Pratt Institute

The CCPD will host an evening of skill sharing workshops and reception on Thursday, February 28, from 6 to 8 PM at Pratt’s Library on the Brooklyn Campus, in conjunction with Unlisted: The Creative Entrepreneur (http://bit.ly/ccpd-blog). We are very excited to bring a group of creative, business-savvy individuals to offer expert advice to Pratt students and alumni.

The skill sharing sessions will provide opportunities to hear from artists featured in Unlisted and other experts on important tools for creative entrepreneurs.  During two separate sessions, attendees can sign up to participate in one of six topic-focused workshops for each session.  The discussions will be intimate, with an expert offering you advice and answering your questions on the following topics:

To attend the skill sharing workshops, you must register in advance and select the session and topics you wish to participate in.  Please use this form to register for one or both sessions of the skill sharing workshop.  Since space is limited, registration will be on a first come, first serve basis.  You will be notified by email when your registration is verified.

A reception will follow at the conclusion of the skill sharing workshops at 7:15 PM.  To attend only the reception, please RSVP through your Pratt Pro account.

ILISE BENUN
Ilise Benun is the founder of Marketing-Mentor.com, a business coaching program for creative professionals and the co-producer/host of CFC, the business conference for the Creatively Self-Employed since 2008. She is also a national speaker and the author of several books including, The Designer’s Guide to Marketing & Pricing, Public Relations for Dummies (2nd Edition), The Art of Self Promotion, Stop Pushing Me Around: A Workplace Guide for the Timid, Shy and Less Assertive and The Creative Professional's Guide to Money. Sign up for her tips at http://www.marketing-mentortips.com and follow her @MMToolbox

PATRICIA BUTTER
After graduating from Pratt in 1989 with a BFA in Fashion Design, Patty became General Manager at Morgane Le Fay in Soho where she worked for ten years. She then provided Product Development and Management Consulting to the labels: Han Feng, Victoria’s Secret and Miguelina. After spending 20 years working in the trenches of the fashion industry, Patty now enjoys turning her passion for organic gardening into healthy and sustainable products for children. Patty created Buttercup & Jake Natural Skin Care for Kids to meet the needs of her own daughter’s itchy, allergic skin. Buttercup & Jake has ignited her passion for children's health issues and sustainability. As she works to build the children's brand, she strives to bring safe, natural skin care products to a broader audience while raising awareness of our power as individual consumers to effect positive change.

DAVID CERADINI
David founded Ceradini Brand Design in 1993 and oversees all agency initiatives with its management team. He leads the development of creative strategies, branding and design assignments, from conceptualization through activation. Possessing a unique blend of business savvy and innovative creativity, David works closely with all agency clients and leads the team in delivering award-winning design and client ROI.

David holds a BFA in Design, with honors, from Pratt Institute, and has 25-plus years experience working with some of the world's most recognizable brands—also start-ups and everything in between. He also has had the opportunity to work alongside some of the industry’s most talented people.

Prior to starting Ceradini Brand Design, David worked in both staff and freelance capacities for several top branding and package design agencies in New York City, including Michael Peters Group, Sterling, Landor, Wallace-Church, Deskey, etc. He is a board member of AIGA Metro North Chapter and also a member of the Design Management Institute (DMI), CEW and ASID. Client partners he’s worked with over the years include Anheuser-Busch InBev, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive, Nestle USA, Heineken USA, Jose Cuervo, Eight O’Clock Coffee, Chobani, Ecover, Benjamin Moore and many more.

JUSTINE CLAY
Justine Clay has been helping freelance creative talent build thriving careers for more than 15 years.  As the founder of Plum Creative - a creative management agency she started in 2005 - Justine has represented a multi-disciplined roster of talent and built a track record of making the perfect match with clients that include Bloomingdale’s, LOFT, Cole Hann, Liz Claiborne, Lucky Brand, Target, Tommy Hilfiger, Vogue and West Elm.

Pitch Perfect was launched in 2010 and born of the desire to share her knowledge and experience with a wider range of creative talent and entrepreneurs.  Working with people of all disciplines and levels, Justine teaches them the business, interpersonal and project management skills they need to transform their creative ideas into paying projects and lasting professional relationships.

LARA KNUTSON
Lara Knutson is an Industrial Designer and originally trained as an Architect in New York. She received a master’s degree in Industrial Design and a bachelors degree in Architecture from Pratt Institute. Lara’s jewelry is sold at the MoMA Design Store and other stores around the world. Lara was in a show called BREAKABLE which was exhibited through the American Design Club at the Heller Gallery in May 2010. Her piece titled “soft glass” was purchased by the Corning Museum of Glass to be in their permanent collection. In July 2012, her work will be part of a traveling exhibition starting in the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC called “Craft Futures: 40 under 40″ in which her piece is intended to be acquired by the Museum for their permanent collection.

DANA MAURIELLO
Dana is currently the Director of New Business Opportunities at Etsy where she is responsible for strategic relationships for the company.

Prior to her work at Etsy, Dana was the Co-Founder & President of ProFounder, a crowdfunding platform that provided tools for entrepreneurs to raise investment capital from their communities. She has also testified twice as a Congressional expert witness on Crowdfunding and played an active role in the shaping and passage of the Crowdfunding Bill of the JOBS Act.

Before starting ProFounder, Dana worked on the Corporate Product Innovations team at Estee Lauder and in Marketing at L'Oreal. Dana created a unique major at Stanford University, earning her BA in Product Development, and returned to earn her MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2009. She is a champion powerlifter, relentlessly positive, and so obsessed with doing new things that she created a site to organize the many activities around her; http://www.maketodayawesome.com

ISABEL ROXAS
Isabel Roxas is an illustrator and graphic designer. Born in Manila, she now juggles her time between illustrating magazine covers, designing websites and creating picture books in a quiet studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. A whimsical artist, she has a taste for the slightly odd and uncommon, and for tales that go awry. As a Fulbright Scholar, Isabel earned her M.S. in Communications Design at Pratt Institute. To date, she has illustrated over a dozen storybooks for children including Day at the Market (Adarna House), which received the Philippine National Children’s Book Award in 2010. Her first picture book for the US market called The Case of the Missing Donut will be released by Dial Books for Young Readers on July 2013.