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!

Think You Have What it Takes?

Want quick exposure? A design open see or a competition may be just what you need.


Here are 2 upcoming events in NYC. Better hurry, they're right around the corner!


Henri Bendel's Designer Open See
is this Monday March 31st. 9 A.M. - Noon
I went last year and have to tell you that you MUST get there early! I got there around 6:30 A.M. and signed my name on the list. There were approximately 10-15 people ahead of me. The picture of the people standing in a line that stretches all the way around the corner is very real. So, if you are serious, get there as early as possible. The event is only from 9AM-Noon. That's only 3 hours. You would not want to arrive there at 10am just to find out that you're at the very back of the line and may not be seen.


According to their website, a few of the notable designers who emerged through this process are Anna Sui and Todd Oldham among others.


So, go ahead pack you best samples and get their Early!


Click to visit Henri Bendel's website for more details.



Calling All Handbag Designers!
Designer Handbag 101, a source for everything handbag hosts it's Second Annual Independent Handbag Designer Awards. Application deadline is April 18th.
I like this competition because, there is one winner from six categories and you can submit your application online.

Here are the categories:


*Best Student Made Handbag
*Most Socially Responsible Handbag
*Audience-Selected Handbag
*Best Handmade Handbag
*Best Green Handbag
*Best Handbag in Overall Style & Design


The winners will be presented in an awards ceremony in June at the Historical Society of New York. Just some of the prizes include:


* Opportunity to have trunk show at Henri Bendel's with window display of winning bags.
* "Best Overall Bag" winner gets free booth at WWD Magic Accessories trade show in August. How wonderful!

These are just a few of the prizes. Visit Designer Handbag 101's site for more details and to sign up!

Best of Luck!

Have you participated in any of these events? If so, share your experience by posting a comment. We'd love to know how it worked out for you.

It's Portfolio Review and Senior Project Time!- Don't Forget to Use this Tip!!!

If you're a senior in a fashion design school, you're probably tearing your hair out right about now trying to put the finishing touches on your senior project and complete your portfolio for review. Keep reading, I want to share with you a tip that I just thought of that may propel your career!

For those not associated with this world, senior year is the last time while you're a student in school that you get to show off your talents and skills. Your senior project is a collection of about 3-4 garments. At my school, Marymount University in Arlington, VA students got to come up with their own theme and design a collection based on this. The focus is to make it salable and not just advant garde. Students had to have their concept sketches approved by the teacher with fabric swatches to support your idea. Once approved then you start the drafting/pattern making process in muslin. Once the pattern is finalized then you're ready to make your garments in real fabric. The portfolio review is an extension of this. Your senior collection project is included in the portfolio along with other collections that were clearly targeted to a specific customer. We also had to show flat sketches with measurements and any textile prints or anything else that we wanted to include in our first book.

I did a men's wear line for my senior project. It was a very casual collection in linen. I wanted to stand out because, I had a feeling that most students were going to do evening wear which turned out to be true. I can remember popping Vivarin (I'm not endorsing) and staying up 48 hours straight just to make sure that my senior line was complete, sewing til the very last moment just before showtime.

I came up a little short on my portfolio review. My book was about 90% complete or so. Our guest speaker for our fashion show was Dana Buchman and she did our portfolio review as well. I don't remember her exact comments on my book. It was average and favorable though. I do remember sitting there with a silly nervous smile on my face when I could have been more proactive.

Here's the tip for you!
*While you're sitting there having your book reviewed as the guest designer thumbs through in a matter of seconds, pop in a question like:
-What's it like working as an assistant designer in your company?
-Can I contact your HR to see if there are any openings?
Too many questions would be a distraction but, one good one could lead to unexpected opportunities.

*It's always good to send a thank you note in the mail after your review. It shows that you really appreciated their time.

Enjoy these last few weeks of your senior year and try not to pull all of your hair out!

How did your portfolio review or senior project go? Post it here. We'd love to know!

Much Success!

I Didn't Know That! The Fashion Industry's Little Secret

"The Threads of Time, The Fabric of History", a book by Mrs. Rosemary Reed-Miller, brings to light the contribution of African American women fashion designers. It's amazing how the author takes us back, way back to the 1850's and brings us up to the very present with notable black women designers. This is history, American history that's not praised or spoken about widely. I surely didn't learn about this when I was in fashion design school. You can believe though, that I learned about European designers. You know, all of the legendary couture designers.


This book is filled with profiles of well over 20 designers. It's a paperback book, now in it's 3rd edition. It's filled with black and white photos of designers and their work. Mrs. Reed-Miller starts with the profile of Mrs. Elizabeth Keckley who was born in 1818 in Dinwidie, Virginia. Mrs. Keckley was born during slavery and developed the craft of sewing. She honed her skills so well that she was able to build a business as a dressmaker for wealthy women. She won the appointment to be the dressmaker for Mrs. Abraham Lincoln. To give you an idea of how important the role of being a black seamstress was in those days, here is an excerpt from the first paragraph of Mrs. Keckley's profile:

"During slavery in the United States, first in the colonies and then later in the states and territories, black women were responsible for the sewing needs of the plantation as well as the general household in the city. They mended and fashioned clothing for the mistress of the house, the family and household servants. They used their ingenuity and skills to make and repair clothing from leftover materials for the other slaves and children."


This book goes through history the bad and the good times with interesting highlights. Have you ever heard of Ann Lowe? She designed the wedding gown for Mrs. Jackie Kennedy.


I truly love the history and richness of the stories behind these designers. This book is an excellent read for any fashion or American history enthusiast.


You can get more details and purchase this book directly from the author's website www.toastandstrawberries.com. Go ahead check it out! The author has been in the fashion industry for over 30 years. She established the famed boutique in Washington, DC, Toast and Strawberries!


Enjoy!

Free Fashion Information at Your Service!

So, you're launching a fashion business or you're in fashion school and want to visit the fashion district to buy trims, fabrics, notions for your final school project Whatever your needs, the fashion center kiosk in New York City is a great place to start. You can go inside the kiosk and get a print out of the specific information that you need. For example, do you need a list of apparel manufacturers that only do small orders, or wholesale button and trimming companies? You can get this and more for FREE just by stopping in and asking or you can send an email and they will respond back with the information that you requested.


The kiosk is located at the corner of 7th Ave. and 39th streets in NYC. It's landmark is the huge button and needle structure right on the corner. I've used the service many times. For the most part, the companies are easy to contact because, their name, address and phone numbers are listed on the print out that you are given. In some cases you may find that a few of the companies listed have moved and their new location is not registered with the fashion center. While looking for these companies, I've found that the security person at the lobby of the old listing was able to direct me to the company's new location. It's a small world!

Here is the contact details for the kiosk:
Open 10am-4pm Monday - Friday EST
ph: 212-398-7943
fx: 212-398-7945
e-mail: info@fashioncenter.com
(please fax or e-mail all inquires)

You should also check out the fashioncenter.com. This is really the starting point to learn about the services that the fashion center provides. This link is to their home page where you can find the link to the fashion kiosk that I described above.

Best Wishes in Your Venture!

When You're Hit with A Loss Do You Seek the Closest Exit?

Today's issue of WWD features this article, "A Painful Period: Write-downs Drive Liz Claiborne to $435M Loss". It's a lesson in loosing and achieving your goals. The article explains how Liz Claiborne company loss $435M last quarter. Wow! That's definitely a blow! How do you recover from that? It seems as though their leadership has a plan in place to put the company back on track. It was encouraging to read that their leadership realizes that nothing happens overnight.

"We realize we have a lot to do, that it can't be done overnight, and we are focused on meeting our targets over a three-year period."

They had some brands that weren't doing well, they made some restructuring adjustments and it seems as though they are confident and excited about moving forward. Being in business creates all sorts of challenges. It's up to the leadership of the company to seek new profit making ideas. It's a creative position to be in. It's never static because, you're always striving to be the best even when losses are so severe. We can use this as an example in our own lives weather we are in business or not. Do you evaluate your goals on a regular basis and make amendments if necessary? Now's the time to start evaluating and taking control of the situation weather you're in a favorable position or not, there's always room for improvement. It all starts from a confident, clear objective and accomplishing goals one by one on your "To Do List".

Article is archived at WWD.

Arm Yourself with These Job Hunting Resources

A successful job search is more than just good timing. The resources that you use are key and could make the difference in the length of time that it takes to find a job. If you're in the fashion industry, you'll want to use some or all of these resources. I'm sure you're already reading Women's Wear Daily which has a classifieds section for jobs. There's also the obvious search engines like hotjobs and careerbuilder.com. Indeed.com is a search engine that compiles jobs from other websites, newspapers and other resources. Here are a few other essential resources that you may find handy. I've personally used them or have registered with their service throughout my career and have been in communication with them as recent as last year.

Websites

These 2 sites are excellent for finding fashion jobs. Major corporations along with smaller companies list job opening positions on these sites.

fashioncareers.com

stylecareers.com

Headhunters/Agencies in NYC
I'm listing these agencies in no particular order. They are excellent for finding freelance and full-time work.

The Gromwell Group

24/Seven

Project Solvers

4th Floor Fashions

Karlyn Fashion Recruiters

Winston Resources

Soloman Page Group

Executive Network Associates



Friends and Associates

This may seem obvious. Time to say goodbye to your pride and ask friends and people that you are close with if they have any leads. This is the easiest route.



If you know of any other resources post them in your comments!