Start Up
at a startup, there is “less bureaucracy & more personal ownership” to help build a dream from the beginning.
A true labor of love stemming from our collective passion for plants and expertise in grow lights. Modern Sprout is a small to mid-size lifestyle brand focused on product development and innovation in the gift, home decor, and plant care categories. Our goal is to connect people with plants!
On any given day, I go from helping lead new product development from the initial concept all the way to training our production staff how to assemble the finished goods. There are always opportunities to add value to the business in my role. In one moment, I’ll be working closely with two passionate and visionary company founders to generate innovative product ideas. Then, I’ll turn to collaborate with my team and various suppliers to bring the ideas to life.
Pictured, Allison working and ideating concepts at the studio. Photography provided by Allison Hammer, Product Development Manager of Modern Sprout, a start up based in Chicago, Illinois.
Allison Hammer, Product Development Manager, Modern Sprout in Chicago
A little about Allison Hammer, Product Development Manager at Modern Sprout based in the Chicago, Illinois area.
Allison is the Product Development Manager at Modern Sprout, a Chicago-based start up founded in 2013, where she is responsible for implementing and executing product development from conceptualization to commercialization and much more. Allison has been with the team since 2018.
Prior to joining the Modern Sprout team, Allison worked as a Senior Industrial Designer at Newell Brands in Kalamazoo, Michigan. At Newell. she acted as the lead designer on a myriad of consumer goods projects for brands like Contigo, Coleman, Bubba, and Rubbermaid with active engagement from ideation to implementation in stores.
Allison received a Bachelors of Fine Arts, BFA in Industrial Design from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2009, and overseas at the Accademia Italiana Firenze in Florence, Italy.
“I'm an unabashedly passionate designer, driven by creating meaningful product experiences for consumers. I have a wide breadth of design experience including consumer goods, commercial products, structural packaging and store fixtures. I thrive on relating with people and working with strong cross-functional partners to deliver exceptional products to market.”
“We are a small, nimble company so I have to wear a lot of hats.”
Featured are a glimpse of the planter process, inspiration, packaging concept, and execution. Images provided by Allison Hammer, the Product Development Manager of Modern Sprout, a start up based in Chicago, Illinois.
Allison’s process and experience designing within modern sprout
I love that I get to do more than just design physical and digital products. I get to work in CAD and create renderings, but I also get to work directly with suppliers to source our products.
I dabble in the structural packaging as well as tooling and engineering when the project requires it. I also work closely with graphics for our packaging as well as marketing to bring the whole product to life. More recently, I helped design some project management systems to keep our team on track internally. It is always fulfilling to watch a product come to life. It is even more exciting to watch a tool you created gain traction within the team, quickly becoming a crucial asset everyone in the organization benefits from.
“I love that every day is different. The one constant is using design thinking to problem solve and add value to the brand.”
Why working on modern Sprout’s team is a perfect fit for Allison.
There are a bunch of reasons this job has been such a perfect fit for me. For starters, I love working at a small product development company. There’s a shared sense of passion and personal investment from the entire team. In a small company you have a lot of responsibility along with a lot of impact which really drives me.
I love the entrepreneurial culture at Modern Sprout. You own your role, sometimes you own the whole department, and you get to chart the direction you steer the ship. There isn’t a lot of hierarchy or structure and we like to experiment and take risks. Plus, the plant-care space is really taking off right now. It is fun to work on a product that I am so passionate about (I’m a self-proclaimed plant lady) with such a fast and fun brand.
“I also enjoy the speed to market of the products I work on. We launch anywhere from 6-10 products twice a year. It is fast but really fun and rewarding.”
The team at Modern Spout. Photography provided by Allison Hammer, Product Development Manager of Modern Sprout, a start up based in Chicago, Illinois.
Last year was a really tough year for small businesses, ours included. We had to let some people go, our customers cancelled orders, and I had to postpone several ongoing projects. As we were in quarantine I spent a lot of time thinking about our product line, what we were missing, and how we could make more of an impact in the customer’s home.
I came up with the Uplift planter concept which married our app-enabled LED growlight with a plant stand and plant pot. I only spent a day on the rough architecture and a quick rendering and quickly set it on the back burner.
It wasn’t until a week later that one of the founders sat down with me and proposed we do a crowd-sourced project on Kickstarter to raise funds during the uncertain time. The money we could raise would be a huge boost for the company.
Plus, Modern Sprout started on Kickstarter back in 2013, so it was a return to our roots (plant pun intended). The next question was, do we have an idea that is good enough for a Kickstarter campaign?
After we reviewed the preliminary Uplift planter rendering I had created a week prior we were convinced that it was a novel enough idea to launch the product on Kickstarter and expand our product offering. It was a huge team effort that was great for morale as it gave us something to focus on other than the pandemic. Our hard work paid off as the campaign was fully funded and ended up being a huge help for our business.
“We developed 3 functioning prototypes, organized a video shoot at the coolest bed & breakfast, and launched our campaign on Kickstarter in only 35 days.”
Photography provided by Allison Hammer, Product Development Manager of Modern Sprout, a start up based in Chicago, Illinois.
Modern Sprout Watering Cans, at store.modsprout.com.
“We learn quickly, and we are nimble enough to make improvements as we go.”
Photography provided by Allison Hammer, Product Development Manager of Modern Sprout, a start up based in Chicago, Illinois.
Some days “good enough” just has to be enough.
Before starting at Modern Sprout, I had long project timelines that included weeks of fine-tuning design details and surface geometry. Today, I don’t always have that luxury.
An example of this is when we decided to launch an app-based smart growlight program. I needed to find an international partner to manufacture the components and help with the app development since I had zero experience in either of these functions. We launched on time, but it was not the perfect app I’d launch in a perfect world. Ultimately, though, that plays to one of the strengths of Modern Sprout. We learn quickly, and we are nimble enough to make improvements as we go.
Featured, a technical SolidWorks CAD Cross-section of their product provided by Allison Hammer, Product Development Manager of Modern Sprout, a start up based in Chicago, Illinois
Workflow provided by Allison Hammer, Product Development Manager of Modern Sprout, based in Chicago, IL.
Another reality is working directly with the founders. This company is their livelihood. I always consider if my work is both up to my standards and also aligned with their vision and the core values of their company while staying on brand and on cost targets.
As one of two designers in a small company, it can feel like my core skills of design are slipping. Some days I live in spreadsheets, others there are back to back meetings. There isn’t a large studio of designers pushing me to develop my design skills. It is important that I set aside the time to keep developing the skills in my tool box, because they are integral to the job. Luckily, I have a leadership team that values my design skills. If I want to take a course or to go to a seminar, they support me 100%.
“At times it is like they are my client, and I have to be sure I am bringing their vision to life.”
In a small company like Modern Sprout, there is less bureaucracy and more personal ownership which has really worked for me. We have a set of core values that trickle down to keep us all focused on the big picture and outside of that we do a lot of self-managing. I love the freedom, flexibility, and ownership that my position offers. I hope to see more women in design being celebrated for making an impact in small companies!
THANK YOU, Allison, FOR GIVING US A GLIMPSE INTO YOUR CAREER & WORK AS AN INSPIRING WOMAN IN DESIGN.
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