This blog post is way past due, & for that I apologize to my future self because I know how annoying it will be reading these back because they aren’t in chronological order. Anyway, instead of moving on, let’s rewind to 2015 when I was in desperate need of a job. I applied to so many places online, but because I didn’t have experience, I wasn't given have a chance. It wasn’t until my school had a job fair, that I got the chance to speak with people and get applications I could fill out right on the spot. The day of the job fair, I walked into the lobby & began walking by every table getting information from everyone. Some things seemed interesting and some weren’t exactly up my alley. I ended up at the last table, unsure that I would get employed by any of the companies there. That’s when I met Tim and Jeanine. I saw a catalog laying on the table that read, “Sundance”. I immediately thought it had something to do with Sundance Square in Fort Worth. It turned out to be a retail store, founded by Robert Redford, that was going to open in NorthPark mall, which was about 5 minutes away from where I lived. I filled out an application & asked Jeanine if it was alright that I didn’t have much experience and I told her about everything I have done, volunteer wise, & she told me that showed I was hard working and dedicated. She put a star on my application and that was that. A few hours later I got a call from Raquel asking if I could go to an interview the next day. I was so excited that I actually got a chance! I went and interviewed and everything turned out great, I was hired on Oct 28 and ready to work that very next day! 

     The interesting part about this job was that I was helping open the store, so everyone got to start working at the same time. They handed us box cutters and made us sort through boxes, I had no bloody idea what we were doing. Remember, this store was empty, it was us that were going to fill it up and bring it to life. Days of store set up lead to our Grand Opening & everything went fast forward after that. I’m not quite sure when Trish and I began to talk but all of a sudden I became totally inspired by the visual part of retail that I never knew about before. She was our Visual Manager and I basically became her “mini me” I was always asking her what I could help her with & just like that I found myself a soul sister. We differ in age and a few other things, but in SO many ways we are just alike and it’s a little crazy. She taught me the basics of what she does as a visual and I would execute her plans when she needed me to. She knew from the beginning that she was going to only be working there temporarily, because a new Sundance would soon be opening in Southlake, Texas which was closer to where she lived. 

     I always wondered what I was going to do when she left, little did I know I would soon be packing up my bags, cats (and Angel) in tow, moving back to the Fort Worth area. While the hiring team was putting together the Southlake team, I was asked to be a part of it. At first I reached out to the district manager, Sonny, thinking I was going to be a part time associate & then fortunately, I became the Stock/Visual lead of Sundance in Southlake. That’s not all either, in March, Trish, Nicole, Justin & I were sent to help open another store in Scottsdale, Arizona (as well as train on the new register system). Boy, that was amazing. I got to meet a lot of interesting people and take pictures of the beautiful store . I had the opportunity to hang out with some of my closest friends while doing what I love. I received advice from our company’s visual stylist, Brian, who once worked for Martha Stewart. He and Erin guided me while I was photographing the store & everything felt natural. I was a part of opening Sundance store #4, #5, & #6 & I am so proud of our company. You would be surprised how close we all are. We are able to speak with our corporate people on a daily basis sometimes as opposed to other stores who never know who their corporate people are. It’s really amazing. We are barely starting out, but we have a bright future ahead of us. I am very blessed to have this opportunity, & I will continue to work my butt off whether that be in stock, visual, or one day helping photograph the catalog! A girl can dream, right? :) 

Love always,

Deanna Marie