Esther Tamondong
A Dream Job Designing For Pottery Barn

FIDM Grad Esther Tamondong Has A Dream Job Designing For Pottery Barn!

Growing up in Salinas, CA, Esther Tamondong had a strong interest in visual design, but her parents encouraged her to first pursue a bachelor's degree at Fresno State University. Majoring in communications, Esther graduated in 1995, and then headed to FIDM in San Francisco to pursue her dream of studying design. She attended FIDM ‘s Professional Designation Degree Program in Visual Communications, which took 15 months.

"I loved what FIDM had to offer and it was amazing because you had real life instructors that were in the industry," Esther explains. "It was exciting to hear what they had to say and really learn what they had to teach you." Esther took "grounding classes" like Color Theory and truly enjoyed the lab classes, which were more hands on. But it was two internships set up by FIDM that really made a difference in Esther's future. Working at The Limited flagship store and later at the venerable home furnishings company Gump's, Esther acquired valuable training and experience before she had even finished her degree.

Right after graduating from FIDM, Esther started working for The Limited's visual team. "I really got my feet wet there," she says. "After a year and a half, I hit all the hot stores in San Francisco with my resume and portfolio, and started knocking on doors." She worked at Fillamento, a home furnishings store, for two and a half years, but was ready for a change. Armed with some serious experience and a great attitude, Esther went back to FIDM to talk to one of the career advisors. She faxed Esther's resume to Pottery Barn, the home furnishings and accessories mecca, where a position for assistant designer was available.

Esther received the job and her initial responsibilities included working directly with the designers, tracking merchandise and acting as the liaison between Pottery Barn teams and the product agents around the world. Currently, Esther reports to the vice president of design at Pottery Barn. "I was fortunate enough to have a position created for me in product development," Esther says. "Now as designer, I design concepts for the visual presentation of each season."

A huge part of her job includes finding and researching all of the upcoming trends. "We are always in the future here," she laughs. "We'll be dealing a year or two in advance so I look through European magazines, go to stores and shop and use sources like wgsn.com for information." She also interacts with the directors of each department and deals with the studio space and presentations that go in the showrooms.

Pottery Barn began in 1949 as a single store in Lower Manhattan, and is founded on the idea that home furnishings should be comfortable, stylish and high quality. Their in-house designers create unique collections at reasonable prices, making Pottery Barn a household name. In 1986, Williams-Sonoma acquired Pottery Barn and launched the famed catalog. Pottery Barn boasts hundreds of retail stores across the U.S. and opened digs in Toronto, Canada in 2001.

Working in San Francisco for one of the biggest companies in the U.S., Esther couldn't be happier. "I'm working with people who are on the same wavelength," she says. "I am so fortunate to be where I am." Esther encourages students to pursue their dreams. "Give 110% and really focus on working hard and not giving up," Esther says. As for her once skeptical parents, Esther says, "They are so happy now. When I got this job at Pottery Barn, I brought them into the corporate space and they were like, ‘You made it!"

Please Note: The information contained herein was confirmed at the time of original publication