Hi all,
Welcome to our ongoing Q&A feature, where we introduce a member of the Artfinder team to our community. This time, we speak with Jane, our Senior Marketing Manager.
Q: Could you start by introducing yourself to our community?
Hi everyone, I’d like to think I’m a fairly public face around Artfinder, but probably haven’t been around on the forum as much since our amazing David joined us as Community Leader. I live in South London with my husband and our little boy Nye, who just turned 3, many of whom will be familiar with him from my instagram feed.
Q: How long have you worked with Artfinder and what is your role in the company?
I celebrated my six year anniversary with Artfinder this summer, which is the longest by far I have ever worked anywhere and I think that’s testament to what an amazing place Artfinder is to work. My current job title is Senior Marketing Manager, I joined as PR Manager back in 2015 and have broadened out into a more generalist marketing role as the team has grown and developed.
Q: What have been your highlights of working with Artfinder so far?
There’s too many to count really. I’ve been lucky enough to work very closely with our CEO Michal over the years, who has been a shining light for me every day so far. It’s his vision that has made Artfinder a B Corp, a place that we all want to get up and work for every day. He also has apparently unlimited energy, capacity for understanding and a drive to truly, truly make our business exist to make the world a better place. What more could you ask for?
It has also been amazing to see how Artfinder has grown in the last 18 months and all of the new team members we have welcomed, every single one of them committed to making a difference.
Q: Do you come from a creative background? Do you engage in creative activities yourself?
Hmmm my instinct here is to say no, but when I think about it I have always leaned towards ‘arts’ subjects - my A Levels were English Literature, French and Textiles Art so make of that what you will! I then went onto an English Lit degree, and a career which began in theatre / live entertainment PR, which certainly counts as creative industries I guess.
I’m also a writer through and through, which is my personal creative outlet I guess - I took a year out after my first job to do a creative writing Masters (with Martin Amis from the University of Manchester) and decided I was going to be a novelist, but that hasn’t worked out so far. (Also I say I took a year out, I didn’t, I launched my own PR business and funded myself through it by freelancing).
And then I also have a PR Masters and most recently a CIM Marketing Diploma, which I suppose are not necessarily creative subjects, but marketing for Artfinder certainly feels like a creative activity!
Q: What does working for a B Corp mean to you?
As mentioned above, everything, really. We all spend so much of our lives at work, it really matters to me that I’m doing something that feels important and that does some good in the world.
Q: What do you like doing in your spare time?
Pre-baby and pre-covid I used to enjoy climbing and swimming, being a long time since I did either (although I did manage a couple of nice swims in the cold sea at the British seaside this summer). These days, it’s just the simple things, good food, good wine, good friends and seeing family when we can. We were lucky enough to move house just before Covid to a house with a garden, and one of my new lockdown hobbies is growing veg in our garden, which has really helped keep me sane through the difficult times. We started with two raised beds last year, this year expanded to four, a trellis along our fence and about lots of pots.
Q: How have you been coping with the recent Covid situation and do you have any words of advice for anyone who is not coping well with it?
Pretty terribly to be honest. I went to sleep on that awful day in mid-March 2020 thinking ‘this is all a nightmare and when am I going to wake up?’ and I feel like I still haven’t.
The things that have helped me cope are my little boy - one thing toddlers are very good at is keeping you busy, keeping you in the present moment, and also being completely hilarious. Undoubtedly having him here whilst nursery was closed was difficult, but we’ve laughed more and I would say have probably coped better with him than we would have without him.
Q: If you could take only three items with you to a desert island, what would they be?
Three really long and amazing books I’ve never read before.
Q: Finally, do you have any message for our community?
Just that none of us would be here without you and that I’m always here with a friendly ear if you need me.
