Crocs Video Interviews

Crocs has posted video interviews from Boulder on their blog. The first video is a summary of the trip, and my personal interview is the third one from the top.

I think I sound pretty silly in my interview. I thought I was used to hearing and seeing myself from all that radio and tv work in college... I guess I'm out of practice (or overly critical?).

Crocs Camaraderie

While the ten of us are obviously up against each other in a contest to be in the top five, there was really no sense of fierce competition among us. It amazes me how kind, generous, and welcoming each of the ten finalists are. In such a short period of time, we really got to know each other, and we all feel like friends. I know there will be no hard feelings about whoever gets to be the Ambassadors. The trip to Boulder, free Crocs, exposure to top-secret new styles, gourmet dinners out, the fancy hotel, etc. is certainly a “win” in all of our minds. Here are some of my favorite photos of the finalists.
Nina checking out the Jibbitz (charms that can attach to some styles of Crocs), Amy and Kelsey in the Crocs store, Chris and Sherri at breakfast

Lorraine the "Crocs runner" and Liz on her matchy-matchy iPhone

I already posted a picture of Kat and Jon at the tea house, and I make the tenth Ambassador. What a great group!

The Ambassadorship

So, after all, what is this whole Crocs Ambassador Contest all about? I had no clue either until Thursday morning when we had the main meeting of the trip. We learned all about the new styles of Crocs and the re-vamping of the Crocs website. And the website is where the Ambassadors come into play.

To back up a bit, Crocs had about 200 photo entries in their online contest. I was selected to be in the top 15, and the public voted for us on Facebook and the Crocs website. From there, I made it into the top ten, and all of us were flown out to Boulder for this event. The next step is for Crocs to choose five of us to be the actual Ambassadors (even though all ten were referred to as “Ambassadors” throughout the trip- for simplicity’s sake!).


So what will the Ambassadors do? They will have a profile on the new "Vitamin C" Crocs page (to be revealed at the end of July when the five winners are announced) and blog about once-per-week each. The entries can and will be about anything, really, not just the shoes. Crocs wants some interesting content to draw people from outside the Crocs community - probably people like you who either do not own Crocs or have just one pair. The Ambassadorship is a community outreach program. While there will most likely be opportunities for the Ambassadors to travel, the main goal is for them to work within their own circle of friends and communities – to go to events, hold focus groups, give out coupons, etc.

Oh, and did I mention that the five Ambassadors win $2,500 each? Crocs clearly wants the Ambassadors to be independent from the company, just your average citizen who happens to like Crocs, so I think the money is as close as they’re going to get to paying for the content!

Boulder Dushanbe Tea House

On Friday morning, the last day in Boulder for us Crocs Ambassadors, we had breakfast at the Boulder Dushanbe Tea House. Don’t worry if you didn't know that Dushanbe is the capital of Tajikistan. (See what I did there?) It's Boulder's "sister city" and, apparently, the materials used to construct the building were shipped from Tajikistan specially to make the tea house. Entering the building really was like stepping right into Central Asian culture. Personally, it brought back memories from China - from the similarities in most Asian art and architecture, but also from my encounters with Tajik exchange students.

Kat, Jon with chai tea, Shelly from Crocs, Nina, and Lorraine at breakfast

I have never been crazy about chai tea, but I knew it would prepared just right here, and I was not disappointed!

Mountains

I love mountains. One of my favorite parts about traveling in China, in fact, was climbing mountains and noticing the drastic changes in mountain landscapes across the country.

I was really disappointed to not have been able to see the mountains on the drive into Boulder, Colorado on Wednesday - the rain clouds were too low and the sky was dark. The weather cleared up, however, and by Friday the sky was bright blue and scattered with clouds. I wish I had been able to do some hiking during my stay!

Boulder, Paper, Scissors

In downtown Boulder, there are a lot of, um, rocks. Rather, boulders. I found all of these (and more) at the Pearl Street Mall. Very decorative.

The Pearl Street Mall

Pearl Street is an outdoor, pedestrian shopping center in downtown Boulder - where the Crocs store is located. It's lined with tons of trendy shops and restaurants, and it was especially active on Friday afternoon with the beautiful weather (finally!). Here are some shots of Pearl Street.

Crocs Store - Boulder

So I already gave you a peek at the Crocs store in Boulder, Colorado. But what you should know about this place is that it really is huge. It has three floors- one each for men’s, women’s, and children’s shoes. The amount of styles and colors is quite overwhelming!

The Art of Tea

Tea is an art, as I learned today at Celestial Seasonings in northeastern Boulder, Colorado. Not only are the tea ingredients imported fresh from around the world – cinnamon from Vietnam, lemongrass from Thailand, and green tea from China – the process of combining them into Celestial Seasonings’ distinct blends is a finely-tuned craft. The herbs and spices are cleaned, cut, sifted, and packaged into the signature string-less and tag-less tea bags.

While the art of this process is impressive in itself, the outer packaging features artwork related to the flavor of tea. Bengal Spice, for example, has a lounging tiger on the box.

The tea house is also lavishly decorated with artwork. One of my favorite pieces is a gown made entirely from Celestial Seasonings’ tea packages. I think my new red Hanalei Crocs would be perfect with this outfit! What do you think?

The Secret Assignment

All of us Crocs Ambassadors were very anxious about the mysterious assignment on our schedules for the afternoon. Our Crocs hosts would not tell us anything about it until it was time.

Well, all of that worrying was for nothing, in my opinion. Our assignment was this: Go to a notable location in Boulder and blog about our experiences. We also had to somehow incorporate in the post which pair of Crocs we would choose for the occasion. What a fun activity!

Sherri from Oklahoma and I took a cab out to the Celestial Seasonings plant, and my next post will be the blog that I submitted for the Crocs assignment. The music from the video may sound familiar... but you work with what you have, right?

Sneak Peaks

This morning the Crocs Ambassadors got sneak peaks at the upcoming lines of footwear for both the fall of 2010 and spring and summer of 2011. For anyone thinking about purchasing some new Crocs, my advice is to WAIT until the new ones come out. While some styles are updates of classic versions of Crocs, most are completely different than anything you would associate with Crocs shoes. Goodbye to the clunky, awkward, and weird. Hello to hip, trendy, modern, and fun. And that's all I can say. Obviously no pictures allowed!

Crocs Cocktail Party

The ten Crocs Ambassador Finalists were given a cocktail reception at the hotel. We met the women who do public relations and social media for Crocs, and the Ambassadors got to meet each other. I'm "the girl with the cow." Great.

After the reception, some of us took a walk around the area and we peeked in the window of the giant Crocs store...

First Few Minutes in Boulder

Let's start with the negative: it wasn't actually a limo that picked me up at the airport, just a really nice car. Can't actually complain. Also, it's pouring down rain and cloudy so I haven't seen the mountains yet.


(Rainy) view from my room

The positive: My room is beautiful, and they gave me a huge tote bag full of stuff, including two pairs of Crocs, some snacks, a water bottle, a notebook, and a $100 visa gift card. Awesome.


The new Crocs: blue Crocband flats and red Hanalei

Footwear of Choice

I am obviously going to be sporting some Crocs in Boulder. I wouldn't dare wear anything else! And I have decided which pair of Crocs I will wear in Colorado: the Capri Canvas. These are casual, yet feminine and stylish; A good all-purpose summer shoe that I think fits my personality and style. See, not all Crocs are clunky monsters.

Crocs Itinerary

I received an email this morning with some information about what I can expect in Boulder as one of ten finalists in the Crocs Ambassador Contest.

First of all, I will be driven from the airport to my hotel in a limousine! Awesome. The default meeting place is the Crocs store where we will do product reviews, be interviewed by the Crocs staff, and have professional photos taken.

One ambiguous activity on the list is the "Ambassador Assignment" that takes up an entire afternoon. Hm... I'm a bit anxious to find out what this is! (Leave a comment on what you guess it might be.)

Welcome to St. Julien

This is where I will be staying in Boulder, Colorado. It's St. Julien and it's a block away from the Crocs store at the Pearl Street Mall.

The trip is only three days- I know, it seems short, but it will definitely be action-packed and exciting. Remembering my trips across the Chinese countryside, I think a lot can happen in just two or three days.

There's "complimentary wireless" in the hotel, which means I will certainly be blogging about it. Check back in!

P.S. It's supposed to be partly cloudy and 80 degrees in Boulder!



Photos from the St. Julien website