14 November 2021 | prestonhollowpeople.com
Business
The Future of Work Recruiter: Hybrid schedules here to stay By Rachel Snyder
rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Stephen Brown, the designer who created the Glitterville line, holds a camera-shy chicken given to him by Tori Spelling. (PHOTO: RACHEL SNYDER) The seasonal pop-up store on Lovers Lane offers an array of decorating products. (PHOTOS: JOSH HICKMAN)
GLITTERVILLE INVASION
Pop-up store brings holiday decorating mirth CHECK IT OUT What: Glitterville Pop up store When: Open through Dec. 26 Where: Pavilion on Lovers Lane Online: glitterville.com
By Josh Hickman
Special Contributor
K
elly Dworkin, co-founder of Preston Center Plaza gift and party mainstay Swoozie’s, knows how to add some wacky whimsy to her holiday decorating. “I’ve given my fair share of parties at the house, and Glitterville was always the central decoration,” she said. Swoozie’s has carried the Glitterville line for nearly two decades, and this has helped bring even more of the brand to the Park Cities area with a pop-up shop at the Pavillion on Lovers Lane through Dec. 26. “We were always targeting the Park Cities for the Glitterville Pop up,” Dworkin said. “Lovers Lane is perfect.” Product line designer Stephen Brown also sees the location as ideal.
“It’s an area that really appreciates that all of Glitterville is completely handmade — that really appreciates that craftsmanship,” he said. Brown founded the popular holiday and party décor line in 2003. Its motto: “Making every day a holiday!” His fun, whimsical designs have skyrocketed in popularity with celebrities and plain folk alike — Brown now decorates Oprah’s Christmas tree every year. “My background is in television and film,” Brown explained. “And I started making ornaments on the set of a movie I was doing with Mariah Carey. Someone saw them and said, ‘You should really make ornaments and sell them.’ That’s how it started.” Working f rom his home studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, Brown hand makes the original for most Glitterville products. He then travels to Europe and Asia to work with local artisans, who reproduce his designs using the same techniques. The creative entrepreneur sees spreading joy as his business. “My thought is we should fill every day of the year with something that’s fun and wacky and makes us happy,” he said. “There’s all different characters that do
take you all throughout the year.” Fans of TLC’s Craft Wars may recognize Brown as one of the judges. “It was fun because I looked at each one of those people like me, just loving what they do,” he said.
My thought is we should fill every day of the year with something that’s fun and wacky and makes us happy. Stephen Brown Brown also enjoyed watching many people turn to crafting during the COVID lockdowns and social distancing. “I did a lot of Instagram Lives where we would just craft with people all the way through the lockdown period,” he said. “In bleak times, people just try to do things that make their lives happier. What better way to do that than crafting and surrounding yourself with giant hippos named Pongo and Llamas named Lala standing on a watermelon?”
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced ongoing conversations about the merits of working remotely instead of in the office. “I definitely think work from home in some capacity – virtual work – is here to stay,” said Cindy Yared, founder of Dallas-based recruiting firm Spot On Talent. Nearly three-quarters of about 5,000 employees surveyed worldwide by global management company McKinsey & Company would like to work from home two or more days per week. More than half want at least three days of remote work, according to the research shared online. “I think (the pandemic) was an opportunity for businesses to really evaluate what do we want to d o, ” Ya r e d said. “ W hat w o r k e d ? What didn’t work? What do our employees want?” Eighteen months later, businesses are facing difficult decisions, she said, because Cindy Yared of Spot On Talent some employ- works with clients in various ers are much industries, from accounting more open to and finance to marketing and making re- legal support. (COURTESY PHOTO) mote working permanent than others, and that impacts recruiting for those that are less flexible. “Now that they’ve lost out on a couple of good hires, they’re starting to say, ‘Oh my gosh – people are passing up great jobs because it’s not meeting their requirements,’” she said. Yared said some job candidates are even willing to take a pay cut for a flexible work environment and the ability to work from home at least some of the time. Jobseekers are also more conscious of commute times than they may have been before the pandemic. “If there is some in office that’s required, commute is definitely a topic,” Yared said. “Many more of them are trying to stay closer to home,” she said. “I think candidates are just much more in tune with what a total package looks like. So, it’s not all about money or salary. It’s really about what else is included.”
A B O U T C I N D Y YA R E D The former president and owner of staffing company Corps Team Dallas founded the recruiting firm Spot on Talent in 2011.
Source: spotontalent.com
