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Manhattan Chapter

Member Spotlight: Michelle Shen

2 days ago
jamie-keel

Unleashing Creativity Through Campaigns

How Michelle Shen Helps Brands Make an Impact

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!

And are you still there?

No, three years ago, I joined Diffusion PR, an amazing international agency with a stellar team of whip smart, creative, fun people. As Vice-President, I oversee our consumer and design brands which include our portfolio of home, hospitality, wellness and food/beverage related brands like Hutton Brickyards, Chasing Paper, Bespoke Post, Burrow, easyplant, to name a few.

Besides work, how else do you spend your time?

I have a daughter who’s four and feisty! She keeps me and my husband running… and grounded. Simple pleasures – skiing, travel, and yoga. We recently moved to Roseland, NJ, not too far from where I grew up. In my free time I love cooking and getting ideas from this sommelier who specializes in making dips, one of my favorite influencers to follow – I aspire to be her.

 

You joined NKBA this year, any first impressions?

I wanted to get more involved in a design-industry organization and thought I’d give NKBA a try and I’m thrilled I did. I love writing and right away I volunteered to serve on the newsletter committee. Everyone has been so welcoming and I’m excited to get to know more members at upcoming events, too.

 

Thinking back, was there one PR campaign that really stands out?

A favorite was when we worked with Ferguson to bring families into the showroom on weekends for a kids cooking class called Ferguson’s Future Foodies. These free classes were hosted by a non-profit called Spoons Across America. It was such a fun campaign to produce and a great feel good for everyone to give back to a worthy cause.

Give back campaigns are my absolute favorite. For Benjamin Moore, we once painted 50 shelters in 50 states in 50 days! A rush and a wild ride, I saw parts of the country I never thought I would. Similarly, for Valspar Paint, we once launched a #ColorForAll campaign, where we partnered with enchroma to help colorblind people see color for the first time. Their reactions were so heartwarming! Dreaming up creative campaigns that make a difference is what I love to do.

 

And those weekend chefs classes just might be the inspiration that helps some of those kids chart their career course, as the MoMA did for Michelle!

Two of the campaigns that Michelle loved working on, Ferguson’s Future Foodies and Valspar’s  #ColorForAll

Photo credit: Ferguson, Valspar