The Power of Partnering Live

One of the biggest treats of visiting Greece this month has been the chance to spend some quality time with my partner-in-crime and exceptionally zealous friend, Pauline. We’ve always worked from a distance, since she lives in Europe and I'm in the States, so I can’t say the pandemic changed much for us on that front. We kept up our regular video calls, exchanged tons of emails, chatted non-stop across time zones...just like we have throughout this Zelos journey. Thanks to technology, we navigated Zelos through that pandemic boom of online food shopping, thankful that we could help our Artisans during an especially tough time for them in Greece.

Still, when Pauline & I saw each other in person last week, the reunion felt especially sweet, and the power of partnering live really hit home. Pauline met me at the outdoor bar of my hotel, where we had a gorgeous view of the Thermaikó Gulf, with Thessaloniki’s White Tower off in the distance…there are definitely worst places to spend hours working!

I don’t know if it was the setting or just being able to meet and talk in person (thankfully, we’ve both been fully vaccinated), but we had such a productive meeting! The ideas flowed and our usual back-and-forth took on an added intensity, as we didn’t have to worry about bad connections and choppy video. We came away with a huge list of things we wanted to do to make 2021 Zelos’ best year ever! So while remote working is probably here to stay in one form or the other, and I can’t deny the flexibility it's given us, I really hope we don’t completely lose sight of the power of partnering live, even if it’s just once or twice a year. 

Stay tuned throughout the summer to see just what Pauline & I have come up with - news of our latest arrivals, more partnerships with like-minded groups, and of course, more pictures from my wonderful homeland. I can’t tell you how nice it is to finally be back and to be able to hug the people closest to my heart. I hope you get to do the same this summer, too!