MEET MONIKA FIANTOVA, BAMBOOLIK’S MARKETING MANAGER

Hi, Monika! So, what brought you to Bamboolik and how long have you been working here?

Diapers brought me here, quite literally. I used Bamboolik’s diapers for my son and one day, as I was searching for new diaper prints at Bamboolik’s website, I came across this job description. They were looking for a project manager. My son was two at the time and I was already feeling kinda itchy on my maternity leave. And at the same time, I knew I didn’t want to go back to my original profession. Before my son was born, I worked as a lawyer and my son helped me realize I hated it (Nothing against lawyers! It just wasn’t for me, I am not a good personality fit for a lawyer plus I was dying to do something more creative and playful). So I sent my CV to Bamboolik! The job interview went well, and I was hired. :)

What do you do in Bamboolik? And what part of your job do you like the most?

Well. Shortly after I came to work in Bamboolik, I found another profession I wasn’t great at, apart from law. I definitely wasn’t the best project manager  :) However, my talent for marketing shone through! All projects that had something to do with marketing were thriving, whereas other projects were slowly dying :-D I was lucky to come to Bamboolik in that specific moment in a company’s life when marketing was done sometimes by everyone and sometimes by no one. So, they put me in charge.

My son in diapers, a long long time ago. Notice something wrong with the diaper? You’re right, it’s inside out! Grandma put it on :)

And I love this job! I like the diversity. Some days I mostly write, other days I try to come up with the best layout for a webpage, some days I do a little bit of graphics, other days I shoot a video and edit it. I even represent Bamboolik at events once in a while, in lieu of my boss.

And the bit I enjoy the most? Writing! (Mostly copywriting, but not just that.) Like just now, when I’m pretending that I have interviewed myself (only slightly surreal!) and now I’m translating my interview with myself to English. I am loving it! :)

The most important reason you’re still here?

The most important thing is that I feel my job here makes SENSE. It has a purpose. I’m happy to promote products that are of high quality, eco-friendly, made in my homeland. And I also really like our company‘s culture. One of our values is open communication and I can confirm it’s not just a cliché, that’s how we really roll! You need to leave early today because of school event? No problem. You’d like to spend the summer in your family’s country house and work from there? Fine. When you have small children, this approach means the world to you.

My summer office! My colleague’s funny remark during a Skype meeting: „Mon, you’re broadcasting from a farm today?“ But the animal noises were coming from our neighbours! :)

How many children do you have? And would you say it’s demanding to work and be a mum at the same time?

I have one son, Matěj. He’s going to turn seven this year, a first grader. But, when it comes to juggling career and personal life, I don’t feel entitled to say anything about it! With just one child, I feel like a looser here in Bamboolik. There are many others who can juggle with more balls :)

Most favourite Bamboolik product?

Hard to say, as my son already grew out of most of our products. Although Bamboolik diapers were my favourites, even before I started working here, honestly!

So, right now, I would name our Pastry Bag as my favourite product. This bag is indispensable in my household! I make my own bread (sourdough) and thanks to this bag, it stays fresh for days. When I tried cotton or linen bags, the bread got super hard to cut the second day, in plastic bags it went stale super fast (and I didn’t want to use plastic).

I take pride in being able to bake a wonderful loaf of homemade sourdough bread. Especially useful during national quarantine.

Some recent funny episode from work?

I’ve got a soft spot for a good pun (that’s the writer in me!), I always laugh at it a tell it to everyone at the office. Sometimes I laugh at puns I put together, does it make me a narcissist? :)

Like this last time, I said (without thinking about it) that at Alza (probably the biggest internet vendor in the Czech Republic). „they have their own line of powder now“. I meant washing powder of course but when one sees their bright green mascot that likes to speak very quickly in a very high-pitched voice, one begins to wonder about lines of a different „powder“.

And now, I stop talking to myself and go back to work :D

Our bread bag comes in handy when picking some wild garlic, too!