Episode 8: Who Made This Sign? Meet Hannah, Modern Companion’s Former (ish) Employee

Maddie introduces Hannah Peak, a long time friend of Modern Companion. She asks Hannah to share a bit about herself. Hannah is from Missouri and has a masters in higher education. She started working for the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC and wanted to pick up a part time job to make ends meet. She had wanted a dog for a long time and finally adopted one when she moved to Columbia.

Even before bringing her pup home, Hannah had seen Modern Companion’s booth at the Soda City Market, a saturday market in Downtown Columbia. She bought a bandana from Maddie’s husband, Jordan, at the booth as a way to welcome her future pup. Soon after that she adopted her dog, Lavender, and saw on social media that Modern Companion was hiring. She had retail experience and loved the idea of bringing Lavender to work. Hannah laughs about her interview with Maddie and how they discussed her overqualification for the retail position. She says something drew her into the store.

Maddie asks about Lavender, Hannah’s 5 year old golden retriever and pitbull mix. Hannah found her on a free pets in south carolina facebook page. She says that looking back that wasn’t the best idea but it worked out well in her case. She searched the page for weeks before seeing a picture of Lavender and feeling an instant connection. Hannah drove an hour away to pick up Lavender and discovered that she was going to be Lavender’s fourth home. She’d been bounced around and developed some problems from a lack of vet care, including heartworms. Lavender’s second owner had been working to help her get better but had to leave her with another family after his military duties called him away. The third family ran into trouble with their landlord as they had too many pets. That family put Lavender on Facebook for Hannah to find.

Hannah and Maddie laugh that Lavender is super sassy, they chalk it up to her being a girl. Maddie says she doesn’t know if she’ll ever get another girl dog because she clashes with Cici but gets along perfectly with her boy dogs. Hannah thinks Lavender’s breed mix helps her be a good mix of cuddly and sassy. She could see herself with another girl dog because she's been spoiled by Lavender. 

Hannah started working for Modern Companion in Fall 2021. She did a little bit of everything. She ran the front and the register, organized, assisted with Soda City and events, and much more. She did a lot of design for the events.

Maddie asks Hannah what her favorite Modern Companion collection has been. Hannah says she loves the summer collections. She says the most recent Dog Days of Summer may be her favorite Modern Companion has ever done.

Maddie asks for funny memories Hannah has of Modern Companion. Hannah shares that people often don’t remember your name, they remember your pet. Many people either thought she was Maddie or knew Hannah as Lavender’s mom and would ask if Lavender was in the store. She says it's cool but also weird to be known as your pet’s parent.

Hannah worked for Modern Companion for a year but left to work in the office of student advocacy at the University of South Carolina. She helps support students through major changes, assists with excused absences, and refers to outside resources. Despite having a new job, she still finds herself at Modern Companion often. 

Maddie says that Hannah has a hidden talent. The two noticed that Modern Companion’s signage needed an upgrade. Hannah surprised Maddie by designing little chalkboard signs around the store to advertise different events and services. Hannah says she decided to doodle them on a slow day. 

Hannah had a design history but didn’t want to sit at a computer all day to do graphic design. She’s always loved drawing and still doodles and plays with Canva. The signage gave her an outlet to use that history in a practical way. Maddie says that Hannah left on good terms with the caveat that she has to come back once a month to update the store signs.

Recently, Hannah did signs parodying the popular song Espresso and writing that tax refunds are going to her dog. Hannah’s favorites were a Carolina/Clemson football season and another that asked if the customer's dog deserved a treat that said yes in two different colors. One side of the board always has the upcoming community events on it. The other is a fun, creative side that’s great for pictures. 

Maddie asks what Hannah’s favorite event has been. She says the Swiftie Pawties are up there but that she really loves doing the holiday markets. Hannah likes meeting the community and talking to people about their pets. Her favorite is the Howl-o-ween Pawty because her favorite holiday is Halloween. Maddie says that's one of the most attended Modern Companion events every year. Hannah loved the energy at the party in the first year she worked it. The two discuss the costume contest, Hannah says her favorite costume was a dog dressed as a Costco sample employee. 

They talk about other animals that have visited Modern Companion. Maddie says she’ll put any animal in Modern Companion Accessories. She’s even had a bearded dragon wear a tiny, quarter sized bandana. Hannah says Maddie should do a collection for reptiles. 

Maddie asks if Hannah is excited about Fall Fido Festival. Hannah says its so cool to see the whole community get together even when there’s bad weather. She says it’s so fun to see Fall Fido get bigger and better every year. Hannah loves the problem solving aspect of Fall Fido Festival because so much happens.

Maddie says she really wants to get the online community involved in Fall Fido Festival somehow. She says the valentines display where she had people send in valentines for their dogs was a lot of fun. She wants to do something similar this year by including pet names in a Fall Fido Festival photo op.

Hannah says that sounds good and brings up how as Fall Fido Festival grows she thinks people will travel more for it. Maddie shares how fun it would be to travel around with Fall Fido to bring it to different places.

Maddie asks Hannah why she continues to help out at Modern Companion even though she doesn’t work at the store officially anymore. She says when she taught employment skills she used her cover letter from her Modern Companion application to show what to do. She says Modern Companion was the first place she went when she picked up Lavender because of how important supporting small is. Hannah loves that Modern Companion is more than a store, it’s a community for pet parents. People support each other and develop lasting relationships. What’s stuck with her as a customer and employee is that Modern Companion really cares about pets and their owners. She says MC makes an effort to improve the community.

Maddie says customers asked about Hannah when she left because of Hannah’s fun personality. They laugh that people thought Hannah was the store owner. The two finish the episode with a goodbye.

Hannah can be found on Instagram and tiktok @hjpeak 

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