Hi all,
Welcome to our ongoing Q&A feature, where we introduce a member of the Artfinder team to our community. This time, we speak with Dan, our Performance Marketing Manager
Q: Could you start by introducing yourself to our community?
Hi all, I’m Dan and I’m one of the many Artfinder team members who have moved away from London thanks to our new remote set-up! I’ve just moved from London back home to Birmingham with my girlfriend after nearly 8 years in the capital.
I love music, comedy and have an unquenchable thirst for useless bits of knowledge that I can use to stump people at pub quizzes.
Q: How long have you worked with Artfinder and what is your role in the company?
I joined Artfinder in March 2021 as our Performance Marketing Manager, so it’s coming up to my 1 year anniversary! My role is essentially managing our paid marketing channels - Paid Search, Paid Social, Display, Amazon and Affiliates – alongside the agencies that we use. Basically, if it costs us money and drives sales then I’ve probably been involved somewhere in it!
Q: What have been your highlights of working with Artfinder so far?
Everyone always says it’s the people, but that rings even truer for me. My boss, Joshna, has been my boss at two previous jobs and we’ve always had a great relationship so when she approached me about Artfinder I was more than happy to listen and I’m very glad I did because the entire team shares the same passion and drive that we do!
I also love discovering new art – having just moved I’ve got plenty of walls to fill and a wishlist that could fill them twice over!
Q: Do you come from a creative background? Do you engage in creative activities yourself?
While I would love to say that I’m a budding artist, I’m sad to say that I can’t draw, paint or design at all! That's not to say I don't have a passion for it, I have bought so many pieces from Artfinder and have a growing collection of tattoos, I just let the professionals show me how its done! However, I was raised in quite a musically creative household. My Dad is a bit of a poet and has played bass in a band for nearly 30 years so there were always a lot of instruments, lyrics and records around as I was growing up, so I’ve inherited a passion for those.
I’ve played bass and guitar for 17 years and along with friends and roommates have played a few gigs, recorded a few tracks and written many more that will probably never see the light of day.
Q: What does working for a B Corp mean to you?
Working for a B Corp gives you that little bit of extra motivation to do your job every day because you know what you’re doing is making a very real difference. I’ve worked for many companies and clients where the only drive was the bottom line and the consequences of what you were doing were never even considered.
Artfinder genuinely cares about the world, its artists, its staff and its customers, and if something does undue harm to any of them then I can sleep soundly knowing that we’re not going to do it!
Q: What do you like doing in your spare time?
As mentioned, I love writing, performing and recording music but that’s only a small part of what I try and fill my time with.
I’m a self-confessed gamer – my girlfriend and I play our Nintendo & Playstation together and I play Dungeons and Dragons with some friends most weeks. It’s nice to have a little bit of escapism to wind down from work and with some of these games I’ve experienced some of the best stories I’ve had the pleasure to read, watch, hear or play.
Also, as you’ll know if you ask anyone else at Artfinder, I have an ever-growing collection of jazzy shirts and blazers. I like to assault the eyeballs with my fashion choices.
Q: How have you been coping with the recent Covid situation and do you have any words of advice for anyone who is not coping well with it?
The pandemic has been a bit of a strange one as it’s really let me get more comfortable with myself. I’ve struggled with my mental health for many years so when it first hit and I was furloughed for 6 months it would have been very easy and VERY like me to have wallowed and gone to a dark place. Instead I used that time to get in shape by cycling and working out, get back into writing and playing music and to get re-acquainted with some of my favourite hobbies. There have been times when I’ve felt low, but I allowed myself the time to be introspective at my own pace, which Is something that has been helpful in creating what is hopefully a lasting improvement in my mental health.
My words of advice would basically be to make sure that you take time for yourself. I know that seems counter-intuitive when all we’ve had is time to ourselves for nearly 2 years, but with the amount of lockdown trends that everyone got involved in and the worrying state of looking at the numbers on the, I felt like a lot of people did what they felt they should be doing rather than what they wanted to do. The whole situation was so alien to them that they looked for guidance from the masses. Take some time every day to do something that YOU enjoy; whether it serves a larger purpose or not is irrelevant.
Q: If you could take only three items with you to a desert island, what would they be?
Firstly, I’m a pale, Irish, slightly ginger man so if this desert island is your typical sun-soaked semi-paradise then I’m going to need a few barrels of SPF 50 but that seems unfair to include in my actual list.
First thing I’d take would be an acoustic guitar so I can live out the dream of playing a guitar by a fire without the fear of being booed off the campsite. Next I’d take a tape recorder with a bunch of blank tapes – I’m not the most comfortable on camera but this way I can record my descent into madness as well as some jaunty tunes. Finally, I’m taking one of those water jetpack things that I’ve only ever seen on Youtube fail compilations – they look fun and I might be able to flag down a ship as long as I don’t plunge head first into shallow water.
Q: Finally, do you have any message for our community?
Thank you so much! I’ve only had the pleasure of meeting a handful of you but all of you really exemplify the ambition and creativity that makes this job worthwhile. Every day I feel like I discover a new favourite artist, and that really makes me want to find other people who will feel the same way and want to own a piece of that magic that you’ve produced, and at the end of the day that’s what I’m here to do!
