Over the course of sixteen+ years, I built three brands - Moop Shop, Tote Blanks and Suzette. I was the Founder, Creative Director, Product Designer, Business Strategist, Marketing Head, Production Manager, HR and every other role in between. I built eight studio/shop spaces, in three cities and employed many very talented people during that span.
2007-2023
Founder, Designer, Creative Director, Manufacturer, Photographer, Copy Editor, Art Director, Human Resources, Sourcing, Logistics, Operations, etc.
Easthampton > Pittsburgh > Seattle
Founded in early 2007 at the edge of the Berkshire Mountains in Western Massachusetts, raised in the Rust Belt city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and wrapped up in Seattle, Washington. 2007-2023.
For over sixteen years, we specialized in canvas, leather and waxed canvas bags for men and women. Designed, produced and led by Wendy and a team of talented in house production assistants. A leader in the creative maker economy, known for durable bags and inspiring walk in retail manufacturing storefronts in multiple neighborhoods and cities. Sixteen years of bags, shipped all over the world, designed to outlive the brand.
You can view the website here. You can no longer purchase bags.
Grown from the daily pivots during the pandemic as a direct response to our supply chain struggles. These bags were built around efficient production, minimal components, high quality construction and domestic manufacturing as a premium, durable product for the promotional products industry. We provide a better, more sustainable option to cheap, one time use logo bags. We work with the largest promotional products company in the US and a strong loyal following of small brands around the country.
You can see the very minimal website here.
2020-present
Founder, Designer, Creative Director, Photographer, Copy Editor, Art Director, Sourcing, Logistics, Operations, etc.
Pittsburgh > Seattle
2021-present
Founder, Creative Director, Curator, Product Designer, Production Manager
Seattle
Amidst all of the big huge scary audacious life changing things I’ve taken on the last few years, I’ve also been building many relationships, rekindling old ones and developing products outside of bags. Suzette is an outlet for those projects - imbued with time, skill, curiosity, process and a collection of artists collaborating to make fun and useful home goods.
From a project that started seven years ago, to one that started one year ago, paired with a personal household ethos established when I was 23 years old, these cloth napkins have a long slow build that led to the most perfect hand-woven recycled cotton, sustainably dyed with flowers that have been upcycled from Indian temple ceremonies into natural dyes to produce, start to finish, a cloth napkin that embodies the ethos of reuse, reuse, reuse.
These cocktail coasters provided a playful outlet to many pandemic anxieties, partnering with an illustrator and leather worker, collectively we produced this set of long lasting, very funny, leather cocktail coasters.
Suzette was also the name of our shortlived Seattle storefront, which housed the Moop Shop prototyping/small batch studio.
2017
Project Lead, Creative Director, Curator, Operator
Pittsburgh
As a longtime stakeholder in downtown Pittsburgh and the only independent retail store at the time, The Downtown Partnership was looking for ways to activate empty storefronts and demonstrate the viability of retail in the revived and thriving downtown neighborhood. I brought together a graphic designer, talented sign painter and 4 retail shops from other neighborhoods to create a holiday collective of brands - menswear, womenswear, accessories and vintage home goods. The two month Pop Up was planned, marketed and opened within 6 weeks of ideation. I was the creative direction and operator of this project, leading the branding, signage, merchandising, coordination of inventory, staffing and marketing. The project was a success and achieved the result of a long term lease being signed by a new downtown small business retail partner.
