{"id":5094,"date":"2022-03-08T17:06:13","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T17:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shinola.com\/our-stories\/?p=5094"},"modified":"2022-03-08T17:24:03","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T17:24:03","slug":"international-womens-day-the-women-behind-the-watches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourstories.shinola.com\/our-stories\/international-womens-day-the-women-behind-the-watches\/","title":{"rendered":"International Women\u2019s Day: The Women Behind the Watches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
We take you behind the scenes of Shinola watchmaking this International Women\u2019s Day, celebrating a few incredible women who help keep the operation ticking.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
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Shinola is built on the shoulders of a diversity of people making their voices, talents, and value known. We are proud of how much of that contribution comes from women. Molly Wang, a designer; Bailey Zurawski in operations; and Kristen Merollis in assembly are among those using their skill, confidence, and gratitude to make an impact.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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MOLLY WANG
SENIOR WATCH DESIGNER<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The first step to creating any watch is to dream it. For the last nine years, the job of dreaming has belonged to Molly Wang, a senior designer at Shinola.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no typical day\u2014every day is different!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s how Wang describes the job, punctuating this description with a laugh. But even if variety keeps things interesting, success requires focus and balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy role is creating beautiful watches,\u201d Wang says. On any given day, she juggles multiple watch projects at different stages of development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First is research: Gathering consumer insights, creating mood boards, getting inspiration such as color and seasonal palettes, then bringing it all together to create watch concepts \u2014 many, many concepts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThen we come together as a team\u2014always\u2014to give feedback and critique,\u201d Wang explains. They go through many rounds of ideation and modification until every member is confident in the final design. From there, it\u2019s off to the races. Wang and team work with product development to produce first and second samples until it\u2019s perfected for assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wang has always been captivated by art and craft. Her passion crystalized in her early 20s as she poured her passion for art into design. Watches weren\u2019t immediately on her radar. While pursuing her Master\u2019s in Industrial Design, she happened to use watches as a case study and landed an internship\u2014and the rest is history.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a surprising journey for me. I never thought I would be a watch designer, but I\u2019m enjoying it greatly. The best part is that I get to spend a lot of time just designing. Creating, being an artist\u2014diving into my own zone. That\u2019s really a pure joy for me.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In recognition of International Women\u2019s Day, we asked Wang about her experiences as a woman in the industry, and if she ever thought of herself differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI never thought about what I should or shouldn\u2019t do as a female\u2014I just focused on what I would like to do as a person. I liked this industry and wanted to go for it. But I realize that it wasn\u2019t easy for people even a couple decades ago\u2014women were not allowed to work, culturally or otherwise, like me. So I feel grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What advice does she have for the next generation of women watch designers? \u201cI would be very happy to learn that any young girl has interest in the watch industry,\u201d Wang gushes excitedly. \u201cIt\u2019s such a unique industry. My experience is they could start learning the history of watchmaking\u2014that would make them appreciate the industry, objects, and career they want to work in. So much has evolved to make it what it is today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately for us, Molly Wang is part of that evolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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BAILEY ZURAWSKI
VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Bailey Zurawski thrives at the intersection of science and people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt my core, I\u2019m an ops nerd,\u201d she laughs. \u201cI love being in a manufacturing plant and I love seeing things get made.\u201d It shouldn\u2019t be a surprise that her hometown, Dearborn, Michigan, is also home to the car company that birthed the assembly line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After studying Industrial Engineering at the University of Michigan and working operations roles, she started consulting hundreds of manufacturing plants across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One day during a consultation, Zurawski was asked about her dream job. \u201cI said, \u2018I want to run operations for a company that I feel really passionate about, in a community that I care about, at home in Detroit. Like Shinola.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn\u2019t long before she was living that dream. As vice president of operations \u201cmy job is to support the 150 people that call Ops home, to give them the tools, the strategies, and the goals for how to be most effective at their job. And to then in turn affect the business and how we want it to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBe curious and never stop learning. You\u2019re never going to know it all. There\u2019s always going to be someone who knows more about it than you. Soak it up and learn from them\u2014it will help you figure out what you want to do, where you want to go, and what your best strengths are.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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So, what does a typical day of this dream job entail?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat changes every single day\u2014whether it\u2019s being on the phone with a supplier who isn\u2019t delivering, to planning a training for my team, to doing a production walk to understand the issues going on the line and how we can eliminate them.\u201d If a curveball is thrown at the makers of Shinola, it\u2019s Zurawski\u2019s responsibility to handle it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zurawski is no stranger to curveballs: She started in January 2020\u2014just weeks before Covid-19 gripped the world. \u201cWe took a six-week hiatus when the pandemic started, but since then have been coming into work every single day.\u201d She\u2019s been an essential lead in coordinating logistics as the manufacturing environment moves beyond the most acute phases of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her favorite part of the role? The team, the team, the team. \u201cThis is the best team I\u2019ve ever been a part of. I\u2019ve never been at a place where people are so passionate about what they do on a day-to-day basis and care so much. That really inspires me to come in every day and do better for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zurawski\u2019s relative youth and gender have affected her experience to varying degrees throughout her career\u2014but she\u2019s learned to turn every challenge into an opportunity to learn more, create relationships, and press forward. \u201cIf you\u2019re persistent and you make yourself a seat at the table, it helps you build credibility and keep moving through your career.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For young women curious about the watchmaking industry, Zurawski has this advice: \u201cBe curious and never stop learning. You\u2019re never going to know it all. There\u2019s always going to be someone who knows more about it than you. Soak it up and learn from them\u2014it will help you figure out what you want to do, where you want to go, and what your best strengths are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s the same learning attitude that\u2019s propelled Zurawski through her career. \u201cBring it on, let\u2019s run with it and get shit done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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KRISTEN MEROLLIS
PRODUCTION TEAM LEAD FOR MOVEMENTS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Back in 2013, Kristen Merollis got a call from a temp agency for a brand-new watchmaking company that was just starting up in Detroit. Would she be interested in joining? With her experience in quality assurance, Merollis figured it could be a great fit. Almost a decade later, she is still lending her passion for organization, quality, and people to the company where she\u2019s found a home\u2014and a place to grow her career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Watch movements are a world of their own, and assembling them is an intense game of \u201cOperation\u201d in which a single screw can be as microscopic as a piece of glitter. As the production team lead for movements, Merollis is tasked with overseeing each step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shinola\u2019s factory has over a dozen main stations with multiple assemblers at each, focusing on different elements of the movement\u2014from the coil to the battery. \u201cI set up the stations as far as tooling, making sure everyone has what they need and the right quantity,\u201d explains Merollis. Every movement assembler has an individual \u201cmagazine\u201d that contains the parts required for the task at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a delicate daily operation, but Merollis feels that she was made for it. \u201cI like working with people and I\u2019m really organized,\u201d she laughs. But watch movements, she knows, are no joke and Merollis is at her best when making sure the i\u2019s are dotted and the t\u2019s are crossed, with everything in its place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just like her foray into the watch industry, Merollis didn\u2019t know at first that she wanted to be in a leadership role. But after a few years at Shinola, it just clicked. \u201cBecause I like working with people and helping them, I learned over time that it was something I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How has being a woman impacted Merollis\u2019 career in the industry? \u201cIt\u2019s affected my career at other places\u2014but never here, which is part of why I\u2019ve been with Shinola for so long.\u201d But despite any difficulties faced, it\u2019s never stopped Merollis from pursuing what she wants.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\u201cI know that I\u2019m more than capable of doing whatever a man can do, so it\u2019s never inhibited me.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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For any young women interested in the field, Merollis has words of encouragement: \u201cGo for it. It\u2019s something that you learn quickly, because it\u2019s so hands on. Don\u2019t second guess it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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We take you behind the scenes of Shinola watchmaking this International Women\u2019s Day, celebrating a few incredible women who help keep the operation ticking. […]<\/p>\n
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