BUCKLEManager

THE EYE GALLERYHead Frame Buyer and Stylist

W.H. RANCH DUNGAREES Principal Owner, Jean Maker

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Ryan Martin is a sixth-generation professional sewer and pattern maker. At a young age, he was intrigued by apparel construction and was behind a sewing machine as early as seven years old. That passion never died, and in 2004 Martin received his degree in Apparel and Textile Design from Kansas State University, his father’s alma mater.

In late 2011, Martin took his passion for vintage denim and launched his own denim label, W.H. Ranch Dungarees. This new concept of bespoke, artisan level denim was well received, and W.H. Ranch quickly became recognized as one of the finest pairs of jeans available on the market, with each pair being made from start to finish by Martin in his Colorado studio.

Martin relocated his operation back to his hometown of Kansas City in April of 2017 and currently resides there with his four children and wife of fourteen years, college sweetheart and fellow graduate of the Apparel Design program, Kimberly Martin.

Paige is an Alumna of the Kansas State Apparel & Textile Marketing program. After graduation Paige started Buckle’s Management program in Manhattan. Over the last three years Paige developed her skills to be promoted to Assistant Store Manager and work with Buckle clients in the Dallas market. During her time in Dallas, Paige continued to develop her passions of leadership development, professional selling, and personal styling. Paige was recognized for her hard work and was promoted to Store Manager at the Buckle in Manhattan, KS where she started her career! Paige enjoys being back in MHK where she can influence others through mentorship and professional selling.

Anna graduated from K-state in 2017. She interned with Zappos her junior year of college and has experience buying for large corporations as well as locally owned businesses. She currently works as the head frame buyer and stylist for The Eye Gallery in Wichita, Kansas. She works with brands such as Ray-Ban, Oakley, Kate Spade, Tory Burch and many more!

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RYAN MARTIN

PAIGE HARDING

ANNA NOLTE

AIM STRATEGIESMarketing Director

BRANDED CUSTOM SPORTSWEARPortal Data Coordinator

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Kyra Dreiling joined Hanesbrands, Inc/Champion Teamwear in June of 2005 immediately after graduating from Kansas State University’s Apparel and Textile program. She has held a variety of positions in buying, store operations, and management. Her real passion, however, is in product development and visual merchandising; all of which she has the opportunity to lead for Hanesbrands, Inc/Champion Teamwear retail division including the K-State Super Store and Gameday Super Store brands. Kyra serves on the apparel and textiles professional advisory board for Kansas State University. She also mentors several students through K-State’s College of Business and College of Human Ecology executive mentor programs. She and her husband, Dustin, live in Manhattan and have a four-year-old daughter, Aria, and a beloved Chihuahua, Trigger.

Holding a bachelor’s degree in marketing and international business from Kansas State University and an MBA from Washburn University, Thad is a longtime employee of Payless ShoeSource. Thad’s relationship with the company started in 2003 where he began in planning and allocation, but eventually moved to associate buyer, then to buyer in areas such as men’s and children’s footwear in Latin America. Thad was the merchandising manager for children’s athletics and boys, where his responsibilities include establishing the strategy and assortment for 3,800 stores in the United States and Canada. Thad is now the Marketing Director for AIM Strategies, a private equity firm based out of Topeka, with holdings in Apparel Brands, hotels and restaurants.

Natalie Bader began her career with Branded Custom Sportswear in 2017 as an Account Services Representative for their Canada sales division. She currently holds the role of Portal Data Coordinator. Natalie acts as a liaison between the IT, Merchandising, Creative, and Account Services departments in order to maintain Branded Custom Sportswear’s web based Sales Rep order portal.

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HANESBRANDS, INC/CHAMPION TEAMWEAR

KYRA DREILING

THAD HALSTEAD

NATALIE BADER

Director of Retail

HALLS KANSAS CITYStyle Expert

HADLEY DEVELOPMENT

JNA ADVERTISING

Assistant Product Manager

Social Media Associate

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Macy Burkett graduated from K-State in May 2018 with degrees in Apparel & Textiles and Vocal Performance with a minor in Business Administration. In her current position as the Social Media Associate at JNA Advertising, Macy creates and manages the social media content for a Southern lifestyle fashion retailer based in Charleston, South Carolina. When she’s not hard at work at the ad agency, Macy is pursuing her master’s degree from KU in Digital Content Strategy.

Breanne is currently a Style Expert at Halls Kansas City working in Women’s Bridge. She graduated from the Apparel and Textiles program in May of 2018. Upon graduation, she completed her internship as the assistant buyer for The Boutique where she helped in buying for women’s, children’s, and accessories at Dallas market. She holds knowledge in the buying process and the overall merchandising category, as well as personal styling.

My name is Taylor Hilton and I am an Assistant Product Manager for Hadley Development in Wichita, KS. I graduated from Kansas State in Apparel and Textiles Marketing with a certificate in Conflict Resolution in May 2018. Hadley is an outdoor apparel company that designs and manufactures for brands around the world. We manage supply chains for global brands, retail chains, specialty stores, catalogue-led, and other web-based retailers.

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MACY BURKETT

BREANNE HARDIMAN

TAYLOR HILTON

VANYA DESIGNSCEO

GOOGLE START UP, TAILOR APPPersonal Stylist

RIGHTFULLY SEWNFounder and President

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Jennifer Lapka is a nonprofit specialist, a student of Kansas City’s Garment District history, and a champion of Kansas City’s fashion community. Her career has included stops in Northeast England, London, and Kansas City, including the BALTIC, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation, respectively. She founded Rightfully Sewn in September 2015, which is a social entrepreneurial organization that creates jobs and opportunities through the business of fashion. Specifically, they offer seamstress training and job placement for women and incubate fashion designers in order to retain them in our community.

Alicia V. Ybarra is the CEO of Vanya Designs. In addition to owning and operating her business, she fills the position of lead designer in her company and her passion is bringing to life couture bridal and formal wear that reflect her clients own beauty and inspire love. Through a customized couture experience, she works closely with each client to realize their dreams in the design she creates. Vanya Designs has been a business entity for 10 years. Alicia holds a M.S in Apparel and Textiles from KSU, with an emphasis on product development and consumer research.

Melanie Gaoaen Todd was born and raised in the Bay Area, CA. Ever since she can remember, she has always been drawn to fashion and visual arts. At FIDM she received an Associates Degree in Merchandise Marketing and Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. Her career path then began as a Visual Merchandise Manager at Old Navy then grew to an Assistant Buyer at Charlotte Russe Corporate. Most recently, she interned with Celebrity stylist Micaela Erlanger in NY. Learning the process of Celebrity Styling inspired Melanie. She now works for Google start up, Tailor App as a Personal Stylist while building up her own clientele and portfolio.

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JENNIFER LAPKA PFEIFER

ALICIA YBARRA

MELANIE GAOAEN TODD

BUCKLE: SELECT DIVISIONCorporate Sales Strategist and Marketing

WALMART

STAPLES PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS

Technical Design Manager

Brand Solutions Manager

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Kendra Hornbaker is a Brand Solutions Manager at Staples Promotional Products, Corporate Headquarters based in Overland Park, KS. Staples Promotional Products is a distributer that provides branded merchandise for enterprise companies. SPP is a global leader in the industry, servicing clients such as AirBnb, Snap Inc., ESPN, and many more!

Kendra graduated from K-State in 2016 in Apparel, Textiles and Marketing. She began her career as an Associate Merchandiser and then moved to Senior Merchandiser, before holding her current role where she works directly with the client while managing inside teams on project execution.

Her every day responsibilities include sourcing custom products from suppliers, presenting creative solutions to client, and attending tradeshows to stay up-to-date with the latest fashion and technology.

Larissa graduated from Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Apparel and Textiles, specializing in Apparel Marketing with a minor in Business Administration and Leadership Studies. She went on to work for Buckle as an Assistant Buyer for women’s denim and accessories. She then moved to Kansas City where she continued with Buckle as a Corporate Visual Merchandising Strategist. Her experiences have led her to the current position as a Corporate Sales Strategist and Marketing for the Buckle SELECT division. She manages a national social media account for the company and reviews marketing strategies for Buckle SELECT. Larissa also supports many facets of the sales team company wide and coordinates in-store vendor events.

Amy graduated from KSU in 2004, B.S. Apparel Design and Production. She began career at Lands’ End as a Technical Design Assistant. After working at QVC and GTM Sportswear, she currently works as a Technical Design Manager at the Walmart Home Office in Bentonville, AR. In this role, she manages the fit/technical design for all Ladies Activewear.

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KENDRA HORNBAKER

LARISSA OST

AMY BALDWIN

LOCALECo-Owner

HALLS KANSAS CITY

BLING

Buyer

Area Manager

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Jillian VanCampen is an area manager for Bling and has been with the company since October 2017. Her territories include stores in Emporia, Manhattan, Salina, and both Wichita locations. Jillian focuses on leadership and development among teams, store advancement, and guest experiences. As a native from Scott City (Bling’s flagship store), Jillian has hometown pride in seeing owner Nicole Campos’ passion-project turn into a thriving business throughout Kansas and Nebraska.

Emily Brewer graduated from K-State in 2009 and began her career in the fashion industry working for PacSun as a stylist and copywriter for their website. Through her time at PacSun, she gained knowledge in the fashion e-commerce space. She later began working for Abercrombie & Fitch as acopywriter. Her collective knowledge and experience from working for largefashion brands paved the way to create her own clothing brand, LocalE, in2015.

Kelby Stehl received her Bachelor of Science in 2011 and Master of Science degrees in Apparel and Textile Marketing in 2013 from Kansas State University. Her thesis research focused on deterring the demand of fashion counterfeit goods through anti-counterfeit education. Since graduating, Kelby has acquired industry experience in fashion merchandising, assortment planning, inventory management, and trend forecasting. She is currently the buyer for women’s contemporary fashion and kid’s apparel and accessories at Halls Kansas City. Halls is a department store in Kansas City and a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards, Inc.—known for offering unique fashion merchandise, gifts, home décor, and accessories.

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JILLIAN VANCAMPEN

EMILY BREWER

KELBY STEHL

BLUE FOX BOUTIQUEOwner

DESIGN RESOURCES, INC.

BUCKLEProduct Development Technical Specialist & Graphic Designer

Associate Merchandiser

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Anne is an Apparel-Design graduate of Kansas State University residing in Kansas City. She has over 9 years’ experience in the Apparel industry, with skills ranging from buying and retail to design, merchandising and sourcing apparel. Her market focus has included sportswear, outerwear, promotional apparel and high-end boutique apparel. Anne is currently an Associate Merchandiser for Design Resources, Inc. in Kansas City. A native to Oberlin, KS Anne’s rural roots and involvement with 4-H led to her love of all things apparel. She enjoys being outdoors, ‘retailing’ aka shopping, attending KSU sporting events and spending time with her husband Frank and dog Levi.

Rebecca Hands-Neidig is from Garden City, KS where she graduated from Garden City High School in 2008. Rebecca’s passion for the apparel industry stemmed from her high school experience in Apparel and Design. After high school, Rebecca decided to attend Kansas State University where, in 2012, she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Apparel and Textiles. Within those years Rebecca had several different experiences that helped make her Boutique into what it is today. One of the things in particular stood out in helping mold Rebecca’s “craft”, and that was her internship experience at a Showroom in New York City. Rebecca’s first job experience out of college came at a local boutique in Garden City where she worked part time. She also served as the Buckles Assistant Manager where she gained loads of hands on experience. The Buckle job is what eventually led her to the conclusion that she would open up her own boutique. She felt that the more personal boutique setting is exactly what fit her personality. After nearly 3.5 years of having the doors open at Blue Fox Boutique, Rebecca has built up a very strong business. Blue Fox Boutique has a wide array of customers from numerous states that range from all ages.

McKenzey graduated from K-State in 2017 with a degree in Apparel and Textiles Design and Production with a minor Business. While studying at K-State she worked at the university costume shop as a seamstress andBuckle as a sales teammate. Following an internship the previous summer, atBuckle corporate, after graduation she accepted a full time position as aProduct Development Technical Specialist and Graphic Designer at Buckle inKearney, NE. She work on the Women’s Denim and Tops teams designingprivate label product, and following the product through from development,fitting, distribution, and sales.

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ANNE EMERT

REBECCA HANDS

MCKENZEY HANNA

SHOP LCMerchandise Planner

BUCKLE

ADORE ME

Store Manager/Regional Campus Recruiter

Designer

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My current role at Adore Me as Designer has been full of excitement and challenges that have lead to amazing growth. I’m the lead designer for our Swimwear, Sleepwear and Lounge categories. Working at a growing start up company has given me endless hands on opportunities within design and the business. A few of my core responsibilities include trend analysis, product development, print design, and an active member of Adore Me’s CSR committee.

My name is Mallory Binder and I am a Merchandise Planner for a televised shopping network called Shop LC. After graduating in 2015, I moved to Austin, TX. Before Shop LC I had spent the last three years growing and developing the Client Experience team for an online personal styling service called Stitch Fix.

Megan is an alumna from Texas Tech. Megan started her career in Buckle’s management program in Lubbock, TX. Megan’s first management opportunity was at the Buckle in Manhattan, KS. Megan is based out of Arlington, TX where she is the Store Manager and also is a Regional Campus Recruiter and Area Manager for Buckle. Megan is passionate about leadership development, mentorship, and personal selling.

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ARIANNA LEVIN

MALLORY BINDER

MEGAN FEATHERSTON

HALLMARK CARDSAssociate Product Manager

ANTHROPOLOGIE

DESIGN RESOURCES, INC.Director of Merchandising

Apparel Department Store Manager

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Mallory Bond graduated from Kansas State University in 2012 with a Bachelors of Science in Apparel and Textiles. After Graduation she interned with Nordstrom Oak Park in the women’s shoe department. Following the internship, she was promoted into management at that location. In her three years with Nordstrom she managed three different departments. In 2015, Mallory left Nordstrom to start her career with Anthropologie. Mallory started at the Country Club Plazalocation as a supervisor in the Apparel Department. After two years at that location, she accepted a promotion to Apparel Department Store Manager in Leawood, Kansas where she continues to work today. In her current position she heads visual merchandising of the apparel product and assists with managing the store controls.

Holly started her career in product development at Lee Jeans working as a merchandising specialist for the boys team where she learned about the end to end process in garment production. From there, she was hired on as a merchandising associate for Staples Promotional Products and worked toward the development and creation of product lines of Fortune 500 companies such as Snap-On Tools, IMB, John Deere ect. Currently, Holly is working as an Associate Product Manager at Hallmark Cards and spends her day to day assisting with development and overall business strategy for the Shoebox card line.

Avery graduated from Kansas State University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Apparel and Textile Marketing and a minor in business. After graduating, she worked as a Key Account Sales Manager for two Kansas City companies that specialized in resort apparel. In this role, she worked directly with large resort and theme park buyers to plan their seasonal assortments featuring custom graphics. In 2004, she joined Design Resources, Inc. as a Merchandiser. With a passion for product development, this was the perfect fit for her professional experience and college training. DRI’s fully integrated approach to product development provided her detailed experience in design, garment fit, material development, production planning and factory relationships. Working with a variety of customers has expanded her apparel knowledge into sportswear, outerwear and most recently licensed Nike apparel. She was promoted to Director in 2016 and works on their Nike and Dri Duck business. Avery resides in Kansas City with her husband and two sons.

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MALLORY BARMBY

HOLLY GRAY

AVERY SIMS

ANTHROPOLOGIEApparel Supervisor

HEARTLAND HERITAGEFounder and CEO

THE LEVY GROUP, INC.Swimwear Designer

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Jillian Beyer does swimwear. Focused and driven as a retail assistant in her teens, Jillian’s willingness to learn and accept new opportunities has led to her multi-dimensional experience in the field. Graduating from Kansas State University in 2011, with a degree in Apparel Design and Production, her studies opened up the world of swimwear design and product development, and ultimately, to her current position with one of the most influential and successful designers in swimwear, Anna Kenney. Jillian’s recent accomplishments include designs for: Nautica’s ‘20Spring/Summer campaign, US Olympic Spyder’s athletes’ editorial suits, and the #1 swimwearline at Amazon, Macy’s and Lord & Taylor’s in 2017 for Anne Cole. Jillian has always been passionate about learning and sharing. Her hobby as a Sommelier allows her to explore culture,language, and history, and lends itself towards design inspiration. Known for her “morning updates” at the office regarding the latest in the industry, Jillian comprehends and provides analysis for successful brands.

I am currently an Apparel Supervisor for Anthropologie in Kansas City, Missouri. After finishing my summer of 2018 as a Visual Merchandising Intern with the company, I decided to join the management team as a Manger in Training. I was quickly promoted to the position I hold now. This role has helped me grow in communication, conflict management, leadership, product knowledge, sales goals and reporting, store operations, and an overall understanding of the company and it’s aesthetic - which I am excited to share with you all.

Lacie Leatherman is the Founder and CEO of Heartland Heritage, a Midwest lifestyle brand. While working to scale and re-launch the brand after raising capital, Ms. Leatherman was awarded two U.S. and two International patents for innovative products in the promotional products and apparel industries. She currently working to bring those companies to market and scale them as well.

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JILLIAN BEYER

CARLY RAHMEIER

LACIE LEATHERMAN

STAPLES PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTSAssociate Merchandiser

EFI OPTITEX

BLING

Senior Account Manager

Store Manager

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Jocelyn Guilfoyle is the Manhattan store manager for Bling, the largest privately-owned women’s clothing boutique in Kansas, with 12 stores located in Kansas and Nebraska. Her responsibilities include customer relations, team development, social media and online promotion and inventory oversight. Prior to Bling, Jocelyn was the marketing manager for Manhattan Town Center. Her roles included the marketing and event planning at the mall. Jocelynis a K-State alum holding bachelors and masters degrees in Apparel TextileMarketing.

My name is Mackenzie Doherty I currently work for Staples Promotional Products as an Associate Merchandiser. I graduated Kansas State in 2018 with a degree in Apparel and Textiles with a Specialization in Marketing. I have been employed by a nonprofit in Kathmandu, Nepal where I took my internship and have had great experience traveling, and taking on new jobs and ventures with my degree.

Sabrina Cove has over 12 years’ experience working with leading fashion & apparel brands and educational institutions across the US as a Senior Account Manager and Sales Associate at EFI Optitex. Sabrina focuses on establishing new relationships with existing customers and bringing new customers on board, specifically with Small and Medium Businesses to ensure successful implementation of 2D/3D CAD solutions, and provide support for those customers to grow and succeed.

Since 2010, Sabrina has worked as the Education Manager to work with over 90 schools statewide to integrate and incorporate Optitex 2D/3D solutions for their programs.

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JOCELYN GUILFOYLE

MACKENZIE DOHERTY

SABRINA COVE