Amberlee Isabella is an award-winning retail designer, strategist, and entrepreneur living in New York City.
Amberlee is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Scripted Fragrance, a premium hand poured soy candle company designed to celebrate what we love most through fragrance. Scripted Fragrance has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, Oprah Magazine, House Beautiful, Buzzfeed, Good Day New York, and Etsy and is available at retailers across the U.S including UncommonGoods and Macy’s.
For over a decade, Amberlee was part of Gensler New York's Lifestyle Studio as a designer and strategist delivering innovative retail design solutions for her clients all over the world. As a Senior Associate, she lead creative teams on a wide range of project types including prototype design, experiential flagships, and seasonal pop-ups. With in-depth knowledge of retail trends, brand positioning, and business strategy, her expertise is connecting the dots between strategy and design, transforming brands in the built environment and beyond.
She is a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Design and Honors program receiving a B.A. of Interior Design and a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design with a M.A. in Graphic Design. At Kentucky, Amberlee was a founding member and the 2007 Overall Chair of the philanthropy DanceBlue, a year-long fundraising effort that culminates in a 24-hour, no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon for pediatric cancer. In 2021, DanceBlue will celebrate 17 years of dancing with fundraising efforts that have totaled over $17.3 million for cancer research and family support. In 2017, Amberlee was awarded The Denomme Spirit of Philanthropy Award for "advancing the mission of DanceBlue, through excellence in philanthropy and creative fundraising."
Amberlee has worked on hundreds of strategy and design projects including retail experience showrooms, fashion, consumer products, retail services, department stores, banking, hospitality, food and beverage as well as workplaces specifically designed to accelerate innovation. Her teams have been awarded numerous retail industry awards including the A.R.E. Gold Award for El Palacio de Hierro Polanco and Retail Design Institutes First Place for In-Line Speciality for Primark in King of Prussia. In 2016, she was honored as one of VMSD's Design Dozen celebrating "the best and brightest young designers in retail design".
Amberlee enjoys sharing her experiences as a professional by offering guidance and motivation to students and young graduates. She has spoken at various industry and university events including NeoCon, International Interior Design Association, NYSID, SCAD, University of Kentucky and Kansas State University. In 2014, she was appointed to the University of Kentucky School of Interior Design Advisory Board. She has also served as an IIDA student mentor as well as an IIDA NCIDQ prep mentor helping other professionals achieve licensure. Since 2016, she has been an instructor and thesis mentor at the New York School of Interior Design in the Graduate program. Amberlee is a Certified Interior Designer in the state of New York, NCIDQ Certified, a LEED AP ID+C accredited professional and a member of the International Interior Design Association.
On her nights off, you can find Amberlee cheering on her beloved University of Kentucky Men's Basketball team along side her husband Damon and two miniature dachshunds, Dixie-Lee and Lillee-Jo.