Bradford Shellhammer

Bradford Shane Shellhammer (born 1976) is an American entrepreneur, designer, and tech executive who co-founded the e-commerce companies Fab and Bezar and the blog Queerty. Shellhammer was an admissions counselor at Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Museum and part-time fashion and nightlife blogger who became a writer for JC Report, A&F Quarterly, and Gay.com before becoming the founding editor of Queerty. In 2016 Shellhammer served as eBay's Chief Curator and later went one to become Vice President of Buyer Experience and the Chief Product Officer of Reverb.com, a subsidiary of Etsy. He also served as the Chief Marketing & Product Officer of Rent the Runway. He is currently the Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Product Officer at 1stDibs.

Early life and education Shellhammer was born in 1976 to Peg Kendall of Pasadena, Maryland, and Richard L. Shellhamer of Baltimore. 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. Later, Shellhammer received an associate degree in fashion design from Parsons School of Design.

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. In August 2005, he assisted in the founding of Queerty, an online magazine about trends and lifestyle within the gay community. Shellhammer also worked part-time at Design Within Reach (DWR) as a freelancer. By 2012, the site had over 10 million members and offered over seven million unique products.

Shellhammer left Fab in November 2013 and launched Shellhammer.co, a consulting company for business design, digital merchandising, and branding. He remains a stakeholder in and advisor to Fab. In 2014, Shellhammer became the chief design officer for the retailer Backcountry.com. In 2015, he founded Bezar and served as the company's chief executive officer. In 2016, Shellhammer was brought onto the executive team at eBay to serve as chief curation and merchandising officer.

Personal life In March 2013, Shellhammer married partner Georgi Dimitrov Balinov, an investment banker at Barclays and a graduate of New York University. Shellhammer's San Francisco home was featured in The Telegraph for its vibrant colors and "Warholian" interior design.

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." In 2016, Goucher, Shellhammer's alma mater, recognized him as a distinguished alumnus.