MEET OUR TEAM
What’s the funniest thing you believed as a kid?
It was Christmas Eve. My cousins went on the roof and stomped while ringing jingle bells. I was initially terrified that I was missing Santa and ran to my bed to fake sleep.
What’s your most used emoji?
The rainbow flag so that I can celebrate my LGBTQ spirit with everyone! 🏳️🌈
Niko Mantele
Owner
What was the worst haircut you ever had?
I had painstakingly grown out my thick 80s bangs for many years in the hopes of getting the 90210 Jennie Garth haircut. When I went to get my light, wispy bangs cut, they stood straight up! Little did I know that I had a colic on my forehead. I cried for hours and embraced the hair gel.
What would you name your boat if you had one?
‘Reckless Abandon’ because I’d probably lose my mind if I had a boat.
You won the lottery! What are you doing with the money?
Buying a villa in Italy and taking lessons to learn Italian.
Nancy Willcox-Trent
Human Resources Manager
Which decade do you feel you belong in?
I love trends from many eras past, but I am living for the now, baby!
What’s the closest thing to real magic?
Our fantastic espresso machine!
You can have an unlimited supply of one thing. What is it?
Time 😎
Shel Friesen
Sales Manager
Favorite winter activity in Oregon?
Leaving Oregon and going to California or Florida.
Standard or electric toothbrush?
Sonicare all the way with a WaterPik for support.
Favorite food?
Pizza. Hot. Cold. Veggie. Meat. All Pizza. All the time.
Mike Yakel
Senior Relationship Manager
Favorite show growing up?
TMNT.
Favorite summer activity in Oregon?
Going camping with my dogs!
What best vacation have you ever had?
3-month trip traveling through Europe.
Dave Youngman
Senior Relationship Manager
Zombies are coming! Which three people do you want on your team?
Woody Harrelson, Rick Grimes, and Batman.
You won the lottery! What are you doing with the money?
Rent an island for a month with my favorite people.
Would you go to space if you had the opportunity?
Absolutely! As long as I knew, I would come home on schedule.
Mark Harlow
Relationship Manager
What is your best scar story?
I once flipped an ATV into a barbed wire fence while in a sundress. (You live, and you learn.)
What’s your favorite joke?
What’s the difference between a hippo and a zippo? One is heavy, and the other is a little lighter.
What’s the closest thing to real magic?
Hitting all green lights when you’re in a rush.
Hailey Shulund
Sales Assistant
Who do you think deserves a statue, and why?
Bill Nye introduced science to my generation.
What’s the most useless talent you have?
An encyclopedic knowledge of Star Trek.
What would the title of your autobiography be?
“I’ve Got No Idea What’s Happening, But I’m Having A Good Time”
Joseph Piatt
Ordering Assistant
Zombies are coming! Which three people do you want on your team?
I’ll take Bear Grylls for survival skills, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for sheer strength, and a librarian—because knowledge is power, and they’ll probably know everything about zombies!
Imagine you can teleport anywhere. Where are you going first?
I’d head straight to a beach in Bora Bora—because paradise is just one blink away!
What is your biggest pet peeve?
My biggest pet peeve is people who talk loudly on speakerphone in public—it’s like their conversation is the soundtrack to my irritation!
David Hubbs
Marketing Manager
What’s the closest thing to real magic?
The sunrise from the top of a mountain.
What’s the most useless talent you have?
I’m a very mediocre juggler.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
Valerie by Amy Winehouse!
What is the worst haircut you have ever had?
The one I gave myself when I was five years old. It wasn’t pretty…
Julia Wilfong
Marketing Assistant
What is your spirit animal?
Dragon
In your professional opinion, what was the best thing before sliced bread?
Love
Any strange and unusual hobbies?
I feed / photograph squirrels.
Kathy Mazzocco
Accounting Manager
Who are the three people you’d invite to a dinner party, living or dead?
Steve Martin, Bonnie Raitt, and Jon Stewart
What’s your favorite joke?
A duck walks into a drugstore and says, “Give me some Chapstick and put it on my bill.”
What’s your favorite smell?
Walking into my garden and the aroma of the sweet pea flowers. Or…garlic sautéing in olive oil.
Susan Kelly Mitchell
Accounting Assistant
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Beyoncé. I’ll settle for Kelly or Michelle, though.
What’s your favorite conspiracy theory?
That Rebecca Black’s hit single “Friday” is about the JFK assassination. Seriously. Google it.
Do you own pets? Tell me more!
My perfect sassy, one-fanged black cat pretty much runs my house.
Rachel Saxton
Graphic Design Manager
What’s the most useless talent you have?
I pretty much have Napoleon Dynamite’s entire screenplay memorized.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
Sandstorm by Darude
Have you ever been told you look like a celebrity? If so, who?
I’m going to lie and say that a lot of people tell me I look like Chris Hemsworth.
Aaron Proteau
Graphic Designer
What best vacation have you ever had?
Backpacking through Europe: Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic and Greece.
In your professional opinion, what was the best thing before sliced bread?
Unsliced bread.
Do you own a pet? Tell me more!
Stella is an 11-week-old (as of now) Border Collie/Pointer mix. She’s a fantastic little troublemaker.
Kai Evoniuk
Product Design & Engineering Manager
What are the most episodes of a show you’ve binge-watched in a row on Netflix?
I once watched four seasons of Frasier (86 episodes) during finals week.
What is the most exciting thing about you that can’t be found on social media?
I am part of a Guinness World Record for most people Etch-a-Sketching at one time.
In your professional opinion, what was the best thing before sliced bread?
Probably, eating the whole loaf, to be honest.
Christopher Lennard
3D Modeler
Imagine you can teleport anywhere. Where are you going first?
Tokyo or the Winchester Mystery House
Which decade do you feel you belong in?
Early 2000s. Times were simpler, and the games were great.
What is the most useless talent you have?
I can weave chainmail!
Shelby Martin
Technical Assistant
Any strange or unusual hobbies?
I make quirky stuffed animals, bags, keychains, and suncatchers. I used opossum bones for one suncatcher. Unusual? Yes. It’s definitely not creepy. 🙂
How would you handle your workspace if we hired a giant elephant to hang out in the office?
It better be one of those elephants that can paint! We’ll have ourselves a grand ol’ time.
Are you properly prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse?
I’ve been prepared for this my whole life.
Julee Hidalgo
Testing Coordinator & QC Support
What did you name your first car?
Blueberry. 1990 Golf convertible.
What’s the most embarrassing fashion trend you used to rock?
Bell bottom velvet yoga pants and platform shoes.
What’s the closest thing to real magic?
Paying all your bills before the due date.🙂
Christina Skaggs
Facilities Maintenance & Testing Support
What’s the worst purchase you’ve ever made?
A $60 frozen daiquiri in Las Vegas.
Have you ever been told you look like a celebrity? If so, who?
Adult Haley Joel Osment and Edward Norton one time.
Who do you think deserves a statue, and why?
Damian Lillard as he is the greatest Blazer of all time!
Tyler Giard
Shipping Lead
What is your favorite season?
Oh, I love the fall, with the soft light, long shadows, and crisp mornings.
Are you an over or under when it comes to your toilet paper roll?
Over, just like the patent drawing for toilet paper illustrates.
How would you handle your workspace if we hired a giant elephant to hang out in the office?
I would stockpile peanuts so I could have all of the elephant’s attention.
Paul Driskill
Supply Chain Manager
Who are the three people you’d invite to a dinner party, living or dead?
I would invite my grandma and grandpa on my mother’s side and my grandma on my stepfather’s side, so I could see them one last time and tell them how much they are truly missed.
What’s the funniest thing you believed as a kid?
For the longest time, I truly believed that if you stepped on a crack, you would break your mother’s back, and I was obsessed with making sure not to step on any cracks!
What’s the most embarrassing fashion trend you used to rock?
I used to rock the JNCO jeans, as I was big into the alternative/skater scene in middle and high school.
Iaian Helfrich
Material Handler
What is the wallpaper on your phone right now?
Spider Jerusalem from Transmetropolitan.
What’s your sign?
Stop.
What’s your favorite show or movie?
Preacher on AMC
Rebecca Welton
Production Manager
Are you adequately prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse?
Yes, I am! I’ve played the game Resident Evil many times and I’ve watched Zombie World War Z, I’m ready!
Do you own pets?
Yes, I do. I have a fluffy, big, handsome black cat. His name is Nino.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Amsterdam or Ireland.
Karla Ramos
Sewing Manager & Accounting Assistant
What’s your best scar story?
I have a scar on my knee from falling off my skateboard.
Imagine you can teleport anywhere. Where are you going first?
El Salvador or Hawaii
What’s your favorite smell?
The smell of a clean room.
Yensy Portillo Melendez
Technical Design Assistant & CNC Support
What’s the closest thing to real magic?
Love, in its many forms.
Who are three people you’d invite to a dinner party, living or dead?
Cleopatra (past), Frida Kahlo (present), Captain Janeway (future).
What’s your favorite sandwich and why?
Grilled cheese with mushrooms and lots of butter.
Sage Winfree
Pattern Maker
What was the name of your first car?
Henry, aka Ol’ Reliable
What’s the closest thing to real magic?
Watching my kiddo grow up is magic.
You can have an unlimited supply of one thing. What is it?
Happiness!
Kari Jean-Louis
Pattern Maker
What fictional character would you most like to meet?
Jake from Adventure Time!
You won the lottery! What is the first thing you’re doing with the money?
Finishing construction on my evil lair >:)
What’s your favorite useless fact?
A group of ferrets is called a business.
Eric Jeffcoat
Manufacturing Technology Assistant
What is your favorite social media platform?
Discord.
Morning or night person?
Night person.
What is your favorite season?
Winter.
Roberto Ramos
CNC Lead & Assistant Pattern Maker
Favorite summer activity in Oregon?
I enjoy sailing. It’s so exciting, and it makes me feel like a pirate!
What is your spirit animal?
I always feel like my spirit animal is a wolf or a unicorn.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I want to be a costume creator!
Tiffany VanKlausmeier
Swing Shift Sewing & QC Manager
What’s the most useless talent you have?
Yoyo tricks.
What’s your most used emoji?
👍
What’s your favorite smell?
Teriyaki Sauce.
Makaya Fine
Quality Control Team Lead
What is your favorite sandwich, and why?
Cubano. Because it’s perfect.
What is the worst haircut you’ve ever had?
A bad textured a-line bob, box dyed blue-black.
You won the lottery! What are you doing with the money?
Investing, buying property, and financing grants and microloans for women in impoverished nations.
Laurel Goeger
Production Support Assistant
What would you name your boat if you had one?
I would name it Luna.
What is the worst purchase you’ve ever made?
A dress that I never wore!
What’s your most used emoji?
The smile emoji.
Nayeli Navarrete Bravo
Sewing Lead
What is your favorite show or movie?
The 100.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Paris.
Favorite Food?
Sushi.
Araceli Cobian
Kitting Technical Expert
What’s the funniest thing you believed as a kid?
If you accidentally swallowed the seeds when eating an orange, an orange tree would grow inside you.
What would you name your boat if you had one?
Liberty
What did you name your first car?
My first car was named by my mother (Mowa).
Joyce Amankwatia
Sewer
What was the worst purchase you’ve ever made?
My worst purchase was my first car.
What’s your most used emoji?
Little faces.
What decade do you feel you belong in?
The 80s.’
Manuel Balam
Sewer
What’s your favorite sandwich and why?
A turkey sandwich, because it is healthy!
Zombies are coming! Which three people do you want on your team?
I would bring my children and my husband.
Which decade do you feel like you belong in?
In the 80s.
Dora Bustillo
Sewer
What would you name your boat?
Survivor
You won the lottery! What are you doing with the money?
Buying a house, buying apartments, and supporting Saint Jude’s.
What’s your favorite smell?
Suavitel (Fabric softener)
Gladys Reyes Castellanos
Sewer
Any strange and unusual hobbies?
I like to walk.
Do you volunteer outside of work?
I volunteer in my church and I cook for people who need it.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
My hometown, El Salvador.
Anabel Marroquin-Climaco
Sewer
Which decade do you feel you belong in?
The 80s
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Coming home from work and finding dirty dishes.
What song from your high school years do you still rock out to?
Anything by Los Yonic’s.
Elpidia Alvarado Cordero
Sewer
What would you name your boat if you had one?
Lunita
Would you go to space if you had the opportunity?
Yes
What’s your favorite smell?
I like the smell of flowers.
Fabiola Paredes Guzman
Sewer
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I’m already a grown-up, but I still dream of owning my own restaurant one day.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
If I could travel, I would like to travel to Europe because I would like to learn about other cultures.
What is your favorite food?
Mexican food is my favorite, specifically Chicken Mole.
Rosalba Rodriguez-Meneces
Sewer
Which decade do you feel you belong in?
I could have done well in the 50s based solely on my desire to commit gelatin based food crimes.
If you could rename yourself, what would your new name be?
Having one of those manly names like Brick or Wrench would be fun.
Would you go to space if you had the opportunity?
Absolutely not. We are not supposed to be out there, and I could name at least 5 movies explaining why.
Ali Swenson
Sewer
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