The Super Awesome Description award is a way of recognizing a member of the Zappos Development content team once a month. If a product description is particularly witty or creative, anyone in the company can nominate the person who wrote it.  The nominations are then read by other members of the content department and voted upon; the description with the most votes wins. The writer of that description is rewarded with a trophy and a certificate, not to mention recognition from their peers.

The winner for May is Jennie W. Jennie is part of the athletic performance team and her quirky description for the Raskullz Cutie Cat Helmet was too amazing to ignore. Congratulations Jennie!

We asked Jennie a few fun questions to get to know her better. Check out her answers below!

What is your biggest Grammar pet peeve?

I’m not thrilled when I see pronoun/antecedent disagreement committed in pursuit of gender neutrality. Just make it plural, people.

What is your favorite color?

If frequency is any indicator, then black is the likely choice. But my dad will probably read this and tell me that black isn’t a color.

What inspired you when writing this description?

Raskullz generates extensive back stories about all of the characters in the line, so they actually make my job much easier. Then I just imagined my ten-year-old niece Soraya talking with her friends. They probably don’t talk anything like that, and I’ve just invented the what-a-33-year-old-believes-preteens-say language.

What's a fact people would be surprised to learn about you?

I was a four-year member of my university’s pep club. Apparently, people don’t normally find me peppy. Go Bears!

The Super Awesome Description award is a way of recognizing a member of the Zappos Development content team once a month. If a product description is particularly witty or creative, anyone in the company can nominate the person who wrote it.  The nominations are then read by other members of the content department and voted upon; the description with the most votes wins. The writer of that description is rewarded with a trophy and a certificate, not to mention recognition from their peers.

The winner for April is Jonathan B. Jonathan is part of the clothing team and his brilliant description for the Kuhl Agent Shirt was too amazing to ignore. Congratulations Jonathan!

We asked Jonathan a few fun questions to get to know him better. Check out his answers below!

What is your biggest Grammar pet peeve?

Run-on sentences. They drive me crazy.

What inspired you when writing this description?

I really liked the shirt when I initially wrote it. I mentioned it to my fiancé and she surprised me with it as a birthday present. Whenever I get something from my portfolio, I always like to check the details on the tags against what we have on the site, just to make sure everything is correct. When I pulled the shirt up on the site, I wasn’t happy with the product description I had originally written. I started thinking about secret agents and everything just clicked!

What's a fact people would be surprised to learn about you?

I just turned 40. Most people underestimate my age by eight to twelve years until I tell them I have a 16 year old daughter and twin eight year old girls.

What is the last book you read?

The Sentry by Robert Crais. Love the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike characters! The series is fast and fun.

The Super Awesome Description award is a way of recognizing a member of the Zappos Development content team once a month. If a product description is particularly witty or creative, anyone in the company can nominate the person who wrote it.  The nominations are then read by other members of the content department and voted upon; the description with the most votes wins. The writer of that description is rewarded with a trophy and a certificate, not to mention recognition from their peers.

The winner for March is Amber O. Amber is part of the fashion team and her quirky description for the Betsey Johnson Yacht Club Necklace was too amusing to ignore. Congratulations Amber!

We asked Amber a few fun questions to get to know her better. Check out her answers below!

What is your biggest Grammar pet peeve?

A: Run-on sentences. Epic misspellings. "These is"

What is your favorite color?

A: Floral.  

What inspired you when writing this description?

A: I got to thinking, “Could I legit wear these? I’ve never even been on a yacht.” So I wrote the description for people like me. You know, to make me feel better about wanting to wear yacht-themed earrings.

What's a fact people would be surprised to learn about you?

A: I’ve always wanted to be a dancer. Or better yet, I’ve always wanted to be good at a dancing video game. Either way, I’m no good.

The Super Awesome Description award is a way of recognizing a member of the Zappos Development content team once a month. If a product description is particularly witty or creative, anyone in the company can nominate the person who wrote it.  The nominations are then read by other members of the content department and voted upon; the description with the most votes wins. The writer of that description is rewarded with a trophy and a certificate, not to mention recognition from their peers.

The winner for February is Kenny Lucas. Kenny is part of the performance team and his quirky description for the Quiksilver Venture luggage piece was too amusing to ignore. Congratulations Kenny!

We asked Kenny a few fun questions to get to know him better. Check out his answers below!

What is your biggest Grammar pet peeve?

K: Excessive… ellipses… dude…

What is your favorite color?

K:Plaid – I like to think it’s a color.

What inspired you when writing this description?

K: I read an article a while ago about a man who was trying to build a rocket ship in his backyard, so really, I was just reminding him to pack the necessities while he’s up there exploring the universe. Hopefully he didn’t forget his toothpaste.

What's a fact people would be surprised to learn about you?

K: I’m apparently named after Kenny Rogers, but since I can’t ever remember listening to him with my family, I can only assume I was named after his delicious rotisserie chicken.

The Super Awesome Description award is a way of recognizing a member of the Zappos Development content team once a month. If a product description is particularly witty or creative, anyone in the company can nominate the person who wrote it.  The nominations are then read by other members of the content department and voted upon; the description with the most votes wins. The writer of that description is rewarded with a trophy and a certificate, not to mention recognition from their peers.

The winner for January 2012 is Jay G. Jay is part of the athletic performance team and his witty description for the Ward’s Boxing Club NYC The Husband Beater was too clever to ignore. Congratulations Jay!

We asked Jay a few fun questions to get to know him better. Check out his answers below!

What is your biggest Grammar pet peeve?

Exclamation points. I use it to no end regardless of mood! See what I mean?

What is your favorite color?

Back when I was 10, I would have said “Blue”.  Nowadays, I don’t really have one, but I’ve found that anything light-colored or pastel-ish goes well against my skin tone.

What inspired you when writing this description?

It’s boxing-inspired athletic wear so I just played on those aspects.  Plus 1) I’m a big boxing fan (go team Pacman), 2) I use to write Athletic Performance clothing back in the days so it wasn’t that far from my wheel house and 3) I’ve been happily married to a beautiful yet stubborn woman for 11 years… hence the tone.  Everything else just fell into place.

What's a fact people would be surprised to learn about you?

I’ve owned 8 pairs of Z. Cavaricci pants and 3 MC Hammer pants.  Anyone above 35 would know what I’m talking about.

The Super Awesome Description award is a way of recognizing a member of the Zappos Development content team once a month. If a product description is particularly witty or creative, anyone in the company can nominate the person who wrote it.  The nominations are then read by other members of the content department and voted upon; the description with the most votes wins. The writer of that description is rewarded with a trophy and a certificate, not to mention recognition from their peers.

The winner for December is Angelina F. Angelina is part of the clothing team and her witty description for the Lucky Brand Café Racer Jacket was too clever to ignore. Congratulations Angelina!

We asked Angelina a few fun questions to get to know her better. Check out her answers below!

What is your biggest Grammar pet peeve?

I used to teach writing and grammar to high school students, so my biggest pet peeve is the use of text message shorthand in formal writing. I can LOL with the best of them, but def not in a professional setting.

What inspired you when writing this description?

My incredibly cool mother and stepfather are avid Harley riders, so they are always my inspiration when I write about moto-inspired looks. Although, to be fair, they are both very punctual people.

What is your favorite Zappos core value?

Pursue Growth and Learning. I love that our culture encourages and celebrates individual growth.  Even better, growth and learning may come from taking one of our Pipeline classes, working through a department progression plan, or just having the freedom to try out that harebrained, but potentially brilliant, idea you just had.  

What's a fact people would be surprised to learn about you?

Even though my stuffed Lewis and Clark are always with me, I have very little interest in that period of American history. My undergrad thesis was actually about Shakespeare and Elizabethan England. The dolls were just a gift from a dear friend who knew I thought they were hilarious.

The Super Awesome Description award is a way of recognizing a member of our innovative content department once a month. If  a product description is particularly witty or creative,  anyone in the company can nominate the person who wrote it.  The nominations are then read by other members of the content department and voted upon; the description with the most votes wins. The writer of that description is rewarded with a trophy and a certificate, not to mention recognition from their peers.

The winner for August  is Erica S., who also had the pleasure of winning in February and June. Erica is part of the Clothing team and her portfolio includes Athletic Performance Apparel, Outdoor Apparel and Outdoor Apparel 2. Erica impressed us, yet again with her  clever  description for the Outdoor Research Women’s Sensor Glove.

We asked Erica a few new  questions to get to know her better. Check out her answers below!

How does it feel to win the SAD award three times in one year?

E: It’s crazy!

What is it about your descriptions that you think people relate to?

E: I try to be funny and provide as much info. as possible to help someone really understand the product.

What is the greatest piece of advice you’ve received when it comes to writing?

E: My favorite professor in college said “just write s***.” I would agonize over the perfect word, perfect sentence, perfect paragraph, and so it would take me forever to write something. She told me to stop thinking and just write, and worry about the fine tuning later.

If you could give one piece of advice to other writers what would it be?

E: I’m the one who could use some advice, so send it my way!

The Super Awesome Description award is a way of recognizing a member of our innovative content department once a month. If a product description is particularly witty or creative, anyone in the company can nominate the person who wrote it. The nominations are then read by other members of the content department and voted upon; the description with the most votes wins. The writer of that description is rewarded with a trophy and a certificate, not to mention recognition from their peers.

The winner for June is Erica S. Erica is part of the Clothing team and her portfolio includes Athletic Performance Apparel, Outdoor Apparel and Outdoor Apparel 2. She certainly wowed us with her sweet yet funny (because it’s true) description for the Patagonia Kids Girl’s Blossoms Dress.  Congrats, Erica!

We asked Erica a few fun questions to get to know her better. Check out her answers below!

What is your biggest Grammar pet peeve?

Words that are purposely misspelled like, “Karen’s Kat Kindergarten”. I start twitching when I see stuff like that.  

What inspired you when writing this description?

I have friends who talk about all the clothes their kids refuse to wear. This description goes out to them. Dress your kids in whatever you want while you can!

What's a fact people would be surprised to learn about you?

I have a lazy eye and had to wear an eye patch when I was younger to strengthen it. Arrrrrrrrrr matey!!

What is your favorite core value and why?

‘Create Fun and A Little Weirdness’ – I think too many people confuse having fun with being immature. You can take some time for yourself every day to have a good laugh and relax, even if it’s just watching a talking dog video or serenading your co-worker with Lady Gaga songs.