Ronald Carter likes to think of creative styling as an art form: a masterpiece, carefully crafted by imagination and passion. He fell into his career by accident as a struggling actor in need of a side hustle. Ronald was living in Seattle at the time and recalls asking a friend if she knew of anyone who was hiring, and she kindly suggested checking out Eddie Bauer. From there, his retail career took off. 

At Eddie Bauer, Ronald started as a greeter, and in the three years that followed, he worked his way up to designing floor plans for the corporate office and training new visual managers. He then went on to work for Nordstrom, Anthropologie and Porch. 

A native of the Pacific Northwest, Susan Esayian has been working in the gift industry professionally for 26 years in a variety of roles. From merchandising Kitchen-Aid mixers to buying fine tableware and even carrying a four-poster bed up a mountainside for a catalog photoshoot, Susan has done it all…and that was just in the first 10 years!

Since then, Susan’s kept herself immersed in the gift industry as a buyer for a hospital gift shop and merchandiser for several wholesale showrooms and retailers. For Susan, retail isn’t just a job; it’s a career that she’s inspired by and passionate about more every day.

Jessica Young has been in retail since 1993. She started out working at The Gap in college, met Michelle at Anthropologie around 20 years ago, and the rest is history. From LA to Atlanta and to Vegas, Jessica has collaborated on tons of different projects. Coming to work on the CMA project with everyone was truly a full-circle moment for Jessica. 

Dave Sherrier, my super supportive husband, started out in retail when he was a kid but ventured off into construction. Fast forward to today; Dave works most of our gift show setups and wholesale show rooms and does a lot of the buildouts for the retailers we work with, such as Sales Producers, Fine Lines, CMA and many more. 

In this recap episode, the merchandising team dives into the creative side of the CMA show, including the process and how everything came together. The CMA project came up late in the season in October, and everyone brought along their expertise as strong merchandisers to pull it all off. The group discusses the details of the displays, all the moving parts, twists and turns, and reflections on the completed project.

This episode is sponsored by CMA. CMA is a leading professional sales representation group operating throughout California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Hawaii, and Alaska. CMA understands the retail world is constantly evolving and welcomes changing trends as opportunities to bring new and exciting products, as well as tried-and-true best sellers, to retailers and their shoppers. Their professional and knowledgeable sales team confidently navigates the complexities of the gift industry to drive success for their vendors, retailers, and their business. Visit their website at CMAGifts.com.

What’s Inside: 

• A recap on the creative side of the CMA project

Mentioned In This Episode:
Ronald Carter on Instagram
Jessica Young on Instagram
Rue Patois on Instagram
Ruepatois.com
CMAGifts.com