Allison is president and part owner of Spoonflower, an e-commerce destination that allows individuals to design, purchase and sell custom fabric, wallpaper and home textiles. With 150 employees at their headquarters in Durham with an additional office and factory in Berlin, Germany, Spoonflower makes the fabric and home textile dreams of more than 3.5 million customers worldwide come true.

Allison started her career as a buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City where she honed her style, love of color and product development chops. In 2002, after earning her MBA from Saint Louis University, she joined a small, growing retail manufacturing business, TRG Group. There, as vice president of marketing, Allison worked with brands including Swiss Army, Timberland, and Callaway Golf, Target, Lands’ End, and Sam’s Club. She has also served as an account director at national advertising firm, McKinney, where she managed the Sherwin-Williams, Nationwide, and Travelocity accounts.

A native North Carolinian, Allison has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and lives in Chapel Hill with her husband, Jeff, and three boys. Nothing gets her creative mojo flowing more than interior design and gardening and she is a devoted, 1,000-piece puzzler.