REVIEWS
“Sheela was a Design Director on my team at COACH heading up the Runway Collection and Outlet Footwear. She has a high taste level and strong creative process that led to clear and compelling product concepts. Both her free-hand and technical sketching abilities are exceptional.
Always a team player and willing to get her hands dirty to problem solve, she worked well with everyone across the board from the Creative Director, to the Design Team, PD, Merchandising, and with the factories in Spain and China.
She is generous of spirit, thoughtful, funny, and honest! I highly recommend her for any endeavor.”
— Laura Santisi, SVP Footwear Design, Coach
“Sheela is a rare and inspiring talent. It is not often that you can find a designer who has her skillset. She has a beautiful hand sketch ability as well as incredible presentation skills. She does thorough and detailed research and pulls together beautiful inspiration decks. Besides these hard skills she has unmatched motivation, attention to detail, and an ability to manage multiple projects with simultaneously quality results.
She is highly creative and can translate market trend into viable commercial product through a focused brand filter. Sheela worked with me to relaunch men’s bags for BR by researching Banana Archival product and building brand codes to identify the details of our collection. That collection launched successfully for Fall 2022 in an extremely tight timeline and with much success and customer acceptance.
She has a very positive personality, even under pressure and tight deadlines. She clearly negotiates priorities and always meets deliverables. Her follow up is diligent and product impeccable. Above all, she remains professionally composed with a calm demeanor and positive attitude.”
— Stacey Bearden, Director of Accessories, Banana Republic
“Sheela and I worked together at COACH, where she had the unique role of overseeing design for both our high-end Runway Collection (1941) and our volume driving Made-For-Outlet business. She’s a design professional and cultural omnivore who has the creativity to see possibilities where others don’t and the discipline and grit to make them a reality.
One of Sheela’s gifts is her ability to work closely with creative and business executives to produce exciting, consumer-relevant footwear. When COACH hired a new CEO and Creative Director, Sheela was able to quickly pivot, collaborate, and ultimately lead the brand in a new direction. She’s personable with her teammates, adaptable with changing tides, and strategic with her effort. ”
— Michael Ghory, Director Global Merchandising, Converse
“Sheela made an immediate impression on me a as a helpful, giving team player who carried a respectful and hard working attitude. I was impressed by her professionalism and diligence.
Sheela is focused and accurate, rendering highly detailed ideas promptly. Her work demonstrates designing with purpose and intent, where the needs of the product and brand identity are always thoroughly considered.
I have experienced how Sheela’s collaborative nature and clear communication skills foster strong relationships with technicians, administrators and colleagues which adds to a positive and supportive working environment. ”
— Irene Chiu, Sr. Automotive Industrial Designer, Afry
“As a consultant, Sheela has a keen ability to take design direction and translate it into brand right product ideas. She is a talented designer who displays not only strong design skills, but also demonstrates a very strong work ethic. She’s trend savvy and a pleasure to work with. She would be a tremendous asset to any organization.”
— Angela Scott, Founder and Creative Director, The Office of Angela Scott
“Sheela is a pleasure to work with. She is a talented design lead who has created iconic styles for COACH that resulted in increased sales. She is a collaborative leader who is an excellent design problem solver, but also empowers her team to fully contribute to the success of the product.”
— Wevly Wilson, Senior Footwear Designer, Coach
“We hired Sheela to help launch FOSSIL footwear Women’s category. She wore many hats during the start-up process from merchandiser, designer, and development liaison. Her professional approach was great, her creative input invaluable. I highly recommend her for future projects.”
— Scott Milden, Founder, Milden Mfg. Co.