Wild Apple has been ranked one of the “Best Places to Work in Vermont” for eleven years in a row. We pride ourselves on running a human, un-corporate, fun business that shares information and involves employees in what’s going.
Wild Apple’s mission is to find, create and deliver trend-current art for the decorative consumer goods market. Wild Apple licenses artwork to manufacturers of a wide variety of home products, including dinnerware, textiles, rugs, wallpaper, stationery, and much more. Wild Apple also produces art prints and posters, which it sells business-to-business worldwide. Wild Apple works with artists from around the world, who are paid royalties on sales of their artwork. The company employs 25 and is located in scenic Woodstock, Vermont.
Wild Apple’s business working with artists and creating beautiful imagery is inherently creative, interesting and fun. The company has a family first approach and encourages a healthy work/life balance. Paid-time-off is generous. We’re moving to a hybrid model of remote and in-office work. Wild Apple runs “squeaky clean” financially and pays artists and vendors on time; it has “open book financials” so that employees can see how the company is performing at any time. The entire company participates in strategic planning. The caring culture is reflected by frequent random acts of kindness, often involving chocolate.
OPEN POSITIONS
Currently there are no open positions at Wild Apple, but check back soon!
John’s Philosophy of Business
Back in 1996, I made a list of values as a way to clarify for others and myself my philosophy of business. Philosophy is too big a word for it, because it really boils down to a pretty simple tenet: treat others the way you want to be treated, with respect. All the rest just flows from there.
Business is built on meaningful personal relationships among employees, customers, and suppliers.
- Employees are the most important part of a business. They deserve to be well compensated and to share in the company’s success.
- Suppliers can be as important as customers, especially in our business when we talk about artists.
- The well-being for the group of individuals is more important than the one individual.
- Business is second to personal life and family.
Change is a good thing, in the form of improvement.
- We should continually improve—our product, our systems and ourselves. In order to do so, we have to increase our knowledge and seek to learn.
- The things that got you to where you are today are not the things that will get you to where you want to tomorrow. (The world keeps changing!)
What we say and do matters—so does our appearance.
- I want to work with people who really want to be here.
- As an employee, we owe each other excellent performance.
- We have to do what we say we do.
- It is more important to have a decent idea that you execute well than a phenomenal idea that you implement poorly.
- We all have a responsibility to make the job fun.
- There is nothing more satisfying than being the best at what you do (as a company or as an individual), and being recognized for it.
When in doubt, though, do the right thing.
- We should make the greatest effort possible to be fair, but understand that as a rule life is not fair.
- Our personal values should be the ones we use in business.
- 99% of all conflict and tension among people is the result of misunderstanding the actions, words and attitudes of others.
- Profits are crucial to survival and growth.