be an effective resource to our employees. There are no textbook answers to the challenges our employees face in and out of the workplace lately. Every problem is unique and finding solutions that help our employees depends heavily on understanding all aspects of the situation and where the employee is coming from.
(can you tell Marlo’s favorite color?)
What was your biggest or most surprising career pivot and how did it lead you to where you are today? Was there one twist or moment that “changed everything”?
I was given my first job by someone who ended up being a tremendous mentor and who taught me pretty much everything I know about how to manage in my role. I worked for him for 6 years when I unexpectedly lost him. My company was in the middle of the biggest acquisition in their history (a $3b acquisition of a competitor) and all of a sudden I was on my own, with limited experience in integration work. I had to take chances on what I thought to be the right decisions and the right answers. For the most part, they were right. Sometimes they weren’t. But this experience gave me confidence to rely on myself and realize that pretty much anything that goes wrong can be fixed. It takes a lot of pressure off you.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I have gotten is to always ensure you are in charge of the path your career takes. This presents itself in how you perform on the job, how you handle a job search process and how you extend yourself to help and support others. The professional return on these actions can present itself at any point in your career.
Always ensure you are in charge of the path your career takes. This presents itself in how you perform on the job, how you handle a job search process and how you extend yourself to help and support others.
Tell us a little bit about your morning routine. How does your day begin?
I don’t have a super chill/self-care morning routine like my daughter has the luxury of having. My mornings are pretty much devoted to the others I live with – humans and animals – and making sure they are going to be fed throughout the day. I make a smoothie for my son’s breakfast every morning and then his lunch, which sometimes comes back home untouched. I feed the animals and spend the rest of the morning letting them in and out and in and out. I do dinner prep, wake my teenage son up, bask in his pleasant demeanor for a bit and then take him to school. On days my husband takes him to school, I start work after they leave.
Head of Customer Support
What character trait do you feel is most vital to your role?
Empathy drives everything I do.
What was your biggest or most surprising career pivot and how did it lead you to where you are today? Was there one twist or moment that “changed everything”?
It was actually working at Spoonflower in customer service! I had already changed my career from working in theater to working in women’s health, but it felt like a more organic change at the time because it reflected my interests shifting with motherhood. When I decided to apply to work in Ops at Spoonflower after visiting a friend (Laurie!) who worked in the factory, the job felt completely out of character. I needed the stability and the predictability in hours at that time in my life, but it ended up turning into so much more than just that. 22-year-old Kara would never have known that her choreography skills would be helpful in leading a customer support team.
Nobody has to be in the same job for the rest of their lives. It is the life that goes in and around your work that defines who you are.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received was from my mother. She reminds me still that nobody has to be in the same job for the rest of their lives and it is the life that goes in and around your work that defines who you are.
What’s the worst?
The worst career mindset is thinking you have to work in the same field you loved when you were 18 years old in college and thinking you are a failure for going off the path.
Tell us a little bit about your morning routine. How does your day begin?
I am the first one to wake up in my house and the first people I talk to are usually the customer support team members in Berlin. I quietly shower, make coffee, look over my calendar for the day and speak my first words to these amazing people across the ocean. Then I greet the overall CS department with a reflection of the previous day and how the day ahead looks for us. From there, it is a balance of getting kids to school and organizing my own personal tasks and meetings.
Director, Public Relations
What character trait do you feel is most vital to your role?
Coming from a place of ‘yes.’ I’ve found that momentum happens when a can-do attitude is driving tasks.
What was your biggest or most surprising career pivot and how did it lead you to where you are today? Was there one twist or moment that “changed everything”?
My most surprising career pivot was going from a consulting career to working full-time at Spoonflower. The surprise was less about the actual job, and more about the warm, welcoming and incredibly talented folks I get to work with every day. In my entire career, I have never worked with such a collective of people who are, literally, the best at what they do, and who are quality people with whom I enjoy spending time in and out of the work environment. That just doesn’t often happen. I count my blessings every day and, as I always say, I don’t remember what my professional life was like before I came to Spoonflower. This experience has truly been, hands down, among the most rewarding, fulfilling and satisfying of my career. A moment that changed everything: When I secured a four-page Wall Street Journal feature on a $20m grossing comedy tour, which later became a #2 box office hit that grossed over $40m. It all started with the Wall Street Journal story, and my client was amazed that editorial coverage led to him having an office on the Paramount lot. When that WSJ article ran, I knew I had “ink cred.”
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Take none of the credit when there is success. Take all the blame when there is failure.
What’s the worst?
There’s no such thing as bad press. Yes, there is!
Tell us a little bit about your morning routine. How does your day begin?
I wake up between 5:30-6:00am, read at least a Proverb in the Bible, pray and get ready for the day. Then…tea (usually brewed in my fancy new Breville tea maker!). I put Amazon Music on my television. Prince playlist: all day; every day. I usually log on to Slack, check my calendar and start on emails during the 7:00 hour. If I don’t have a heavy meeting day, I go to my tea shop to work. If it’s a heavy meeting day, or a day I have to be head-down writing, I go to my home office, open the blinds, light a candle and I’m off to the races for another jam-packed day at Spoonflower!
Head of Product / Head of Marketplace
What character trait do you feel is most vital to your role?
Empathy.
What was your biggest or most surprising career pivot and how did it lead you to where you are today? Was there one twist or moment that “changed everything”?
I was a Biomedical Engineering major in college… so you could say my whole career has been a pivot away from that. I got a big break at Shoeboxed, a Durham startup at the time, inside of Marketing and Customer Service. Busting it there and learning as much as possible caught the eye of the CEO and COO, who gave me my first role inside of Product & Engineering.
Tell us a little bit about your morning routine. How does your day begin?
This is a messy question. My unofficial day usually starts between 3-4 am, when I get up to do a little work. Officially, I start around 6:30—getting lunch and snacks prepped for the kids to take to school/daycare, and then getting them ready for school. They usually leave the house around 7:30 at which point I get ready for the official start to my work day!
SVP, Brand Marketing
What character trait do you feel is most vital to your role?
I am an enneagram 5 and I use these core traits to strengthen my role as a marketer, leader, mom, partner and human. 5’s are described as: alert, insightful and curious. Sprinkle in some integrity, loyalty and kindness, and that will allow anyone to glean a strong perspective of who I am.
What was your biggest or most surprising career pivot and how did it lead you to where you are today? Was there one twist or moment that “changed everything”?
Spoonflower. Full stop.
I took this role as a fun way to downshift the path I was on. (lol) A smaller company, a potentially a slower pace…. I had no idea that not only would I find a new gear, but after 6 years, that I would still be completely invested and energized, every day. I feel like I stepped on a rocket ship and we’re still whirring through the universe.
I am inspired by our community as a whole and by the energy that each artist, maker and consumer puts into the success of this creative ecosystem and canvas we’ve constructed. I am committed to listening with intention, speaking with heart and channeling their passions to challenge our teams, that we will continue to hone this vehicle and to give a voice to this collective opportunity we share.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
This was not told to me directly, but I listen to it as though it were:
Let go of who you think you're supposed to be and embrace who you are.
How about the worst?
If I have received poor advice, I let it go a long time ago, so I don’t really remember receiving bad advice. I want to hear lots of perspectives before forming my own opinion, but I can easily set aside words that don’t feel right for me.
Tell us a little bit about your morning routine. How does your day begin?
My morning is not unique, but the routine is critical to the momentum, connectivity, and self-awareness that sends me charging me through the day.
5:30 a.m.: Coffee and scroll. Run through of email, Slack, and social… Wordle (who’s with me?!?), New York Times crossword. Intention list for the day.
6 a.m.: Two miles with the dogs
6:45 a.m.: Shower/ dressed
7-8:30 a.m.: ahhhh… this is my time with our 10 year old, LJ. My wife is already left for school (she is a Montessori teacher) and our older daughter is off doing her own thing. It’s just us. From wake up and breakfast, to dance club in the car and drop off at school, this is my very favorite time of the day.
By 8:30 AM I’m at my desk, the desk lamp turns on, favorite East Fork Pottery mug in-hand… and I’m ready to meet the day. Vroom, vroom. Let’s go!
Site Director Durham Manufacturing
What character trait do you feel is most vital to your role?
Assertive (in the good, decision making, way!)
What was your biggest or most surprising career pivot and how did it lead you to where you are today? Was there one twist or moment that “changed everything”?
Starting a new department that supported several facilities across product routing placement, capacity analysis, and business analytics. This challenged me to understand all business impacts to projects/decisions the team was making and approach in the best way to keep all parties informed and all projects cost effective.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I’m in charge of my career.
How about the worst?
“It is what it is.”
Tell us a little bit about your morning routine. How does your day begin?
Coffee preparation followed by outdoor adventure with my dogs.
Senior Director of Process Innovation for Textiles & Wallpaper
What character trait do you feel is most vital to your role?
This role requires a focus on trying to gain a clear understanding of the technology, product or process challenge and to think creatively about potential solutions. Sometimes this means asking great questions and listening for the unspoken details.
What was your biggest or most surprising career pivot and how did it lead you to where you are today? Was there one twist or moment that “changed everything”?
As a graduate student in textile print design, I was offered the opportunity to complete a research internship focused on the investigation of digital textile printing before there were any real technology solutions available in this space. This took place during the summer I graduated and at the end of this internship, I was offered the opportunity to stay on and continue the project. This opportunity set me down the path of my current career.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Early in my career I had a very supportive boss who once told me that “power is sometimes taken, not given.” I took this to mean that I should not wait to be invited in to the conversation and that I should feel confident to provide my opinion and propose a direction. Often times through my career, I’ve found a void in leadership in the midst of a project where a decision regarding which path to take is needed. Sometimes it’s not clear who the “owner” is for this decision. This guidance has been very helpful in such moments.
Early in my career I had a very supportive boss who once told me that “power is sometimes taken, not given”. I took this to mean that I should not wait to be invited in to the conversation and that I should feel confident to provide my opinion and propose a direction.
Tell us a little bit about your morning routine. How does your day begin?
I try to begin the day with a 2-3 mile walk and I cap that with a cup of coffee topped with whipped cream…a guilty pleasure that I think about for the last 1/2 mile!
VP, Consumer merchandising and E-commerce
What character trait do you feel is most vital to your role?
Authenticity – I read this book early on in my career called “Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office” and the author has since updated the book but one of the things that stood out to me was “don’t bring cookies into the office. A man would never do that.” So at 22, I’m thinking to myself, ok, to be successful in the business world I can’t act like a woman? I wasn’t showing up like myself and it didn’t work. I’m very much a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) person and me being anything but Jessica doesn’t work inside or outside the office. Once I made the decision to be myself, stand by my values, principles and behaviors that are important to me, everything else fell into place and success followed.
What was your biggest or most surprising career pivot and how did it lead you to where you are today? Was there one twist or moment that “changed everything”?
Taking the role to lead sales, merchandising and marketing for Barnes & Noble’s third party marketplace expansion was definitely a “moment that changed it all” for me. I had a lot of experience helping retailers and brands sell on marketplaces like Amazon or eBay or retailers scale their paid search programs through the software I was selling. I knew all the best practices but never put them into action working on the retail side. I knew that having this retail experience would round out my resume and help build skills that I could leverage for the next career opportunity. I was right—and that decision while some told me it was crazy to relocate and move with a dog, husband and 1-year old was worth it. It led me to my journey at Spoonflower and I don’t regret it.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Build a strong network because you’re going to need it. My network has been crucial to supporting projects/initiatives at various companies, providing sound advice when you need perspective of someone who has been there and done that as well as landing my next role. Fun fact—I’ve never applied for a role in my career. My network has led me there, further validating the importance of never burning bridges and nurturing your professional network.
Once I made the decision to be myself, stand by my values, principles and behaviors that are important to me, everything else fell into place and success followed.
Tell us a little bit about your morning routine. How does your day begin?
I try to start my day with a work out—it’s the best way to clear my head, feel energized and get ready for the day. I also find some of my best ideas come when I’m listening to some 90s hip hop and sweating it out – don’t underestimate the power of Snoop, Biggie or Dr Dre to get those creative juices flowing. Post-workout, I’m heading to grab a cup of coffee and could not live without my Nespresso – it’s like having a coffee shop in your house! After I’ve gotten ready for work (or maybe not if I’ve decided it’s a sweats kind of day), I focus on my to-do list and crossing off as many things as I can before the meetings start. My best working hours are in the morning so I try to get my list done before I hop into email/Slack land. Lastly – I have to give a shout out to my husband Brian who makes the best green smoothies in the morning. If not for him, coffee would be my breakfast so I’m very grateful.
We’re not shy! We love introducing you to the faces behind your favorite fabric, wallpaper and home decor. Get to know more of the Spoonflower staff by tapping on the button below.
Spoonflower Staff PostsTheresa has been with Spoonflower since the early days of 2012, and is currently donning her Content Manager hat on the Brand Marketing Team. When she’s not immersed in all-things Spoonflower content, Theresa is also currently pursuing her Master’s degree at UNC Chapel Hill, and makes time to watch and paint birds, sew her own clothes, and eat pasta as often as possible.
4 comments
What an inspiring read! As the mom of a college senior graduating with her degree in Art History this May, I am hopeful and inspired for her future by learning about these women’s paths. Thank you for sharing!
We’re so glad you enjoyed the post, Tracey! And a big congratulations to your daughter for graduating this May, you must be immensely proud! I’m sure she’ll go on to do great things. Warmly, Theresa