Erica Ecker

FIDM grad Erica Ecker has a career she set her sights on: Visual Merchandise Manager for a branch of the upscale department store Nordstrom in the San Francisco Bay Area. She's the person who's in charge of the look of the store, changing out all the mannequin displays, assisting with window production and window displays, and enhancing departments with lights,mannequins, and props to make the department more exciting. She directs a crew that works under her, and does the budgeting.

"One of the reasons they decided to hire me is because I went to school for Visual Merchandising -- because I'd gone to FIDM," she says of the retail giant. "They could tell that I was focused, and that Visual Merchandising was a thing I was really passionate about."

Erica heard about FIDM through a classroom rep. "Right after high school I was moving to Southern California so I could work at Disneyland," she remembers. "I needed to be able to work full-time and go to school full-time, and get a specialized degree so I could get a better career." As for her college choice, the Northern California native remarks that it "has worked out pretty good for me so far!"

While working at Disneyland as a Character Host (the person who accompanies costumed characters through the park), and also a Visual Assistant at Express clothing store ("It was my favorite store, so I applied!"), and attending FIDM, Erica considered her career strategy. "I said, 'OK, what can I do here that has to do with my schooling?'" She explains, "I've tried with every job to focus on my career goal." She began talking with the manager of Disneyland's Resort Enhancement and showed him her portfolio. "He saw what I was doing and allowed me to be part of his holiday crew," she says. "He saw that I had a good eye, so he gave me a chance."

Through a Fashion Styling class at FIDM that presented guest speakers from the fashion industry, Erica was able to obtain the business card of a Regional Visual Merchandise Manager at Nordstrom. "When I decided I was tired of working at Disneyland and it wasn't creative enough for me, I pulled out her business card and gave her a call," she remembers. She had always known that Nordstrom was the company she wanted to work for. "They have really high standards," she declares. That led to a fill-in position as a Visual Merchandising Trimmer and great on-the-job training. When Erica, whose FIDM degree is in Visual Communications, was ready to move back to her home base of the Bay Area, she was able to network within Nordstrom to find a position that suited her experience and interests. What she loves about her post is, "being able to be creative and have a lot of variety. It's always different." She confides, "I'm a people person, and I get to interact with a lot of people." At Nordstrom, the artistic direction for the Visual Merchandising look and feel does come from the corporate division, but, Erica says, "there's a lot of freedom."

When transferring her skills from the classroom to the sales floor, Erica remembers feeling that, "I'd be able to use a lot of the skills I learned, so it would be an easy transition from going to school to going into the Visual Merchandising division." She goes on. "The teachers were industry professionals, so I was learning things that I knew would apply to whatever job I would get."

Always a girl who likes to keep busy, Erica's taking her career beyond Nordstrom. She's currently working on putting together a holiday decorating business and supplementing her education at San Francisco State. Her ultimate goal is to open, along with her professional seamstress mother, an accessories and apparel business.

Meanwhile, Erica's one of the vast pool of FIDM alumni who maintain contact with FIDM, using FIDM's Career Center when they have a position to fill. "It's my favorite place to get potential employees," she says, "because I know that the quality is going to be good!" That's high praise coming from someone who's definitely in-the-know about what it takes to create top-flight visuals!

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