Meet Us

Ayanna Jordan, UncommonGoods Operations Administrator

My hometown is…
Brooklyn, N.Y.

An uncommon fact about me is…
I’ve been playing the Viola for 14+ years.

I’m inspired by…
Not wanting to mirror people and my surroundings.

My favorite process in the UncommonGoods warehouse is…
I don’t necessarily have a favorite process. I just like to try new things throughout the operation.

My dream job is…
To be a photographer for National Geographic Magazine and a journalist.

If I had to choose between hiking or biking, I would choose…
Neither. I prefer road trips and camping.

If I lived without restrictions, I would…
Have a couch in every country and backpack across the globe.

Would you rather… take an all-expenses paid trip, OR just take the money the trip is worth?
All expenses paid trip.

 Eric Jackson-Forsberg, UncommonGoods Copywriter

My hometown is…
Boonville, NY. Named for Gerrit Boon of the Holland Land Company. He had plans to establish a huge maple sugar “plantation” in that part of Northern New York (which never panned out). Home of the NY State Woodsman’s Field Days, which involves axe throwing and beard competitions. If you’re looking for REAL lumbersexuals, that’s the place.

My favorite project that I’ve worked on at UncommonGoods is…
Headlines for the home page and catalog covers. Fewer words = more challenge.

I’m inspired by…
Typography, modern design, Wes Anderson, and hops.

My guilty pleasure is…
Space: 1999 and U.F.O., two craptastic Gerry Anderson TV shows from the 70s. Between him and Wes, I guess I like all things Anderson! Let’s see…Gillian Anderson? Check!

An uncommon fact about me…
With a friend from High School, I developed a pilot for a sitcom/movie review show called Zack’s Video Shack, which we pitched to Gary Coleman (for the role of Zack). It never got off the ground, but the meeting with Gary was priceless.

My favorite place to hang out in New York City is…
The High Line.

If I could travel back in time, I would…
Visit Vienna in 1900, and see if I could spot Freud, Klimt, and Mahler. Maybe buy them a round of coffee or absinthe and try to start an argument. And I’d take a lot of photos.

Since working at UncommonGoods I’ve learned…
The brand is difficult to pin down, but that’s the essence of the brand! Also, that Tech has no windows, so they must visit the Creative studio periodically for vitamin D production.

Would you rather…only speak and write in clichés for an entire day, or ride a tricycle to work through the snow?
The tricycle in the snow may not be a cliché, but it does sound like a metaphor for the awkwardness of life, so I’ll go with that one.

 Joanne Zhong, UncommonGoods Senior Financial Accountant

My hometown is…
Guangzhou, China. A warm, humid and crowded city.

My favorite memory in the Accounting Department is…
My first day working here. It [was] a fresh start for me in this country.

My favorite place to eat in New York City is…
Flushing, where I could find my favorite dim sum, hot pot, and bubble tea.

My guilty pleasure is…
A cheeseburger and fries at Five Guys.

An uncommon fact about me is…
I [can] knit sweaters and scarves.

When I’m not working, I’m probably… 
Cooking.

If I won the lottery, I would…
Open a restaurant so that I could let you guys know what authentic Chinese food is.

Working at UncommonGoods I’ve learned…
How to find passion in work.

Would you rather…wear the same costume to work every day for a year, OR be banned from using Excel during the holiday season?
Definitely be banned from using Excel during the holiday season.

 

My hometown is…
Wyckoff, NJ

My favorite product that has entered the assortment at UncommonGoods since I’ve worked here is…
The Tagua Gem Necklace.

I’m inspired by…
My younger sister, MacKenzie, who is always unapologetically herself.

My guilty pleasure is…
Reading Us Weekly. I have the app, and I read it at night before I fall asleep.

An uncommon fact about me is…
A few months before I started at UG, I took a jewelry making class with designer Emilie Shapiro. At the time I had no idea that Emilie was one of UG’s incredibly skilled artists. An even weirder coincidence: sitting next to me in class was future Home Décor & Garden Buyer, Jamie Hoffman! Uncommon connection!

My favorite place to eat in New York City is…
Locanda Vini & Olii in Clinton Hill.

My Style is…
Feminine, classic, and a little bit preppy.

Working at UncommonGoods I’ve learned…
If you have a great idea, go for it! I’m so lucky to be working with such a talented, hardworking, and supportive group of people.

Would You Rather… star in a reality TV show about your life, OR have a movie made about you starring the actress of your choice?
A movie! It would be a semi-biographical rom-com with Kristen Bell as the lead!

 

 Patrick Jean-Felix, UncommonGoods Operations Team Lead

My hometown is…
Queens, NY

I’m inspired by…
LIFE. We only get one…better live it well!

My favorite process in the UncommonGoods warehouse is…
Packing and Machine. [The “machine” makes packing more efficient, because some of our very durable items can be packed up quickly, which saves us time and energy.]

If I could meet anyone, living or dead, I would choose…
Nelson Mandela.

If you could have 3 wishes granted, they would be…
To live long enough to see my sons grow to be very successful men, to win the Mega Million, and to have three more wishes.

When I was a kid my favorite television program was…
The A-Team.

Would you rather…give up all alcohol for the next 30 days, OR have to cook all of your own meals (no restaurants) for the next 30 days?
I rarely drink. Thirty days without a drink is a normal thing for me.

Paul Kvamme, UncommonGoods Software DeveloperMy hometown is…
Fargo, North Dakota. Well, I was born in Fargo, but raised in Moorhead Minnesota three miles away. But now that I’m here in Brooklyn I feel like Fargo North Dakota is more representative of where I’m from in the mind’s eye of your average Brooklynite.

The tech project I most enjoyed working on at UncommonGoods was…
Uff-Da, there has been quite a few. Some more rewarding and some more challenging, but I think the one I really enjoyed the most was my first large project. I was a packer in the warehouse who had an aptitude for computers and logic, and my manager picked me out for a pretty complex project (especially for me at the time) writing a script which had the end goal of remapping where everything we sell would live in the warehouse based on frequency of orders, space, and paths people would have to move to get things. It really got my juices flowing in a way I hadn’t had things flowing. It was my first time scripting, and for the first time I was turned on to the idea that I could make a living using my brains instead of my hands.

I’m inspired by…
Roadblocks, I guess. If I have an idea and I can figure out how I may be able to execute it but I keep on running into a roadblock I get obsessed with figuring out how to keep moving ahead. I’ve had so much more fun configuring gadgets to act exactly like I want them to (even if what I want is not what they were meant to do) than actually using them.

My favorite place to hang out in New York City is…
Do I lose points if I say at home with my wife?

An uncommon fact about me…
I don’t like this question…

When I’m not working, I’m probably…
Trying to resist the temptation to read comic books instead of learning new things about programming languages.

The word that best describes me…
Paul Kvamme. Oops, one word… umm… Pawlcuame? Pawlcwaumee?

Since working at UncommonGoods I’ve learned…
I’ve learned how to do a lot. I keep finding reasons to learn new things as I pick up odd jobs from all over the company. When faced with a project, if I know it is possible but I don’t yet know how, it’s that much more exciting.

With a pile of stuff in front of me I would make…
You’re given a foot of string, an empty gallon ice cream carton, duct tape, a pound of shredded newspaper, a long-sleeved flannel shirt, and a pineapple.

Where did I get all this stuff from? Am I on a desert island? Am I locked in a room with this stuff? This question is a little intimidating.

Joel Villa, UncommonGoods Area Operations ManagerMy hometown is…
More like a “homestate.” I grew up in a lot of small towns in Arizona, and a few in New Mexico, but I usually tell people I’m from Phoenix, Arizona.

I’m inspired by…
Creativity: Fashion. Art. Music.

My favorite process in the UncommonGoods warehouse is…
Gift Box – It requires all the care and speed of every other area with less heavy-lifting (which I get a good dose of in Scanning & Stacking, where I regularly work).

Describe your style…
My philosophy has always been: Fashion over function – you must look good always. Despite working in a physical, dirty job, I still enjoy dressing with eccentric, avant-garde, and eclectic panache. You never know when a Galliano or Wintour might pass you on the street or decide to tour the UG warehouse…

The #1 most played song on my iPod is…
I would imagine it’s some Broadway musical powerhouse number, probably “A New Life” from Jekyll and Hyde.

If you could throw the perfect party…
It would be some satirical affair, simply for a good laugh and photo-ops. I’ve often discussed planning one called “Sad Hour,” where table-for-one’s are set up, and only sad, depressing Adele-esque songs are played, with a mandatory high society dress code; mingling is optional.

If I could learn anything, it would be…
It seems simple enough if it weren’t for my procrastination, but I’ve always wanted to learn guitar and piano.

Would you rather… wear the same outfit for a year, OR listen to no music for a year?
There is no way I could go without music for a year. Wearing the same outfit for a year sounds like a fun and challenging project, involving how-to blogging, insta-tracking, accessorizing, and lots of creativity. I might just do it now!

Raymundo Franco, UncommonGoods Operations SupervisorMy hometown is…
Brooklyn, New York

I’m inspired by…
Hard work.

When I’m not working I’m probably…
Playing handball… so see me in the courts.

The best luck I’ve had in my life so far was…
Having siblings.

My favorite ITC process is…
QA’ing orders. (Checking to make sure everything is accurate.)

An uncommon fact about me…
I actually draw whenever I get some type of inspiration.

Working at UncommonGoods, I’ve learned…
To use Microsoft Excel more than I ever have before.

Would you rather… have the ability to fly OR to be invisible?
I’d rather have the ability to fly so that I could go anywhere in the world whenever I’d like.