By Maureen Klein At age six, Michelle’s parents signed her up for kids weekend art classes at MoMA. “That’s where I first fell in love with art and design”, she says. She also treasured her visits to Dad’s bustling retouching agency where he was designing ads or fine tuning photos for brands like BMW, Annie Liebovitz and Grey Goose. “Seeing and feeling the creative energy at his office was electrifying and made me want to be a part of it.” Those “bring-your-daughter-to-work” days and early-on art lessons helped plot the trajectory that led her to a career in art, design, and marketing. So Michelle, where did you grow up and go to school? My family, including a younger brother, lived in a New Jersey suburb, about 25 miles from NYC. I went to Livingston High School where I participated in dance and track. Influenced by my earlier exposure at MoMA, Studio Art was a favorite subject, along with French. Staying in New Jersey, I continued at Rutgers University, getting my BA, Major in Communications, with Minors in Art History and Economics. What was the first job you held? During high school, I worked in retail at the Club Monaco store at the Short Hills Mall. There, I started taking a stronger interest in fashion and would eventually complete a marketing internship at Ralph Lauren/ Club Monaco, at their NY corporate office. And after college? I worked at Starworks, a fashion PR agency in Soho. I soon realized it wasn’t quite for me and moved to VP+C, a boutique design-focused PR agency where we worked with a range of interior design brands and architectural products. It felt like I finally found my career fit – working in marketing with other people who loved to dream up and bring to life big, bold campaigns. Our clients included a wide range from retailers like Kate Spade Home and Arhaus, to wallcoverings like Benjamin Moore and Valspar, trade shows such as the New York Tabletop Show, a building at 41 Madison with 90 kitchenware and tableware brands, and kitchen and bath brands like Dornbracht, Waterworks, Brizo and Ferguson. It's been 15 years since I went to my very first ICFF as a Dornbracht PR rep in 2010, it's amazing to see how much the show has evolved! | 
