We’d like to introduce the newest member to Team Grove, Ariella!  Earlier this month, she started her position as a production assistant, and is already sanding her heart out and sewing the leather covers on our iPad cases with gusto. 

Ariella aka “The Songbird” aka REI aka “Sticky Fingers”, hails from the piney meadows of Limerick, ME, a quaint hamlet nestled in the Northeast’s most cherished state.  Recently, she graduated from Reed College with a Bachelors of Art in Anthropology, and wrote her thesis on “Human Zoos”.  

Already, she’s known around the wood shop for her good humor, enthusiastic spirit, and bursting into cheerful song at a moments notice. She appreciates the relaxed atmosphere in the workshop, as well as the emphasis on making the Grove community a healthy environment to work in. We here at Grove are very deliberate about our company growth, and strive to maintain a positive culture in the workplace!

Important facts you should know about Ariella: She took karate for 8 years, and is ready to kick some tushy if you badmouth Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.  She’s a bloody Mary enthusiast, a French macaroon lover, and owns a notorious cat, Moxie.    

She’s also been singing her entire life, and has been performing her unique blend of R&B, funk, and folk, for seven years.  Her band is called “SlowClap AfroNation”, and you can peep them here on Sound Cloud.

We welcome Ariella to our community with open arms, as Grove enters a vibrant expansion stage.  As she said on her first day of work, “We’re halfway there, livin’ on a prayer!”  Indeed... go Grove!

Written by Mike Schultz. He is an oil painter from Ithaca, New York.  When he is not working for Grove, he’s painting and drawing to his heart’s content.  You can see his work on his blog and his website.