How long have you been in your job? It'll be two years in
January.
Describe the space you work in: I have a seventh-floor view of the Santa
Monica Mountains and the Getty Museum. No smog today.
Who is the smartest person you work with? We're brimming with brainpower
here. Our CEO/cofounder Roberto Milk is brilliant. Fran Seegull, our VP
of business development, is one of the most brilliant businesswomen I've
ever met.
Who is the craziest? We're all impassioned, not crazy yet.
How comfortable are your offices? Comfortable, casual, open, decorated
with wild artworks from all over the world - each handmade by the master
artists who participate on the website.
What is the best thing about working there? Our contagious mission, and
success. With each new report on an artist's life, we help it change for
the better as we connect thousands of artisans directly with customers
and collectors all over the world. For example, one carver in Ghana now
has two kids in university, and traditional Peruvian tapestry weavers
are emerging from the copper mines to return to their traditional
crafts.
(Above, I'm pictured with Aphi Mina, an 87-year-old master weaver in
northern Thailand.)
And the worst thing? Knowing we're only scratching the surface and can
only reach so many artists.
And your luckiest break? When we captured the attention of Gerry Hadden,
an excellent NPR reporter who traveled within Mexico to visit
participating artisans, and he was moved to file a report about how the
internet/Novica had changed their lives.
What is the biggest thing to hit your office in the past year? Business
continues to snowball, despite the dot-com "shakedown." Hundreds of
papers have reported on our work, along with dozens of major magazines.
Both the PR department and the website itself have managed to become
very successful, very quickly.
Sneak us a good piece of gossip from your office: We all stay in close
contact with our regional counterparts. One day, the gossip was that
Komang Ayu and Komang Pariatna, directors of our Bali office, may
marry ... then they did. We watch romances develop from afar, then share
wedding and baby photos across the planet via e-mail as events unfold.
Nothing too tantalizing here. Yet!
Number of employees: 150 in all, 2 PR
Address: 11835 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 750E, Los Angeles, CA 90064
Phone: (310) 479-6685, ext. 237
- If you want to be featured in "Where I Work" or "My Big Break," e-mail
careers@prweek.com.
