Retrosparktive Part II - Longbow Drive
SparkFun moves up to a "real building" - business ensues
Last week we took a look back at the early days of SparkFun. We stopped just before we moved into our current (and soon to be former) building at 6175 Longbow Drive. Today, we're going to hear from some long-tenured SparkFun employees about the adventures here at Longbow. But first - let's talk deals!
We've got some solid discounts on a great selection of products this week. These items will be on sale from 12:01 a.m. MT on 8/11/14 until 11:59 p.m. MT on 8/17/14. We are also continuing to offer $10 off orders over $40 with the promo code RETROSPARK - so don't forget to enter that at checkout! Here are this weeks sale items:
Still with me? Good! Now onto the Retrosparktive! We asked some long-time SparkFun employees about some of their fondest (and funniest) memories from the early days in the building at Longbow. Here's what they had to say:
Via Lara Boudreaux, Marcomm Project Manager: When I first started, I use to shoot ALL the product photos in AnnDrea's (former Director of Marcomm) office, by the window, with only natural light! It was VERY hard and I remember a couple of cloudy weeks when I thought I would never get a good shot. Then we bought a light!
Via Chris Clark, Director of IT: We used to be small enough that the CEO had time to set up an elaborate waffle bar on Tuesday mornings and man the waffle iron himself. [Editor's Note: Nate recently brought this back!]
Via Sallie Lodewyck, HR Manager: We hired a Canadian that got his job with SFE by solving some sort of contest Nate put on the website. It was a serious hassle to get him here and legally working from Canada.
When we moved into the Longbow building, that was a huge milestone. At first, we only occupied a part of the building, but in time we took over more and more space. We were truly a "real" company! We had an elevator! And loading docks! We also went from using the hot-plate reflow method to buying our very own reflow oven! Longbow has been very good to us.
Next week we'll talk more about how things changed during our time at Longbow - and how it led to our upcoming move! Enjoy the sales and we'll see you next week for more Retrosparktive!
