“Oh this is it?” It’s a phrase we hear from time to time when people first visit our office, and it’s not to be rude, and it’s not disappointment… it’s usually stated with surprise as if they thought we had a glamorous office space, maybe with an indoor track, and a five-star cafeteria. Well despite what our virtual, or wholesale, presence may suggest we are still indeed a small business. But honestly, hearing “oh this is it?” is something we take pride in because hell yeah it is!
So if you haven’t had your chance to visit the Nest we present to you Nest by the Numbers… just to give you an idea of our small office magic.
Number of years in business: 11
Though we still consider the first three years a kind of pre-startup period...when experienced staff was hard to come by:
Number of people on the design team: 4
Many big companies outsource their apparel design. But O started as a design company...a runner design company, ready to challenge the status quo, and create high quality apparel for women runners. The design team are all runners (with a range of sizes and types of distances they pursue). That means every garment must show that it can endure the miles, the sweat, the heat and cold, and getting beat up in the wash. The design team makes sure #flystyle is always fierce.
Number of Olympians sponsored: 4
(Sarah Attar PC: Lucas Oleniuk / Getty Images)
Kate Grace, Maria Michta-Coffey, Maria Elena Calle, and Sarah Attar
Number of people on the customer care team: 3
Two full-time, Katie and Alisoune (who also have other critical roles at the Nest like managing our website), one part-time, Anita, and in the process of hiring one more! When you write us at hello@ or speak to someone at the store, it's us birds. We believe great service starts at home.
Total number of men: 1
David. Two on a good day when Robert our CFO is at Monday staff, or if you count the mailman.
Number of conference rooms or private offices: 0
Unless you count our kitchen (aka Conference Room K). We’re all about that open floor plan and hearing other people's conversations.
Distance between the desks: 1 in. to 2ft.
Within an arm’s length of each other of course. Gotta make sure you are in high-five distance.
Number of running shoes: 16
Not counting the ones used for photoshoots. Some people have a separate pair just for the office.
Total miles run on a given day: 19-36 (give or take)
Katie, Kami, and Beth got out there this morning for a loop around Green Lake so between those three we have nine miles, I had a lunch run of six, and then Steph went out for an afternoon four miler. But Alisoune, Morgan, David, Sally, and Lesko sometimes head out for a run as well so on certain days we can really rack up the miles.
Number of people matching on a given day: 2 – 4
I’m looking at two Queen jackets as we speak but the other day there were FOUR people wearing the Wazzie Wool Jacquardigan.
Number of clothing racks: 6
Three loaded with Fall ‘18, two with Spring ‘19, and one by the design team with Fall ‘19, woah.
Staff that go to our neighboring grocery store PCC to get their lunch: 6
A shout out to The Nest "cafeteria" - and fellow Seattle small business - across the street. The PCC rocks a great salad/hot bar and is home of the Kickin' Kale Smoothie.
Number of times Junior Designer Mo brings baked goods: 1 time a week
I expect these baked goods to arrive like clockwork. This week - Christmas cookies. They were gone in 2 hours…
Number of times Lesko get asked medical advice on a given week: 2 times a week
Oh boy, I personally go to her for general life advice about everyday… but medically speaking she probably dishes out some recommendations twice a week and treatment once or twice a month.
Number of dogs in the office: 0
Usually none per Sally’s request which makes sense since we are in a tight space... but let’s just say we’ve started a petition so sign below once you’re done reading. Also, Steph’s dog Indie did make a visit today, so we made sure we soaked up all the dog time we could.
Total number of Yetis: 5
We have the OG Sweatshirt Yeti, Cat lady Yeti, Lux Yeti, and of course we have the newest fleecy-greatness: The Cozy Bird Yeti… two actually, because why not?
Number of cowbells: 1500 (roughly)
You can never be too prepared.
Number of Hangers: ∞
I refuse to count them all… so so so many, yet somehow it never feels like enough.
Number of coffee cups are on people’s desks: 2-3 (reusable mugs)
Well it used to be about 2 paper cups per desk… BUT Steph gave us a friendly, yet strong, reminder (by strong I mean at marketing meeting she yelled about turtles dying in the ocean as we sipped from our plastic lids) So… now we have a new challenge to use only our re-usable mugs. So far we’re on a roll.
THE STORE BY THE NUMBERS
Store square footage: 630
Age of the youngest person working in the store: 19
Number of steps are on the store ladder: 10
Number of cranks to raise the racks: about 50
So a big thanks to you for helping us grow year after year. We may be a small company, but we have some big plans!