Let's meet Agnė Dužinskytė - Content Quality Specialist at Vinted, whose work is to constantly look for new ideas, and to initiate change. Agnė has told us how she derives meaning from her daily routines, maintains a balance between her work and personal life, and why sustainability is such an important aspect of her outlook on the world. 

When and how did you join? Why? (Be honest!)

I joined Vinted a year and a bit ago under interesting circumstances. Vinted is a platform I’ve used for as long as I can remember - it was, and still is, a big part of my life. It’s for this reason that I applied to a Content Quality position right after graduation. I got an answer once I was already working at a different company - but three months in I realized I belonged at Vinted, and wrote a letter asking to reapply for the position. Apparently someone had left the team and they were looking for someone new – so I took the spot!

How is Vinted’s mission important for you? What extra efforts do you take to live sustainably in your life outside work?

As a fan of David Attenborough, I truly believe in consuming less, and making the smallest impact on this Earth possible. Vinted’s mission is very close to my heart – since we cannot fully stop our consumption of things - why not reuse them? For me, I cannot remember the last time I bought a new piece of clothing - and that’s all thanks to Vinted and second-hand stores! I try to be sustainable in my daily life too by recycling, avoiding plastic bags in supermarkets, reusing materials where I can, and, of course, doing my part during the pandemic – choosing the paper bag option at a supermarket.

Tell us about your typical work day. Do you have a morning ritual?

Since my work usually starts and ends at different times every day – there is no typical work day or routine for me. I’ve been trying to read books during the first part of the day, and, if I feel like it, I’ll do some stretching exercises. I love experimenting with food so that takes a huge chunk of the day too. I never drank coffee and now I feel like the classic meme “don’t talk to me before my coffee” is way too accurate for my liking, so that’s another part of my morning ritual.

What makes you excited to wake up and go to work each morning?

What I do everyday deepens my knowledge of what’s happening in the fashion world – I learn about new brands and what’s trendy right now. Not only that, but our team’s work has a clear impact on how people feel while using this platform. Part of my work also consists of me being an actual detective, and throughout this year I’ve gathered some crazy stories - and learnt more about our fascinating human psyche. Except for the winter time, when it’s difficult to wake up for any reason, this is the first job I haven’t had the difficulty to wake up to.

What do you find meaningful in your job?

Although as a team we rarely see the last stages of our decisions, and we don’t get much feedback from members, we all know how important what we do is. I also find meaning in learning a new sphere of knowledge, getting better at what I do, seeing myself improve, and going a step further every day.

Do you have a hobby? If so, tell us about it. What do you like about it, how long have you been into it?

I do! About a year and a half ago I started to get into creating illustrations. It all began by me trying to prove myself and others that a person could do something like that without any real talent! These (ironically) self-deprecating thoughts of mine make me try the most interesting things. So although it all began as a joke, I found myself captivated by the fact that it was possible to create whatever was in my head – whether it was realistic or abstract. I began reading about graphic design, learning to work with Illustrator, watching a lot of tutorials, and sketching cryptic objects on my phone (not remembering in the morning what the ideas were). All of that led to me creating around 50 illustrations in the span of a year, making several posters for my friends’ events, not having to think about Christmas or birthday presents ever again! I’m still trying to figure out my style, but I’m moving towards an aesthetic that combines the Soviet era and 70s Japan. If you’re interested – check out my instagram @shapeless.form.

How much space does it take up in your life?

It takes up as much space as I let it – sometimes I go through phases where I make 3 illustrations in a week, sometimes I do only one in two months. It’s an extremely immersive hobby for me, and sometimes I spend several hours without standing up - because I can’t find the right shade of colour or need to move an object “just a bit more to the right”.

Do the things you learn by having it apply in your job? Could you provide us with two three examples of how?

My job requires very close attention to detail. In that respect my hobby and work is exactly the same.

From your point of view, what qualities help people become great at what they do?

Passion, discipline, motivation, as well as being able to express what you like to others and showing what you can do - which requires a great deal of confidence too.

How does one develop a healthy work-life balance and maintain it?

I wholeheartedly believe in planning, even if the plan is to read 10 pages of a book, make a good meal, or take a walk. We all have short attention spans and can easily waste time on a million different things, so making myself do a small task every day helps me maintain some control over my time, and, through this, to create a balance. After a productive evening, work the next morning does not catch me off-guard and I enjoy it more.

By the way, do you use the Vinted app? If so, what’s your way of using it?

Yes! I’d say it’s a balance of 50/50, I tend to change my wardrobe every few months by constantly selling and buying clothing on Vinted. And I love that there’s now a home section – I can fully fuel my addiction of buying books.

One fun fact about you?

I’m very good with accents – I have a Samogitian dialect and even fooled my Lithuanian language professor into thinking I was from a different region. I can also speak with fluent British and American accents and, because I’ve studied French, I’m quite good at mimicking a French accent, though I cannot for the life of me form a single sentence. Here’s the fun part: when I was a kid, I used to play a bunch of video games. My favorite ones were Kelyje, Stronghold - all the low-budget Lithuanian ones, and another one was Barmalėjus grįžta. I’ve recently realized that I can talk in the same voice as the parrot from the game and I’m truly amazed by this useful skill. If you understand what I’m talking about – kudos to you, you’re in the 0.001% in this whole world.

Your favorite place in the world (online and offline)?

I’d say I’ve managed to make my home here in Vilnius cosy enough to call it my favorite place in the world and then.. Vinted as an online platform of course.

Aiming high daily is not easy – how do you relax?

Making illustrations, reading, cooking food, playing with my cat.

Pick one piece of media to recommend: a movie, a tv show, a podcast, a YouTube channel, a band… 

Please watch anything from one of my favorite directors, a pioneer of French New Wave - Jean-Luc Godard. Or Ratatouille. I love Ratatouille.