Catharine Denham

I creatively direct the Home department for French Connection, which is a profitable and rapidly growing omni channel business. French Connection Home is an artisan lifestyle range for the discerning Interiors lover, with an emphasis on sustainability and hand finished product. Known for its pared-back look and credited with being the stylists and journalists favourite, its now much admired and has led a global trend for a natural handcraft look within interiors. Included with this I develop commercially licensed ranges with our partners at DFS, Boots and CHI in the USA, plus a wholesale department here as well as a B2B and contract channel. I manage all FC Home creative from strategy to product design and development. Intrinsic to this is my involvement in brand identity, campaign, catalogues, press look books and business development through e-commerce, retail, concessions and licensing channels. The business Management, setting and managing annual P&L, budgets as well as business growth and development are within my remit. I am responsible for managing the design and merchandising team in the UK as well as the sourcing and production team overseas. Categories include:- textiles, furniture, lighting, upholstery, home accessories ,bed linen, home fragrance, glass, gifting and tabletop. My collections and products regularly appear in leading Interior publications and current ranges at French Connection Is much sought after by all lifestyle influencers and bloggers. Titles include:- Elle Decoration, Modern Rustic, Vogue,Living etc, House and Garden, Country homes and Interiors, Sunday times Magazine, You magazine,Stella, Stylist, Evening standard and many other endorsements Reporting to company CEO & Chairman Stephen Marks.

Design Support for all your Interior and product needs from an experienced and imaginative creative director with a unique talent for versatile looks and styles. Services :- • Product Development - Working collaboratively with the client to realise the brief be it new concepts, injecting fashionability into core or range extension. • Creative Direction - A strong director from start to finish, creating a memorable and desirable retail story to the customer managing all stages from generation to photographic's • Art Direction - Talent for adding considerable aspiration to the multichannel platform through innovative photography direction. • Trend forecasting - Spotting emerging trends and buying habits and translating into opportunity • Designer Collaborations - Commercially and sensitively translating a designers brief and ideas for sale, gaining their trust and acting as a buffer between production and their individual style. -

• Directed the look of BHS home. • Responsible for pitch, strategy, vision and delivery to customer. • Success in the above led to involvement in the Christmas and summer marketing campaigns.. • Inspiring and influential design manager, 5 reports. • Work across all support functions to ensure consistent vision-digital, marketing, photography, VM, • Attending all design and product sign offs to review edit and shape the range.

• Research and identify new opportunities for BHS • Director of own- brands Atelier, originator of vintage, unique to BHS worth 3 million. • Delivering 12 themes a year, half being seasonal opportunity, xmas gifting and outdoors. • Adding context to ranges with own uniqueness- producing stylish and commercial ranges • Refreshing core • Globally researching the market, measuring technical innovation, attending design seminars, trade fairs, assessing colour intelligence.using that insight, adapting where relevant to our customer. • Collating samples, holding co-ordinational meetings, product firefighting, mocking up ideas, • Inspiring and Briefing packaging. • Visually articulating product collections to influence and position buyers, operating board, trading director, and merchandisers.

• Responsible for co- ordination of all departmental hard and soft goods. • Divisional communicator, briefing on shows, trends, publishing and managing of colour and style. • Extensive international travel to factories, developing products in Far East, Europe, UK. • Inspirational trips to Japan, USA and Europe. • Re- launch of core colour on towel, sheeting programmes, shades, cushions and rug programmes.

• Responsible for taking the brand into new Interior areas- bedlinen, wallpapers and accessories • Overseeing and attending the manufacture of cloth.

• Taught by Susan and Sarah during their most successful period. • Painter and designer of fashion and furnishing textiles manufactured in the USA, Europe and UK. • Manager of full 360 conversion process in-house and supply to most of the UK high street. • Customers M&S, JLP, Liberty's, Habitat, Hof F, Ikea, Jaeger, • Engraving, printing and colouring. • Travelled extensively to produce fabrics • Hands on involvement in Collier Campbell store on Conduit-street and then Liberty concession. "Catharine was our most innovative and talented colourist"

BAHons 1