Internships that Stand the Test of Time

Has anyone had an internship that has developed into an ongoing relationship with one of the staff or owners of the establishment where you worked? There's something to be said for being true to yourself....read on! Or, scroll down to the bottom to read today's hot tip.


My internship was at Toast and Strawberries. It was the type of internship that I did on my own without it being attached to school credit. I wanted to work in the fashion industry while I attended school for business to help nurture and satisfy this developing craving that I had for fashion design. During the summer's I came home to Washington, D.C. from Saint Augustine's college in Raleigh, NC and worked in my dream industry, fashion. I had heard about Toast and Strawberries, they were a very popular fine and unique women's apparel and accessories boutique in Washington, DC. I called them up one day and they accepted my offer to work for FREE. I had no prior retail experience so I was in for an overwhelming surprise.


What did I do on a daily basis?
Let's see, where do I start? I did the regular customer service type of work like greeting customers as they came into the store and suggesting items for them to try on, learned how to ring up sales. I called customers to tell them about upcoming events or sales. The boutique was located a few blocks away from the Hilton hotel. The hotel would hold large conventions during the summers so, I would have to trek up the hill to the hotel if there was a convention and pass out flyers. This was not my idea of fun but, I had to do it. I knew that it would attract customers. What else did I do? I worked on in store visual displays, I was able to sell some of my hand painted t-shirts there and I helped with in-store events such as modeling in fashion shows and networking events.



I had so much fun at this boutique. It was like my little dream world. My escape. It was easy to get to from my home, I just had to catch a bus and the train and there I was, in a different world. I had no idea whatsoever that more than ten years later I would still have a working relationship with the owner of the store. It's funny, you never know how things are going to turn out.


Let's fast forward a few years later, I've graduated from both Saint Augustine's College and Marymount University. I've moved to NYC and Mrs. Miller, (owner of Toast) and I had been keeping in touch sporadically. In some cases we would only communicate maybe once or twice per year. Little did I know that our relationship was about to come Alive again. Her book "The Threads of Time, The Fabric of History" was published and she started promoting the book outside of DC to include NYC and other states. Last year, she came to NY to do a presentation and book signing at The City Museum of New York. This was no ordinary book signing. I didn't expect it to be with Mrs. Reed-Miller. There was a slide presentation and a panel discussion with featured designers from her book. There was also a fashion show and this is where my role came in. It was great working with Mrs. Rosemary again. I would help out a few more times and most recently this past February at the Midtown Library.


I really got a "big break" back in February '08. This time, there was only the slide presentation, panel discussion and book signing. No fashion show because, of unlikely timing with the other designers, this meant that I had the opportunity to step up. I was given the opportunity to be a part of the panel discussion. This was great! It lead me to do a speaking engagement a few weeks later at Berkley College in NYC and it led me to start this blog site. To be honest. I had always wanted to do a blog and thought that it would be about my product, you know reviews and tips about my fashion accessories but, I was so influenced by the students to blog about fashion design career tips and suggestions. This really made more sense to me.


Hot Tip There's no need to wait for an internship to be required for school credit. You never know what type of opportunities you will have and how these opportunities will shape your career. Another hot tip is to be true to yourself. Had Mrs. Miller never started Toast and Strawberries I would have never had that experience and we would not be associates today. Had I not followed my passion I would have never called her store.

I always look forward to working with Mrs. Miller. She has this way of attracting an eclectic mix of people who have dynamic lives. You see, there is something to be said for being true to yourself.


Post back to share your internship experiences!

PS: Yes. I did have the nerve to post a picture of me from the 90's. Hey, It's fashion what else can I say!