All Ogonyok is 14 years old!
Did we assume that for the second year in a row we would celebrate a birthday at the lockdown? No, we really didn't expect that. However, during our 14th year, we learned not to be upset over little things (and not about little things either) and admitted to ourselves that no matter what, last year was a year of growth and new victories for us. Today we do not open the doors of the store, do not arrange a loud party and do not invite guests, but we are happy to release new material on the blog - and this material about our team. First, we have long wanted to introduce you to each of us. And secondly, we sincerely hope that our stories will inspire you and bring us even a little closer, because #RazomMiOgonek. Enjoy reading. P.S. You will find a transcript of abbreviations (read: our posts) at the end of the article.
Vika: - Last year showed that anything is possible - the main thing is who you go with. It was in 2020 that our team grew and, without expecting it, we made a breakthrough - a qualitative leap forward. It seems to me that now everyone in the team is in their place - doing what he does best. And I am very proud that I have such a team! If suddenly you are not yet acquainted - it's time to fix it. Below are the results of the year from each of them.
Jordan: — Our 14th year was really difficult. Exactly a year ago, on this day, we had been sitting at home for several weeks. The high season began in fashion, and the world's first lockdown. The realization came that everything we were sure of before would no longer work. Except for one thing: if you and your team are together, it doesn't matter where you sail - it's just that you look in the same direction. And we started looking at things where our focus was not before. Yes, it was alarming, but we accepted the challenge of the current circumstances - and sailed. They invented games, transferred money from sales to fight Covid-19, talked about themselves, learned advertising, new communication and not to lose heart. The result was not long in coming - we very quickly leveled our figures and came up with an excellent sales plan. Even better than excellent. Then there was a long Odessa summer - it seemed that everything returned to normal. Then Worker of the Year, New Year's Eve fuss and again a lockdown that comes and goes like a school vacation. However, this is not a vacation - this is a new life.
The main thing that I understood during our 14th year is that circumstances do not solve anything, only we decide! And we are Ogonyok. I greet you, my favorite and always bright house, project, shop, community and much, much more that you can be and will be!
Nastya: — I think that all the changes taking place in the world should not become a limitation for human will and evolution. We ourselves accumulate energy for creation and can do it in the most extraordinary way - even in troubled times. Thus, in times of crisis, an awareness of one's usefulness, a desire to be heard and to give a feeling of "good and beautiful" is born. At first, hanging things in the store was just an experiment for me, and then it became an important part of creativity. When trying to "talk" online, the best thing you can do without words is take a photo, so I started shooting and styling. Attention to detail and a sense of style is a whole world ruled by aesthetics. A well-trained eye inspired me to try something of my own. Also, why not be a model when you have access to your favorite brands?
Positive feedback from subscribers and support from the team prompted a new step - to speak and teach. I've always been called the "queen of sales" - this is my experience, which should not live alone. This is a script that works and can be taught. During the year inside Ogonek we held meetings and trainings, shared experiences. Our online meetings and outings have taught us cohesion, and everyone has shown by example that movement is life. A trip to the KSENIASCHNAIDER brand team this winter has further increased interest in training. And it seems that in this turbulent year it is time to realize that everything is not in vain.
Karina: - I started working here five months ago - and it was five months of endless learning, transformation and new discoveries. For me, being a part of Ogonek means being involved in something global, something that changes the world. My tongue does not return to say "we sell clothes", because, above all, we build relationships - with our customers, partners and within our team. We form a community of like-minded people around Ogonek, each member of which adds something to the general context.
To everyone who comes to us for the first time, Ogonyok seems to be something unusual and unusual. And so it is - we are talking about non-standard and the destruction of templates. A light is a fire in the truest sense, and I wish it a chamber for a very, very long time.
Diana: — For me, the year at the lockdown was definitely a year of opportunities - in many ways it was thanks to him that I got to Ogonek. When everyone was literally locked up at home, the question of the need for online communication became quite acute. I was entrusted to give Ogonka a new voice - it is very responsible and insanely exciting. Together we created a new communication strategy, started to develop a blog, we have a newsletter. The word "together" is key here: I brought my knowledge, the team shared theirs, and something we learned together in the process. The result of 2020 was Worker of the Year - a project that is about to turn from a New Year's collaboration into an independent brand. He has become a symbol to me that any limitations are always new opportunities that can be seen if you look at the problem from a different angle.
Ogonka's team has a vital quality: to unite, despite any circumstances. Dear, thank you for teaching! My result of the year is very short: find your own and calm down. Thank you, Ogonyok, for being yours now. Happy Birthday!
Anya: — Search and always find - the motto from which my 2020 began. Fortunately, I joined the team a few days before our "favorite" period of sitting at home. And I found exactly what I was looking for. During the pandemic, it became clear that online was often the only way to stay in touch with the world. That is why my work with the site and product descriptions fit organically into the new realities.
Over the past year, I have realized one important thing: we cannot move forward. That is why you should always look for, try new approaches and get inspired - it helps me to see not only the picture, but also the emotion of a particular thing or collection. I hope Ogonyok inspires you too, helping to notice beauty everywhere.
Sasha: — Hardly any of us like to wait, and the pandemic has put us in a permanent waiting room without an exact check-in and landing time. In the late summer of 2020, while waiting for a student visa and calling the embassies, I wanted to distract myself from the perpetual convulsive look at the calendar and checking mail. I, a student of the Faculty of Economics, wanted to fill my time with something radically new, but at the same time close to me. But as Andy Warhol said, "As soon as you stop wanting something, it's in your hands." Just at the moment when I stopped chasing butterflies with a net, the most beautiful, red and white, just sat on my nose and led me (if I'm already writing for a blog, do not be surprised by my metaphors).
New experiences, thousands of written words and endless jokes of friends that I am now Carrie Bradshaw - my new reality. The reality, which would not have been if I had not once sent an SMS: "Let me write how I feel, and there we'll see." This is probably the magic of chance and words, regardless of time and circumstances. Thank you Ogonka for her.
Dima: — I've been in Ogonyok (and Ogonyok in me) literally since the New Year. Three months ago, I worked in a creative agency as an account manager (the guy who only works with clients and doesn't do any creative work). And then fire just broke into my life! And thanks to an unexpected case, design has finally become my main business.
Now we are building an internal system in Ogonek, in which (which makes me very happy) design is of great importance. It is especially nice and very important to realize that design directly affects the company's income - so comes an understanding of how important your work is. It's inspiring. Ogonyok is not just a shop. Sparkle is a place that always does a little more. Glad to be a part of it.
