Bradford Shellhammer

Bradford Shane Shellhammer (born 1976) is an American entrepreneur and designer who co-founded the e-commerce companies Fab and Bezar. Shellhammer was an admissions counselor at Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Museum and part-time fashion and nightlife blogger. He was later a writer for JC Report, A&F Quarterly, and The Baltimore Sun. Shellhammer is the founding editor of Queerty and worked as a freelancer at Design Within Reach. As of 2018, Shellhammer serves as eBay's chief curation and merchandising officer.

Bradford Shellhammer
Shellhammer on New Year's Eve 2009
Born1976 (age 44–45)
Alma materGoucher College (B.A.)
Parsons School of Design (A.A.S.)
Occupation
  • Entrepreneur
  • designer
EmployereBay (2016–present)
Known for
Spouse(s)
Georgi Balinov
​
(m. 2013)​
[1]
Websitebradfordshellhammer.com

Early life and education

Shellhammer was born in 1976 to Peg Kendall of Pasadena, Maryland, and Richard L. Shellhamer of Baltimore.[2] He attended high school in Anne Arundel County and went on to study at Goucher College in Towson, Maryland, where he earned a bachelor's in communications and media studies in 1998.[3] Later, Shellhammer received an associate degree in fashion design from Parsons School of Design.[2]

Early career

In 1999, Shellhammer met Jason Goldberg, with whom he would later become business partners, at Roxy NYC. Goldberg offered him the opportunity to be his assistant at his company in Silicon Valley. The two traveled to San Francisco, where Goldberg was studying at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Both were laid off four months later. Shellhammer remained in San Francisco and worked as an admissions counselor at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising.[4]

Shellhammer also blogged about his experiences in fashion and nightlife. He wrote for an online magazine called JC Report where he observed and commented on fashion trends, as well as for A&F Quarterly, and The Baltimore Sun.[5][6] In August 2005, he assisted in the founding of Queerty, an online magazine about trends and lifestyle within the gay community.[7][8] Shellhammer also worked part-time at Design Within Reach (DWR) as a freelancer.[8] Between 2008 and 2009, he worked for several furniture and design stores in SoHo, Manhattan.[6]

Involvement in Fab.com and subsequent projects

In 2010, Goldberg approached Shellhamer with the idea to launch Fabulis, a company that would serve as a social media network to provide travel advice and reviews to the young gay community. Shellhammer agreed to sign onto the project, and in February 2011, the company's name was shortened to Fab.[4] During Shellhammer's tenure as chief design officer, Fab expanded rapidly and was valued at over $1 billion at its peak.[9] By 2012, the site had over 10 million members and offered over seven million unique products.[10]

Shellhammer left the company in November 2013 and launched Shellhammer.co, a consulting company for business design, digital merchandising, and branding.[11] He remains a stakeholder in and advisor to Fab.[12] In 2014, Shellhammer became the chief design officer for the retailer Backcountry.com.[13] In 2015, he founded Bezar and served as the company's chief executive officer.[14][15] He later sold the company to AHAlife due to difficulty raising outside investment.[16] In 2016, Shellhammer was brought onto the executive team at eBay to serve as chief curation and merchandising officer.[17]

Personal life
Shellhammer and Michael Lucas in 2009.

In March 2013, Shellhammer married partner Georgi Dimitrov Balinov, an investment banker at Barclays and a graduate of New York University.[1] Actress and comedian Sandra Bernhard led the ceremony at New York's Russian Tea Room.[2]

Shellhammer maintained a home in Sparrow Bush, New York.[3] He is a noted art collector and was reported to have a number of Andy Warhol and Keith Haring pieces in his possession in 2017.[18] Shellhammer's San Francisco home was featured in The Telegraph for its vibrant colors and "Warholian" interior design.[19]

Awards and honors

Fast Company magazine named Shellhammer one of the "100 Most Creative People in Business." He has had several profiles in the same publication under the same category. Forbes called Shellhammer the "King of Quirk."[20] In 2016, Goucher, Shellhammer's alma mater, recognized him as a distinguished alumnus.[21]

See also

References
  1. "Bradford Shellhammer & Georgi Balinov". Out.com. April 12, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  2. "Georgi Balinov, Bradford Shellhammer - Weddings". The New York Times. March 31, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  3. Kotz, Vanessa Mallory (2014). "Out Loud" (PDF). Goucher Quarterly. Goucher College. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  4. Sacks, Danielle (September 9, 2013). "How High Can Fab Climb?". Fast Company. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  5. Penenberg, Adam L. (September 1, 2005). "Queer Blog for the Straight Web". WIRED. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  6. Scelfo, Julie (July 22, 2009). "After the Breakup, Who Gets the Lake House?". The New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  7. Sunderland, Michael (June 3, 2014). "The Immigrant Who Conquered Porn and Became One of the Most Powerful Gay Men in New York". Vice. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  8. Meet the bloggers. The Advocate. May 9, 2006.
  9. "How Fab.com went from a $1 billion valuation to a $15 million fire sale". Quartz. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  10. "Cool NYC companies: Behind-the-scenes office tour of Fab". Time Out New York. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  11. Lopez, Linette (January 17, 2014). "Coming Off The High: Fab Co-founder Bradford Shellhammer's Next Act". Business Insider. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  12. Chaey, Christina (November 1, 2013). "Fab's Chief Design Officer Bradford Shellhammer Leaves The Company". Fast Company. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  13. Greenfield, Rebecca (March 27, 2014). "Fab Cofounder Bradford Shellhammer Named Chief Design Officer At Backcountry.com". Fast Company. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  14. Henry, Zoë (May 29, 2015). "Fab.com Co-Founder on Starting Over and Starting a Rock Band". Inc. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  15. Greenfield, Rebecca (January 8, 2015). "Fab Cofounder Bradford Shellhammer Is Launching Design Sales Site Bezar". Fast Company. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  16. Del Ray, Jason (April 24, 2016). "Fab Co-Founder Bradford Shellhammer Lands at eBay". Recode. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  17. Del Rey, Jason (March 24, 2016). "Fab Co-Founder Bradford Shellhammer Lands at eBay". Recode. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  18. Hopkins, Kathryn (July 30, 2017). "House of the Week: Fab.com Founder Bradford Shellhammer's Colorful Manhattan Apartment". WWD. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  19. Sunshine, Becky (July 7, 2017). "The house that eBay built: inside the colourful world of Bradford Shellhammer". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  20. Williams IV, John-John (April 27, 2015). "Isn't he fab? Goucher grad, Fab.com co-founder receives alumni award". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  21. "Distinguished Alumnae/i Award | Goucher College". Goucher College. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
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