NEWH - Spring 2024 - 66

Q&A
GET TO KNOW
Kelly
Ponder
What have you found to be most valuable about your NEWH involvement, both personally
and professionally?
Becoming involved with NEWH has grown my professional network tremendously. I value most the
amazing friendships I have made since becoming a member. This industry is all about relationships and
NEWH does an incredible job of bringing the design community together.
What would surprise people about you?
Many may be aware of my love of running, but most do not realize that I have run over 15 marathons
and four Disney Dopey Challenges (48.6 miles). A few of my favorite races were in Chicago, Detroit, and
Disney World. I travel often for work which makes it challenging to train at times, but I always seem to get
it done. My first marathon was a charity run on behalf of my brother-in-law who was fighting cancer. From
that point, I decided to keep running for as long as my body would allow me to.
NEWH Corporate
Ambassador, and Director of
Outreach, Crypton
What would people be interested to know about your company?
Did you know Crypton purchased a mill in 2019? Based in North Carolina, Crypton Mills gives us the
capability to be fully vertical. It's amazing to be one of the last U.S. upholstery mills and I love seeing all
the craftmanship that our team at the mill produces every day. Our mill also creates custom novelty yarns
in-house, giving our Crypton Fabrics creative textures like boucles, chenilles, and more.
Crypton works with over 70 fabric distributors for both contract and residential markets. We have
100+ furniture partners, fabrics offered in over 200 designer showrooms and placements in over 3,000
retail furniture stores. As Director of Outreach part of my role is to showcase the latest Crypton Fabrics
from our amazing brand partners. It's exciting to share and see the growth at Crypton.
Where do you find inspiration, both inside and outside the industry?
The passion I see amongst the design community is most inspiring. Seeing so many women leaders
thriving, leading by example, showing the younger generations on how to be your best. It makes them
some of the finest mentors in our industry. Great leaders are hard to find, but many are right here within
the NEWH network. Always inspiring.
Outside of work, I am inspired by the many volunteers I have worked with in various organizations. The
endless, selfless time and commitment it takes to help make a difference in someone's life is priceless.
I recently heard an emotional story of a woman who devotes her time visiting hospice patients. Those
under hospice care often do not feel loved and are sometimes neglected, but the hospice volunteers' goal
is to make that patient feel loved even if it's only for a moment. My late husband was a hospice patient
and received an inspiring amount of care. I plan to volunteer with hospice and repay the gift.
What is your proudest recent NEWH accomplishment?
Encouraging our Crypton partners to participate in NEWH Regional Tradeshows. It's great to hear the
success stories of our distributors' experiences at the tradeshows and even more exciting to see them
fostering relationships with new potential customers.
When you aren't working or at an NEWH event, where can we find you?
Spending time with my family, especially my husband since I have found love once again. He inspires me
and encourages me to become the best version of myself. We spend a lot of time outdoors and often have
our two mini bernedoodles by our side. Otherwise, we are always renovating our home, which seems to be
a newfound hobby.
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NEWH - Spring 2024

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