Zoe's manager, Tara, dishes
on her time at Zoe in today's Q&A!
She and Camille are both doing well and are scheduled to come home from
the hospital today!
Q. Why did you want to come
to work at Zoe?
Prior to working at Zoe, I worked in retail for 13 years. I
always worked in a chain store, which gave me no insight as to how a retail
store really worked. I moved to
Alexandria to get my Bachelor's Degree
in Fashion and Retail Merchandising, hoping that would give me the answers I
was looking for. After moving here, I
fell in love with Old Town and all it had to offer. I thought the best way to find out how a
retail store really ran was to work for a boutique where they did
everything.
I remember calling Zoe to see
if there were any openings available. Susan and I had a pretty long courtship, as she was preparing for a
change. I remember wanting to work at
Zoe so badly, I even volunteered my time to work for her at Fashion's Night
Out. We had so much fun that evening and
I was offered the job that day!
Q. Favorite piece that you’ve
ever seen in the store (and why)
That's kind of hard. I have had so many favorite pieces at
Zoe. Susan truly has a good eye for
fashion. Can I say every single thing
from Velvet? I guess it would be a vest
that we received from Waverly Gray in the fall of 2013. I saw the vest at the showroom, fell in love
immediately, and told Susan I would have to have it when it came in. Well, it came in and I sold every single
vest. I never did actually get to have it. I loved it so much I showed it to everyone
who walked in the door and it didn't take long for everyone else to love it
too. I even remember doing a photo shoot
with it the day we received it in. It
was sold before it came back to the store that night.
Q. Favorite Zoe piece in your
closet (and why)
I would have to say every Zoe
piece I have in my closet is my favorite.
If I had to choose, it would be a tie between my Velvet Long Sleeve
Becky Sweater (which I would live in every day if the weather permitted) and my
Chan Luu pink and purple mixed 5 wrap bracelet.
Velvet is my favorite line, so if it were possible to only have Velvet
items in my closet I would.
Q. Craziest thing you ever
had happen to you in the store.
There was NEVER a dull day at
Zoe. I had my regular visiting
customers, some very eccentric customers, and just some crazy things
happen. I have had birds fly in the
store on two occasions, witnessed many people try to drive up a one way street
right outside the store, bikers get yelled at on the street for not obeying the
traffic laws, and much more. I have endured
a small waterfall coming from the ceiling in the fitting rooms and it becoming
icy cold when the AC unit went of the fritz.
One day last spring I became
a jack of all trades. A customer had
recently purchased bras online for the first time in a while and was unsure of
the fit. Although I have worked retail
for a long time, I have never worked in intimates, and to be honest I wouldn't
know the first thing about bra fitting (I would have left it up to the Victoria
Secret employees). he asked if I would
be able to tell her if they fit properly and since I really have no idea, I
referred her to Bloomers here in Old Town, who I know would give her the best
service. Well, that didn't stop her. The next time she was in she tried something
on, and decided today was the day I became qualified to fit a woman for
bras! She came out with her new bras on
and asked what I thought (and there were several bras). I will be adding bra fitter to my resume.
Q. Favorite store event
I think for as long as I worked
at Zoe I was at the store for every event we had. Believe it or not I do love working Black
Friday. I don't love the getting up
crazy early part. But I love seeing all
the customers in the store having a good time trying things on and telling each
other what they think of an outfit or piece.
It seems to be the kick off of the holiday season to me and it just gets
me in the mood for the holiday.
I also have to say I had a
great time when Katie Bartels came down from NYC for her trunk show this past
December. I love her jewelry and all the
bright colors. We had such a good time
chatting, trying things on with customers, and of course taking photos. Her mother was down with her as well and is
such a wonder woman.
The District Sample Sale
would have to be an event that wasn't necessarily my favorite, but it was an
event. It was in September, right in the
heart of DC. As organized as we always
try to be (Susan is a list maker and we are always on time if not early) when
we got there to set up it seemed to be a mad house. Everyone was trying to use the same loading
area in a back alley with one elevator.
Not to mention that some stores didn't pay attention to when they were
to set up, so when they came late it made it even worse. There was no place to park without getting a
ticket or towed, so Susan drove Jim's Honda Pilot around the block and would
stop when she saw me standing outside. I
would open the back, grab as much as I could carry and run back into the
building to drop it in our spot. Since
the elevator was tied up, I took the steps (and there were at least 3 flights
to go up and down). Finally we got
everything in and Susan could go park, but by that time I had run up and down
the steps about 50 thousand times and Susan drove around the block just about
the same. At the time we didn't know it,
but I was also pregnant. I guess baby
and I got a good workout that day. I'm
so glad Jim wasn't there for that, although I think it may have been a little
funny :)
Although it is not a store
event, my favorite event with Susan was going on the buying trips to NYC. We went to showrooms, met the reps, and
decided on what would be coming to the store the following season. This was an opportunity of a lifetime. My first day on the job was a buying
trip. I have to say without a doubt,
that was the BEST first day of working a new job I have ever had in my entire
life! Although I was like a kid in a
candy store, Susan kept me under control. We left early on the Amtrak, got to NYC and were able to walk to all of
our appointments since they were all located just blocks from each other. I remember going to the showroom that houses
the Velvet line and falling in love immediately. And one of the most exciting showrooms was
Chan Luu. First of all, it's the
penthouse floor of a very tall building. When the elevator doors opened it was a sea of wrap bracelets just
waiting for me to want them all. You
would have thought I was Susan's child, as I was saying "Susan can we get
this, Susan can we get this?" I had
to tell Susan never to send me to NYC alone to purchase for the store because I
would only come back with Velvet and Chan Luu.
Oh, and I loved eating at this great little Italian place in Hell's
Kitchen. It was the best pasta I have
ever eaten.
Q. What I love about Jim.
Seriously, what is not to
love about Jim! I absolutely love how
Jim can crack me up without even trying to be funny. I love the comments he leaves on Instagram
and his ability to pick out anything car related in the photos. One day Zoe had a little bit of a
disaster. A water line that was
connected to the HVAC unit of the burst and water started pouring from the
ceiling tiles in the fitting rooms. I
started getting the mess cleaned up, called Susan and asked for Jim's help if
he was available. Needless to say he
came to my rescue and was not a happy camper.
We had a good time cleaning up the mess and poking fun at the way it was
handled by all parties involved.
Q. Favorite Susan quote.
Susan is so articulate that I
am not sure that she has a quote that she uses all the time. When she says "remind me to tell
you...", you know there is a great story coming!
Q. When I see Zoe pink, I
think...
Immediately I think of Susan
and Zoe. Purple is my favorite color,
but Zoe pink will be unforgettable. No
matter where I am, who I am with, or what it is, I will always think of Susan
and Zoe.
Q. What you’ll miss most
about the store.
I cry as I answer this, not
just because I am overly emotional, hormonal, and just gave birth, but because I will
truly miss everything. Every morning
when I come into the store, there is an email waiting from Susan. And if there isn't I get worried and email
her in a panic to make sure she is ok.
Almost every day I get to see Buckley and Thatcher - two of my regular
doggie customers who made it just a little bit easier to deal with the passing
of my dog and best friend Blitz. I will
miss getting to relive high school all over again with Alexandra. The stories that were told, and the helpful
big sister advice that I could give.
I'll miss all the customers, who made me laugh, smile, and even a little
angry (although I never showed it). I
will miss the VIP valet parking I received in the parking garage. At some point I never had to park my car
because Jared and the guys always did it for me (although it was to their
benefit too, they could move me around all day and get more cars in). I will most certainly miss all the shipments
of new product coming into the store.
It's like Christmas when you open those boxes, wondering what's going to
be inside! I even nicknamed our UPS man
Freddie Claus, since he's like Santa bringing me gifts all the time. I will miss the smiling faces of both Freddie
the UPS man and Dave the postman. I will definitely miss the friendships I've
made with customers. I must say, Zoe did
have some of the best customers in the world.
They are always so thoughtful and genuine. They have followed me through the last of my
schooling and my pregnancy and had great advice to offer along the way. It was never a dull day at Zoe, and I truly
had some of the best experiences of my career with Susan. She has taught me things I would have never
learned at a chain store or even in class.
At Zoe you are family, and I will always love my Zoe Family.
