Stephanie: Visual Merchandiser

Hi, my name is Steph and I work in visual merchandising.

As you know people who are Deaf or hard of hearing have different skills and abilities just like anyone else. Sometimes, people think we can’t communicate and therefore we won’t be good at our jobs but guess what…we are!

Here’s my story so that you can learn more about people who are Deaf and how we work.

I love my job...

My job is to select l accessories including earrings and necklaces and dress mannequins. I love fashion so this is the perfect job for me.

When customers walk by and see the mannequins, my work entices them to walk into the store. The best part of my job is the customers excitedly turning to look at my accessorised mannequins – dressed in all their glory! It makes me feel so proud.

I overcome challenges...

Everyone has challenges at work. I communicate regularly with my boss and my team to avoid challenges. It’s easy really, we use facetime so we can see each other, and with the use of gestures I show her mannequins in the store This way we have a little chat and I ask, what do you think? Simple as that.

I’m just one of the team...

Being part of a team helps me to continue to learn, and I teach them too. When we are in the office together, I teach them some sign language - just the basics, ‘hi’, ‘how are you’, ‘nice job’. They know to tap me on the shoulder when they’re off somewhere and say see you later.

Need to know a bit more?