BROOKLYN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--West Elm, a member of the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. portfolio of brands, today announced that Vanessa Holden, editor-in-chief and creative director of Martha Stewart Living, will join the brand as senior vice president and creative director. Ms. Holden will oversee all facets of the home furnishing brand’s expression in the west elm catalog, on westelm.com, and in the brand’s store environments.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Vanessa join our team,” said Jim Brett, president of west elm. “Over the past year, we’ve worked carefully to enhance and diversify the west elm merchandise offering and our customers have responded positively. Vanessa is the author of our next logical chapter. She brings a wealth of experience in the art of storytelling through words and images that will make our catalog, our website and our stores a richer experience for our customers.”
“For me, west elm is the most exciting, vibrant lifestyle brand in the market right now,” said Vanessa Holden. “The opportunity to build out a compelling, rich and immersive brand experience for the west elm customer is incredibly exciting. I look forward to helping grow the brand in all dimensions.”
Ms. Holden has built a diverse career in publishing and creative roles. At Martha Stewart Living she oversaw the creative and editorial direction of the award-winning magazine and married its visual style with the brand’s media and retail segments. She joined Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in 2008 as the editor-in-chief of Martha Stewart Weddings. Ms. Holden has also served as creative director of Time Inc.’s Real Simple and, in her native Australia, Donna Hay Magazine, which she also co-founded. At her eponymous design firm, Vanessa Holden AD+D, she provided art direction and design for editorial houses Harper Collins/Donna Hay and Murdoch Books/Bill Granger as well as the retailer Country Road Australia. Ms. Holden holds a bachelors degree in fine arts from University of New South Wales College of Fine Arts.
About west elm:
west elm creates simple, affordable designs for modern living. Headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, the brand introduced its first catalog in April 2002 and opened the doors of its first retail location in 2004. The brand’s complete collection of home décor, including affordable furniture, decorative accessories, and bedding is also available around-the-clock at www.westelm.com. west elm is a member of the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. portfolio of brands.