Industrial Designer & Entrepreneur
Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area
- Current
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- Industrial Designer at GF Design
- Creator/Designer at Junk Mail Gems (Sole Proprietorship)
- Owner at Paintertainment (Sole Proprietorship)
- Past
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- Principal / Co-Founder at O&E Design Group
- Display Designer at Best Buy
- Industrial Design Intern at Procter & Gamble
- Industrial Design Intern at Design Central
- Industrial Design Intern at Procter & Gamble
- Industrial Design Intern at The Scotts Company
- Education
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- The Ohio State University
- University of Wisconsin-Stout
- Recommended
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2 people have recommended Gretchen - Connections
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connections
- Industry
- Design
- Websites
Gretchen Fleener’s Summary
I have a wide range of experience, designing everything from products themselves, to the graphics that represent them, the packages they are sold in, the store fixtures they are displayed on, and the overall retail environments they reside in. My professional goal is to apply the design process across the board, in a way that includes all stakeholders in the life of a product and in the end leads to increased sales and a positive user experience.
Gretchen Fleener’s Specialties:
Creative problem solving, Sketching and hand rendering, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, & InDesign, SolidWorks, Design Drawings, Movie Making, 3D Model Hand-Building, Managing Vendor/Manufacturer Relationships
Gretchen Fleener’s Experience
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Industrial Designer
GF Design
(Design industry)
April 2008 — Present (8 months)
Currently my clients are utilizing my unique blend of graphic and industrial design skills for retail fixture/display design, instruction booklets for fixture installation, illustration, product design, printed materials, and more.
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Creator/Designer
Junk Mail Gems (Sole Proprietorship)
(Sole Proprietorship; Myself Only; Retail industry)
October 2006 — Present (2 years 2 months)
Founder of Junk Mail Gems (www.JunkMailGems.com), online web retailer and creator of gift items hand made out of recycled junk mail. Currently my products are also available in multiple retailers across the US, Canada, the UK, and the Caribbean.
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Owner
Paintertainment (Sole Proprietorship)
(Sole Proprietorship; Myself Only; Entertainment industry)
June 1995 — Present (13 years 6 months)
www.paintertainment.com, offer professional face painting at company picnics, birthday parties, carnivals and fairs, as well as online retailer of professional quality face painting supplies.
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Principal / Co-Founder
O&E Design Group
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Design industry)
November 2006 — April 2008 (1 year 6 months)
Principal & Co-founder of Objects & Environments Design Group, LLC. Minneapolis based design firm specializing in both product and environmental design. Projects have included product design, retail and exhibit design, graphic design, and new product development for a wide range of clients, large and small. Responsible for financial aspects of the company, also involved in all other aspects including design work, project management, marketing, and general business housekeeping.
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Display Designer
Best Buy
(Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; BBY; Design industry)
July 2003 — March 2007 (3 years 9 months)
Store fixture designer...work with internal clients to generate concepts, design and develop 3D models and drawings for production, choose vendors to produce prototypes, travel & overnight store visits for installation.
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Industrial Design Intern
Procter & Gamble
(Public Company; Design industry)
December 2002 — March 2003 (4 months)
Intern with Baby Care team, did concept design work (sketching, foam models, presentation) for Pampers, Kandoo, Crest Spinbrush.
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Industrial Design Intern
Design Central
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Consumer Goods industry)
September 2002 — December 2002 (4 months)
Intern at design consulting firm in Columbus, Ohio. Worked on concept generation, modeling and sketching for clients including Whirlpool, Moen, and others.
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Industrial Design Intern
Procter & Gamble
(Public Company; Cosmetics industry)
June 2002 — September 2002 (4 months)
Intern on the beauty care team at Cincinnatti headquarters summer 2002. Worked on package designs for brands including Crest, Olay, Cascade, & Secret.
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Industrial Design Intern
The Scotts Company
(Public Company; 501-1000 employees; Consumer Goods industry)
June 2001 — September 2001 (4 months)
Designed many elements for an upcoming new product launch (EdgeGuard seed spreader), including illustrations for instruction books, corrogated shipper displays for retail, product sell sheets for catalog, catalog photo shoots, and instructional graphics and logos applied to the product. Also re-designed a bottle for Miracle Gro liquid plant food, shipper/display for handheld spreaders, mailers, etc.
Gretchen Fleener’s Education
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The Ohio State University
1999 — 2003
- Activities and Societies:
- Graduated Magna Cum Laude
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University of Wisconsin-Stout
Graphic Design 1997 — 1999
Additional Information
Gretchen Fleener’s Websites:
Gretchen Fleener’s Interests:
Painting, Drawing, Photoshop-magic-working, piano, biking, fishing, camping, learning new software, movie making
Gretchen Fleener’s Groups:
IDSA, Minnesota chapter chair 2006 & 2007
Member, Minnesota Inventors' Network
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Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) -
Best Buy Alumni -
Retail Industry Professionals Group -
Buckeye Alumni Network -
Green -
Industrial Design -
The Ohio State University Industrial, Interior, & Visual Communications Design Alumni -
Scotts Friends Network -
Retail Design
Gretchen Fleener’s Honors:
Girl Scout Silver Award & Gold Award
Graduated Magna Cum Laude 2003 (Ohio State University)
Featured on DWR Champagne Chair Contest Poster 2004
"Most Fun" award 2004 IDSA National Conference's Nike Derby Competition
"Most Fun" award 2005 IDSA National Conference's IBM Derby Competition
Honorable Mention in DWR Champagne Chair Contest 2005
Gretchen Fleener’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- career opportunities
- getting back in touch
