Meet the Saffron Family!
Welcome to Susan Saffron, or more specifically welcome to our blog. With one of our main priorities in our store being to create a friendly, welcoming environment, we wanted to figure out how to carry this priority to our online store as well. How can we give you the experience you get when walking in our store from just exploring our website? This is where I come in. I have the pleasure of being a fly on the wall in the store; I am usually the one drawing in the corner, which strategically also gives me the best view in the house of how we interact and engage with each other.
The women who work here with me are radiant and amicable, and if you have ever had the pleasure of visiting the store you know this. It is clear that they are passionate about jewelry and their jobs but more clearly, they are passionate about creating relationships with every client that walks into Susan Saffron. To truly understand Susan Saffron, I think you first must get to know the people who make her. Today, I will take you through some biographies of the wonderful women who spend an unhealthy amount of time around pretty jewelry, and in the next few weeks you can watch for our next blog where we get to know the big guns, Susan Saffron herself. So here we are, may I now introduce to you, the team:
It’s tough to even find a place to start with Ashley. I sit with a perfect view of her desk, almost as if we are dining at both ends of the royal, massive dinner table together. From my own observations, she is incredibly hardworking. From just peering at her linkedin, she proves that with the long list of skills she has acquired. When you come into the store you either already know and love Ashley, or you are about to leave… loving Ashley. She is one of those people you're always thankful for once you start talking to them because she is so refreshingly easy to speak with. She is incredibly engaging and intentional as a friend, but these qualities also make her extremely successful at her job. She is our buyer which basically means she’s prophetic. She foreshadows the trends, buys the jewelry so that you will never have to worry about being out of style. I will say her one flaw right now is that she has not included me on a buying trip yet, but other than that Ashley is absolutely wonderful.
You could convince me that by day, Nancy Gibbons is the backbone of the store, but by night, she is out running around in a latex suit keeping the city of Dallas safe. In other words, she is superwoman. I am not quite sure how or where she stores all the knowledge she has or if her body has started getting innovative and finding new places to keep it, because her brain is definitely full. Usually, she occupies the back, diligently planning and organizing at her desk, but if you’re lucky, she emerges from the Batcave and graces us with her presence. Nancy is a gentle leader and a gracious friend and a cool mom and an absolutely crucial member of our team.
This brings me to Avery Gibbons, Nancy’s beloved daughter. She is an undercover comedian. We sit together at work, or at least, on the days she decides she wants to work, and single handedly carry Susan Saffron Boutique on our backs. Okay I’m kidding, we really just tweak things on the website all day, eat chocolate from the endless vase of chocolate treats that mock us on the counter, and talk about all the amazing concerts she attends. Other than that, she is completely mysterious to everyone.
Susie reminds me of a mysterious super model that has casually retired and now just wants to stay busy and be surrounded by beautiful jewelry. Maybe that is her story?
What I do know about Susie is that she loves her kids and she loves her clients. She is hardworking and dependable. I remember one of my first tasks last summer as the boutique temp was to send each of her clients an authentic text that we customized for each of her individual clients. I admired how much she remembered about each of you and her attention to details in your lifes. That is definitely something that sets these women apart; they truly listen, want to listen, and care about you regardless if this is your first time in the store or your 1000th.
I just asked her what her most interesting fact about herself was to which she replied that she has never had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. There are several things that stand out about this response, for starters the speed at which she produced her answer. It's as if she has been dying to try one forever now, but cannot bear to give up such a fascinating “interesting fact” answer. I am also concerned about her childhood, has she had goldfish? Has she had ants on a log? Those we are left to wonder about. Anne Lauren is confident in a refreshing and inspiring way. We all envy the way she can take a video for our social media in one flawless try with zero awkward moments. She is funny, stylish, and classy and eventually I hope to coax her into giving me her entire wardrobe. I will keep you updated here on the blog if I am ever successful. Maybe this will just become my style blog then.
Hello my woman crush. Megan only started working here three months ago, she is Ashley’s assistant, and she is quite possibly living my dream life. She studied fashion merchandising (aka she always looks stunning at work), went to New York and designed clothes, got married, and has now returned to Texas to our little store where she buys fabulous new pieces for us. Oh and, she drives a Volkswagen convertible. We can only dream of being that cool. Aside from being stylish and cool, she is also poised. She interacts with our guests with grace and elegance and listens with empathy. She is already incredible at remembering faces and their stories and will make you feel like the most important person in the world when you're speaking with her.
Whitney is an icon. She has the most vast, bountiful, and bright dress collection. Which is only fitting if you know her. She is bright and hilarious and often serves us by running errands around town, which is ironic since she is such a pleasure to be around and have in the store. It’s a good thing that she asks thoughtful questions and is a great listener because no one wants to ask her about her life since she spends her summers at Kiowa tanning and looking cute and making us envious.
Imagine you are in a fairy tale castle, you just saved the kingdom from utter destruction, tonight you will dine with the queen, she wants to thank you for your incredible bravery and valiance. That is how every interaction feels with Mary. It’s as if you are always being honored by the queen. She carries herself like a queen but interacts with everyone with humility and grace. She is intentional and engaging and wonderful. I adore Mary and hope to be half as elegant as her when I grow up.
Helllooo Brooks. Brooks real name is Ashley but she graciously goes by Brooks to save us the Ashley confusion. A wonderful representation of the role Brooks fills for us. She is servant hearted and selfless and floats around the store like a little butterfly. Today was a particularly bubbly day for Brooks because she did a cartwheel in front of the store to promote our sale. So not only is she graceful and kind but she is apparently also extremely agile and committed to the team. Maybe if you ask nicely enough she would do one in person for you, but that is one thing I cannot deliver to you through this blog.
Our General Jenny. She is my cool but very responsible older sister. Jenny is not someone you would usually interact with in the store because she spends most her time serving you via the internet. She spends her free time juggling because otherwise I don’t know how she got so good at multitasking and handling so many things at once. I think it is good to start that rumor here, “General Jenny, full time Lieutenant Major General Special Forces Officer for Susan Saffron and the Military, part time juggling enthusiast.” Anything that you see on our social media or online has been charged and commanded by General Jenny. On a real note though, Jenny is very good at her job; working under her, that is extremely clear to me. She is good at her job and I do not know if we tell her enough.
If I am in charge of your website experience, then Amy is my counterpart. She is the one who creates the incredible masterpiece that draws you into our store. Aside from being crafty and creative, Amy is also funny. She does not work full time, but I am always thankful when she is here because she makes me laugh. She is joyful and incredibly enjoyable to be around. Occasionally, she will work at the table with me, and on these occasions the day flies by and we never stop laughing (unless we are diligently working of course). The apple didn't fall far from Amy’s tree either because we all love her daughter Ellie too. She too has an engaging and outgoing personality that makes the days feel shorter.
If you like her, you can thank me. And I’ll go ahead and say you're welcome because everyone likes her. I have given Madelyn everything, her sense of humor, her job here at the store, my last name, I even gave her my brother to marry. She is wildly knowledgeable about everything under the sun. Did you know that a snail has four noses? She did. Did you know that male seahorses are the ones who get pregnant? She did. Did you not know what to get your granddaughter for Christmas last year? She did. She is the man with the plan, the woman with the answers, and the absolute most fun to work with. I am thankful that my brother picked a good one and that we get to work together, and you are thankful too because she is an absolute delight.
Your narrator, your fly on the wall, your girl in the corner, your source of laughter, joy and instrumental jewelry intel. Hello, my name is Ella Kate Cotter. I get the pleasure of bringing you different blogs over a broad spectrum of topics. I get the honor of bringing you the inside scoop. Next blog you can expect to hear all about our “Gold Rush” event and how you can benefit from it. And if you finished reading this and thought to yourself… “What about Susan Saffron herself?” Fear not, you can expect a full and intimate biography on the ins and outs of Susan’s life, the beginnings of the store, and what makes Susan tick in the next blog after that.