Intern Diaries: Week 2

The tasks for my second week as an intern were similar from the first week. The whole internship has involved a lot of social media. I'm happy I get such a big role when it comes to this and I am completely trusted to update all the social networking websites with whatever I want! I even set the brand up with a Lookbook account. 

Here's how my week went:

Day 1 - The first day of the week saw us photographing all the shoes we didn't get the chance to shoot at the weekend. We also made a fun little video of us dancing around in the shoes. There was some seriously funky footwork going on! Only a few of the shoes were my size so I don't think I can quite call myself a foot model just yet.

Day 2 - I had to upload pictures of all the sale items to our Facebook and Pinterest pages. This was a pretty tedious task but I guess it's the interns job to do all the nitty gritty stuff. I was also given the task of creating a few mood boards for the new collection whilst looking after the shop. We finally received the shots from the photo shoot at the weekend, so another tedious job was lined up - uploading all the items to ASOS Marketplace. Hurrah!

Day 3 - As well as becoming a foot model this week, I also gave hand bag and scarf modelling a try. All these pictures were also uploaded to ASOS Marketplace. More social media work was done, and it was today I set up the Lookbook account! I also started using their Chictopia account again which had been lying dormant for quite some time. 

Day 4 - My final day! Myself and some of the other interns spent the day in the shop whilst working on the brand's social media. We even got cake because it was on of the interns' birthdays over the weekend! It was a nice final day to have despite the weather welding my bottom to my seat! 

I really enjoyed my time and I feel like I learnt so much in such a short space of time. Of course I'd love to intern at bigger companies, but it's true that you get a real hands on experience on smaller brands because the team is so much smaller! Everyone was so friendly and I intend on going back for another two weeks later on in the holidays, but I need to time to relax and catch up on my college work first!

Please leave any questions, I'd love to hear from you!!

Intern Diaries: Week 1

So I managed to land myself an internship (which are pretty damn hard to find up here in Manchester) with a small start up brand based in the city centre. I was really happy when I found out I'd got it, because I had no experience what so ever, and they always say the first internship is the hardest to get, probably for that reason. 

I'm only there for two weeks, but hopefully I can go back later on in the holidays for another two weeks (as I'm pretty sure my best friend and my boyfriend are on holiday at the same time which is going to be mega torture for me, I need to keep myself occupied). 

So here's what I did in the first week:

Day one: A nervous me walked in to the studio, but was pleasantly surprised to find that everyone there was very nice and friendly, and I wasn't given too big a task on my first day. Myself and the other interns (who had already been there for a a week or two before me) were given plain t-shirts to customise and let our creative juices flow. It was a nice relaxed first day.

Day two: We started off the day by sketching some designs for the new collection, and then we were sent out to snap some street style shots (wow, talk about alliteration!) which we were very unsuccessful with because it was really early and no one was about. :( I had to do little errands throughout the day like nipping to the bank, and putting stickers on a huge pile of lookbooks. Then I was given the task to create a print for the upcoming collection which I was really excited about, although the speed of the computer that I was working on made the experience rather frustrating, and the fact I was using macs which I've hardly used before. I was also sent to work in the shop they have in Affleck's for a couple of hours.

Day three: I spent the first half of the day working on the different social media websites the brand has which included making a Pinterest board, and a sort of 'steal her style' celebrity look sheet using pieces from the brand, which I then uploaded to their Facebook page. When I came back after my lunch break, a photo shoot for ASOS Marketplace was being organised which I helped with, then we all spent the rest of the day styling for the shoot which was so much fun!! I can't wait to actually attend the shoot and assist with everything! :D

Day four: Today was a very tiring day. I write this having just woken up from a nap. The morning was spent locating all the items that we needed for the shoot which was a huge task considering the amount of clothes that are crammed in to such a tiny office space. After this I was sent to work in the shop, where I spent my day on the laptop checking the social media sites, and I also got to create my 'pick of the week' from the items in store, as well as an outfit post on ASOS Fashion Finder and I also did some more designs for the upcoming collection. 

I think working for a small brand is really great because you get much more of a hands-on experience. I wasn't expecting to be given so much responsibility. I was half expecting to be stuck in a little corner with a list as long as my arm of mundane little tasks to do, but so far I feel like I've really contributed to the brand and learnt a lot. The hours are quite long, but I only work 4 days a week, and the experience is definitely worth it!

I hope you've enjoyed reading about the first week on my internship, and that this post wasn't too lengthy. I will have another post up by Monday talking about my experience on the photo shoot, and then another post up next Friday covering my second week as an intern! So please check back if you'd like to hear more!! :)

Please leave any questions or comments, I'd love to hear from you! xx

Company Fashion Forum

Last Thursday I attended Company's Fashion Forum in Manchester. Yes, I know this post is a little over due but better late than never ey?

I have to admit, without sounding big headed, I wasn't sure how much I'd take away from this evening besides a fabulous goodie bag. After all, there's only so much a person can tell you about how to make it in a certain industry before you just have to go and find out for yourself. And the amount of time I sit in bed on my laptop researching careers is rather staggering. But I was pleasantly surprised to come away from the evening with a few more great tips!

After much trekking around parts of Manchester I'd never seen before, we finally found the venue! The density of fashionable girls hanging around is a good clue that you're getting close.

It's a good idea to take a note pad and pen (or an iPad if you're fancy like that) so that you can make notes. It didn't actually cross my mind to bring any paper, but thankfully I ended up going straight from college which turned out to be a God send.

The event was kicked off with all the panel members introducing themselves, and then editor Victoria White took the reins and briefly interviewed each person individually so we could learn more about them and how they came to be where they are now. It was quite refreshing to hear that one of the panellists had a very strong regional accent, showing that you don't need to be based in London to make it in fashion. In fact, about half of panel were located outside of London!

Vic then handed it over to us fashion wannabes to ask the questions we'd be dying to know. Now I'm not the most confident of people so putting my hand up and asking a question in front of all those people was a no go for me, but luckily we got the opportunity to go down to the front and speak to them privately at the end. I took this opportunity and ran with it, maybe a little too far?  I felt like I was hounding those poor women, but maybe it came across as enthusiastic. Let's hope!

All in all it was a great evening. I came away with a bag full of goodies (including my favourite moisturiser that I had almost ran out of at home) and a bunch of great advice. I'd really recommend this event to anyone who is unsure of going. Being only a lower sixth student meant I was probably one of the youngest people there, with most girls currently at uni, but the advice was still invaluable, and you might even bump into someone who is at the university you want to go to, so take the opportunity to ask them about their course!

Here are the top three tips I took away from the evening:

• Magazines etc get hundreds of emails a day and yours will probably be sent to the spam folder, so be different and hand write a letter!
• Don't spend too much time in education. Get your degree and get out. Yet another qualification is yet another year away from your dream. Get some internships instead. Experience is key in this industry!
• Never ever throw away a contact! Keep in touch (professionally or personally) with everyone. The people you study with at uni may end up being the assistant of the person you need to impress.