Meet Child Craft’s Lead Furniture Designer

Child Craft’s in-house product designer Brandy Witt is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, an accomplished artist, a mother to a toddler, and much more. Brandy’s passion for art and design began during her childhood in New Mexico and California and flourished with encouragement and support from her parents. Her creative journey included painting, jewelry design, and ceramic slip casting, and ultimately led to an Industrial Design degree at RISD, where she gained experience in furniture design, mass production, machinery capabilities, and more.

Today, after more than a decade in the home goods and furniture design space, Brandy’s latest creative achievement is the stunning Park Heights Collection, an endeavor three years in the making that celebrates Child Craft’s upcoming 70th anniversary.

What was the inspiration for Park Heights?

My creative vision for the Park Heights collection was to incorporate unique designs and bold, modern features without becoming overwhelming. For example by using rich, upscale painted finishes for the body of the pieces, we were able to emphasize the arching design features present in the natural hardwood legs and pulls. In keeping with current trends in contemporary furniture, we incorporated rounded detailing in the pulls, legs, and oval crib slats.

What is your favorite piece in the collection?

The crib is my favorite, because of how it differs from the silhouette of typical rectangular cribs. The oval slats are really distinctive, and I’m curious to see how people respond to them. With design it’s good to be different, but I’ve learned you don’t necessarily want to be so different that it only appeals to, like, two people!

Who/what are your design influences?

I think trends in the adult furniture market are actually a great source of inspiration for children’s products, because they will generally indicate what’s to come for children’s and baby furniture market preferences. The challenge is balancing what’s popular now with what we think will be popular in 9-12 months once pieces have gone through the design, development, and manufacturing process and finally hit the market.

Other sources of inspiration come from attending design shows, following Red Dot Design award winners, reading magazines, social media, and more.

What advice would you offer aspiring designers?

It’s good to remember that personal design preferences do not always make it into your designs; it’s important to focus on current consumer trends and tailor your work to their wants and needs.

I’ve also learned from collaborating with different manufacturers to incorporate techniques that are specific to them will result in a high-quality product that meets the creative vision. For instance, with Park Heights we worked with builders in Amish country, and while there is less of a focus on speed and their manufacturing capabilities aren’t as robust as more modern manufacturers around the globe, there’s a real focus on quality.

What do you like to do for fun?

I love spending time with my husband and our 18-month-old daughter. We like to visit the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and on weekends I love having “ladies brunches” with my daughter and some of my friends. We also love visiting the grandparents on the West Coast.

How did becoming a parent influence your approach to designing baby furniture?

Design-wise, I wouldn’t say my style preferences have changed very much; I was pretty sure that becoming a mom wouldn’t change the design of my house, my clothes, or my personal style. But in areas where function is really important, I have a new appreciation for saying “That’s not how a baby would do that!” Because even parents with older kids don’t remember some of the little things like where they’re likely to climb or grab or stick tiny fingers.

More generally, becoming a parent has given me a deeper understanding of our customers and what’s most important to them. As a product designer I’m well versed in safety standards and technical specifications, but now I also have that extra anxiety about certain things that just never leaves you as a parent. It’s put all of our products, every word that we write about them, into a new perspective.

Any final tips for overwhelmed parents designing a nursery?

Don’t worry about all the noise. If you have strong feelings about the design, at the end of the day it’s about you and your baby. You’re the one living with it every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s in fashion right now, make it comfortable.

From a product development perspective, I think a lot about what will be available in the future, because what’s more frustrating than being told that the piece you need for the crib conversion is out of stock? I made a point to buy nightstands to match our crib (Cranbrook, in Toasted Chestnut) even though we didn’t need them at the time, because you never know how long a collection will last or if certain parts will always be available. My advice is that it’s usually worth the little extra upfront cost to save yourself the headache down the road.

Keen to add one of our limited edition luxury furniture sets to your family’s nursery? Explore Brandy's beautiful Park Heights Collection here.

2-PIECE SET | 4-in-1 Euro Crib and Double Dresser

3-PIECE SET | 4-in-1 Euro Crib, Chest, and Double Dresser

3-PIECE SET | 4-in-1 Euro Crib, Double Dresser and Nightstand

3-PIECE SET | 4-in-1 Euro Crib, Chest and Nightstand

4-PIECE SET | 4-in-1 Euro Crib, Nightstand, Chest, and Double Dresser

5-PIECE SET | 4-in-1 Euro Crib, Nightstand, Chest, Double Dresser, and Changing Topper

3-PIECE SET WITH CONVERSION KIT | 4-in-1 Euro Crib, Toddler Guard Rail, and Bed Rail Conversion