Inside Zappos : August 2008
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Introducing Finance Fashion Fridays!! Where you, the Zappos employee AKA: Fashion Patrol, can submit pictures, videos, or names of fashionable Zapponians.
Submissions are due every Wednesday beginning September 3rd for the kick off. Winners announced every Friday!
Judges:
ELENI D.
a.) What is your fashion statement?
My fashion statement I would say is Urban/Ghetto fabulous!
b.) Give me 1 Core value that you think best represents your fashion statement?
c.) What has been your favorite Zappos fashion Expo so far of 2008?
The "Athletic Performance &Rideshop/Urban!"
RACHEL M.
1) What is your fashion statement?
I usually don't make "loud" fashion statements. When I shop, I try to stay away from super trendy items, and try to buy more classic pieces. I think that one of the best compliments that I get is when people tell me that I look like Jackie O! She is the epitome of classic style!
2) Give me 1 Core value that you think best represents your fashion statement?
Do More With Less! By buying clothing items that will stay in style for more than just one season, I am able to stretch my wardrobe. Typically, whenever I buy something new, I ask myself what in my existing wardrobe can be mixed and matched with the new item. I love it when I come home from a shopping trip and realize that the new top I just bought will look great with the skirt hanging in my closet or the cute flats I bought a few months ago.
3) What has been your favorite Zappos Fashion Expo so far of 2008?
The Fashion Team Expo. The shoes featured at this Expo were right up my alley. I loved checking out the designers new colors, interesting materials and beautiful styles.
GERALD M.
1.) Q: What is your fashion statement?
Beauty knows no pain or budget
2.) Give me 1 Core value that you think best represents your fashion statement?
Do more with Less. I hate spending a lot with the exception of my car payment and pony
hair boots!! Sometimes you gotta have something
3.) What has been your favorite Zappos fashion Expo so far of 2008
I haven’t been to one yet, but looking forward to it!! !
MICHELLE F.
a.) What is your fashion statement? Sophisticated fashionista
b.) Give me 1 Core value that you think best represents your fashion statement? Do more with less (money)
At Zappos we understand that you'd rather be in your backyard or at a show or walking around the new Vegas casino, so for that very reason we name and decorate our conference rooms so that they feel more like home or your favorite entertainment hall than your average board meeting room.
In our newest wing or the 2300 building the Finance and Training departments decided to make a competition out of decorating the new conference spaces. So they split up into teams, gave the teams a small budget, and they put their creative minds together to design their ideal conference room.
The prize went to "Backyard Bliss" designed by Keith C., Mahvash A., Cyndi T., Amanda N., and Johnny P. According to Cynthia Tatum, "It started as a 'Hard Rock Room.' We were going to have t shirts with labels that said "Rod Stewarts shirt" and socks that said " Michael Jackson's socks" But it never came together. Amanda Nevins really wanted a garden room and while she was in Spain, our team decided to change it up for her. Wal Mart was having this amazing sale on Summer stuff so it came about that way"
So don't fear your next full day of meetings, because chances are one of them will be in the backyard.
The Zappos book fair is here! So don't miss out on hundreds of discounted books ranging from best sellers to cookbooks to fun books for the kids. It's a great oppotunity to get a little something for you and the family and to not feel guilty about buying that book you always wanted, because the proceeds will help support the Arthritis Foundation.
3:30 am- Alarm clock is going off after I only got about 2 hours of sleep. I was awake packing and getting folders ready for the trip.
6:00 am- I spot Holly and Dee from the kids team at Zappos and they are heading to NYC too. We plan to catch a cab together into the city once we land.
4:30 pm- (east coast time now)- The plane finally landed after circling JFK for an hour and a half. All of the planes in the sky were backed up in a landing queue due to earlier bad weather in the area.
7:30 pm- It is packed in Little Italy on Mulberry Street as it has been converted into a pedestrian street. Everyone is trying to get a patio seat at any restaurant- it is a nice night out. We manage to find a magnificent restaurant that Holly had been to before and fill up on some tasty Italian food.
10 pm- Back in the hotel, freshly showered, and figuring what folders I need for my appointments in the morning. It'll be fun to see my vendors as well as to see all of the new sleepwear and lingerie styles. I have been told from various male co-workers that they wish they worked in my category. haha!
11 pm- Time to get to bed and aclimate myself to this time zone. Good night!
Day 2- Sunday Aug.3
6:45 am- Wake up call! I slept like a baby last night. I had my window open so i could hear all of the city sounds- love it! Going to check emails and get ready for my 9 am appt.
8:45 am- I arrive at the Metropolitan Pavilion on 18th & 6th. The Lingerie Americas show doesn't open until 9 am so there is a long line of buyers outside waiting to enter.
9:00 am- First appointment- Natori- one of my more successful sleepwear lines. I have an hour and a half with them but it flies by as we go over sales, best sellers, and both the Natori and the Josie lines. Josie is by the same designer but has a younger feel to it.
11:30 am- Still at the NAP booth. They work with a lot of European lines and import the product. I saw both the Derek Rose and Eminence mens lines. Now onto Crabtree & Evelyn Sleepwear.
12:15 pm- Crabtree has a lot of spa wraps which have been good for us in that brand. I still have one more brand at the NAP booth: Princesse Tam Tam- a French lingerie line. Between the Natori and the Princesse Tam Tam I see that light yellow, flamingo pink, and bright violet are trend colors. Spring '09 will be a colorful one!
1:05 pm- I meet Kendall from Blush Lingerie- a line we don't have yet. They are a family business run out of Canada- the line looks beautifully feminine.
2:00 pm- I go over to the PJ Salvage booth and see my rep Cindy Tell- we chat about business and I meet the president of Loomworks. Peter is from South Africa so we chat about that for a little bit. He is from Durban- a town I spent a month in during my documentary shoot in 2000. The spring line is so fun and yummy feeling- it's going to be hard to narrow down!
3:00 pm- I go to the Eberjey booth. Akemi tells me they just sent us our first shipment. Based on the time our photo department shoots the pictures and the content team writes the descriptions, we could be live with them in about 2 weeks- exciting!
3:30 pm- We finish early so I wander around some more. I see that the Jessica Simpson Intimates line is finally out on the market, so I meet the VP of Sales and sit down to see the line. It looks great and we already have the shoes on Zappos.com as well as receiving about 350 searches a day for it, so the demand is there!
4:30 pm- Bamboo Nights is my last appointment of the day. They launched on our site in July and the sales are amazing already- they definitely have a customer base out there. According to our sales by state report, we have sold the most product of theirs in Vermont- so unexpected! They show me some new additions to the line and then I hang out until the show
closes.
6:00 pm- Bamboo Nights is taking me out to dinner at Cook Shop on 10th ave & 20th st. When we check in at the restaurant, Louis and his wife Joy become celebrities as the hostess recognizes their last name, Van Leeuwen. Apparently their two sons own an ice cream shop and make the ice cream from scratch- it is all the rage in NYC and Brooklyn!
10:30 pm- After checking emails while watching American Dad, I am ready to call it a night! Wow, today flew by...
Day 3- Monday Aug.4
7:00 am- Rise and shine! I got a great night's sleep.
8:45 - Headed to 180 Madison Ave to meet with Cuddl Dudds. They have some great bamboo knits as well as underwear, undershirts, and thermals- good for fall '09.
10:00 am- Off to the Empire State Building for my next appointment- Smartdogs slippers.
10:05 am- Wow- lots of tourists in line to get to the top of the building!
10:30 am- Taking a picture from the 40th floor appointment room- I am being such the tourist.
11:00 am- Meeting Dereon Intimates- would love to bring them on for spring '09. The colors are bright and the style is urban. Kamille the Dereon rep and Cynthia, the designer said they plan to do plus sizes for fall '09, which is great, since there is such a void for that in the intimates category.
11:45 am- Cynthia the designer of Dereon and I catch a cab to the Curve NY show together.
12:00 pm- Curve offers free lunch to buyers and vendors so we grab a half sandwich. We eat them on the deck outside overlooking the river and the breeze feels so good. Across the way I see a lingerie model who's robe won't stay closed because of the wind. Ha! It doesn't even phase me to see women in lingerie anymore
2:00 pm- Cosabella appointment went really well. She shows me fall/ holiday and there are so many great pieces. They have only been on our site for about 2 months and are blowing out of items. Good thing it is replenishable!
2:30 pm- I just met with Only Hearts. The. main thing I heard before I had the appt. by various people was "I love Only Hearts!!!", so I knew going in that it may be something we might want to bring on to the site in the future.
3:15 pm- I finish the appt. early and I spot the Bedhead booth so I pop over to say hello to Joanne.
4:30 pm- At my last appointment with Natori Intimates. There is a very scary man a couple booths over in just his underwear. He needs a waxing very badly! Natori basics are doing amazingly so I look to pick up some fashion colors in those styles. The model tries on a couple of items that are new so I can see how they lay on the body.
5:10 pm- I see the actress Stacey Dash (from the movie "Clueless") on my way out- she has her own intimates line called Letters of Marque.
5:20 pm- I pop back to my hotel quickly to drop off 10 lbs worth of catalogs. Yikes! That all has to fit in my carry-on suitcase on the way home.
7:50 pm- At the Stanton Social Club in Soho with Natori Intimates for dinner. It is a tapas place, but with other kinds of food other than Spanish style- we had french onion soup balls- crazy, but so yummy. For desert we had makers mark milkshakes!
8:30 pm- I thank Natori for the dinner as they drop me off at my hotel. I then find Holly and Dee from the kids team at the Roger Williams Hotel so I join them for a drink.
11:30 pm- Time to go back to the Roger Williams for a shower and to check emails before hitting the hay. It's amazing how fast those emails can build up over the day.
1:25 am- Done checking emails- good night!
Day 4- Tuesday Aug.5
9:00 am- Happy National Underwear Day! The legendary National Underwear Day giveaways will take place around New York City with free undies being distributed to thousands on the New York City streets.
10:00 am- I meet with Gwen from Bendon and she shows me the Fayreform line for larger busted women (so pretty!) and the Elle MacPherson line.
11:00 am- I walked a couple blocks over to the NAP building and am about to meet with Karen Neuburger. I like how most intimates brands are located within a 4 block radius on Madison Ave- it makes it so convenient to schedule appointments and meet with everyone.
2:15 pm- Just learned that Le Mystere won an award in the fashion portion of the CILA awards last night! They consistently win awards for bra construction for basics, but this was a first for them in the fashion area. I congratulate the designer who is sitting in on our meeting.
4:30 pm- I have been running up and down Madison all day- am heading to 183 Madison for my last 2 appointments. One in a showroom and the other with Fleur't Lingerie which has been on our site since May. Such a cute, flirty, feminine line!
6:00 pm- My Fleur't vendor Leslie and I meet Holly and Dee and head to Soho for dinner at a Thai restaurant.
8:15 pm- We head towards Ludlow to find a neighborood bar to have one more drink at and find a place called "The Living Room" which is sort of divey yet hip. If I lived in NYC I would hang out there on a regular basis.
10:00 pm- Working on work emails back at the hotel and "I love money" happens to be on VH1. I am laughing my head off since they are having a crying championship on the show- they are rubbing onions and cayenne pepper in or near their eyes, blowing cigar smoke in each other's eyes, smacking each other, tweezing nose hairs--anything to make them cry. What craziness!
11:00 pm- Still working on emails but I better pack my suitcase so I don't have to worry about that last minute. I have a feeling all of the linesheets I picked up will take up about half of the space in my little carry on suitcase- eek!
Day 5 Aug. 6
5:15 am- Alarm is going off. I guess I should get up since supershuttle will be here to pick me up soon. My hair is in one big mass of curls and it makes sense when I find out that it is raining. Crazy humidity!{color}
6:30 am- Waiting in the hotel lobby for my ride and checking work emails on my blackberry.
9:30 am- I board the plane at JFK and head for home,sweet home
Below is the heroic account of a new friend that the RDesk have welcomed to their family.
As Spart (aka Spartacus Jones the Pirate Dog) walked over the edge of the Shaggy Mane II on to the plank, all he could think was, "Why is this happening to me?"
Spart began his life as an orphan. Not the happy Annie-type orphan, the other kind. Spart struggled through his early years by doing odd jobs, and stealing from upper middle class poodles and chihuahuas. Eventually, Spart was caught and locked up for his crimes, imprisoned in the Castle de Bruiac. Spart immediately swore off the name given to him at the orphanage (Fluffy McFluffy Woofy Munchkins III) in order to befriend his dungeon-mates.
He chose his name from his favorite Greek character, Spartacus, and the name of the infamous street of pirates, Jones. Spartacus Jones, soon known as Spart to the other inmates, became involved in a plan to break free from the dungeon at the Castle de Bruiac alongside other infamous dog criminals Jack the Russell Ripper, Peg Leg Pincher, and Pete-the-dog-with-a normal-name. Upon their escape, Peg Leg Pincher offered for Spart to join his pirate crew. Since Spart was on the run from the law, he felt that journeying on the open sea would be a great idea. On a side note, Jack the Russell Ripper was later turned in by Pete-the dog with a normal name. He was heard cursing, "Oh, why didn't I use a normal name like Pete!"
Finally, free without a need for money outside of what he could plunder, he felt as if he could pursue his true dream: skateboarding. Determined to invent the sport long before skateboards were called "skateboards" (formerly called "Oh Ye Board with Wheels Attached that Allows for a Skating-Type Motion"), he began building a large half pipe out of scrap lumber he came across while journeying through the Caribbean. Unfortunately, the accumulated weight of the half pipe was enough to sink Peg Leg Pincher's boat, the /Shaggy Mane./ After a quick stop at Tortuga to build the Shaggy Mane II, Peg Leg Pincher forced Spart to walk the plank, which brings us to where we started.
Spart fell in to the icy depths, and began to swim. Spart survived by eating small fish that floated past and doggy paddling, until the accidental ingestion of a poisonous blowfish resulted in the swelling of his head to enormous proportions. Using his own giant head as a flotation device, and making very sure not to ingest any more blowfish, he eventually washed up on to the shores of Alaska.
In Alaska, Spart was rescued by a lovable band of Eskimos. The Eskimos nursed Spart back to health, but could not restore the massive size of his head back to its normal size. They, in fact, renamed Spart, Ugnuchukalugupoofaluf, but Spart was not fond of the name and ran from the Eskimos, afraid of their lovable nature. Tying his own large head to a pack of wild wolves, he wolf sled to the US/Canadian border, and crossed in to the Pacific Northwest pretending to be a pygmy Sasquatch. Unfortunately, the trip was not an easy one and Spart lost an eye to frostbite.
Making his way south, he eventually ended up in the Southern Nevada desert. Desperate for water, he dialed Zappos, renowned for their customer service to see if they knew where he could find some water. The R-desk rescued Spart, and he immediately felt right at home in his new pirate environment. Here Spart remains, ever watchful with his one eye, to ollie anyone with enough gall to make fun of his overly large head.
This story is not based on real events or people. Time is not depicted accurately in any way. And, Spart is a stuffed animal.
Written By: Dylan Morris
Lets face it, when the work day is done we're left with very little time to take care of everything on our "to do list," which is why Zappos tries to bring some of the important tasks - like registering to vote - to us. For those of you who aren't registered to vote, I highly recommend taking a stroll down to the main entrance of the 2800 building to do so. Really, it's not every year that we get to pick a new President to run this country...
I don't really have to explain much about this video...besides we did something kind of cool, and wanted to film the one time experience of it. Even Kyle gave a long speech about the pyramid and how it came about! However, Erin forgot how to use the flip video!
Make sure you have volume for this one!
Thanks to Max M. for making this video!
We are begging you to help us find this crazy chicken. More valuable employees have been gobbled up by what is now known as “El Pollo Grande.“
Devlyn T. had thought she smelled a Chicken pot pie when El Pollo Grande came up behind her and bit her on the shoulder. Luckily she got away and managed to alert the authorities. “I just love Chicken Pot Pie; I couldn’t help but be curious.”
Marcie A. said she smelled Fried Chicken before the large fowl attacked her. “It could have been Chicken fried steak, I wasn’t sure.” Almondia got away with a missing toe and her life.
Johnny P. actually set feed out for the chicken. We are not sure if he wants to capture the chicken for the huge $100 Zollar reward or because he just loves the taste of Chicken Alfredo.
John is very brave because the large fowl has been recorded at being over 8 ft tall and clocked at 25 miles an hour which is extremely fast for a chicken. Warning: Once again, the following pictures may be too graphic for the weak of heart
Recently the Kentucky HR team was in Vegas visiting the Las Vegas HR team. The Kentucky Fulfillment Center recently launched their new superhero theme. In addition to the warehouse getting a heroic makeover, the Zapponians in KY were given some fun superhero supplies. A few days after the team left the Cruise Ship Operations team received a care package with our very own superhero kit. Included was a t-shirt, wristbands, eye mask and a pin.
Rosalind, our Cruise Ship Assistant/First Mate, was eager to get into character. Our Las Vegas team also has a soft spot for the superhero sorts as seen in the pics below. The cape is already a staple for our team and the conference room shown resides in HR and was designed by members of our fabulous Recruiting team.
Beware! A crazy giant chicken has gotten loose from the nearby nuclear power plant and has come to eat tasty Zapponians. We have already lost some valuable employees and we do not want to lose any more. Thank goodness a random photographer caught a shot of the chicken so we can now identify it. Warning: The following pictures may be too graphic for young viewers. Hopefully we can bring in a temp to process payroll. Poor Deb.
Knee-high tube socks, ridiculously tight gym shorts, cheesy 70s music, mustaches…these can only mean one thing: the Content Team’s team-building outing at the Crystal Palace (Roller) Skating Center.
For those of you not from Las Vegas, Crystal Palace is where many kids and teens spend their days couple-skating and showing off their skills (or lack thereof!) on the roller rink.
We in the Content Team got to re-live our junior high days and roller-skated our hearts out to dance hits of the 70s. In the spirit of competition, we also had a couple of fun contests.
The heart-pounding game of skate limbo was interesting to say the least. We got to witness a 6’6” dude (Jason Lee) in tight sparkling spandex attempt what seemed mathematically impossible. But, in the end, it was Jen Brohl, AKA “JB” that took the victory in the limbo contest.
Although Jason didn’t fare very well in the limbo game (the odds were just stacked against him), he, along with his “side-kick” Matt Thomas, blew the competition out of the water in the costume contest! Their costumes really defy words, so I will let the pictures do the talking.
If you ask me, I think they enjoyed being in spandex and polyester a little too much.
The afternoon was definitely fun-filled, despite a few inevitable slips and falls. I’m not naming any names! 
We are all guilty of playing pranks on our neighbors, but The Night Riders took it too far!
It all started during this month's Spirit Week in CLT that The Night Riders and Team Sunny Side Up were formed, and the cross cubical rivalry between the two teams have gone on ever since. Sometime during CLT's Spirit Week Team Sunny Side Up's Mascot eggs were stolen from their crate. Of course it's not right to assume that the person sitting next to you is the one to blame for this, so they got a hold of the Egg-BI to do a thorough investigation.
Abby Morris, head of the mafiosa-like crew The Night Riders, had a very humiliating arrest during a meeting at Managers Row in the CLT department.
Moral of the story: Love your office neighbor as yourself and stealing things from neighbors desks only leads to humiliation by a giant chicken!
It's true, Birthdays do happen.
So you don't have to be a chicken about turning another year older – Jacob P.
Or hide in the mound of balloons that fill up your work area like a child's play pin – Karrie M.
So Happy, Happy Birthday to all who celebrated a birthday this week, and remember not to hide it, but flaunt it! Your new age looks good on you – actually I really can't tell the difference from yesterday to today, but I'm sure there's an extra birthday glisten in your eye that makes you look older and wiser, and we like wise people at Zappos.