by MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Hooker Furnishings has hired two new team members and promoted two others as part of an effort to accelerate the company’s collected living brand strategy.
The company has hired Misty Ellis as director, design for custom upholstery. The company said that Ellis “brings a wealth of design expertise and deep industry knowledge from her previous position at Lee Industries that will strengthen the company’s custom upholstery division and support continued innovation in this critical category.”
The company also has hired Christy Almond as vice president of collected living. She comes to the company from Swavelle Living where she was vice president customer solutions.
Previously she was vice president product development and marketing at Valdese Weavers and before this was vice president design and merchandising at The Robert Allen Group. She also previously served as director of design, decorative fabrics at Craftex Mills. In her new position he will be responsible for continued development of collected living across the company’s brands.
The company also has promoted Emily Boyst to vice president, experiential retail and licensing. In this role, the company said, she will lead strategy and execution of its experiential retail and licensing initiatives. At Hooker Furnishings, she most recently was senior director of marketing partnerships.
Kathryn Behmer has been promoted to director of merchandising. In this position, she will lead the company’s occasional and accent furniture categories, including C&M, Mélange and Entertainment. She most recently was product merchandising manager and before this was merchandising development specialist at Hooker Furnishings.
The company said that the hires and promotions aim to present “a unified vision that aligns product development, marketing, and customer experience around a common mission that combines craftsmanship, innovation, and lifestyle versatility across categories.”
“We are pleased to welcome Misty and Christy to Hooker Furnishings and to recognize Emily and Kathryn for their continued contributions and leadership,” said Jeremy Hoff, chief executive officer of Hooker Furnishings. “Each of these individuals brings valuable experience and perspective that will support our strategic initiatives and drive continued progress across the company.”
