Meet the Cuckooland Team: Part 2...
Alex, Russell and Nathalie - The Directors
In the second instalment of our thrilling ‘Meet the Team’ series (seriously, this stuff rivals Game of Thrones), we catch up with 3 more Cuckoolanders to find out what makes them tick.
This week (in another glaring similarity to G.O.T.), we thought we’d tackle our top three dragons – aka beloved directors – Alex, Russell and Nathalie. These ferocious pussy-cats started Cuckooland 5 years ago, and it’s thanks to their hard-work, savviness and fire-breathing abilities that we are where we are today (and still growing fast!). For the benefit of the tape, we should probably mention that Russell and Nathalie are married to each other.
Alex is the first dragon into our den…
ALEX LEDSHAM, Director
Hi Alex! Can you kick things off by telling us your favourite Cuckooland product?
AL: It’s the Treehouse Bunk Bed. This product changed the shape of our business, and took us on a whole new path. I also love the relaxed Belgium artisan manufacturer, Mathy By Bols – they’re amazing.
We couldn’t agree more! But let’s make this more interesting – if you could have any one superpower, which would you choose?
AL: Time travel – to be a flying time traveller would be amazing!
Someone’s been watching too much Doctor Who. Ok, how about any claims to fame?
AL: I had my 15 minutes of fame when I was in South Africa for the World Cup. Myself and 3 friends dressed as Fabio Capello for every match and we made it onto GMTV and various other shows, as well as a radio interview and newspaper columns.
We felt that one needed illustrating! And to finish – what’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done at Cuckooland HQ?
AL: So many! I’m a bit accident prone. I once managed to lock myself in the toilet and had to be rescued by maintenance. I was in there for nearly an hour before anyone realised! We remember this – this was a good day at Cuckooland.
RUSSELL DAVIS, Director
Hi Russell! Nice to see you. Can you tell us your favourite Cuckooland product?
RD: Ok, that would be the Uuni Pizza Oven! Because it finally confirms how sparse and crap restaurant pizzas really are – not to mention how much profit they’re making per pizza. Utterly shameful. Besides this revelation, it’s hard to beat a couple of hours in front of the Uuni, watching friends and family snarl at each other and wrestle over slices. (NB: This is a personal observation – there is no evidence to support the correlation between owning an Uuni and your family’s tendency to snarl).
What about the worst gift you’ve ever received?
RD: For my 30th birthday, my then girlfriend (now my wife) bought me a picture of a ‘Cat Falling off a Table’. It was a fat cat with a shocked look on its face (and in black and white!). It comes in at a tie with the 20lt bottle of tomato ketchup my dad bought me for Christmas in 1982. I ate so much tomato ketchup I threw up over the Turkey – so who’s the joke on now Dad!!
We think that would be everyone. What about the most embarrassing thing you have ever done at Cuckooland HQ?
RD: Falling asleep across the table- about a metre away – from where an SEO company was giving me a one-to-one presentation. I think I snored myself awake.
We’ve all been there! Finally, if you were stranded on a desert island and you had to take one Cuckooland employee with you, who would it be and why?
RD: I would have to take Nathalie for several reasons: 1. She’s my wife and it would be odd and slightly inappropriate if I selected anyone else. 2. I know how much she hates missing out. 3. After years of explaining to customers how to assemble beds she should be an ace at constructing beds out of eco-friendly coconuts and palm trees (and possibly even build a shelter) whilst I embark on preparing the land for a golf course and finding a good spot to hang my prized ‘Cat Falling off a Table’ picture. We could then spend eternity debating whether the cat a) was pushed b) tried to kill itself c) was caught before it hit the ground d) landed on all 4’s e) ever progressed to falling off buildings. LOL!
NATHALIE DAVIS, Director
Hi Nathalie! Now, no pressure, but Russell’s given us some pretty hilarious answers. Let’s start with our most over-used question – what’s your favourite Cuckooland product?
ND: The Uuni – I seriously love it. It makes the best pizzas I have ever eaten and it’s a party pleaser for ALL ages.
We heard it caused snarling, but whatever. What about the worst gift you’ve ever received?
ND: It was a bottle of wine from a neighbour last Christmas, which had less than a glass left in the bottom – I’m not sure if he meant to give it as an insult or just didn’t realise!
Thought we spotted you on Neighbours from Hell last week. Ok, how about if you were a fruit or vegetable, what would you be?
ND: Either a grape, so you could make wine with me, or a cucumber, because it would be funny to watch me scare cats for hours on YouTube. Bit mean – we feel sorry for Sushi (our office cat, who lives with Nathalie and Russell).
Ok, and finally – if you were stranded on a desert island and you had to take one Cuckooland employee with you, who would it be and why? (Remember, Russell thought it would be ‘inappropriate’ to take anyone but Nathalie…)
ND: Well, how to choose… there’s James, who is a feeder and comes with an unlimited supply of Chocolate (uh oh…), Gemma, who would be great company and I could see us sitting and making all sorts of lovely jewellery out of shells, same goes for all the girls actually, Damian who can teach me Polish to keep boredom at bay and who is really good at making things… and last but not least of course RUSSELL who I’m married to! (Phew. We didn’t even tell her to say that – honest).
So, there we have it – another Meet the Cuckooland Team all wrapped up, featuring never-before-seen footage from Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, Neighbours From Hell and Survivor. Our directors have escaped unscathed, except for some minor embarrassment and narrowly-avoided marital strife. Join us next time for more behind-the-scenes ‘hilarity’ at Cuckooland HQ!
