Gift bag drama

Thursday's post, I mentioned that I would be going on vacation this week and would be interning on Monday instead.

I had a normal day, filled with multiple tasks given by "C". Today, I worked with another accessories intern, "P". She is really nice, living in NYC for the summer, but from FL. She was helping me do somethings for "C" during the day.

Throughout the day we worked on a couple of different things together. One of the major tasks was helping select items to give as gifts for editors that we work with from the brand Hue, our most popular client. "P" and I were told by "C" to pick out pairs of leggings that we would want to wear given it as a gift, and to pick two from each seasons for spring and fall. We also had to find socks as well as peds for each season too.  

This was so fun to pick out what we thought editors of magazines like Vogue and Lucky would like to wear. When we got to the storage unit of Hue though, we realized that there was limited leggings for each season. Also, each packaged gift had to tell somewhat of a story whether it was through color or pattern, it had to visually please the eye.

This became a task in itself, trying to find things that looked good together which such limited options. Between the crazy leggings we found that had a lot still in inventory, and socks that looked good next to the leggings, we thought we had a pretty good story going.

We brought back all the things we pulled to then show them to "C" who then had to get approval by a couple of different people within the office. 

  We were pretty confident with our selections until "C" called over a few different people to overlook it. 

BOOM, back to the drawing board. We weren't quite sure why, but we new it would take us another two hours to redo our choices and put everything we already pulled away. 

It was a long, LONG afternoon in that storage unit, that both "P" and I were happy to get out of at the end of the day.

During these pulls for the gift bags, I was pulled from the task to work on a PowerPoint presentation for the monthly PR portion of what the company does for the clients who hire us to do their PR. I had to collide all the images of people wearing the brands we represent and put them in order and add their logos and names of who was wearing it. 

 Once I finished the presentation, which took about another two hours, I went back to storage to help "P" finish up the pulls for the gift bags. I felt bad because these bags had to be packed, addressed, called for messengers, and then picked up all before Thursday and I was not going to be in all week. I was worried but "C" said as long as she had help from other interns, it would all work out and get done.

The only thing getting both "P" and I through the day and stuck in storage was the great view from the unit

We both decided next time we both work  on the same days, we are going to take out lunches down to the water for our breaks. 

_________________________________________________________________________________

So, starting from now until the end of this internship, I have decided that I will be posting once a week now, including only things of which are different than the normal, typical tasks I usually do. I want this blog to be enjoyable as well as fun to read. I felt that some posts are repetitive and others are a bore (in my opinion). And to be honest, I created this blog as a hobby to do during my experience and something to look forward to. I think it has brought upon some stress on myself to always be ready to write about each intern day when sometimes things aren't as exciting as other days. 

I want to enjoy writing it as much as want my followers to enjoy reading it. 

This decision was just something I needed to make in order to still keep up the blog without the pressure of writing about two different days. 

I also want to change the angle of the writing, which I mentioned in a past post, and focus more on how I dealt with situations rather than just what I did all day. I feel by now, most of my readers understand what it is that I do normally and can understand if I refer to something.  

Hope you follow along as I change somethings up! 

Thanks for following and I hope your excited to see whats in store for the coming week:)

Errands on Errands

Talk about a work out for a day. Remember the post about me taking the subway to Wall Street and running errands? Thursday was a bit similar, but more. I never know when I will have one of these days. It's always is a surprise when I show up at the office.

Today I was prepared to do work. I wore jeans for the first time to work and I was ready to take on whatever "C" threw at me. Boy, was I in for it today.

Some of the assistants had a meeting across town, which one of the directors left some documents that were needed for that meeting. I was the lucky intern to deliver them. "C" looked up on Google maps the best way to get there and was explaining to me which subways to use. Thankfully, "K" was sitting at his desk next to her and suggested that I just take a cab and take the company credit card to save some time. I wanted to thank "K" for the nice suggestion but felt that would have been too obvious that I don't particularly like taking the subway! "C" agreed on this (jumping with joy in my head), and I was given the credit card along with instructions to get every receipt when using it.

I felt like the typical intern, getting the credit card to go out and run errands.

Everyone had an errand for me, once they knew I was going across town. After I drop off the documents needed at the meeting for "B" (director), I was than told to go to Macy's and pick up a pair of Hue socks for Lucky Magazine's photo shoot for "C". We did not have the socks they needed for the shoot in our showroom.

Also, "K" needed a box picked up from a UPS store to fit a suitcase to send back to Kipling. The dimensions needed to be the right fit for the suitcase, which later I will explain why this became an issue.

Now, after explaining all the errands needing to be done while I was out, let me start with when I left the office to catch a cab....

I was pretty lucky and grabbed a cab that was sitting right outside the office building. I gave him the address and away I went. I had to meet "B" at the address by 11:45 a.m. I left at 11:15 a.m. so I was sure to get there on time. It only took about 15 minutes to get there between traffic and one-way streets, so I was early.

I was bringing "B" documents from the company Satya, which is a jewelry brand our company does PR for.

Look Book for Fall 2014 Collections

First cab by myself

Prepared with my walking flats

I was hoping that the cab would drop me off right in front of the building I was meeting "B" at. But why would that happen? That would not be challenging enough. I was dropped off around the corner from where I was supposed to be. I had to figure out which way the number of the buildings were going, up or down. I first walked the wrong way, so I turned around and walked around the corner and finally found the right address.  

As I waited outside this building, I was of course people watching, what else was I supposed to do? I was looking and admiring all the fashionable women and men walking in and out of this building, trying to figure out why everyone looked to fabulous. I Googled the address to see what exactly I was standing in front of. Little did I know that I was standing right in front of Hearst Corporation... one of the largest fashion and lifestyle magazine publications in the world. Magazines such as Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and many, many more are produced just inside this building which I am now delivering documents at.

Talk about an interns dream and perspective on how surreal interning is.

I waited until 11:45 a.m. when "B" showed up and I handed her the envelope of Satya documents she needed. She was thankful I came to give them and made sure I knew had to get back. I told her I was making a few more errands.

As I walked away in shock that I was actually standing in front of Hearst Corporation and didn't even know it, I got a text from "K" letting me know that there was a UPS store just around the corner form where I was.

I go in and was overwhelmed with lines of people and all different kinds and boxes to choose from.

I was given dimensions and none of these boxes were big enough to hold a suitcase.

In a panic, I texted "K" back telling him the bad news. He suggested I go to another one closer to the office after my errand at Macy's.

Off I was then to 34th Street.

I decided to walk from 56th and 8th to 34th and 6th so that it didn't look like I was taking advantage of the company credit card, grabbing cabs right and left. It wasn't too bad weather wise, just a tad overcast, but I was prepared with flats and an umbrella just in case.

On my walk to Macy's I was enjoying the scenery and the change of pace. I had no time limit which made things much easier to do after having one to meet "B". I took my sweet time getting there.

I went down the avenues first to get them out of the way.

 

Than the streets:

I finally made it to Macy's. 

"C" gave me a picture of what socks I was looking for. I was told to grab a pack if they had any, but if not, just one pair.

They are floral socks, not black

I had to go all the way up to the 6th floor to go to hosiery and to then find the Hue section. I found the socks, not in a pack, but single pairs, grabbed one and made the purchase. 

After I felt like I deserved some Starbucks, which was in Macy's, so cool!

$5.00 later, I was finding my way out of this huge Macy's

Now it was time to go back towards the office and find the other UPS store on 43rd and 11th. I took a cab there because there was no way I was walking that far back! I arrived right in front of the UPS which I was happy about.

I went inside, asked the man working there if they had the size box I needed and they did! I texted "K" that and he was very happy and said buy one. I didn't realize just how big this box was actually going to be until he pulled it out from the back room...

I felt bad taking a cab back to the office when I was only 15 streets away. This box would not have fit in a cab anyways, that's how big it was. I looked like your typical intern walking through the streets of NY. 

On my long walk back, I passed the Javit's Center:

When I reached the office, I was sweating, my feet hurt, and I was starved. At this time it was already 1:45 p.m. I'd say it was a long morning.

I was relaxing for about 5 minutes until "C" had asked me to help her with a pull that was urgent to be sent out ASAP. I helped her with that and then ate my lunch. 10 minutes later, "K" asked me to help him with sending out messengers for pick-ups of goody bags for our clientele. Inside these good bags were MCM hand bags. These were not your average hand bags though. They were circular, with oddly shaped handles and the map print in tan that MCM is quite known for. 

This was given to all the publications and blogger's that our company works closely with, just as a thank you.

Now, booking messengers is a process, which is done online. Each individual person with a specific address but be submitted separately. There were 35 gift bags... it was 2:30....they close at 5 p.m.... the pressure was on.

I ended up finishing the messenger requests just at 4:30 p.m. when I get a call from the company Success Express asking me how many more requests I had left because they close soon. Luckily I was done. It was amazing to see after every submission, someone would show up and walk off the elevator asking for the bag to the certain address. It was like magic, one click and BOOM, they were there and ready for pick-up.

Every time someone came in to pick-up a bag, they went to the wrong room and other interns would bring them to me to collect them. By the last pick-up, one of the male interns patted me on the back, telling me I did well under pressure and props to me for sending out the requests right. That felt pretty good, getting noticed by a peer.

Before I left for the day at 5:30 p.m., "C" wanted me to gather the rest of whatever Betsey Johnson runway looks we had left in the studio for Fall 2014, and to package them up to send back to Betsey's assistant. This was not going to be done before I left. There were just too many looks to sort through and organize. 

As I was trying to quickly gather each look and label them for the garment bags, "C" came in and was watching me. She made a comment that really just made my day. She said, "I know your going on vacation next week and will be in on Monday to make-up for Tuesday/Thursday, but I don't know what I am going to do without you on those days!" This made me feel so appreciated. I said to her, "Awe, I can do anything you need me to on Monday, but I am so sorry I won't be able to be here the other days!" She said of course your allowed to have vacation but that she relied on me to be there for when she needed assistance. This truly touched me and made me feel so great and needed. 

As I left the office that day, I was pleased with the days results. Many people never really are acknowledged for doing a job correctly in my life, only if you make a mistake or did something wrong, but to be noticed for hard work and that fact that I would have an impact on someone else and their job is really one of the best feelings to experience. 

I truly was so happy and excited to continue my journey interning and helping "C" do her work and just show what I can do.

You never know what experiences can lead to even bigger ones, and I just hope that by putting hard work into something, will eventually pay off and better my future plans. 

I am grateful to have gotten this internship and be able to say I interned there.

From the conversation "C" and I had on Thursday, I am going away next week for 6 days. I will be interning Monday to make up for the days I will be missing and plan on writing a post at some point for Monday's day, but the other days I will not be. 

Please don't forget to look for Monday's posting and then the following week, it will be back to normal posting days. 

Thanks for following my blog and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!

XOXO

  

Different than others

Everyday, my routine's the same. I wake up at 6:30 a.m. and I literally roll out of my bed to reach the floor. I take my vitamins that are sitting on my desk, which I have already pulled out the night before. I head to the bathroom to, well, go to the bathroom and brush my teeth. I then go back to my room, apply my make-up which takes about 20 minutes. After, I go back to the bathroom and blow-dry my hair from it being wet from the night before. It's as if I showered that morning with it still being wet (this makes it easier to style). I then style it depending on the weather or outfit. Options: straight or curly. I go back to my room once more, put on my outfit, which was again, picked out the night before, and put on my jewelry, adding a spray of perfume. I make sure that my bag is packed with all the essentials for the day's travels and office (like my lunch) and I'm out the door by 7:30 a.m.

My second routine is when I get to Harriman train station. My mom drops me off around 7:40 a.m. and I wait by the tracks until 7:57 a.m. I get on the train, and sit in a seat that is empty on the left side (don't know why the left, just always do) and I pull out my book Gone Girl. I ready about two chapters and then my eyes start to get sleepy and I can barely make-out the words anymore. By then, someone has sat next to me because we arrive at Ramsey Route 17 station, just before we go to Secaucus. I usually end up putting the book away because I now I won't remember what I read if I am falling asleep. Most of us get up right when we can feel the train slowing down to the nearby station. We crowd around the doors until they open. I then rush to the 8:52 a.m. train to NY Penn. If I don't make that one, there's one at 8:56 a.m. again. I have only had to do the twice so far.

Once I arrive in NYC, I walk out of the doors on 33rd and 8th Street. This brings me the closest to the direction of the office. I then walk all the way down 8th until 10th and make the left towards 32nd street. There is a bridge over the avenue between 10th and 11th on 33rd, therefore, my only option is to walk down the streets before hitting 11th Avenue. During my walk me and everyone else around me is listening to our ear buds with our music of choice on our phones (mines always Pandora Radio). This makes the walk go by faster (us fast New Yorker's). When I finally get to 28th Street, I walk down 11th Avenue. This Avenue always has construction going on, including the very stereotypical construction workers to follow. I will refer to him as "Jerry". Jerry always is working the days I walk down the block and always seems to have something to say. Whether it's, "hey, how's it going?" Or, "hello ma'am." He always watches me walk past him and at this point of my travels, I consider him someone I now expect on my walk to the office. Jerry is just always there. During my morning commute walk and again on my afternoon commute walking back.

When I reach the end of 11th, I can see my office, and just have to cross the street. After I walk across, that is when I usually start my blog posts with what happened once I get off the elevator.

This morning was a bit different. After explaining how my mornings have been so far, this morning will be understood why.

Filming of a movie or TV show?

This is a huge mystery to me. I tried to do some research with the info I know of just from observing these trailers as I walked by, not trying to stare so obviously. I am very curious as to what these trailers are hiding (people wise) and who exactly "Carrie" is. One trailer's door was labeled that and the other, a boy's name, which I draw a blank to. This was on my mind all day, considering they were parked there all day long. The same guard was their in the morning as in the afternoon, when I left the office. It was of high security and very discrete. I am going to try and snoop out some more info if I see these trailers again on Thursday.

????

After admiring these trailers parked outside the office, I rushed into the building and awaited the elevator. It takes about double the amount of time a normal elevator takes to reach the floor which you are on. Long enough to take a picture of the entrance:

Today's office environment was rather busy. I was all over the place in terms of tasks and the multiple projects I started and yet haven't finished. 

This morning, there was no to-do list waiting for me from "C". This was a little bit of a shock, but I knew "C" had big plans for me from the conversation we had last Thursday. She actually didn't have me working on what I expected to do, but continue a project I started a couple of weeks ago. This Betsey Johnson jewelry fiasco. Yes, fiasco because it is just such a mess and a process to organize all of it, but it needs to be done.

Basically, to recap this project that was started one of my first days interning, is that there are multiple pieces of jewelry that are from different seasons, all mixed together in these drawers located in the showroom area.      

I, being the organizer I am, have to organize each season in each drawer. Now, you would think this would be easy to do, but no. Not each bag of jewelry has an FAC number ( the office's skew number bar codes). I then have to look each item up in the look books, which are in three separate thick binders, separated by season. This takes a while to look for each item, if it is even in the look book. I ended up with a bag full of inventory not located in the brand's look book (not our faults). This made this process hard to accomplish. The other items though that I could look up, I bagged them into seasons: 2013 Spring, 2013 Fall, 2014 Spring, and 2014 Fall. Four seasons, in four drawers. I can do that! It took be about three hours to get this somewhat organized. I then had to write down each bar code for 2013 Spring and 2013 Fall due to it not being valid anymore in our showroom. These items will be sent back to Betsey Johnson.

Fall 2014 BJ Look Book

Fall 2014 Inventory

After finishing up the Betsey jewelry, it was already 1 p.m. "C" had wanted me to finish that before moving on to something else. She had a quick pull that needed to be done for Lucky Magazine. They were in need of Hue socks/tights for hiking and activities outside for a photo shoot next week. "C" was busy and asked me to take a photo of what I pulled, send it to her phone, and then she would send it to Lucky Magazine to see if it was what they were looking for. She printed the e-mail of the descriptions and colors they were in need of. I pulled the assorted socks/tights and laid them out according to the order of colors they wanted:

Hue's pull for Lucky Magazine

This was how most photos look before we send out the inventory to the publications. "C" always wants to make sure they know what is being sent to them ahead of time.

I thought I would sneak in a photo of the showroom to show how it is set up. People in the women's division were taking photos today of some inventory and outfits for publications to see what we have in the show room and what they can pair it with. That is why you see a step latter. 

Showroom fun

After the pull, I was than sent to the Hue storage unit for another day's work of organizing that hot box of a mess too. Today was a common thread of cleaning and organizing. Sometimes it just has to be done.

Another intern and I headed to the storage unit to organize the Hue's inventory, which had boxes on boxes blocking product we needed to fill the showroom with. We ended up having to pull out majority of the boxes just to walk into the storage unit and see what else needed to be dealt with. 

Craziness of a mess

Boxes on boxes

After being in the unit for almost two hours, it was already 4 p.m. Both the other intern and I felt that we did a lot of switching around, changing boxes to new ones, and labeling what's in each one, would really help us moving forward. We were actually told that we will be moving Hue's inventory to a closer unit to the office which will help a lot considering I make daily trips to the unit and having it closer would be great.

I guess you could say I had fun in the storage unit being surrounded by clothes:

By the time I left the office, yes the trailers were STILL sitting outside, I was flustered with all sorts of thoughts. I felt that I didn't accomplish as much today as I do other days, but it was OK because I know I made marks in other areas, such as the jewelry.

Hopefully there's more for me to work on during the day on Thursday.  

Just when I thought today was becoming quiet, I get to Secaucus Junction and there was a problem with the trains going on the Bergen Line, which goes through NJ to NY, and they were all coming through track F. This confused anyone who had a train coming between the times of 6 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Mine was at 6:21 p.m. and I was so confused when one showed up at 6:20 p.m. I had asked a couple of people if it was the one to Harriman and nobody knew. 

I usually never really confront anyone while traveling. If you have ever traveled to NYC, most people keep to themselves or listen to their music and do not want to be bothered. 

This one guy though seemed nice and I asked him if he knew about the Harriman train. I have seen him before on the same train and figured he might know. He was nice enough to ask a conductor and get an answer that it was the next one coming. We both got on the train and sat fairly close to each other. Again, I took out my book and read about two and a half chapters, until it was my stop. As I got up to get ready, I leaned over to him across the way and thanked him again for asking a conductor about the train. All he did was pass me a crossed out, dirty business card. You could say I was a little confused that he didn't say anything. I walked off the train puzzled. I got off and looked at the card and on the back, it said his name and phone number.... Go figure.

Oh, the people who travel with you may surprise you one day, just like that. 

Anyways, gotta love NYC!

<3

Stay tuned for Thursday's intern day post!

   

Experience is experience

I thought that I was prepared for what was to come of this Thursday morning. I was wrong.

My biggest stress of each day I intern is which shoes I plan on wearing to walk in and then change into. This becomes my goal every night before, when I pick out my outfit and lay it out for the morning. My check list goes: 1. Weather 2. Comfort 3. Appearance. These three things either make or break my outfit and shoe selection. It really becomes an issue when I know what I want to wear but the weather just isn't in my favor.

Wednesday night while picking out my clothes for Thursday, I knew that the morning would consist of heavy rain, while the afternoon would be dry and sunshine. My thought process: I need two pairs of shoes, no rain boots because their too bulky to hold, maybe flip flops to walk in, they might hurt but I don't want to ruin other shoes, flats for the office, OK done.

I am only writing about this because I happened to be VERY wrong about my choices for this Thursday morning, which I will never make the mistake again!

While waiting for the train, I was dry, but once I hit the city, all bets were off. As much rain there was, the wind was worse. As I quickly walked down to 10th avenue, I realized that not only were my feet now soaked wearing these flip flops, but they were so slippery and my feet felt like they were going to fall out walking forward. I now walked with a funny toe curl limp that was very uncomfortable to do for the next six streets and an avenue.

A mess of a city when it rains

By the time I arrived outside the office, I looked like a wet dog and then some. I felt disgusting and messy looking for work. GREAT.

When I got into the office, I grabbed my flats from my bag and ran to the bathroom before anyone saw I was there. I wiped off my flip flops, changed into my flats, and looked in the mirror to see this aftermath of a disaster. You would have thought I walked the whole way with no umbrella looking the way I did. I was a drenched mess.

I fixed up my makeup and hair and went to go sit down at one of the computers. I actually ended up liking the way my hair dried after having rain water redo my hair for me after curling it. I had to take a picture for proof:

Why can't my hair always look like this?

After feeling somewhat ready to start my day now, I grabbed my pad and pen and went to see "C". For the third time now, "C" had a to-do list. Maybe she's catching on that I like lists! The first sentence that she says is, "good morning, hope you have an umbrella today!" Oh no... where was I getting told to go??

"C" explained that she needed me to bring two mismatched shoes back to Ruthie Davis' showroom. The showroom was only a block away but it was POURING and I just came in from walking 20 minutes. But off I went. This time I wore my flats.

They were expecting me to come by with these shoes so I had to move quickly.

I have been here before, just last week, so I knew where I had to go. I walked into the main door, went to the elevator and hit the 8th floor button. The hallways in this building are pretty cool looking.

You can see that in the picture, to the far right, are words on the wall which tells you how to navigate each office.

I dropped off the bag and back to the office I went.

Although the rain did leave me bitter this morning, It does make the city look pretty... sometimes.

OK it does look a little pretty

When I got back to my computer, all the interns were in and at work, checking in some inventory and whatnot.

On my checklist today, it only consisted of a couple of things. This was because one of the main tasks was going to take me a few hours and "C" wanted me to get it done today. This would follow into Tuesday as well. Basically, every month in the press, the clients we work with have their brand mentioned or shown in publications or online websites that are then seen by millions. As the public relations firm, we collect these press clips for them to then have for their company and know who is featuring them. For our companies purpose, we collect all of the press clips into one big presentation via PowerPoint. My task was to pull all the press clips that were already clipped into a file and make a slide for each, including the publication/website, date they were published, and the category the publication/website fell under such as fashion, lifestyle, wedding, etc.

This took me almost the entire day. I started this at 10 a.m. and did not finish until 4 p.m. This was because it was time consuming finding all the logos for each publication and looking up what each website consisted of and what category to group them in. "C" was very happy this was taken care of and said we will now be two weeks ahead of schedule!

This makes every one's live a little more easier. Apparently, they always wait until the last minute to do the monthly presentation and brings upon a lot of stress that way. Tuesday, "C" said that there are a couple more things that have to be added but after that, it will be completed.

This was my view for six hours straight.

After the very long day on the computer, I then helped "C" do a couple of minor things around the office like pulls and checkouts.

Thankfully the walk back to the train station was beautiful and only sunshine. I was happy to get out of the computer chair and use my legs!

This internship it becoming a great life experience and I enjoy calling it that. When people ask me how it's going, I don't lie, the commute is the most discouraging part, but everything else makes it worth it! I couldn't have asked for a better internship in NYC, with a great boss and great people that I am surrounded by and working with. I am very pleased and am happy to be able to add them to my resume and describe all the different things I have learned and will be learning as the summer goes on.

Tuesday might be another desk day, but I enjoy being in the surroundings of everyone and being apart of something in the fashion industry! Whether it's doing computer work or going to show rooms, experience is experience and I will take full advantage of it all!

Stayed tuned for Tuesday's post!

FYI: The internship class will be every other week so no class this coming Tuesday.

Intern class and all

Today was not as eventful as Thursday's, but I was OK with that!

I started the book, "Gone Girl," on the train this morning. I was so into it that the ride felt like it was only 20 minutes long. I did not want to put it down. Usually it takes me a couple chapters to get into a book, but the way the book is broken down makes it an easier read. I am enjoying it so far. Boy, if you have or are reading it, the relationship between Nick and his twin sister 'Go' (Margo), is one weird one.

This morning walking to the office, I was listening to my Pandora Radio and the song Young Folks by Peter Bjorn And John came on. This made my morning. I originally heard this song from an episode of Gossip Girl and loved it, therefore downloaded it the next day. When I heard it on my walk, it was the perfect song to walk through the city. It just made sense. 

I love the album cover!

Got to the office at 9:30 a.m., changed my shoes from flip flops to flats, grabbed my pad and pen and went to "C." This seemed as if I had already developed a morning routine, look at me!

"C" impressed me AGAIN with a To-Do list for me. Today's agenda consisted of organizing, pulls, working on a client's website, and a few other minor things. "C" and the rest of the office had a meeting at 10 a.m. so she explained to me a loan to create for already pulled inventory to send to Vogue for a photo shoot happening tomorrow. This was urgent. Got it.

As she went to her meeting after telling me the details to fill out the loan correctly, Indie the dog was running around the office again. Remember the mini boxer I wrote about in a couple of posts ago? He was back and ready to play more than ever. 

He was in the intern cubical waiting for someone to take his toy in his mouth and play fetch. Of course being the dog lover I am, I had to stop a loan for Vogue's photo shoot and play fetch with the little guy. I didn't know he was so consistent though... He would not leave my side for anything until his owner (CEO) came off the elevator, coming back from a meeting. He was the cutest thing and I just wanted to get on the floor and play all day long. 

So after being distracted for a good 10 minutes, this loan wasn't going to do itself. I finished that up, packed up the merchandise for pickup and left it with all the other pickups in the messenger room. 

"C" also left mewith a couple of pulls to do in the mean time while she was in the meeting. One was for Elle Magazine and the other, Vogue. These two pulls were for very specific items by Betsey Johnson. Of course we didn't have any of the things they were looking for. In that case, we make the professional decision and send them things that are comparable and could potentially work with. Blue floral print dresses are not Betsey's forte. I found a blue sequin dress and a floral dress so we sent Elle both. Vogue was looking for color blocking handbags. We only had two by Betsey, so we sent those. I left those pulls on the 'add' rack in the show room for everyone in all departments to add to the pull as well if they are asking for more than just accessories.

While doing these pulls, new interns were showing up one by one when it became closer to 10 a.m. At this point, there were about 13 interns around 7 computers, waiting for all the assistants to be done with their meeting. The newbies looked nervous and the interns that have been here a couple of weeks looked annoyed that no computer desks were available, including myself. This just makes our jobs more difficult because we all get tasks that involve the systems on the computer. Other than that, more the merrier right? More hands, less to do, right?? Maybe not...

While watching these newbies settle in, I thought back to the very first time I walked off that elevator two weeks ago, and thought how intimidating everything looked and sounded. Now, I was pulling inventory for Vogue's Betsey Johnson photo shoots and having full responsibility for my division. It was like night and day, the feelings of both moments. I felt a sense of accomplishment and was proud to be where I was now.

10:30 a.m. hit and the assistants called us all over for an intern meeting in the showroom. I was already there finishing up the pulls, so I waited and stood next to "C" while everyone strolled in. The assistants thought it would be a good idea to go over the showroom again for those new interns starting today, as well as have a review for the interns who have been here. 

Each assistant went around, described their duties, which clients they work with, and how each section should be merchandised in the showroom. When it came to "C" introducing her clients, she would look at me and shake her head up and down as if she wanted me to agree with her. I felt a sense of reliance from her. Everything she would explain to the new interns, she would look towards me and again repeat that she would show me or have me work on whatever she was explaining. It was nice to know she wanted my help and was acknowledging that I knew what I was doing, and did it well. I was finally feeling like I had a purpose. Not many interns in fashion get that feeling, but I did and it was just great!

After going through the entire women's and men's showrooms, we all split and went to our individual tasks. Thankfully I snatched a computer quick enough to claim it for a couple of hours. Perks of getting to the office a half hour before all the other interns! 

"C" had me working on the company Satya Jewelry's website, saving photos from their collections and getting them onto the server for everyone to use. This was due to the company not sending us a look book, therefore we had no images to present to publications. This was a clear way of getting high resolution images of each product whether we had it in the showroom or not. This took about an hour and a half until she moved me to the Hue's table in the showroom. She needed me to organize the buckets full of socks, tights, and knee-high socks/tights. There were three buckets and all mixed together. This kept me busy until we had our second intern class at 1 p.m.

Today's class was interesting. With all the new interns, Tom Handley (professor) did not have much interest other than discussing what Public Relations meant in the fashion world. This whole discussion reminded me of Public Relations 101, which  I took in school my sophomore year. It was a recap, just in a fashion sense, which I loved. He talked about what was considered 'newsworthy' and what characteristics should be checked off in order for it to count as a newsworthy story. We talked about marketing mixes and the four P's (price, product, place, and promotion). Handley added in some of his own (perception, positioning, post [social media]). The first lady of fashion PR, Eleanor Lambert, was a big discussion today and we were required to find a major credit of her and her accomplishments in the industry. Did you know that she not only started New York Fashion Week, but that she began the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America)! I had to tweet a fact about her at my professor which was that she invented the "Best Dressed List" that is now owned my Vanity Fair. I thought that was a great fact!

The other exciting part of this class was that we have a magazine project which I mentioned in my last post, that we would get more details about today, which we did. We had to pick out of a bag which consisted of all different fashion magazines. I got Glamour which I was super happy about because it is one of my favorites! We are going to be dissecting the magazine we got and research the demographics, age range, household number, split of male/female readers and price of a one page ad space. What will help us throughout the class, Handley suggested, was to follow our magazine on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest so that we are fully capable of a full research in all aspects. Especially because this is a continuous research, social media is constantly on-going, so it helps with daily research as well.

After the class, it was already 2:30 p.m. and I was starved. Sushi was brought in today for a woman in the office's birthday. Perks of being an intern who doesn't get paid... free lunches on people's birthdays. Some could argue that it's a better deal (Ha Ha).

YUM

Once everyone grabbed a couple of pieces of sushi, we all headed back to our assignments. By this time, it was already 3:15 p.m and my next assignment was showing another intern the storage unit of Hue. We were in there for about two hours until "C" had a last minute loan to be sent out to Vogue, once again, and needed me to do it before I left. I had 15 minutes....

Finally out the door for the day. I walk outside and it just looked like it was about to pour. Luckily, I had an umbrella and picked up a quick pace walking to Penn before the rain!

I was basically running so that I wouldn't get poured on. On my walk back, I reflected. I had a sense of placement in the office as a go-to person for "C". I felt that she looks to me for advice on pulls, respects my opinions and knows that I will do it right the first time. 

There is a lot to do that I did not get to, which will be on Thursday's To-Do list I'm sure. 

I feel like I am getting to know "C" on a better level than I expected which I like. It makes interning more pleasant and I am happy to do things for her because I know she will help me and allow me to make some decisions. This is considered my incentive to show up every Tuesday and Thursday. Knowing that I am treated well and enjoy what I do, what else can I ask for?

P.s. This was very tempting at the end of the day when I did not want to take a train home for an hour when I could be at my sister Allie and boyfriend Brandon's apartment in 15 minutes! I plan on going at some point during the summer, its just too close not to!

Can't wait for Thursday! Stay tuned and stay classy: xoxo.   

One crazy day!

I almost missed my stop at Harriman coming home because I was sound asleep from the crazy day in the city!

Never in my life did I think I could take the NYC subway, find an office, collect several bags full of merchandise, and find my way back, all in two hours...

Today, I felt like Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada movie. I thought I was the star in a movie about a girl finding her way through NYC, and only to find out that she was carrying shoes for celebs.

Let me start from the beginning...

The night before I went to bed on the later side, which I ended up regretting when I was sitting on the train going to Penn Station. I kept falling asleep, looking like a bobble head, as a guy on his way to work was sitting right next to me watching me do this for about a half hour. I felt like an idiot but the train is just so peaceful how can you not fall asleep?

So I woke up from my train nap just in time. Arrived at the office, changed my shoes, and went to "C" in her office.

This morning was a little different than usual. She actually had a piece of paper with tasks for me. She never really knows what needs to be done until the day starts rolling, but this morning she had big plans for me. She goes, "Okay, so I need to you go pick up a few pairs of shoes downtown for me. They are a shoe leather company that has shoes we need for a couple photo shoots. Here is my Metro card and cash for the shoes, I suggest walking to 23rd and 8th for the subway, let me know if you have any problems, thanks!" And walked away...

My heart dropped as well as my mouth, after she walked away. I have NEVER been on a subway other than the ONE time on St. Patty's day with a ton of people for 5 minutes. This was going to be a nightmare I thought to myself.

So what does one do in the situation... call the one person who would know how to figure out the subway  schedule and know their way around the city... my sister.

In a panic, I explain to her what I had to do, what the address was, and that I had no idea what I was doing. She was quick to say which subway to take and what each stop was so I would know I was going the right way. She was the biggest help in the world and I would have been lost without her guiding me!

She stayed on the phone with me until I got to the subway, told me what stop to get off and when I finally got there, to Google map the address and follow it to the destination.

The subway was rather confusing with the uptown and downtown signs. I had to go through the under-path to get to the downtown side for the C subway going to Folkin Street.

It's not as dirty as some people say!

When I had finally reached my stop. I got off the subway, walked up the stairs and there I was... standing right on Wall Street. I was so confused.

As I start walking the way that Google maps was telling me, it wouldn't update where I was and kept showing me in the same spot. It was getting harder and harder to figure out how to get to this office.

I finally walked my way to the right street, and found the office building. It was right in between a pizza joint and a dry cleaners... very strange!

I walked into the old building and there was a check-in desk. I signed in and took the elevator all the way to the 17th floor. I walked off and now had to find the number of the office. It was a curvy hallway with many offices. The doors all looked the same with windows to look inside. When I finally found the right one, I peaked my head in, and an older man walks over and asks who I am with (company wise). I told him and he said to come right inside.

He was so nice as well as the other man in the office. I didn't look around much, but it seemed like it was just office space and not where they design the shoes.

When he showed me where the three bags were, he asked me if I had ever met the celebrities from the photo shoots. I told him that this was only my second week as an intern but I wouldn't mind meeting some!

He then said, "can you believe that these shoes are for Rihanna and Lady Gaga!" I paused a moment and had to stop myself from saying anything inappropriate. All I said was that I had no idea they were for them. He was shocked I didn't know it was for top photo shoots happening in the fall. 

As I walked out of their office, I was so nervous that now I was responsible for these shoes! I looked like a bag lady walking back to the office.

I shockingly found my way back to the subway I took to get to Wall Street, got off at 23rd, and enjoyed the rest of my walk back. I was so thankful for my sister helping me out and taking the time out of her busy day. I was also proud of myself for getting there and back and doing what was asked of me. I felt great! 

I could have had a panic attack and never came back to the office, but I survived! 

As I enjoyed my proud walk back, I was enjoying the scene.

My future home! A girl can dream:)

So after I got back to the office, I was sweaty, tired and hungry. Before I left, "C" gave me the list of tasks for me to do, which still had three other things on it. The second assignment was to prepare and change information on the loans that I started on Tuesday for the two publications needing Betsey Johnson inventory. This I spent a good portion of my day on, til about 3:30 p.m. I had to get the looks that were being sent all packed up and ready for pick-up. 

Also on that list was to organize and check in the looks from Betsey Johnson's assistant that we work closely with when dealing with her merchandise. I had to first print all the looks from Style.com, and then find what we still had in our showroom to then send back to him. He was very clear of how he wanted the looks to be sent back to him. He wanted everything to be tied together in terms of hangers of each garment in the looks, include all accessories, as well as label each look with the look number on the website.

After I finished that task, it was already 5:00 p.m. only leaving me a half hour before I left. Thankfully the last task on my to-do list was to continue organizing the Hue storage unit. This was not a quick project and "C" knew that. She had me go back into the unit for the last 15 minutes and get as much done as I could. As I rushed down there to attempt making a dent in any cleaning of the unit, I again was freaked out by this long hall full of storage space, looking like a horror movie scene or something.

    

I was told to come back at 5:15 p.m. so that I wouldn't be rushing to get my things together to head to Penn. "C" is very good with that and knowing I have to leave at the right time to catch my train. I appreciate that when she lets me leave a few minutes early.

My walk back to the station is always my time to reflect my day and think about how I felt with the day's tasks. I felt very accomplished about today and the amount of things I did, which "C" agreed that today I did good work. It's a nice feeling being recognized for your hard work. Not many people get that. It usually works that you aren't spoken to unless you are doing some wrong, not right.

After today, I felt that given anything by "C" would no longer scare, or intimidate me, after dong what I did. I felt a sense of independence and confidence in myself as an intern and a person in a general sense.

I am once again excited to go back to the office Tuesday and experience yet another task that could be a life experience for me. 

That has become the common thought of each day and what I have realized after my reflections. Although each day is very long for me, Thursday being the longest day EVER, I get the opportunity to learn all the different aspects of this business, how to accomplish certain things, how to deal with problems, and so much more. These aren't just things that will help me in my future career but in my future as a person living life and knowing that I can do anything I set my mind to.   

Again, it's a great feeling and I hope everyone gets a chance to feel it!

Thanks for reading; you all are the ones who encourage me to be inspired and come home to write about my experiences! I thank you for reading my blog posts and being intrigued:) The feedback I've been getting has really touched my heart.

So stay tuned for Tuesday's post, which will include my first initial internship class with Tom Handley!