John Holschuh
Founder, Product Designer and Consultant · KEYLINE DESIGN
Baltimore, MD
In My Own Words
Throughout my product creation career, I have constructed my global experience by working with some of the most influential brands in the industry including Under Armour, Reebok, Abercrombie & Fitch, Eastern Mountain Sports and Huk Performance Fishing. My knowledge spans from multiple positions within established brands to start-ups. My detail-oriented process is driven by creativity, curiosity, technology, passion, and strategic thinking. My experience of fitting, adjusting, and updating product on-site cemented factory relationships & shortened time to market. I am accountable for building & leading cross functional teams to create captivating & dynamic customer centric stories through direction & collaboration.
Work Experience
Founder Product Designer and Consultant
KEYLINE DESIGN2024 – Present
Manage 20+ brands including: Chêne Gear, Asio Gear, Canvasback Waterfowl, Pickleball Bella, Nuthin Fancy, Marucci Baseball, Kryptek Outdoor Group, Southern Boy Outfitter and Fish-Water Clothing Co. ● Creation and lifecycle maintenance of apparel & accessories including headwear & bags for Men, Women & Youth ● Line ideation including overarching unified storytelling & seasonal palette creation based upon color theory. ● Creative / Technical Design of tech pack including graded specs, bill of materials, technical illustration, and specific color assignment. ● Balancing 10+ customers / timelines currently.
Apparel Design Manager
PARAMOUNT APPAREL INCORPORATED2019 – 2020
Brands included: EHG Elite (Engineered Hunting Apparel), EAG Elite (Engineered Angling Apparel), Mossy Oak Red Hook Fishing, Sisterhood of The Outdoor Hunting. Served as lead designer for the Men’s / Women’s / Youth lines. *Elevated quality of product and set strategy by creating seasonal lines, including storytelling of active / technical benefits through silhouette fit, trims and material technologies. *Improved design and maintenance of all technical packages, including graded specs / fit through information structuring. *Saved time and money by standardizing all palette components in the manufacturing process. – Researched and analyzed market trends to set palette and facilitated visual consistency throughout the offering. *Accelerated time to market by reducing lead times working directly with mills / cut and sew vendors.
Director of Product Creation
MAROLINA OUTDOOR2014 – 2018
Brands responsible for: Huk Performance Fishing, Nomad Hunting. Hired as first designer for start-up business. Served as Lead Product Designer for all brands Men's / Women's / Youth lines. Managed direct reports: Art Director and Senior Technical Designer. ● Brought fishing apparel into mainstream through design concept and ideation. In addition, my range of experience included: o Awarded 2018 Best Fishing Gear Staff Picks Field & Stream - Huk NXTLVL Jacket and Bib. o Awarded 2018 Best Hunting Gear Staff Picks Field & Stream - Nomad Cottonwood Jacket and Pant. o Awarded 2016 Best Hunting Gear Staff Picks Field & Stream - Nomad Dunn Vest. ● A product that I created has sold 2M+ units to date & established a standard for shorts in fishing - the Huk Next Level Short. ● Formulated strategy and aligned Design and Sourcing teams by establishing departmental Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). ● Built and grew long-term relationships with domestic and international mills and cut and sew vendors.
Director of Product Creation
MAROLINA OUTDOOR, INC.2014 – 2018
Brands include: Huk Performance Fishing, Nomad Hunting, Spanish Fly, KVD (Kevin VanDam) Apparel. Hired as first designer for start-up business. Served as Lead Product Designer for all brands Men’s / Women’s / Youth lines. Managed direct reports: Art Director and Senior Technical Designer. *Brought fishing apparel into mainstream through design concept and storytelling. – Took product photo shots and wrote creative copy for brands for catalog, big box retailer, and website use. – Awarded 2018 Best Fishing Gear Staff Picks Field & Stream - Huk NXTLVL Jacket and Bib. – Won 2018 Best Hunting Gear Staff Picks Field & Stream - Nomad Cottonwood Jacket and Pant. – Achieved 2016 Best Hunting Gear Staff Picks Field & Stream - Nomad Dunn Vest. *Sold 1.5M+ units to date by establishing a standard for fishing short. *Formulated strategy and aligned Design and Sourcing teams by establishing departmental Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). *Accelerated brand awareness while maintaining heritage by building seasonal product lines, including storytelling of active / technical benefits. *Built and grew long-term relationships with domestic and international mills and cut and sew vendors.
Senior Product Line Manager
On Field Division2008 – 2014
Managed the product creation process through PDM, trend and competitive analysis, product briefs, and quarterbacking Design / Technical Design. ● Garnered 5M media hits over 18-hours through launching Maryland Pride football uniform on national television with Team Sales. ● Partnered directly with Sports Marketing at 13 major universities, including Notre Dame, Auburn, and University of Maryland. ● Collaborated cross-functionally with external licensees through driving assortment and overseeing photo shoots / layout for Team Catalog / Salesmen Samples.
Senior Product Line Manager, On Field Division
UNDER ARMOUR2008 – 2014
Managed the product creation process through trend and competitive analysis, product briefs, and quarterbacking Design / Technical Design. *Partnered directly with Sports Marketing at 13 major universities, including Notre Dame, Auburn, and University of Maryland. *Achieved compliance by partnering with the NCAA and NFHS. *Garnered 5M media hits over 18-hours through launching Maryland Pride football uniform on national television with Team Sales. *Collaborated cross-functionally with external licensees through setting assortment and overseeing photo shoots for Team Catalog / Salesmen Samples.
Brand Manager Reebok Uniforms
REEBOK INTERNATIONAL2001 – 2008
Oversaw the Team Uniform Division within Royal Park Uniforms, a licensee of Reebok International Limited which produced team sport uniforms. Managed design, merchandising, production, sales & customer service department. Worked directly with collegiate properties to manage their identities. ● Expanded sales exponentially through negotiation for separate partnerships with McDonald's and National Football League (NFL). Due to my success with the NFL relationship, the name "John Holschuh" was written into the NFL Youth Game jersey contract as being necessary to its success between Reebok International Limited and Royal Park Uniforms. ● Improved efficiency / accuracy by creating a uniform mock-up system for Team Sales. ● Served as the main point-of-communication between Royal Park Uniforms, Reebok and their promotional assets.
OnField Division, Apparel Product Developer III Professional Basketball, Canton, MA Responsible for the creation of fit silhouettes & all tech packs for NBA / WNBA / USA Olympic Basketball promotional on-court & take down retail apparel. Managed multiple lifestyle driven categories of Hardwood Classics (retro), Fusion (athleisure / travel), Heisman (collegiate), Reebok branded Above The Rim, RBK Basketball & hip-hop categories of RBK, 50 Cent & S. Carter. ● Responsible for all fit sessions for both retail & promotional including Reebok sponsored athletes Allen Iverson & Yao Ming. ● Collaborated with the NBA League Office to approve 500+ on-court items prior to production. ● I was the lead developer over transition when Adidas acquired Reebok for the Holiday '06 NBA On Court apparel while concurrently managing 7 separate deliveries per calendar year.
Brand Manager, Reebok Uniforms
ROYAL PARK UNIFORMS2006 – 2008
Managed Uniform Division within Royal Park Uniforms, licensee of Reebok International Limited team sport uniforms, including marketing, production, and customer service. Planned, designed, and presented all product. *Expanded sales exponentially through separate partnerships with McDonald’s and NFL. *Improved efficiencies by designing and managing all Team Sales request for customers though a uniform mockup system. *Solved all team uniform and servicing Reebok sponsored athletes’ uniform requests by serving as the main point-of-communication between Royal Park Uniforms and Reebok.
Assistant Product Manager for Mens Apparel
EASTERN MOUNTAIN SPORTS1999 – 2001
Managed line assortment, designed & developed EMS Men's Sportswear.
Technical Designer for Outdoor Accessories, Peterborough, NH Creative & technical designer over gloves, casual & technical headwear.
Assistant Technical Designer for Mens Apparel Reynoldsberg OH
ABERCROMBIE AND FITCH1998 – 1999
Responsible for fit and technical packages for Men's outerwear, board shorts, denim bottoms, woven pants and shorts, loungewear and shoulder bags.
Corporate Sales Embroidery Designer
LANDS END1997 – 1998
Responsible for conceptualizing, designing, and mapping of embroidery logos for over 300 corporate customers.
Garruda Tents Production Marker Maker
Dana Design Backpacks K2 Outdoors1996 – 1997
Responsible for creation & lay out cost efficient production patterns. Instituted pattern cataloging system to increase efficiency.
