Designer likes the look of Goodwill
“You’ve got three seconds to make an impression,” Eric Smissen said. “Make it visually pleasing.”
Smissen, in brown jeans and a plaid shirt, his mustache styled in the form of a handlebar, might have been guiding workers at Nordstrom, where he once worked.
But he was overseeing a display of mannequins outfitted with designer pieces and accessories at the OC Goodwill Boutique in Huntington Beach, where a chandelier and oversized chairs added to the classy feel of the place.
He finds nothing ironic about transferring his design skills from the upscale retailer to Goodwill. He said he had reached a point where he felt like he learned as much as he could at Nordstrom.
And this is, after all, a Goodwill boutique, created for shoppers to find deals on a curated collection of gently used designer brands.
The newly renovated store off Beach Boulevard is the nonprofit’s third boutique in Orange County, and it’s up to Smissen and his visual merchandising crew to develop displays that enhance the shop’s atmosphere and help move the merchandise.
Smissen has worked at Goodwill for four years. He started as a store manager in Placentia, became Goodwill’s visual specialist a year later, and was promoted to the organization’s senior manager of merchandising and acquisitions in October.
In this role, he conducts merchandising training for the boutique stores in Orange County, helps with new store and remodel layouts and manages the acquisitions team.
His choices can make all the difference between what sells and what lingers on the racks, and this knowledge is what he has begun sharing with Goodwill employees, kicking off his first visual merchandising class earlier this month.
He teaches styling tips, basic elements of design and mannequin care.
“I wanted to create a visual merchandising program not only to help the store look better, but also have employees know that there can be a career with it,” Smissen said. “The sky is the limit here, and I encourage them to use the store as a resource when learning.
“My big rule is to keep it simple because there can be a tendency to put more and more out there, but that looks muddled. I always say, ‘Let the merchandise tell you what’s special about it.’”
The True Religion designer jeans should be folded in a way to show the back pocket’s embroidered flap.
The cigarette jeans offered in a variety of colors should be stacked near each other.
And all mannequins must have a head to showcase hats.
“That drives me crazy to see a hat dangling from a headless mannequin,” Smissen said, shaking his head no.
His formidable mandate is to create a modern and imaginative interpretation of clothing and accessories that should tell a story and have a fashion focus.
With the current spring season, he’ll look through fashion magazines to identify trends and share with visual stylists that the current look, which mirrors the Victorian-age.
He’ll show his students pictures and suggest they select pieces that are high-collared, detailed with ruffles and cinched at the waist.
Along with highlighting present-day trends, Smissen and the team of visual stylists are responsible for replenishing or replacing garments on mannequins or displays as soon as they are sold.
Dozens of new styles enter the store’s donation center every day, so customers may never face the sight of an empty rack or, worse, the same things they saw two weeks ago.
“He taught me that it is a compliment if we have to change the mannequin, because that means I chose the right thing and I’m appealing to the customer,” said Liz Merrit, who works at the Center West Goodwill, one of the thrift shops in Westminster, and took the first visual merchandising class. “I learned so much in-depth terminology and how to create ideas. It’s a lot of fun.”
It’s those design skills that help attract customers and encourage them to buy that he learned at Nordstrom, Smissen said.
Smissen worked at the department chain for 22 years, starting out as a loss-prevention team member and rising through ranks to visual manager at the MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana and the Brea Mall, where he worked for nearly 17 years.
But he wanted to begin anew in the retail sector, so he thought of applying to Goodwill — a store he had been shopping at since he was 14 years old.
It’s also a company that holds deeper meaning, he said, since it provides employment and training for people with disabilities.
He said the only place willing to hire his partner’s mother — a Latina who had a physical disability related to polio — was Goodwill.
“It feels good to be working for a company that does good,” Smissen said. “The people who drive the organization have such care, and we’re so fortunate to have leaders who are brave and willing to take chances. I’m super proud to be a part of it.”
For more information, visit ocgoodwill.org.
