Behind the mask with Iona

Where is your mask from? A wee shop on Cockburn Street!

When did you start at Easter Greens?
I started at Easter Greens in November 2020, when the Morningside store was opening.

What do you do at Easter Greens?
I’m a part-time sales assistant, which usually entails keeping the shop nice and tidy, filling up shelves and of course chatting to all our lovely customers.

Why did you want to work at Easter Greens?
I really wanted to work at Easter Greens as the company values align strongly with my own. After quitting a full-time job so I could pursue my masters degree, I was looking for part-time work with an ethical company. I had been following Easter Greens on social media for a while, and when I saw that a store was opening in Morningside, a 15-minute walk from my house, I knew it was meant to be!

What do you love about working at Easter Greens?
I love working for a vegan company. But more importantly, I love working with such a friendly and genuine team of people, and I love getting to chat to so many wonderful customers!

What is your favourite item that we sell?
At the moment it would have to be the Love Raw ‘Cre&m Filled Wafer Bars’ (vegan Kinder Bueno vibes anyone??) … both the original and white choc bars are amazing. The Breadwinner pastries are a long-standing favourite of mine too.

What do you like to do outside work? 
Aside from my degree which takes up most of my time at the moment (I’m studying Business Psychology with HRM and really enjoying it), my days are generally filled with going out in search of vegan takeaway treats wherever I can find them! Lockdown has also prompted me to include home workouts in my daily routine which I have surprisingly found a huge amount of joy in.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?
I’ve started listening to a podcast called ‘Make Your Damn Bed’ to get me up in the morning. The episodes are 3-5 minutes long and touch on a different topic every day, which has been a great way to get me thinking and kickstart my day whilst I… make my damn bed.

What are your ambitions in life?
This is something I’m very much still working on, but I’m trying to trust the process. So long as I can find happiness within myself then I think the rest will fall into place exactly when it’s meant to (having said that, buying a flat and adopting a cat are definite goals of mine in the next few years)!

Once lockdown is over what's the first thing you want to do?
Until restrictions started easing, I would have said go out for a huge dinner and nice drinks – but I am very grateful that is currently possible! Once we’re fully out of lockdown though, I would really love to go to some festivals and maybe a city break with my friends.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
It’s not particularly interesting… but I have been vegan since 2016, and wrote my undergrad dissertation on vegan consumer behaviour.