Jonathan Sirlin
Operations Manager
Joined The Orchard in August 2012
What we know: You’re tall, you’ve got a great laugh and you’re super friendly. What we don’t know: what the #&@% you do. Go.
First of all, I’m flattered you think I’m tall, and, according to Wikipedia I do have a few inches on the average American male, but we work in an office of some pretty tall dudes, and I oftentimes feel like Frodo scuttling along in the Fellowship. I do concede, though, that my laugh is awesome, and I would go toe-to-toe with anyone in a laughing competition. I’ll go all day.
I started at The Orchard in the Compilations department. I spent the majority of my day figuring out different ways to package and sell very relaxing, soothing piano music. The majority of my hours were spent meditating, and I left the office every day a complete and total zen master. It was not uncommon for me to float cross-legged down Lafayette on my way to the 6 train. After a few months on the team I was given the opportunity to shift over to the Operations Department, where I handled day-to-day operations for distribution and top-tier clients. I proudly held that title until a month ago, when I moved within the department to store integrations. Whenever The Orchard signs a deal with a new store, I help ensure that they get set up from a technological standpoint. I also serve as a sort of “utility player” on the Ops team, handling various tasks as projects come up.
Ha! We hope you haven’t lost your Zen mojo on the Ops team!
Can you tell us more on what exactly getting a store set up entails?
Getting a new store set up requires a great deal of coordination from the Business Development, Tech, and Operations teams. A new store is like a new relationship; when you meet someone new, after you’ve done extensive background checks on them to make sure they’re not insolvent, you’ve got to make sure that you can communicate effectively and that there’s room for growth for your future. When Business Development signs on a new store, I reach out to say “Hello!” and set up their FTP (File Transfer Protocol) information in OA so that they can receive all the content we’re supposed to give them. When tech updates our XML specs to reflect new tags in our metadata, I write to the stores to make sure they’re aware of the changes and that it won’t cause any issues on their side. Each deal is different, and there’s no set amount of time that it takes from first contact to first delivery, but Operations is part of the process throughout.
Got it. On another note, you are the proud owner of two Orchardite fish and a heck of a fish tank. What can you tell us about how this came to be and your experience to date with Gerald and Chester?
In October of 2013, fellow Ops member Lauren Davidheiser received a bouquet of of flowers in a vase from her mother for her birthday. Weeks later, long after the plants died, I took the initiative to transform the abandoned vase into a fish tank. Gerald was introduced to The Orchard in early November, and he has since moved from that vase into a proper fish tank complete with a living plant, a plastic crab, and a sunken yellow submarine. Gerald is a slow, methodical and brilliant fish. His demeanor demands your attention, and his calm nature can soothe even the most frenzied of Orchardites. He is a blessing to all who see him, and his wisdom stretches far beyond his years.
Chester, a bottom-dwelling catfish, was purchased in late March of 2014. He was found dead on the morning of June 23rd, 2014. The cause of death is unknown.
Oh no! We’ll make sure to keep our pets away from you from now on. Thanks for making us laugh while telling us what the #&@$ you do, Jonathan!
number of instruments you play + which one you like best: I play six or seven instruments, but only one or two very well. I don’t like one the best, but I am most proficient on violin and guitar.
what you’d be doing if you weren’t working in music: Hopefully something way worse and more miserable, otherwise I’m wasting my time
favorite team to watch in the FIFA World Cup this year: Nothing will ever compare to the DPRK team from 2010. They are my all-time favorite.
random fact: I’m red-green colorblind, but what my eyes lack in rods/cones is more than made up for in clarity and distance; my vision is better than 20/20. I’m also ridiculously good at seeing stereogram images (Magic Eye).
“Surfing is the king of sports,” says Juan Giriber of Cantabria, Spain. It is poignant discoveries like this one that make up The Old, The Young & The Sea, a documentary film out this week, as it chronicles the stories of sea lovers along the Atlantic coast of Europe. In it, director Mario Hainzl and producer Andreas Jaritz, plus a team of cinematographers and two Volkswagen buses, embark on a twenty-week European exhibition and share their findings of culture, diversity, and individuals willing to share their heartwarming stories.
