Meet the people Behind the Creativity!
Here are some of the employees of Faber-Castell USA. We included some fun facts to help you to get to know us better!
Name: Renee Lamb
Department: Consumer Relations
Position title: Consumer Relations Supervisor
Number of years with F-C: 12
Description of photo: 4 ½ years - Lakewood Park, OH. I chose it because it reminds me of my childhood...band aids from playing too hard, a million mosquito bites from camping and hysterically giggling at the simplest things like hitting your bum at the bottom of the slide. Just simply being a kid and having fun doing it.
Favorite color: That’s hard, I like so many colors but blue may be the winner.
Favorite food: Anything my Mother makes!
Favorite type of music: I like all kinds of different music but when I hear music from the 70’s it reminds me of dancing to Disco with my Mom when we cleaned the house and it makes me laugh to this day. LOL
Favorite pet: My friend Madison. She’s a Basset hound and I’ve had her for 6 years.
Favorite CFK kit of all time: Smacker’s Make Your Own kits…all of them!
Reason you like Cleveland: The city has true heart and spirit. Growing up with Cleveland Baseball/Football has always been fun and football is especially fun when the Steelers are in town!
Place you’ve always wanted to travel to: Italy and Ireland
What is your favorite childhood memory: Being the only kid who had the courage to jump off the high dive WITHOUT having to be rescued at Lakewood Park Pool when we had our family picnics.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A teacher
What do you think inspires children most: Positive experiences they have that make them feel good inside. For each child I think it is something different and I think parents, relatives, teachers and friends play an important role as well.
My favorite recreational activity as a kid: Roller skating with my cousins in the basement while blasting Michael Jackson on the record player and scratching the record every time we hit the table the record player was on with our skates.
Name: Sara McDonald
Department: Creativity Center
Position title: Vice President
Number of years with Faber Castell: 1
Description of photo: 4 years old – East Aurora, NY “Signs of things to come”… funny hair, fiendish smile, nature-girl, multi-tasking!
Favorite color: Pistachio
Favorite food: Chocolate
Favorite type of music: Motown
Favorite pet: dogs
Favorite CFK kit of all time: DoArt
Reason you like Cleveland: Friendly folks, Good food
Place you’ve always wanted to travel to: Iceland
What is your favorite childhood memory: Christmas Morning!!
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Architect
What do you think inspires children most: Nature; Strong role models that are creative
My favorite recreational activity as a kid: playing “make believe”; art
Name: Heather Lambert-Shemo
Department: Marketing
Position title: Brand Manager, Children’s Brands
Number of years with Faber Castell: 1.5
Description of photo: I'm excited about eating popcorn with my brother, Adam, and childhood friend, Jennifer. I love my exuberance - laughter and smiles is what I remember most about being a kid...adults should laugh that much (we'd probably be a lot healthier!).
Favorite color: blue
Favorite food: Non-dessert: it’s a tie between red beans and rice with andouille and roast beef po-boys (dripping with gravy)
Dessert: really good ice cream
Favorite type of music: I love all music….seriously.
Favorite pet: we have two dogs (Sadie and NOLA), two cats (Molly and Sebastian) and a fish (Sushi) – I can’t choose between them.
Favorite CFK kit of all time: Mini-Tea Set
Reason you like Cleveland: Big city living in a small town provides really easy (and affordable) access to great museums, cultural events, sports teams, restaurants, etc. and very little traffic.
Place you’ve always wanted to travel to: in the US = Yellowstone National Park and outside of US = Italy
What is your favorite childhood memory: climbing to the very tops of magnolia trees and just hanging out there above everyone and riding my bike from dawn until dusk
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Doctor – then I decided I didn’t like being around sick people.
What do you think inspires children most: words of encouragement
My favorite recreational activity as a kid: It’s a tie - I danced ballet for twelve years year round and during the summer I lived to ride my bike to the pool, swim all day long, and ride my bike home at dark.
Name: Tina Skolnekovich
Department: Information Technology
Position title: Website Project Manager
Number of years with F-C: 8
Description of photo: This was my first day of school (kindergarten). I remember being excited because it was the first time that I was going to ride the school bus.
Favorite color: purple
Favorite food: ice cream
Favorite type of music: country
Favorite pet: Payton is my dog...she is a beagle/rottweiler mix!
Favorite CFK kit: I Wish I Had a Fish
Reason you like Cleveland: I grew up here so it has always been home. I love the sports teams, the MetroParks, Little Italy and especially the people.
Place you’ve always wanted to travel to: France and Hawaii – I’ve been to both but I’d love to go back and spend more time there.
What is your favorite childhood memory: going to the Browns/Steelers game with my dad during a snow storm and then stopping for hot chocolates on the way home.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? a teacher
What do you think inspires children most: positive reinforcement
My favorite recreational activity as a kid: hopscotch and doing gymnastics in the front yard
Name: Danielle Abraham
Department: Finance
Position title: Controller
Number of years with F-C: 1.5
Description of photo: 3 years old
Favorite color: pink
Favorite food: ice cream
Favorite type of music: Top 40 hits
Favorite pet: dog
Favorite CFK kit: Mini Tea Set
Reason you like Cleveland: I am close to all of my friends and family.
Place you’ve always wanted to travel to: Greece
What is your favorite childhood memory: Reading bedtime stories with my mom.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? a teacher
What do you think inspires children most: spending time with their family, family outings and experiences
My favorite recreational activity as a kid: hide-n-seek
Name: Karen Lizanich
Department: Sales Service
Position title: Sales Service Representative
Number of years with Faber-Castell: One year in November
Description of photo: I am 6 years old and it is my favorite school picture.
Favorite color: Green
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite type of music: Rock
Favorite pet: My dog Bailey!
Favorite CFK kit of all time: Enchanted Play Space
Reason you like Cleveland: Cleveland has a small town atmosphere with big city benefits.
Place you’ve always wanted to travel to: Greece
What is your favorite childhood memory: Visiting Sea World with my family.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to join the military.
What do you think inspires children most: Encouraging family members and teachers.
My favorite recreational activity as a kid: Playing sports
Name: Rebecca L. Puchalski, PHR
Department: Human Resources
Position title: Human Resources
Number of years with Faber-Castell: 2
Description of photo: My twin sister Carolyn and myself are 3 years old in the photo. I picked this picture because I remember thinking the fur rug was sooo groovy! I also loved the dress.
Favorite color: pink
Favorite food: Ice Cream
Favorite type of music: Country & Pop
Favorite pet: puppies
Favorite CFK kit of all time: Butterfly Bedroom
Reason you like Cleveland: The pride of all the people that live here and the dedicated Cleveland Sports fans!
Place you’ve always wanted to travel to: Italy…for the Pizza!
What is your favorite childhood memory: Growing up with my twin sister, who today is my best friend.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A famous chef
What do you think inspires children most: Important people in their lives making time for them.
My favorite recreational activity as a kid: Roller Skating and Disco Dancing!
Name: Colleen McGinty
Department: Creativity Center
Position title: Presentation Artist/Product Development
Number of years with Faber-Castell: 8
Description of photo: I was 7 years old.
Favorite color: green
Favorite food: my mothers "chicken paprikash" and maple walnut ice cream
Favorite type of music: all music styles
Favorite pet: our family dog from childhood - a German Shepherd named "shoney"
Favorite CFK kit of all time: Do Art - Flower Fantasies
Reason you like Cleveland: my loved ones are in the area
Place you’ve always wanted to travel to: Ireland - and my wish came true this year.
What is your favorite childhood memory: Making a mud pie so convincing my brother ate it! I was in BIG trouble...but I didn't mind because at that moment I realized I had a talent for creating.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? what I am now, an artist & mother living in the country with lots of loving family members all around me.
What do you think inspires children most: I think children are naturally inspired and a little encouragement brings it forward.
My favorite recreational activity as a kid: The library, picture books, coloring, building, creating & sewing.
Name: Carolyn Alaburda
Department: Product Development
Position title: Product Development Manager
Number of years with Faber-Castell: Less than 1
Description of photo: I am around 9 years old and it shows me with my dog Muttly. I like it because I am such an animal lover and this shows that side.
Favorite color: Maroon
Favorite food: Chicken Marsala
Favorite type of music: All kinds, especially if it is live music. I especially like Counting Crows and any type of Irish music.
Favorite pet: My Dog Kuna
Favorite CFK kit of all time: I like to paint so I like the reverse painting or glass painting kits
Reason you like Cleveland: The Seasons, the people, the lake
Place you’ve always wanted to travel to: Barcelona
What is your favorite childhood memory: Going to Woolworths with my Dad, having lunch at the counter, picking a balloon to see how much my ice cream sundae would cost then buying a bag of plastic army men to play with at home.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to work in design.
What do you think inspires children most: I think if a child sees his or her parent creating something then they also want to join in. I also think kids naturally have a great imagination and find inspiration in the simplest things. How many things did we make out of an empty cardboard box when we were kids?
My favorite recreational activity as a kid: Building forts in the backyard with whatever blankets, chairs & towels could be confiscated. Making dioramas out of shoeboxes. Playing football with all the boys in the neighborhood. Having lemonade stands. Holding neighborhood carnivals. Playing baseball and running bases with my Dad and my sisters.
Name: Beth Conley
Department: Sales Service
Position title: Senior Sales Service Rep
Number of years with Faber-Castell: 22
Description of photo: I am 13 years old in the photo and I am standing next to my sister and my Dad in our backyard. I am not really sure why I chose this picture except I wish my hair could still grow as long as in this picture J
Favorite color: Bluish-Grey
Favorite food: interesting appetizers
Favorite type of music: a wide variety – it really depends on my mood
Favorite pet: my cat - peanut
Favorite CFK kit of all time: Magic Show – (my son Brian was the magician on the cover!!)
Reason you like Cleveland: the distinct change of seasons, lake effect snow (I like a lot of weather variety), Our sports team dedication and enthusiasm, Lake Erie
Place you’ve always wanted to travel to: Australia
What is your favorite childhood memory: Sitting around with friends for hours making long lists of fun and interesting things we could do that day and then voting!
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Meteorologist
What do you think inspires children most: hearing true stories about peers succeeding in areas of their interest along with positive encouragement from parents, teachers, coaches etc.
My favorite recreational activity as a kid: Ice skating, bike riding, swimming, climbing trees, sledding, battle ball, vampire (a made-up tag type of game which must be played in the dark), drawing and making crafts
Name: Marcia Harris
Department: Sales
Position title: Sales Representative/Trainer
Number of years with Faber-Castell: 20
Description of photo: I am not sure how old I was in the photo. I chose it because it is the only one I have.
Favorite color: Red
Favorite food: Lobster
Favorite type of music: Gospel
Favorite pet: My Kitty
Favorite CFK kit of all time: Create Your Own Books
Reason you like Cleveland: It is a great place to live – you get all four seasons.
Place you’ve always wanted to travel to: Hawaii
What is your favorite childhood memory: Staying at my Grandmother’s home.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? An Occupational Therapist
What do you think inspires children most: A warm, loving & encouraging environment inspires children along with their own natural curiosity.
My favorite recreational activity as a kid: hopscotch
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