A former cashier's dream of creating a Lowe's Halloween decoration came true. It took 70 tries

Ten years ago, Amanual Coleman was at something of a career crossroads. He had graduated with a degree in animation, but was having trouble finding an opening in the field. He had taken a job in fast food to make ends meet, but had recently proposed to his girlfriend and wanted to find something more stable. He decided to take a position as a cashier at Lowe's.

Coleman worked his way up the company ladder, eventually landing a job on the Merchandising Service Team (MST), which helps store owners determine how best to display items. Recently, though, he added another line onto his resume: Halloween animatronic designer.

As part of his work on the MST, Coleman met members of the Lowe's design team, which creates the Halloween and holiday decorations that take over stores in the second half of the year. He mentioned he was interested in doing design work for the company and told them about his art background. The team gave him a chance — and this year, Coleman's first decoration is available in stores nationwide.

The Party Skeleton is a three-foot high lighted animatronic that wears headphones, gloves, and some stylish kicks. It dances when it senses music, lights, or movement, depending on which option the user has chosen. It's not a Halloween decoration meant to make you scream — instead, it's a playful outdoor decoration that has been especially popular with children. Lowe's says it's one of the top selling decorations so far this spooky season.

"It was a proof that I'm capable of designing something that a lot of people like," Coleman says. "It’s not just saying I can draw, but creating something and seeing people have a positive reaction to it. That was really cool."

Among the fans? Coleman's nearly two-year old daughter, who breaks into a little dance when she sees it.

A leap of faith

The Party Skeleton came about because Coleman took a chance and pitched himself as something more than an associate to the design team. It's something a lot of workers might think about but not follow through on out of fear of rejection. Coleman, though, says his passion for art was too strong not to take a chance. And when he took that leap in 2023, all of the pieces fell into place. (Halloween starts early at Lowe's: Designs for animatronics and non-moving decorations get underway more than two years before they hit store shelves.)

"He shared his interests and art and a portfolio," says ClayVon Lowe, senior director of product and design and trends at Lowe's. "We toured him around our studio and introduced him to the team … then we brought him into the design process."

Courtesy: Lowes

Coleman submitted some 70 ideas for consideration, ranging from iterations of witches to an alien disguised as a human. It was the Party Skeleton that stood out to the design team the most.

Designing the skeleton, with only the direction of "whimsical, but still in the Halloween spirit," took two days. Then it was refined to ensure it met with team leadership's vision. From there, the concept was subjected to feedback from others on the team, run through color swatch matching, and finally given a cost check. The Party Skeleton retails for $100 — if you can find one. It's currently sold out online.

Creating beyond skeletons

Art and design has always been a part of Coleman's life. Beyond his degree in animation, he also got accredited in video game design. Both are incredibly competitive fields.

When he's not designing dancing skeletons, Coleman says his artistic interests tend to explore different areas. Concept art from video games, which establishes the look and feel of the game environment, has always been an area of interest. He also enjoys coming up with humanoid characters, determining what they would wear and how they would be designed.

"I do a lot of world building and coming up with stories and IP in my head," he says.

With that love for exotic worlds and the success of the Party Skeleton, you might imagine Halloween is one of Coleman's favorite holidays.

When asked, though, he hedges, then chuckles a bit before saying "I don't dislike it."

His favorite part of the holiday, though, has nothing to do with horror movies or trick or treating. "I do really like it gave me the opportunity to show off my creative abilities," he says. "This was definitely a highlight."

Lowe's is tightlipped on upcoming design work, so Coleman and Lowe can't say if any of Amanual's designs will be part of upcoming collections. At the moment, though, Coleman's back at the Design Center in Troutman, North Carolina, a mock store that's not open to the public.

As for what's next for him, he has no plans to leave Lowe's, but he's keeping his options open. Being able to showcase his art, he says, was fulfilling in ways he didn't expect — and it's something he wants to pursue more actively as he his career progresses.