Design Interview
DSJ Design Inc.
Debbie J. Palmer's creative spirit surfaced early. After attending Manhattan's Music and Art High School, she went on to earn a degree in fine arts and package design from the Parson's School of Design.
Her first job out of school in 1978 was with Estee Lauder. Palmer worked for the cosmetic giant for 12 years, climbing her way up the chain of command. As vice president of design for Estee Lauder Worldwide, she combined her talents in the arts by creating the Lauder's popular solid perfume and pressed powder compacts.
Through her various positions at Lauder, Palmer gained a business acumen that she then combined with her design sense. "I served on a fragrance task force appointed by Leonard Lauder to examine the business and to travel around the world and make recommendations as to how to globalize the Estee Lauder image at the counter," she recalls. "Working domestically and then being exposed to the European market dramatically changed me as a designer because their needs and the ways products are merchandised in Europe are so different than how we see it in the US."
Palmer also notes that Leonard Lauder encouraged his employees to be "creative business people" and not just designers. Armed with this philosophy and knowledge, she left the company in June 1990 to strike out on her own.
The Company and the Collection
The Debbie J. Palmer Collection of cosmetic accessories, including compacts, mirrors and pill cases, draws from the world of fine art, jewelry design and fashion. "These pieces were married to each other in a theme. Attention to detail is the cornerstone of my design philosophy. Owning a piece of my Collection should feel as if you've given yourself a special gift every day," says Palmer.
The pieces from the collection were originally sold unfilled so a woman could place her favorite powder in them. She refers to the pieces as Òfancy without the fortune" because they are designed to be a great gift, but were reasonably priced so a woman could use it herself. Later, Palmer decided to fill her own products.
Palmer's firm also provides private label services for companies including Tova, Victoria's Secret and Marilyn Miglin. "Companies saw my work in the stores and contacted me," she says. "My company grew as a result. This allowed me to expand on all the things I really loved to do: designing and creating patterns, packaging and other things like cosmetic bag design.
Bagg Ladies
Palmer's new line of makeup kits, Bagg Ladies, comes pre-packaged by personality. For this whimsical approach to beauty, each Bagg Ladies kit includes a complete color look of one of four divas. Each bag contains two eye shadows, two lip glosses and two nail colors.
Babbette is the ultimate party girl. Her leopard print bag comes chock full with dark purple, green, and silver hues. The debutante Buffy's bag overflows with pastels. Bebe, the actress, has a pony print bag filled with browns and gold tones. Bianca, the jetsetter, has a quilted bag with rich reds, smoky colors and silver shimmers.
The bags are made of printed cardboard with plastic handles and a picture of the girl on one side, her story on the other. "The hook of the line is the kit-the unique packaging of the bags. Although they are not reusable they are cool and customers will want to use them again," she says.
The line is available at Nordstrom, Sephora and sephora.com.