(image: smiling Yerman by Ryan Brunty)
As you can see our traveling card—affectionately named Gustave by Clayton—was quite the jetsetter this summer. Gustave came with me to visit my in-laws in Las Vegas. Perhaps he was expecting a week of gambling, DJ parties, and dazzling shows but alas, my husband and I never made it to the Strip, choosing to spend time with family and watch movie matinees instead.
On a whim, we did catch a tour at the Zappos headquarters. I was particularly interested in Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh because of all of the work he is doing to revitalize downtown Las Vegas after the company moved into the old City Hall. His vision is to transform what once was a derelict neighborhood into an environment where entrepreneurship, creativity, and tech can thrive. It’s certainly a huge challenge and one that he’s promised $350 million of his own money towards meeting. If you find this at all fascinating like I have, I highly recommend listening to this podcast.
(image: hallway mural; wish I knew who to credit!)
The tour was a great glimpse into the Zappos culture. One of its core values is to “Create Fun and A Little Weirdness” and you certainly got that sense just by looking around and seeing the random knick knacks, toys, balloons, and stuffed animals everywhere. There’s even a ball pit in the HR department. One thing that really struck me was all of the graffiti, chalk art, and murals in and outside the office (and thus all of the photos I took). Most of them were done by Zappos employees. Others are part of an effort to showcase local artists and their work, here again one of the many ways Zappos is connecting its campus with the community.
(image: mural by Dray Wilmore)