Jennifer L. Johnson, NYC designer and craftsperson, gained her expertise as a multi-media artist/sculptor over the past eleven years creating fashion-forward, fantastical window displays at the prestigious Lord & Taylor department store located at 5th Avenue in New York City. During her time at Lord & Taylor, Jennifer constructed a multitude of one-of-a-kind props and sets that made her display concepts come to life. Thousands of shoppers and tourists line up each year to marvel at these magical windows during the Christmas season, and her work has been featured and praised on television, web and print.
While constructing windows, Jennifer began to take on new and diverse projects from a variety of outside clients. Assignments include props, scaled couture costuming, toy prototyping, tradeshow art pieces, plush and soft/hard accessories. Jennifer also plans to launch her own line of one-of-a-kind designer handbags early next year under her newly-created brand, Milk and Pearls, and is working on developing a wallet design for manufacture.
Jennifer grew up in Jamestown, NY and honed her many talents while attending Purchase College as a Visual Arts major. She incorporates the best of both worlds -- infusing the warmth of a small town sensibility into the most sophisticated design.
Resume
April 1998 to June 2009: Lord and Taylor Dept Store
Other clients:
DC Comics - Scaled prototype costuming, model painting, toy sculpting
Heroes in Action - Scaled prototype costuming and painting
Lion Brand Yarn Co. - Sculpting and fabrication
David Robert Cellitti - Scaled costuming and accessories
George Brescia - Styling and showroom set-ups
Mark Ryden - Scaled costuming
Martin Izquierdo - Wing Fabrication
iToys - Toy Sculpting
Majestic Studios - Scaled prototype costuming
What others say
"Jennifer and I have worked together over the last 10 years both in a corporate situation-- the Window Display Dept. at Lord & Taylor-- and as freelancers, and I am still always impressed with her ability to work as both a creative individual and a strong team member, equally well, in either environment.
Jen is a highly skilled, multi-talented artist and is a master of fine handwork and exquisite detail evident in her sculpture, painting and needle art. She excels at creative problem solving and meets each new challenge by presenting original ideas and perfecting new techniques to achieve outstanding results. Never giving in to pressure, she meets the most demanding deadlines with a focused and uncompromising professionalism."
"I was Jennifer's creative director at Lord and Taylor for eleven years, and remember that I hired her immediately after seeing some of her work. She had made two tiny stuffed animals with such detail that I knew on the spot that she was creative, talented, and patient enough to execute elaborate designs. She spent many years creating wonderful sets and was always able to execute high quality work with the most amazing attention to detail. Jennifer is a real pro!"
"A rare and multi-faceted talent! I originally commissioned Jen to create prototype super-hero costumes for several 1:6 scale action figures and the results were flawless. Additionally, she was able to deliver sculpted accessories for the same set of figures – demonstrating two completely different skill sets. Her Lord & Taylor window designs were among the most original and sophisticated in New York City – demonstrating her artistic ability and proving that no job is too large or challenging for her. I look forward to working with Jen on many future projects!"
"I worked with Jennifer through the special events department at Lord & Taylor for about ten years and was fortunate to work directly with her in the Window department for 5 of those years. She is passionate about her work, and it shows in every detail --from the elaborate costumes she makes by hand, to her sculpting of unique figures, to the snowflake sugar cookies she made for the holiday windows that looked good enough to eat. She is not only wonderfully talented but charming, and a pleasure to work with."
"I had the opportunity to meet Jen while she was in the process of selecting portfolio works to showcase her abounding imagination and technical skills as an artist. While we discussed a potential project I was most impressed with her easy disposition yet confident approach in expressing clear opinions along with creative concepts."
"Jen is amazing! She balances creativity with dependability. She has been free-lancing for me for about a year, styling showrooms in Manhattan and Connecticut. She has a great eye and is an invaluable part of my team. Her work ethic is outstanding-- always flexible no matter what the demands. I would highly recommend Jen for anyone in need of a creative and reliable person.