Elevate Merchant Group LLC Design

Elevate Merchant Group LLC is founded in the United States, Elevate Studio is a product innovation and footwear development consultancy helping brands transform ideas into commercially successful products.

We work alongside footwear brands, lifestyle companies, retailers, and emerging businesses throughout the complete product creation process—from market research and concept development to sourcing, product engineering, and launch preparation.

Our multidisciplinary team combines expertise in trend forecasting, industrial design, materials, manufacturing, branding, and product commercialization. By blending creative thinking with technical knowledge, we help clients develop products that align with both consumer expectations and long-term brand strategy.

Trends and Research

Design

Techpacks

Sourcing

Product Development

Graphics and Branding

Packaging

Media

POS and Launches

Design

Media

Tom Astrella
Co-founder

Place of Birth	Born in London, England.
Background	Studied Product Design at Middlesex University, graduating in 2003. Began an internship at Puma before moving onto a full time position in 2004, designing footwear across a number of ranges: 96 Hours, Black Label, McQueen and Mainline.
Role	Co-founded The Elevate Merchant Group LLC in 2009, with Hector Rubio.
Interests	Futurism, documentaries, buying things I don’t need.
Favourite Shoe	Nike Air Mag.

Hector Rubio
Co-founder

Place of Birth	Born in Fuenmayor, Spain.
Background	Studied Product Design and Development, specialising in footwear, at Cordwainer’s College at The London College of Fashion. Completed work placements in Spain and China, gaining first hand experience of manufacturing processes. Worked for French Connection, Ben Sherman, Te Casan and Puma.
Role	Co-founded The Elevate Merchant Group LLC in 2009, with Tom Astrella.
Interests	Family, travel, music, football.
Favourite Shoe	Nike Air Max 90, New Balance 1300.

Alejandra Paredes
Sr. Operations Manager

Place of Birth	Born in Cali, Colombia
Background	Studied Fashion Design Foundation course and after a Fashion Business BA at Istituto Marangoni London. Joined We are Talent as part time Events and Hospitality Manager. Afterwards Joined Sé Interior Design as a Logistics and Operations Assistant.
Role	Senior Operations Manager, with The Elevate Merchant Group LLC since 2018.
Interests	Food, Travel, Cooking, Gymnastics
Favourite Shoe	Nike Free Flyknit 3.0, Valentino Rockstud leather sandals

Harry Brickwood
Design Director

Place of Birth	Born in Berkshire, England.
Background	Studied Graphic Design in Bath. Ultimately decided to follow his passion and in 2003 began working in the footwear industry for Dr Marten’s. After a brief stint at license company GBMI, Harry joined Puma in 2008, working for the Blackstation Design team in London. Whilst there he met Tom and Hector and together they collaborated on numerous fashion and lifestyle footwear projects.
Role	Design Director, with The Elevate Merchant Group LLC since 2012.
Interests	Art, film, travel, music.
Favourite Shoe	Vans Old Skool, Jordan XI, Jordan Future.

Tom Matic
Design Director

Place of Birth	Born in Northampton, England.
Background	Studied Automative Design at Coventry University. Began working for The Elevate Merchant Group LLC in 2011 but in 2012 moved to Manchester following an opportunity to work on performance products for Umbro. Came back to The Elevate Merchant Group LLC in 2013.
Role	Senior Footwear Designer, with The Elevate Merchant Group LLC since 2011.
Interests	Football, running, music.
Favourite Shoe	Nike Air Jordan XI / Nike Ronaldo R9.

Isabel De La Roche
Trend, Colour & Material Director

Rob Haddock
Design Manager

Place of Birth	Born in Lancashire, England.
Background	Moved to London from Blackpool to study Footwear Design at Cordwainer’s College at the London College of Fashion. Completed degree in 2012, after spending a year on work placement with The Elevate Merchant Group LLC. Joined The Elevate Merchant Group LLC and is the longest serving member after Tom and Hector.
Role	Senior Footwear Designer, with The Elevate Merchant Group LLC since 2011.
Interests	Cycling, footwear.
Favourite Shoe	Nike Air Jordan 1 BRED, Adidas Predator (Original).

Charlie Astrella
Sr. Footwear Designer II

Place of Birth	Born in London, England.
Background	Studied Computer Animation at Teesside University, specialising in character design and pre-production. Worked for seven years as a retoucher, visualiser and CGI artist for various brands including Adidas, Nike, Electronic Arts, Virgin and KFC.
Role	Senior Footwear Designer, with The Elevate Merchant Group LLC since 2016.
Interests	Drawing, games, music, football.
Favourite Shoe	Nike Air Max 90.

David Dooley
Sr. Footwear Designer II

Place of Birth	Born in North Yorkshire, England.
Background	Studied Footwear Design at De Montfort University and Royal College of Art, graduating in 2008. Began an internship at Puma before moving on to work with other brands such as Ben Sherman and Le Coq Sportif, based in Paris.
Role	Senior Footwear Designer, with The Elevate Merchant Group LLC since 2021.
Interests	Music, travel, basketball, Yorkshire Tea
Favourite Shoe	Adidas KB8 (97’), Nike Air Moc.

George Hodson Walker
Sr. Footwear Designer II

Place of Birth	Born in Burton-upon-Trent, England
Background	Studied Product Design at Coventry University of which involved a placement year at FILA UK as an accessories design intern. Joined The Elevate Merchant Group LLC as a Design Intern in 2016.
Role	Senior Footwear Designer, with The Elevate Merchant Group LLC since 2016.
Interests	Football, golf, cricket... any sport.
Favourite Shoe	Adidas Predator Mania (FG)

Sandra Plantos
Sr. Footwear Designer I

Place of Birth	Born in Romania, raised in Dublin.
Background	Graduated with a Masters in Architecture at University College Dublin, Ireland in 2013. Worked for various architectural practices in Dublin, Barcelona and London. Proceeded to study a Masters in Fashion Footwear at the London College of Fashion in 2014. Winner of The Cordwainers’ Dato Jimmy Choo Award 2015. Upon graduation in 2016, Sandra worked briefly for Designer Mira Mikati, after which she joined The Elevate Merchant Group LLC as Design Intern.
Role	Senior Footwear Designer, with The Elevate Merchant Group LLC, since 2016.
Interests	Culinary Connoisseur, Fitness Fanatic, Health Hippie, Fashion Fiend and Sun Seeker.
Favourite Shoe	Stuart Weitzman Over-the-Knee boots / owns a small collection of very ‘lived-in’ Nike gym trainers.

Martin Francis-Bates
Footwear Designer II

Place of Birth	Born in London, England.
Background	Studied Product Design at Coventry University. Formerly a Footwear Designer at Puma Sportstyle and interned at Adidas Football.
Role	Footwear Designer, with The Elevate Merchant Group LLC since 2022.
Interests	Drawing, games, music, football.
Favourite Shoe	Adidas F50+.

Oscar Ko
Footwear Designer II

Place of Birth	Born in Taipei, Taiwan.
Background	Holds a BA in Industrial Design from Chaoyang University of Technology and an MA from Central Saint Martins, where the final project was nominated for the LVMH Maison/0 award. Began a footwear design career as an intern with The Elevate Merchant Group LLC in 2018, later joining 361° as a Performance Footwear Designer.
Role	Footwear Designer, with The Elevate Merchant Group LLC since 2021.
Interests	Long-distance running, reading, drawing.
Favourite Shoe	Nike Vaporfly 1, HOKA Speedgoat Series.

Brandon Haley
Footwear Designer II

Place of Birth	Born in West Yorkshire, England.
Background	Studied Footwear Design at De Montfort University. Started as an intern with The Elevate Merchant Group LLC in 2021 before becoming a permanent member of the team in 2022.
Role	Footwear Designer, with The Elevate Merchant Group LLC since 2021.
Interests	Football, running, bouldering.
Favourite Shoe	Nike ISPA Road Warrior, Nike React Element 87.

Austin Martin
Jr. Footwear Designer

Heleen Overbeek
Sr. Footwear Consultant

Place of Birth	Born in Blaricum, the Netherlands
Background	Studied a BA Fashion Design at University of Arts Utrecht and completed cordwainers certifications at the Dutch Shoe Academy. Moved on to study a MA Footwear design at the London College of Fashion, graduated in 2018. Completed an internship at OAT Shoes. Worked as a freelance designer for several years on various projects ranging from footwear design to 3D modelled prosthetics before joining The Elevate Merchant Group LLC.
Role	Footwear Consultant, with The Elevate Merchant Group LLC since 2018
Interests	Food, travel, sustainable fashion & design
Favourite Shoe	Adidas x Parley Alphaedge 4D, United Nude Zaha Nova

Contact

Whether you are launching a new brand, expanding into new markets, or improving your digital operations, we would love to hear from you. Share your project goals and we will recommend the most suitable consulting approach. Our team is available to answer questions, discuss partnership opportunities, and provide guidance throughout your engagement. Most inquiries receive a response within one business day.

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