Fashion Merchandising

Faculty

Mindy Drcar
Fashion Merchandising Dept Head

Ms. Drcar is the Department Head for VMCAD's Fashion Merchandising Program.  She has a Bachelor's Degree in Fashion Merchandising and in Business and Management. She is also a graduate of Cleveland State University with a Master's Degree in Adult Learning and Development with a focus on Higher Education. She has retail experience at both the store and corporate levels, concentrating on product development at various companies including Gap, Target, Dillards and Coldwater Creek.

 

 

 

Becky Koenig
Fashion Merchandising Instructor
Professional: Footwear Buyer for Amerimark Direct

With a bachelor's degree in Fashion Merchandising, Becky's experience is diverse.  She worked in a professional salon for 7 years after high school, prior to getting her degree in Fashion Merchandising.  Becky 's retail experience includes store level all the way up the corporate ladder. She was a buyer for Dots, LLC for 10 years, buying for the shoe and intimate divisions. Becky has also worked for the TJX corporation in Framingham, MA buying in the Men's area. She is currently the footwear buyer for Amerimark Direct, a privately held catalog company in Cleveland, Ohio.

 

 

Stacy Wideman
Fashion Merchandising Instructor

Stacy Wideman has a Bachelor's Degree in Art History and Humanities/Classics from Ohio Wesleyan University. She also has a Master's Degree in Art History and Museum Studies with a concentration in ancient architecture from Case Western Reserve University. She teaches History of Art, Fashion, and Architecture at Virginia Marti, and also works as a freelance mural artist.

 

 

 

 

Len Molloy
Fashion Merchandising Instructor
Principal at Retail Resort Designs

Mr. Molloy has worked for more than thirty years as a corporate design executive with national retail chains. He has specialized in visual merchandising and store design for specialty store (Richman Brothers), big box (HomePlace), and department store (May Company) retailers. He is currently a principal with Retail Resort Design, a full service retail design firm.
 

 

 

 

Eileen Ptacek
Fashion Instructor (Textiles)

Ms. Ptacek utilizes her creativity, sewing and organizational skills to teach Fashion Merchandising and Family and Consumer Sciences to her students at VMCAD. Coming from teaching these skills to middle school and high school students, she enjoys the rapport she develops with all her students. Ms. Ptacek's skills include designing tailored garments, gowns and accessories all the way to putting together curtains, pillows, briefcases and iPod covers.

 

 

 

Katherine Miracle
Small Business Mgmt, Advertising and Promotions, Salesmanship
Founder and Owner of Miracle Resources

Ms. Miracle is the founder and owner of Miracle Resources, a consulting, training and educational resource for businesses and non-profits.  She specializes in teaching her clients and her students about advertising, promotions, branding, public relations, marketing and revenue development.  Her clients include The Cleveland Clinic, The American Red Cross and Dunkin Donuts.

 

 

 

Jill Pigman
Fashion Merchandising Instructor

Jill Pigman is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, with an AAS in Fashion Merchandising Management.  She has worked with “W” Magazine's Wardrobe Department, 7th on 6th Fashion Show production for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, and the showroom sales and design offices of Cynthia Rowley.  She has primarily worked as a multi-line designer sales representative in Los Angeles.  Over the years, she has also gained knowledge of retail sales and management, buying, merchandising, product development, styling, and production through various positions, companies and designers on the West Coast. 

 

 

Sherry Naggy
Fashion Merchandising Instructor

Ms. Naggy received her Bachelor of Art's degree in the area of fashion design from Kent State University. Through her love of fashion she has achieved many rewarding experiences within the industry, ranging from visual merchandising opportunities to designing for major corporate design companies. Her experiences in NYC began with working as a designer for two menswear labels within Liz Claiborne Inc. She then moved on to designing childrenswear clothing for Talbots Kids, where she designed in the area of casual, dressy, sleepwear and accessories for girls age 7-14.

Currently, Ms. Naggy teaches at Kent State University and Virginia Marti College of Art and Design where she enjoys sharing her illustration, creativity and design skills with students. She continues to pursue outside design opportunities that inspire her teaching style and techniques. Ms. Naggy looks forward to continue working with students to reach their personal goals within the fashion industry.

 

 

 

Matthew Dodd
Instructor for Interior Design, Fashion Design, and Fashion Merchandising

Matthew is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University specializing in 19th century French painting. While working on his M.A. he developed an original course examining the interconnected history of music and art from the Greeks to the 20th century. He also studied studio arts and architectural history while earning his undergraduate degree at Cleveland State University. Professionally, Matthew has presented papers on such topics as the significance of Wagnerian opera on post-impressionism and Robert Arneson's Jackson Pollock inspired ceramic works. Matthew also has over 10 years of experience in high-end picture framing and installation, designing original frames for works by Picasso, Rauschenberg and Sol Lewitt. Matthew teaches History of Art, Costume, and Architectural Interiors as well as Art Fundamentals and Color Theory.

 

 

 

Frenchye M. Bush, M.A.
Fashion Merchandising Instructor

Frenchye M. Bush, M.A. developed a passion for fashion at an early age and since has worked in the industry as a model, fashion show producer, visual merchandiser, stylist, special event coordinator, public relations director, and in retail sales. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Fashion Merchandising from the Ohio State University and master’s degree in Communications Management from John Carroll University. Frenchye is co-owner of Style DNA, a fashion event production and promotion company and co-creator of FLASH (Fashion Leaders Achieving Social Harmony) Cleveland, an organization that supports and promotes the local fashion industry.

 

 

---

 

 

 

Art and General Studies

 

Patrick Melnick
Director of Art Studies

Any student will tell you that Mr. Melnick is one of the best! An art studies instructor, he teaches Anatomy and Figure Drawing, History of Art and Fashion Illustration. An instructor for more than 26 years, Mr. Melnick earned his Master of Fine Arts Doctoral in Studio Arts from the University of Notre Dame. He's worked throughout Ohio and in Chicago teaching and working in art galleries.

 

 

 

 

 

Sally Heston
Art Fundamentals and Basic Color Theory

Ms. Heston has more than 30 years of teaching experience. She has art published in several books and exhibits much of her solo work in art galleries throughout Pennsylvania and NE Ohio. She's also a co-currator at the MD Garage Art Gallery in Cuyahoga Valley National Park and is President of the Board of Trustees of the Cuyahoga Valley Art Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

 

 

 

 

Andrij Maday
Art Fundamentals and Color Theory

Mr. Maday is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He is the recipient of 12 awards, a Lewis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant among them. Mr. Maday has exhibited extensively in 33 solo and over 85 group exhibitions. His woodcuts, drawings, as well as paintings, both secular and ecclesiastical, may be found in numerous private and permanent collections in North America, Europe, and Australia. Specializing in custom site specific commissions, his work can be viewed at www.andrijmaday.com.

 

 

 

Keith Smith
Anatomy & Figure Drawing, Art Fundamentals and Color Theory

Mr. Smith is a graduate of VMCAD and holds an Associate Degree of Applied Business in Interior Design.  He serves on the board of the VMCAD foundation, and teaches the art fundamentals, color theory and anatomy & figure drawing courses.  He also teaches Intro to Interior Design and Anatomy & Figure Drawing for ID. Mr. Smith owns the fine art firm Esoteric Painting Design located in downtown Cleveland.  He specializes in faux painting techniques, and color consulting. 

 

 

 

John Kenney
Photography

Mr. Kenney teaches still photography at VMCAD. He's worked for various news outlets including the National Press and Sports Illustrated. He's won more than 280 photography awards throughout his career and has work displayed in the Football Hall of Fame. He graduated from Capital University and was trained at the prestigious Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.

 

 

 

 

Wayne Pearsall
Business Law, Economics

Mr. Pearsall is a practicing Attorney with active licenses in both Ohio and Florida. He is a sole practitioner with an emphasis on Family Law, Criminal Law, Bankruptcy and Small Claims. He has also done Pro Bono work for Homeless Women's Shelters. But Mr. Pearsall also enjoys using his creative talents through photography and web design. He does photography for various VMCAD events and has created several websites for his other hobbies – baseball and research on Internet Law, publishing an online journal called the Cyberbug Law Journal.

---

The Fashion Merchandising program at Virginia Marti College of Art & Design focuses on developing the artist as an entrepreneur, with business and fashion design classes led by professionals who actually work in the industry. Our instructors help students to develop the skills necessary to thrive in today’s fast-paced and competitive world. Contact us today to learn more about our fashion merchandising college located in the heart of northeast Ohio.