Get to know another fairowner: Joanna, our Back-Office Specialist! Having kicked off her career in the fashion industry, Joanna found the e-commerce path and joined us. She knew it was the right decision, because Fairown’s values of sustainable and responsible consumption and care for the environment aligned with hers.
Recently, Joanna has been working remotely from Berlin and tells us how smooth it has been - as if there’s no difference between working at the office or from abroad. Still, Joanna couldn’t opt in to remote work permanently, because she misses the teammates, who are her daily inspiration.
Joanna, tell us about your professional background.
Almost 10 years ago, I started working in the fashion industry and became a salesperson in a clothing store. After a year and a half, I moved on to visual merchandising within the company. Eventually, I was working at one of the biggest fashion groups in Estonia, Baltika. I was a Brand Visual Merchandiser for two of their main brands - Ivo Nikkolo and Monton.
I stayed in this field for four years, but then decided to do something different. Before joining Fairown, my last job was an Office Manager/e-Commerce Assistant at a surf shop. So, in a way, I followed the e-commerce path.
Why did you choose Fairown, what stood out for you?
I felt that I needed a change after spending three years in that surf shop. Actually, my sister told me about Fairown. Her former colleague Kairi worked at Fairown and now happens to be our Operations Team Lead. I saw her posts on social media about team events that always seemed super fun. When the position of the Back-Office Specialist opened up, she encouraged me to apply.
Having previously worked with both computers and people, I knew it was something I would enjoy. The fact that Fairown is an emerging start-up and its values align with mine, definitely stood out.
You are working remotely from Berlin. How did that come about?
I really love travelling! I have always liked the idea of working remotely from abroad for a short period of time. It just happened to be that my friend’s flat was available in Berlin and I could rent it for a month. That was a great opportunity to extend summer and I took the chance.
Fairown has made it extremely easy to work remotely - meetings are held online and everyone is available through our internal chats. My team lead Kairi was also very supportive and encouraging of my idea.
How do you compare remote and office work?
I feel like my working habits don’t differ that much when it comes to working from home or at the office. Working remotely from abroad is fantastic for a short period of time. Though, in the long run, I feel like it would get boring without meeting my colleagues face to face. Some communication and smaller questions are easier to do in person as well. Also, I’d be missing out on a lot of lunches and chit-chats with my teammates.
What drives and inspires you the most in your daily work?
My teammates, no doubt! Every day, I see how hard-working and goal-oriented they are. Alongside them, Fairown’s sustainable mission keeps me motivated. We constantly face new challenges on how to reduce the environmental impact people and businesses have on the planet. It’s really admirable to see how hard our team works to make these changes happen.
Name some fun facts that we can’t find on your CV or social profile.
You might not know that:
I volunteer at the charity foundation My Dream Day (Minu Unistuste Päev), where we fulfil the dreams of severely or chronically ill children and provide emotional support to them and their families;
I studied in a music class for 9 years, but I’m not a very good singer. Though, I can play an instrument - the recorder;
I love snowboarding and I’ve been doing that since I was 13 years old.
Where do you see yourself and Fairown in a couple of years?
Fairown is still a fairly new business, so I think there will be a lot of opportunities for team members to advance and develop inside the company. In five years’ time, I hope that our support team and my position in it has grown.
For Fairown, I wish for a lot of new partners who share our mindset of sustainable and responsible consumption. They can help us expand and deliver the opportunity of joining the circular economy to more and more merchants across many new markets.
Stay tuned for more stories and insights into the life of fairowners! Don’t forget to check out our most recent interviews with Kaarel, Jane, Kristi, and other superb teammates.