Meet Joelle Van Curan! Where are you from? I used to say “everywhere and nowhere” but I guess my answer would have to be Texas! Texas is where I have lived the longest in my life. I grew up as a military brat. My father was in the Army. Both of my parents are originally from Buffalo, NY. I was born in Georgia. I grew up almost 10 years in Germany. I have lived in various states and have traveled to many states and countries. How did you find ZOX? I found Zox while looking for unique wristbands to wear and I definitely found them! How long have you been a ZOX VIP? I have been a member of Zox VIP since March 2018 but I started collecting in February of 2017. My original Zox purchase was for Amaze and Tap Tap Tap. I chose both to help encourage me in my classroom as I was having a tough school year at the time. I wanted to remind myself to always amaze anyone who steps foot in my classroom and to always tap into my full potential even when I feel run down. How many ZOX do you have in your collection? Gosh…Let’s see...I have approximately: 450 Straps 215 Duplicate/Gifting Straps 31 Pearls 53 Strings 17 Imperials 1 Imperial+ 6 ZOXLOX 3 Hoodies (soon to add the string club hoodie!) 1 T-shirt 1 Gold bar w/strap 2 Rings (one being Sing Your Heart Out!) 3 Lanyards 2 Affirmations (posters) 2 Cardlox Roll Capsule Water Capsule Thankfully, my better half loves that Zox makes me happy and doesn’t hate that Zox are everywhere in our home!! What do you love about VIP? I love the community! It’s like one big, diverse, supportive family!! I grew up all over and with a lot of diversity. I love posting in VIP and getting such a variety of perspectives. I also love seeing what others post from all over the country as well as all over the world! VIP is also a wonderfully supportive group with some of the most positive people I have ever known! The individuals in the group impact me daily by interacting with me on my posts but also in my classroom. I have had numerous individuals help me give Zox to my students, help me stock up books in my classroom, and even help me obtain materials for hands-on projects for my students. Zoxers have impacted my classroom and helped me give hundreds of students the experience of Zox through the last few years! What do you love about ZOX? I love the art and meaning behind each design. I also enjoy customizing my accessories to match my mood, bow ties, or shoes! I also love sharing Zox with others!! I gift them to others when they are in need of them and I gift them to my students throughout the school year. When I am around others and see them wearing their Zox it makes me smile every time! What’s your favorite ZOX? I think one of my absolute favorites to wear is In This Together. I LOVE the colors, the message, the name...everything about it. It just makes me smile!! If you could design your own ZOX, what would be the art and name of it? I would love to have Zox that is a “complete the doodle’ style. I do different complete or finish the doodle activities with my students occasionally. I am always impressed with how creative they are with just a couple of random starting doodles! The Strap would be white with a black squiggle or random doodles or shapes and then the challenge is for everyone to complete the doodle as they imagine! It wouldn’t just be allowing everyone to color their own Zox but to actually create their own design that is inspired by the starting squiggles or shapes! I would love to see all of the different designs everyone would come up with! I think it would allow a new wave of Zoxers to experience creating their own Zox, similar to how the Bros originally started. Which ZOX are you planning on acquiring next? I don’t know what my next acquisition would be but my biggest ISOs at the moment (and have been for forever!) are Paragon and Woodie 18.2 & 18.3. I have loved the design of Paragon since I first saw it a few years ago. I even have a homemade Paragon that my niece colored! The Woodie 18.2 & 18.3 are big ones for me for my profession. They really speak to me about why I do what I do. Plus, it would go with my custom Converse that has the quote “do what you love, love what you do” on them! I don’t know that I will ever acquire either strap but you never know! More about me and Zox: I have posted a daily ZOTD on ZOX VIP since March 2018. I have posted every single day since then! I use my post as a daily reflection of sorts. I have never been good at journaling but I wanted something to pause and reflect on my day. Creating my ZOTD has become a daily habit for me. I love being creative with some of the pictures. It’s not always easy to post every day. Sometimes I’m not very inspired. I don’t want a day to go by that I don’t reflect on the day somehow. Time is such a precious commodity. I always want to practice appreciating each day. My favorite person to share Zox with is my niece! It’s so much fun when she visits and we pick out our Zox straps to wear each day! She loves to gift Zox to others as well. When she has visited in the past, we have gifted Zox to our Chief of Police, Fire Chief, and our local newspaper owner/editor! I also love sharing Zox with my students. When I gift Zox I include a note as to why I picked that specific Zox for them. It is such a personal connection for my students to have a teacher not only give them a gift but to include a note to them about why that gift was chosen specifically for them. Bow Ties!! My bow ties and sleeve cuffs were definitely inspired by Zox! I would already match my Zox with my Converse every day. I then got to thinking about how I change my strap every day and how I could accessorize what I wear to work to function kind of the same way. We finally landed on a mix of influence from Zox, Bill Nye, and Mrs. Frizzle with creating my bow ties and cuffs! I want to thank the Zox VIP community for always being so supportive! I am proud to be a member of such a positive group. I also want to thank the Bros and everyone working at Zox for all of their efforts in making a wonderful product and cultivating an amazing community for all of us!! ---Joelle Thank you, Joelle, for sharing!! We loved reading through your story and seeing all of your amazing pictures! Keep being your awesome self :) Keep an eye out for more of your friends to be featured soon! Be bold, Landri ** Disclaimer: All photos and stories are property of the VIP. Their featured collection in this blog does not mean that what is shown is for sale by the VIP.
