Design Assistant-Textiles Syston, Lincolnshire, East Midlands, England
Job description
We’re the UK's number one choice for homewares – we’re ambitious about our brand, about being a good company, and about profitable growth.
With 13 million active customers in the last 12 months, we offer over 50,000 products, including our own Dorma and Fogarty brands, across 170+ stores. We operate the UK’s largest Made to Measure factory for curtains and roman blinds. We’re also developing products to help customers live more sustainably by introducing new materials and circular design and broadening our Conscious Choice product lines.
Our purpose is ‘to help create the joy of truly feeling at home, for now and for generations to come.’ We have three ambitions: ‘ambitious about our brand’, ambitious about being a good company’, and ‘ambitious about profitable growth’. We’re focused on growing as the number one choice for home, furniture and more, loved by our customers shopping more frequently in a fast-moving, post-pandemic environment.
Design Team
Design are responsible for the design and development of exciting new product ranges to drive sales and wow our customers with sustainability and circular design at its heart. They continually research new trends in product design, consumer lifestyle, colour forecasting and new materials. They produce the creative direction for all categories each season which are then incorporated into department strategies.
We are a hugely collaborative team of designers, each striving to create collections and ranges that co-ordinate perfectly together in the home.
With a love of all thing’s textiles, pattern and colour, this role will assist the Senior Designer on the Sleep category, helping to shape trend direction, colour, print and textile product developmentWhat this role requires of you:
A varied and creative role, responsibilities will cover the following:
- Work with the Senior Designer to create product and trend direction for future seasons and contribute to wider seasonal trend packs.
- Work alongside our commercial teams and suppliers, helping gather and organise swatches, samples, and artworks throughout the season.
- Help with creative administration such as pulling together trend and briefing packs, collating notes and contacting suppliers regularly for follow up.
- Keep up to date with competition and conduct thorough inspirational research and present this with Senior Designer.
- Create print, pattern, and recolouring work for various promotional ranges throughout the season.
- Create detailed briefs / specifications working closely with suppliers and factories.
- Assist the Senior Designer on all aspects of adult and kids bedding, bathroom textiles and loungewear categories.
- Travel within the UK and Europe for supplier / store visits and inspirational shopping trips Essential skills:
- A creative eye with a real passion for design and homewares.
- An exciting portfolio demonstrating curated research, creative colour sense and original print and pattern work.
- Able to work independently and take own initiative.
- Constantly innovating and drive forward the product offer.
- Highly organised, with clear ability to be able to prioritise workload.
- Good attention to detail.
- Working to tight timelines.
- Curiosity and willing to listen and learn.
- Proficient in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
- Microsoft toolset (Office, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Teams)
- Team Working. Getting to know others and building a rapport with people including internal colleagues and our suppliers. Collaborating and networking cross functionally. Always offering help and asking for help when needed. Showing respect for everyone who has a different perspective. Keeping yourself and others up to date by sharing information and insight that helps people do their jobs A real positive “can do” attitude.
- Taking Responsibility. Showing a real passion for product and being enthusiastic. Enjoy the opportunity to learn new things and always seek to understand and improve knowledge. Being versatile and take on a range of tasks and responsibilities. Being self driven and taking ownership to do the right thing.
- Be Curious, internally and externally, continuously engaging with our suppliers, sourcing team and sourcing agents, Quality, Merchandising, Design, Sustainability and other departments to gain knowledge and understanding. Monitoring the competition and markets closely, always looking for where Dunelm can explore new opportunities. Always think of what our customer wants and work backwards from there.
- Being Resourceful by pulling together who or what you need to get things done. Being inventive. Working independently as required and using own initiative. Make things happen and taking timely action to raise and overcome issues. Using data and latest research to acquire a deeper understanding to inform forward thinking and planning.
