SHERRY STEIN bio

In a small town in northern Colorado, nine-year-old Sherry (Blankenship) Stein picked up a classic American Toni doll and began a career in design. With the help of her older sister Char, Sherry took a miniature Singer sewing machine and outfitted her dolls in elaborate ‘Shehaerazade’ and ‘Gone with the Wind’ clothing collections. A passion for creating stylist, innovative, ahead-of-the-curve designs was born.

After bidding adieu to her dolls, Sherry dove into her work. In the 1970’s, she founded BLANKENSHIP, a line of canvas and sheepskin ski jackets, mini-skirts from bisected military jackets, and book bags from livestock feedbags. The line was sold in stores in Aspen and Vail.

Remembering the days of working side-by-side with her sister, Sherry reconnected with Char to form a design and
manufacturing business in the 1980’s. The two produced a successful line of Southwest inspired clothing with the label Char & Sher for Barneys, Saks Fifth Ave, Lord and Taylor and numerous boutiques in the U.S. and Europe.

From suede and fringe, Sherry turned her attention to chrome and lights for her next project - THE CADILLAC COUCH. After picking up the ins and outs of a soldering torch, Sherry created couches from the rear quarter of (very dead) vintage 1955-61 Cadillacs. The series sold in prestigious art galleries in the U.S. and Europe.

A degree in Industrial Design at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA honed her skills and catapulted her to the next level. Gigs in the corporate world in the 1990’s followed. At Nike she designed footwear in the Outdoor ACG and Women’s FItness lines. Footwear work continued through her own design consultancy for Fila, Reebok, Capezio and Ariat. From 2001-02, Sherry was Design Director for Men’s Accessories at Gap Design, NYC.

Meanwhile, she designed custom furniture pieces for the loft spaces of private clients in San Francisco. She worked with Douglas fir and brought a sense of simplified elegance to her minimalist designs.

More recently in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Sherry developed a cast-silver flatware set, thought up ‘Get Lost’ flip flops and worked in graphic and book design. However, it was a vintage leather bricklayer’s bag picked up at an antique market that kept her scratching her head. Inspired by the classic shape and clean, utilitarian deisgn, Sherry grabbed some canvas, suede and leather and began to zero-in on her own take on industrial chic. After many iterations at the workbench and heavy road-testing on the street, Sherry’s new WORK BAG line was born.