Here are you questions and answers to and from Pete Hards….

Welcome to shoe-shop.com , what did you do before you came to us?

After graduating from York University, I moved across to Leeds to work for a small multimedia production company. The work here was very varied, from animating cartoon sheep to spending a week filming in Barcelona. I had the chance to try a bit of everything, video and audio editing, web design, programming, 3d modelling and even a bit of scriptwriting.

Do you have any hobbies?

Yes, lots of hobbies! Before starting the busy job in Leeds I was able to do a lot of theatre work, both onstage and on the technical teams. I’m also a fairly musical person, enjoying singing and playing the piano and, at the moment, slowly learning to play the guitar badly. I tend to spend time learning new computer skills, currently exploring creating 3d landscapes and small flash games.

A big hobby is my classic car(s). I’ve got two in various states of disrepair, the plan being to have them both fully functioning in time for the summer, fingers crossed! I’m also a big motorsport fan, and have travelled to circuits and rallies all over the UK and Europe.

How would you spend you ideal day?

Things are so busy at the moment I think an ideal day would involve lots of relaxing and maybe a chance to catch up on some of those hobbies mentioned above! Also, I am currently building up a slightly modified classic car and would love to be able to take that to the Nurnberg ring race track in Germany for a day.

How do you find working at shoe-shop?

I haven’t been here that long but hopefully have settled in ok. Everybody here is very friendly and there always seems to be work to keep me busy!

Have you purchased any shoes since you have been with us or have you resisted?!

I’ve actually managed to resist… so far!

Welcome to Shoe-Shop.com as our new Photographer, what did you do before you came to us?

I was a Multimedia Designer, which involved various aspects of design and creativity. I worked on websites, promotional material, branding, video and animation. I actually won a European award for a piece of animation I produced during my time there!!!

Do you have any other hobbies/ interests besides photography

I enjoy music, in my spare time I DJ in Leeds and surrounding areas. I really like sports in particular football and golf, once a year I go snowboarding in the Alps which is always amazing. I’m pretty keen on animation, whenever I have any free time I like to create sort pieces of my own animation. To relax I enjoy watching films.

How would you spend you ideal day?

With it being the ski season I’m really looking forward to going on my annual winter holiday, so I could quite happily spend the whole day snowboarding. Every year I come home with pretty much the same set of photos but this year I’m going to try do something a bit different!!!

How do you find working at shoe-shop?

I really enjoy it, my time here so far has flown by, I like working with a great bunch of people and being surrounded by shoes! I also get to learn about latest fashion styles and trends, I was recently in a very well known shoe shop and I recognised a lot of their products - I’d been photographing many of them a few weeks earlier!!!

Have you purchased any shoes since you have been with us or have you resisted?!

No, so far I’ve resisted but I do have my eye on a pair of smart shoes to wear for work!

Here are you questions and answers to and from Lorna Hardie.

Where are you from originally?

I’m originally from Glasgow but have lived in York since October 2005. I moved down to live in with my boyfriend who is from York who I met at university.

When did you start working here?

I have worked here since January 2007

What is your job?

My job title is Buying Support Supervisor, and I do lots of different jobs within this department.  I keep in touch with suppliers to make sure deliveries are on time, organise shipments, add products to the website, help to proof read the catalogue and make sure all the details are correct, make sure we have all the photography samples for the catalogues.  There are always plenty of jobs to do and the department is very rarely quiet!

Where did you go on your hols this year?

I went to Scotland on my holidays this year, my boyfriend and I own a VW campervan and we toured around different campsites.  It was really good fun, we did a lot of walking, mountain biking and sightseeing.  I also stopped in Glasgow to visit my family and caught up with some friends.  I had a really good time but unfortunately it rained most of the time.

What did you do?

I think I’ve answered this above!

What do you like most about working at shoe-shop.com?

There are lots of good points about working here, for a start the staff are really nice and I have made some really good friends here.  Working in the buying department you get to see all the new styles before anyone else and find out about new trends.  I enjoy working with the different suppliers form all over the world and have had the chance to meet a few.  I also help out proof reading the catalogue so it’s good to see the whole process from buying the shoes to seeing the finished product in the catalogue.

Everybody meet Matt…. Hailing from Middlesborough, Matt has been working here at Shoe-shop.com for just almost 2 years but is leaving us at the today to move to emigrate and start a new life overseas.

So here are the questions that were put to him…….

So Mathew, today we are all very sad as you are leaving us all for pastures new…

Yep, today is my last day at work and I fly tomorrow morning.

So where are you moving to and most importantly why?!

I am moving to Denmark, my wife is Danish and was offered a job over there so we decided to up sticks and move the family there, and hopefully, in time, I will set up my own photography studio there.

What will you miss most?

I think the banter with the whole team, we are all great friends.

What was your role at shoe-shop.com?

I’m the in house Photographer, I capture the images of all the products which are then uploaded onto the site, I also photograph all the lifestyle images with Debbie Paver for our catalogue.

What are your best memories from working at Shoe-Shop.com?

Il always remember the first time i shot a full catalogue and it came back in print, also, I always had great fun shooting the lifestyle images with Debbie, great fun!.

As a parting gift, you received some Fly Flots and Bubbly!

Yeah, after all these years of hearing people talk about the comfort of Fly Flots and i finally get to own a pair! I tried them on with my socks first but apparently it looked a bit daft! And the bubbly…..thanks guys!

Any parting words?

Errr…… Thanks?!

Everybody meet Michelle…. Hailing from York, Michelle has been working here at Shoe-shop.com for 2 years and love Horse Riding and socialising with her friends.

So here are the questions that were put to her…….

What is your role here at shoe-shop.com?

I am the customer services trainer. This involves training any new starter or current staff on any new system or procedure we may have or introduce.

We hear you were in there regional paper recently, what was that for?

I was in the York evening press for gaining a qualification in English level 2 key skills along with Adam who works in our warehouse. We had to complete 10 hours of revision with a tutor from the key skills course then take the test at the end of this which we both passed….Yay!!

What is the best thing about working at shoe-shop?

Definitely the staff, we all get on so well it’s like having an extended family, also, helping the customers with any problems or queries they may have when they telephone us. Part of my job is to train new people, and watching them develop and progress with shoe-shop is always rewarding. Oh yes and not to forget the discount on the shoes. I may have purchased a few pairs in my time here!!

If you won £25,000 how would you spend the money?

I would give my mum and dad £10,000 and spend the rest on a new horsebox.

Michelle, our customers service trainer hard at work

Let us introduce you to Erika, hailing from Peru, Erika moved to the UK in Feb 2007 and got married in June 2008. She now lives in York with her husband and their little Yorkshire Terrier pup Niño.

 So here are the questions we put to Erika……

What do you like about your job?  We work in a nice environment, everyone works in harmony with each other and as well as being colleagues we are good friends

What shoes are you wearing at the moment? – At the moment I am wearing some old favourites I bought in Peru, for my job I check our fashion section every now and then to see what styles have arrived and try them on ( to test the fit of course!!) but I always end up buying some now and then. Although when I get home I love to put on my Fly Flot slippers. Oh and I love my Fly Flot socks too!!

 What do you like about the UK and what do you miss about Peru? The UK is so green and I can see beautiful sunsets from my living room window but I miss the warm weather in Lima.

How did you learn your English? I was taught at school, it was an American catholic school where we were taught by nuns.

Did you ever want to become a Nun?  No, I never really wanted to.

 Send in your questions for our next interviewee.

Each month we meet a member of our ever growing hardworking team here at shoe-shop.com. You get to ask them your questions just  enter your ideas below.

Everybody meet Laura…. Hailing from Wetherby, Laura has been working here at Shoe-shop.com for just over 2 years but will be leaving us at the end of the month to travel the world…… lucky  girl!!

So here are the questions that were put to her…….

So we hear through the grapevine you are leaving us to go travelling. What will you miss most about working with us?

I think that that the thing I’ll miss the most will definitely be the people I work with, its going to be strange not seeing the same faces everyday. Oh, and I’ll definitely miss the discount on shoes!!

Where about do you plan to visit?

I have a round the world ticket and the plan is to spend a few weeks in Japan, then get a ferry across to China. From China the plan is to fly to New Zealand via a quick stop in Australia to travel around New Zealand in a camper van. After that, I’m heading to Fiji and Hawaii for a bit of sunshine, and then on to America, Canada, then home.

What are you looking forward to most?

That’s a hard one! I think the main thing I’m looking forward to is landing in Tokyo, and then I know the adventure’s begun!

What is your role at shoe-shop.com?

I’m the online Marketing Co-Ordinater, which means I’m responsible for sending out weekly footwear newsletters, as well as making sure the homepages of the website are all up to date and showing our best styles.

What footwear are you taking with you?

As I’m going to be spending a lot of my time on my feet, having comfortable shoes is really important which is why I’m going to be taking my pair of Fly Flot Eleanors which the team have just presented me with, they are really versatile so will be perfect whether I’m walking around a city or having a day at the beach, and are so light I’ll hardly notice them in my rucksack.

Laura with her new Fly Flot Eleanors

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