Alumni
Merchandise Product Development Grad Krystyna Nowinski Designs Displays for Auto Parts Supplier
Krystyna Nowinski grew up in California and now lives in Boise, Idaho. She attended Atascadero High School and graduated from FIDM with her A.A. in Merchandise Product Development in 2013. Since then, she’s worked in a number of different industries, and credits FIDM with her success. “Throughout the last 10 years, I have worked in fast fashion, kidswear, power sports, production, and marketing but none of this would have been possible without developing a strong base at FIDM. I truly believe that every single class at FIDM helped me differently in every job I've had.” She’s now working at Western Power Sports. We caught up with her to learn more.
Tell us about your position at Western Power Sports (WPS): I am the Display and Merchandising Coordinator here at WPS. Western Power Sports is the largest aftermarket distributor of parts and supplies for off-road vehicles. In addition to our in-house brands such as FLY Racing, Highway 21, Firepower, HardDrive, Open Trail, Shinko and Sedona, we also distribute for brands such as Alpinestars, Michelin, and Scorpion. I design displays for all of our in-house brands and am in charge of finding the correct factory for the project, coordinating samples, revisions, approvals and production. When the container arrives in our warehouse, I do a quality check and work with our receiving department to get the display into our inventory system then communicate to our Brand Managers to get the display to our Sales Reps and put the display in stores.
I also have a part-time job with an independent dancewear company in downtown Boise called Barreto Dancewear. I have been working there for about a year and a half and I assist the owner in organizing new fabric shipments, cutting, sewing, and packaging skirts and leotards. We make everything we sell by hand in Boise and ship worldwide.
How did FIDM help prepare you for your career? I always say that I learn something new in every job that I have. As crazy as it sounds, the insane workload at FIDM helped me tremendously to understand how to prioritize my responsibilities at work while achieving a healthy work/ life balance. The collaboration in group projects gave me the ability to be a great team player and cultivate real friendships from my coworkers. It's truly a joy for me to walk into work every morning and there is no way I could have gotten here without my education from FIDM.
Keep up with Krystyna on Instagram @itsmekrystyna.
Categories: Merchandise Product Development Alumni
