Siri Børnes is a Business Advisor Ecommerce and Marketing Coordinator in Pearl Group Norway. To get to know Siri better, we asked her all sorts of more or less strange questions – and she answered!
Where are you born/raised, and where do you live now:
From Ørlandet, now living in Oslo.
My workday:
As a Business Advisor, much of my workday consists of advising customers within e-commerce solutions. In addition, I provide training and guidance in the systems they use so that they can get the most out of the platform. As a Marketing Coordinator, I work a lot with internal projects such as campaigns, articles, coordination between different parties, changing the website, and more. It's a varied workday where I can use many of the skills I've gained over the years.
Favorite work tools:
Nowadays, there are a bunch of work tools you can use to streamline and keep control of your work tasks. I, however, am very fond of the pen and paper to get everything done. I love writing down to-do lists by hand and having them next to me at the desk. The feeling of physically crossing out a completed task is magical! Call me old-fashioned, but it definitely works best for me. I've tried to get used to new digital tools, such as Planner in teams, but even though it is a good tool, I return to pen and paper every time.
"I love writing down to-do lists by hand and having them next to me at the desk. The feeling of physically crossing out a completed task is magical!"
My secret dream that will never come true:
I've had many different dreams since I was a child, and I've tried to some extent to fulfill them all. I'm curious and love to learn, and all the little dreams I've had over the years have led me to where I am today.
As a child, I was very fascinated by gymnasts, so I started gymnastics when I was six years old and didn't quit until I was 19 years old. During this period, I participated in a lot of shows and was very determined that I would become a professional gymnast.
When I turned 18, I was told that if I were to become a professional gymnast, I would have to start for myself soon because the offer they had was only valid until I turned 18. I ended up having to stop when I turned 19, and I never started on my own. I didn't know how, nor did those around me.
In parallel with my gymnastics dream, I was also very interested in theater. I started with dance and theater at the cultural school at the age of 15 and continued with it as a subject in high school. I loved going into different characters and interpreting who they were and how they thought and acted. This gave me a lot of energy and joy in everyday life. At that time, I was very determined that I would also become an actor.
This ended abruptly when I found out that I liked backstage better than being on stage. It wasn't being on stage that was the most rewarding for me but creating a character with costumes and makeup.
So, I decided to continue my studies in makeup instead. From here, I worked as a makeup artist first for Kicks and then took on various assignments in my spare time. I have also been lucky enough to be part of a start-up and participated as a makeup artist at the wedding fair in Oslo. This is something I still do in my spare time today.
My conclusion is that I enjoy being creative and expressing myself, and over the years, I've tried out different directions to find my place. It may sound like I can't decide on one thing and go for it, but it's not like that. All the choices I've made and the dreams I've followed have led to where I am today. And in my current position, I really get to use many of my creative sides, and that's something I really enjoy!
After work:
My grandmother was a creative soul and did various handicrafts: Everything from knitting, sewing, painting, and embroidery. She could do everything! As a child, I was always with her down in the sewing room. I sat and watched her work for hours.
As the years went by, I started to start my own handicraft projects, everything from trying my hand at knitting, sewing, painting, and scrapbooking. These activities made me forget time and place! It really let me unwind, and I went into an all-consuming bubble. I could sit like that for hours, and it was difficult to tear myself away once I'd started.
Unfortunately, I never got good at either sewing or painting. That's probably because I lost the courage to continue when my grandmother passed away. It was something I wanted to learn from her but never got to.
Nowadays, I still work on various creative projects, but it's mostly solving puzzles, knitting, and making homemade cards. It has become my "escape" from a stressful everyday life.