Who We Are

Shannon J. Fortenberry is the owner. In the early 1990s, Shannon began her career with KnollTextiles in Atlanta, Georgia. A few years early she had graduated with an Interior Design degree but had not found a satisfying job until KnollTextiles. There Shannon grew professionally, learned the design industry and all the while was surrounded by the great Knoll classics. Through which she inherited an appreciation of the classic designs and the quality of which they were created. After years in Atlanta with KnollTextiles, she transferred to Washington, D.C. to work with the systems furniture side of Knoll—another great opportunity to learn and build A&D relationships in the territory. In 2001, Shannon left Knoll to begin a career as a sales representative with Arc|Com Fabrics. Shannon built the Washington, D.C. metro area into a million dollar territory. After 5 years with Arc|Com she made the decision to get back to her design roots and search for products that really represented the kind of design she loves—thus DesignBasics was created.