Work Can Be Fun When You Let Your Hair Down!
Work Can Be Fun When You Let Your Hair Down!
January 28, 2021 by Taylor Studios
One of the things I really like about Taylor Studios is how we make it a point to try and have fun. It’s important to keep yourself in check and not take everything too seriously. We understand that we already have the best career you can have, but there are still times we just need to be a little silly. For me, it’s partially about carrying on the torch handed off by Joe Taylor. I have memories of how Joe would always start an explanation for anything by saying “Jason, it’s like you have a big apple pie”….and then with a smile on his face stopped talking. When we would be in the shop working, or on an install, from across the gallery you would here Joe yell out, “one dollar!”. That meant that he had a song in his head that he wanted you to try and guess. If you guessed it you earned a dollar. Joe had some interesting taste in music so it was always a well-earned dollar.
One of the fun things I like to do is keep an ear out for good band names that others unknowingly come up with during conversation and in meetings. You’d be surprised how many great band names are created every day at Taylor Studios. During the conversation I will sound off “that’s a good band name” respectfully interrupting the person speaking to make sure we are all aware of the crucial matter at hand which is to recognize the band name that was just created. Here’s a screenshot showing just a few of my running list I keep on my iPhone notes app.
At one time we did a creative exercise in the design department weekly meeting where we had to take weird selfies of ourselves. About a month later, one of the graphic designers decided that my selfie needed to be blown up and placed above the production area’s breakroom door. Then a fabricator thought my image needed something and started making hats for different holidays. Obviously this one is Christmas but there is also one for St. Pattie’s day and the Fourth of July that get switched out for that particular holiday. I think this has been above the door for over 5 years now. I’m pretty proud of that statistic.
We are a creative bunch that likes to have fun when we can but understand most of the time we have to get-r-done. Here’s a perfect example of two of Taylor’s finest test-fitting wigs that we are using for some of the awesome life-cast figures that we make. All business and super professional, providing a positive hand-gesture and facial expression saying, ‘yup, these wigs are good to go’. Look at that, they are even standing in front of a project board, one of the communication tools we use in the shop to post critical project information. They even thought to have that as a backdrop increasing the professionalism and illustrating the importance of what they are doing. What a dedicated team we have!
Hopefully at your place of work you are a little less professional than we are and try to have some fun. We’d love to hear what you do for fun and to keep things lighthearted at work.