Ask a New Yorker: Hi Ellen. First things first: would you ever date an elf?
Ellen: No, because I’m gigantically tall. I’m 5’11’ and I do wear heels. That would be really quite awkward.
Ask a New Yorker: Yea, but the fringe benefits could be cool, hanging at the North Pole.
Ellen: That’s true, all the free presents but the real perk would be riding on Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer.
Ask a New Yorker: Woah! You’re going to ride Rudolph?
Ellen: I can ride Rudolf, yes (Laughs).
Ask a New Yorker: What do you do?
Ellen: I’m in retail management for a very popular, well-known clothing chain, in Midtown. What my job entails is that I get to deal with all the crazy street people of New York City who decide to wander into my store. So what that means is that I do customer relations. I drive sales. I get to do a little bit of visual merchandising, window displays and in-store marketing
Ask a New Yorker: Any star sightings in the store?
Ellen: Bruce Willis came in with his new wife. He bought a pair of khakis.
Ask a New Yorker: What would you like to do next?
Ellen: I would like to eventually work in set design or curatorial work in the museum world. Although I may need a degree in architectural history (laughs).
Ask a New Yorker: Who are your top three favorite designers?
Ellen: Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen and Chanel.
Ask a New Yorker: How would you describe your personal look?
Ellen: I would describe it as classy chic. I love layering pieces like a fun jacket or cute sweater, but it always comes down to the shoes.
Ask a New Yorker: How long have you lived in New York?
Ellen: I have been here officially for 7 months. I’m from Madison, Wisconsin.
Ask a New Yorker: That’s quite a change.
Ellen: I wanted to come to New York to experience all the opportunities, to feel the spirit of working and playing hard. Self-independence played a factor too, not relying on a tight knit group of friends (although that’s nice); I came to New York to experience life and have my own adventures and to build my own networking skills professionally and personally.
Ask a New Yorker: How did your friends and family react to the move?
Ellen: They thought I was crazy. They were like, “why is a little girl from Wisconsin moving to New York?”…but it just seemed natural. I had already lived in Barcelona, Spain for awhile so moving away wasn’t a new idea.
Ask a New Yorker: Where do you live?
Ellen: I live in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, which is like walking down Broadway in the 1930’s in Poland.
Ask a New Yorker: That’s an interesting description. What advice can you give a young girl moving to NYC?
Ellen: I came very well prepared & with a direction. I did my research on what kind of jobs were out here, specifically in the areas of advertising and marketing and public relations. Back home, I worked in retail at the same store I work at now, so I was able to transfer my job to NYC. Regarding finding an apartment, I searched Craigslist for a few months. Ha! I actually saw one ad on Craigslist offering free rent in a big apartment in SoHo, only catch was that if you wanted the apartment, you had to agree to walk around naked while you were at home. The person who placed the ad promised nothing more would have been expected, only walk around naked! So, careful on Craigslist, but you can find good apartments on that site. Next step was to book a one way plane ticket, and get on the plane with three suit cases.
Ask a New Yorker: You’re not in Kansas anymore, so to speak.
Ellen: So far so good. I get a little lonely because I didn’t come out here knowing anybody. Luckily I managed to get really wonderful roommates.
Ask a New Yorker: What’s the most bizarre experience you’ve encounter so far?
Ellen: It was a homeless man pulling down his pants exposing his weenie to a police officer.
Ask a New Yorker: Terrific. What’s the greatest export from Wisconsin?
Ellen: The Green Bay Packers.
Ask a New Yorker: Why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard?
Ellen: Because it would get really ratty and nasty in the jungle when he’s swing through the vines.
Ask a New Yorker: Ellen, you just go with the flow. What other cultural stuff have you done?
Ellen: I’ve experienced Polish and Russian food in Brighton Beach. I’ve been to the Whitney, MOMA and Guggenheim museums. I took in the CMJ at the end of October. It was a weeklong festival of music, film and art.
Ask a New Yorker: Do you think you will be living in NYC, say, 2 years from now?
Ellen: I would hope to be living in New York. But the wind may take me elsewhere. The world is a big wide open place for me to go and explore.
Ask a New Yorker: Thank you Ellen. Enjoy NYC and Happy Holidays!
