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The Uncommon Life

The Uncommon Life

Uncommon Personalities: Meet Errol Van Nooten

January 2, 2014
Errol Van Nooten | UncommonGoods
Errol Van Nooten, UncommonGoods Director of Security

My hometown is…
Berbice, Guyana.

The word that best describes me…
Professional.

I’m inspired by…
The word of God.

When I was little, I dreamed of…
Becoming a doctor.

My guilty pleasure is…
Watching reruns of old comedies.

The most challenging thing I’ve ever done is…
Quit smoking.

An uncommon fact about me…
I do not know how to tie shoe laces correctly.

Working at UncommonGoods I’ve learned…
To be more tolerant and non-judgmental.

Would you rather… Go on a temporary trip to the place and time of your choice – in the past, or the future (assuming you’d be safe either way and go back to your normal life whenever you wanted to)?
I love it in the here and now.

The Uncommon Life

UncommonGoods Uncommon Mom Photo Contest | Official Rules

January 1, 2014

UncommonGoods Uncommon Mom Photo Contest

Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.



1. Eligibility:
(the “Contest”) is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry and who did not purchase any equipment for the purposes of entering this giveaway. Employees of UncommonGoods as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible. Subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

2. Sponsor and Administrator: UncommonGoods, 140 58th St, Building B, Suite 5A Brooklyn, NY 11220.

3. Agreement to Official Rules: Participation in this Contest constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Sponsor’s and Administrator’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to this Contest.

4. Timing: The Contest begins Wednesday April 23, 2014 9am Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends Thursday May 8, 2014 11:59pm ET (the “Contest Period”).

5. How to Enter:
1. Visit the contest tab on our Facebook Page
2. Upload a photo of your mother and a comment about how she helped you be unique (not exceeding 255 characters).
3. Complete the rest of the form with your contact information.
One (1) winner will be chosen by our social media team.

Content Restrictions as defined below (collectively, the “Guidelines and Restrictions”).

Individuals can enter this Contest more than once.

By entering the Contest, constitutes an entrant’s consent to give Sponsor a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, create derivative works from, and display such submissions in whole or in part, on a worldwide basis, and to incorporate it into other works, in any form, media or technology now known or later developed, including for promotional or marketing purposes. Released Parties (as defined in Section 9, below) are not responsible for lost, late, stolen, damaged, incomplete, invalid, un-intelligible, garbled, delayed or misdirected Submissions; all of which will be void.

6. Winner Determination: At the end of the Contest Period, UncommonGoods will select one winner based on their submission. The winners will receive a $250 gift card to UncommonGoods.

7. Winner Requirements: The potential winners will be notified via email from UncommonGoods. If the potential winner cannot be contacted, or do not comply with these Official Rules, or the prizes are returned as undeliverable, potential winner forfeits the prizes. If potential winners are disqualified for any reason, the prize may be awarded to a runner-up, if any, in Sponsor’s sole discretion. Only two alternate winners may be determined, after which the applicable prize will remain un-awarded. Acceptance of any prize shall constitute and signify winner’s agreement and consent that Sponsor may use the winner’s name, city, state, likeness, photo, and/or prize information in connection with the Contest for promotional, advertising or other purposes, worldwide, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, including the Internet, without limitation and without further payment, notification, permission or other consideration, except where prohibited by law. Without limiting the generality of these Official Rules, winner shall irrevocably grant, transfer, convey and assign to Sponsor the entirety of the rights in and to the Submission and all renewals and extensions of copyright, and the right to secure copyright registrations thereto in perpetuity including, without limitation, the rights to use the Submission for any and all purposes in any and all media whether now known or hereafter developed, on a worldwide basis, in perpetuity. The winner accepts and acknowledges that Sponsor shall not be obligated to use the Submission and that Sponsor in its sole discretion shall have the right to refrain from using the Submission. Sponsor shall not incur any liability whatsoever to the extent Sponsor chooses to refrain from any exploitation of its rights hereunder. Winner will indemnify Sponsor, Released Parties (as defined in Section 9, below) and any licensee of Sponsor against all claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable counsel fees and legal expenses) arising out of any breach of these terms. Prizes will be fulfilled 3-5 weeks after winner determination.

8. Prize: 1 PRIZE: One winner will receive a $250 gift card to UncommonGoods.com. Prizes are non-transferable and no substitution will be made except as provided herein at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize for one of equal or greater value if the designated prize should become unavailable for any reason. Winners are responsible for all taxes and fees associated with prize receipt and/or use.

9. Release: The winner agrees to release and hold harmless the Sponsor, Administrator and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, distributors, advertising/promotion agencies, and prize suppliers, and each of their respective parent companies and each such company’s officers, directors, employees and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action, including, but not limited to, personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property, arising out of participation in the Contest or receipt or use or misuse of any prize.

10. General Conditions: Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Contest, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Contest, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. If terminated, Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, determine the winners from among all eligible Submissions received up to time of such action using the judging procedure outlined above. Sponsor, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the Submission process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner and void all associated Submissions. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages and other remedies (including attorneys’ fees) from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

11. Limitations of Liability Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by entrant, printing, typographical or other errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest; (2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the Submission process or the Contest; (4) printing, typographical, technical, computer, network or human error which may occur in the administration of the Contest, the uploading, the processing or judging of Submissions, the announcement of the prizes or in any Contest-related materials; (5) late, lost, undeliverable, damaged or stolen mail; or (6) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant’s participation in the Contest or receipt or use or misuse of any prize (including any travel/activity related thereto). Released Parties are not responsible for misdirected or undeliverable Submissions or for any technical problems, malfunctions of computer systems, servers, providers, hardware/software, lost or unavailable network connections or failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmission or any combination thereof. Released Parties are not responsible for any unauthorized third-party use of any Submission.

12. Disputes: Except where prohibited, entrant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York or the appropriate New York State Court located in New York; (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Contest, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (3) under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and entrant hereby waives all rights to claim, indirect, punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrant and Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the State of New York or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York. All rights reserved.

The Uncommon Life

Mapping Manhattan Contest Details

January 1, 2014

Mapping Manhattan Contest DetailsBecky Cooper’s Mapping Manhattan Project is not yet complete. She wants you to illustrate your special New York story in a map so her project can grow, and doing so could earn you a copy of her book and a framed print of your choice. Here’s how to participate:

1. Print out the blank map.
2. Illustrate your unique New York story.
3. Say that ten times fast.
4. Mail your completed map to Becky by May 31, 2014.

Becky Cooper
PO Box 302
New York, NY 10163

Becky will choose her favorite illustration and the UncommonGoods Social Media team will contact the winner in early June.

The Uncommon Life

Uncommon Personalities: Meet Aisha Ayala

December 23, 2013
Aisha Ayala | UncommonGoods
Aisha Ayala, UncommonGoods Outbound Warehouse Warehouse Team Lead 

My hometown is……
I was born and raised in Harlem.

I’m inspired by…
My aunt Brenda, because she came from nothing and turned out to be a very successful woman. She has always been a positive role model in my life.

My favorite process in the warehouse is……
Training. I am very outgoing and I love when the holiday season comes because then I am able to be around a lot of people and this is the most enjoyable part of my job.

The best gift anyone has given me was……
My nieces and nephews.

An uncommon fact about me……
I am 36 with no children.

In my next life, I want to come back as……
A butterfly, because I will be free able to go any place I want with no worries.

Working at UncommonGoods I’ve learned……
That I am a really good teacher.

Would you rather …have 10 wishes, and you can’t wish for money…or have $100 billion?
I would rather have $100 billion because, I will be able to take care of my whole family.

The Uncommon Life

Uncommon Personalities: Meet Jason Gomer

December 20, 2013
Jason Gomer | UncommonGoods
Jason Gomer, UncommonGoods Drop Ship Area Operations Manager & Senior Planner
My hometown is……
Brooklyn, NY. Born and raised.

An uncommon fact about me…
I’ve had to think of so many uncommon facts about myself since working here, so instead of a new one, I’ll list some of my favorites:
– I have never drunk or tried coffee. Ever. Not even once. I can get a caffeine buzz of a single can of soda.
– I’ve sky dived (dove?) five times and hope to get certified one summer. I once went straight through a cloud! How’d it feel? Moist.
– As you can tell by my sky-diving activities, I am not afraid of heights. However, my biggest fear/phobia is seeing someone other than myself close to a ledge or steep drop. Roof parties are horrible for me.
– I am a self-taught horror-FX make-up artist. I once entered a contest with a friend and we made me into an awesome zombie. And we won! That may not sound like much until I tell you who the judge was: Tom Savini, the original make-up artist for all of George Romero’s zombie films (Day of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead, etc).

Working at UncommonGoods I’ve learned……
…The value of teamwork. There are so many moving pieces that make UncommonGoods work for our customers and they are all connected. No single person can do everything, but a well-oiled team can get it all done and exceed expectations.

I’m inspired by…
Calm under pressure. Selfless acts of kindness. My cat, Tree Trunks (on days off, I follow her daily routine of eating and sleeping).

If my 6th grade teacher could see me now, he or she would say……
“You look the same.” (I’m 28 now.)

The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen is……
A starry night in rural Maine. We don’t have many stars in the Brooklyn night sky.

If I won the lottery, I’d…
Travel the world and donate to causes that help the young, the elderly, and our environment. Oh, and I’d buy one of these!

The Uncommon Life

Uncommon Personalities: Meet Emily Hodges

December 19, 2013

Emily Hodges | UncommonGoods

Emily Hodges, UncommonGoods Community Outreach Associate
My hometown is…
Long Beach, California

My favorite design challenge product is…
Hands down, Chaos Mountain by Meghan Ellie Smith. All of our semi-finalists’ works for our design challenges are inspiring, but it was this particular art piece that I was completely mesmerized by. I remember the day I opened up her entry and automatically made her designs my desktop background. I think I felt connected to it the most because it really does reflect my style and personality. A beautifully structured, colorful mess. This piece will definitely be sitting on my fireplace mantel soon.

I’m inspired by…
The work of Brandon Stanton, the photographer behind Humans of New York. His talent to pull out raw, personal stories from complete strangers amazes me every single day. I always considered myself a pretty open person, especially after all of my travels and living in diverse cities my entire life. But it wasn’t until HONY that I realized I still have plenty of lessons to learn to feed my ignorance. Brandon’s work has taught me that the 76 year old Chinese man who can barely speak English that sits by me on the train in my morning commute could have more in common with me than my very own peers. I can confidently say that Brandon has permanently changed my way of thinking and how I communicate with strangers.

My favorite place I’ve traveled so far is…
This is probably the worst question to ever ask me. I absolutely love to travel, and I would feel like I’m cheating on all the cities I’ve explored and experienced by choosing one single place. I won’t answer that, but I’ll compromise by replacing it with this question: Which three countries would you like to visit that you haven’t been to yet? Senegal, South Africa, and Indonesia.

An uncommon fact about me…
I cried when Steve Jobs died, taught English to over 750 high school students in South Korea, went skinny dipping for the first time in my life this year in the Mediterranean Sea , and deep down inside I secretly want dreadlocks.

Your favorite place to hang out in New York City is…
Any Brooklyn rooftop overlooking the skyline. Extra points if there’s a bottle of red wine involved. I always feel invincible on a rooftop and even more invincible with a glass of red.

My style is…
Definitely inspired by my favorite fashion icons: Solange, Alexa Chung, and Zoe Saldana. A good friend of mine once said “If our bodies are canvases, fashion is our art,” and that always stuck with me. I love timeless pieces such as the little black dress, a pair of nice-fitted jeans, and a (faux) leather jacket. But my favorite thing to do is to dress them up with random patterns and textures, bold colors, and funky jewelry. I would like to say if Lenny Kravitz and a thrift shop owner had a love child, that child would definitely be me.

Working at UncommonGoods, I’ve learned…
That working a “9-5” isn’t so suffocating if you love what you do. I never thought the office life was for me. I always wanted to run away from any idea that tinkered with the thought of halting my overextended travels. I took a chance with UncommonGoods, and since my first day here I haven’t (seriously) thought about moving across the ocean once.

If you could go to dinner with any historical person, who would you choose and where would you go? (And why?)
Jean Michel Basquiat, a rebel in the art world in the ’80s who pretty much led the movement of neo-expressionism. Also, since we’re having dinner, he could totally gossip about his shenanigans with Andy Warhol and his baby-makin’ time with Madonna. And, come on, he had the best freakin’ hair.

The Uncommon Life

A Journey Through the UncommonGoods Warehouse

December 17, 2013

So many boxes are coming and going through our warehouse right now – from Inbound where products arrive from our artists and vendors, to Outbound where your orders are carefully assembled and packaged for shipment. In this bustling time in our facility, we wanted to share the journey of a package through our space here in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

We hope you enjoy!

The Uncommon Life

Uncommon Personalities: Meet Sharon Chin

December 16, 2013

Sharon Chin | UncommonGoods

Sharon Chin, Uncommongoods Operations Team Lead
My hometown is…
NYC (Manhattan/Chinatown).

I’m inspired by…
Knowledge. I love to read and try to learn something new every day, whether it’s a new recipe (baking from scratch) modified to my taste and what I have on-hand to make it more nutritious (my specialty: yogurt wheat brownie* (see below)); or one of my other interests. I like to challenge myself and enjoy trying new things using my imagination and being creative.

My favorite thing about working in Inventory Transaction and Control is…
That it’s always a challenge and never boring keeping track of current top sellers, new items and what’s on sale (I’m also a customer). It lets me use my current skills as well as learn new ones and by working smarter I can get more done sooner and always be prepare for the unexpected.

My guilty pleasure is…
I don’t have any. I eat in moderation whether it’s sweet, salty or fried, just enough to satisfy my cravings. Yes, sometimes all in the same meal. Who says desserts have to be last?

Something that always calms me is…
Reading a good mystery (even better if it’s food-related). Always away from the crowds, usually somewhere along the waters or in a quiet niche at a park.

An uncommon fact about me…
I have perfect attendance, from school up to my current job here at UncommonGoods.

Working at UncommonGoods I’ve learned…
that every job is important no matter how small. I started as a seasonal cycle counter and learned the fulfillment and receiving process as a former Outbound/Inbound team member assisting as needed. Everyone has their own job to do and we are all part of one team. Also that sustainability is more than just recycling and composting.

Would you rather… Go on a dream vacation for two weeks, or spend five days with anyone in the world, but you must stay in your own neighborhood?
Go on a two week cruise vacation to Hawaii – island hop, try new dishes and absorb the culture/sights see and enjoy the great weather.

* Sharon Chin’s Yogurt Wheat Brownie recipe
Start with King Arthur Flour’s “Guaranteed Fudge Brownies” (aka “On-theFence Brownies because they straddle the Great Fudgey/Cakey Brownie Divide):

Sharon says: “My substitute makes it easier to remember as well. I reduce the butter since it has a lot of fat and can get expensive. I cut down on the sugar since I don’t like my sweets “too sweet;” and besides, the yogurt (I use it in cookie and quick bread as well) and chocolate chips already have fat and sugar in them.”

1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup milk chocolate chips (I prefer Hershey’s)
2 large eggs (I use 3 if I want it more cakey)
1 (6 oz) container vanilla yogurt (adding yogurt keeps it moist – use your favorite brand)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1-1/2 cups flour (sometimes I use ½ all-purpose and ½ organic pastry flour (Arrowhead Mills brand) or ½ cup each of all-purpose, organic pastry flour and oatmeal (which adds fiber as well).

Step 1 is the same as above except that I add the chocolate chips to melt after the sugar is slightly dissolved and stir it all together.

Step 2 – Whisk in the eggs then add yogurt. Add salt, baking powder and flour. Stir until combined. Then follow the rest of the baking instructions.