Did I mention Amsterdam?

Yeah, I moved again.

Fashion Internship

I am a third year student studying Illustration and Animation at Coventry University. During my final year I have applied and been accepted for a 6 month internship at Calvin Klein Accessories in Amsterdam. I have now been here for three months whilst simultaneously working on and successfully completing my degree. "I work well under pressure" is a common line used in personal statements, without really believing it I found out how to make the “pressure” work for you:

1. Doing things that might not make sense at the time.
A few months ago I left my tutor's office in tears of self-pity. I was completely convinced I was going to fail the year because I didn't know what to do with my skills, and freelancing straight after university seemed like the right road to a hungry death.

A large portion of the students around me had such clear vision of what they wanted and how they would go about getting it. I was stuck in the kind of rut the other portion of students get stuck in; tunnel vision of the final year being a final verdict to your career and future.
Around the same time a friend of mine started bombarding me with ideas of a fashion design internship. I am a complete nerd,  and as far removed from fashion as possible, however, out of sheer frustration with my situation I applied, not really believing my overly friendly email and an online portfolio would get a response.

2. What you lack in skill can be made up for in enthusiasm.
It did. A few days later I was having a Skype interview with a Creative Director of Calvin Klein Accessories. It wasn't until I heard the Skype ringtone that the excitement kicked in. So I answered and spoke to hear with the kind of enthusiasm that a potential employer wants to see. She'd seen my work and believed I had an interesting and applicable variety of skills, but was not entirely convinced it would be useful for fashion, so she had HR take my case to see what to do with me.
The next morning I received a test project brief asking to design two handbags and make technical illustrations for them.

3. Ask everyone help you. Some people might actually do it!

That week I barely slept because I was so unbelievably excited. I ate, drank and breathed fashion research and sketches. Although at first I was shy of asking for help, I confided in a few lectures in particular and was astonished at the support and information they ended up providing me! They helped me stay grounded and provided materials and insights that would have been difficult to find on the internet. I've met and had become closer and more knowledgeable about the people around me and the departments I didn't even know existed in the university! It was a thrill. I finally submitted the Calvin Klein assigned project on the night of the deadline, although I believed it was already too late.

4. Don't be a drama queen.

It's just wasted emotional effort. Trust me.
It was a nerve-wrecking week of waiting (it seemed like a month, honestly). I went back to my routine of self-pity and assuming the worst, because nobody was responding, which must have meant that I didn't get my internship. And here was my dramatic end (yeah, never mind the whole degree that I still had to work on!).

One fine morning, the longest week later, as I was preparing breakfast, I received a phone call asking if I was available for 6 months starting April 1^st. Two weeks after that, I had moved Amsterdam and started working.

5. Get down and dirty.

I am currently assisting the Men's Accessories Designer. Only a few days into my internship we were working late at the office preparing a concept presentation to send off to New York, this was when the reality of the workload I had got myself into really hit home. People are people and depending on their work environment, they might need to work more than expected. If you want to get the most out of your work environment, you have to integrate by working as hard as the hardest worker in the room. Not only do you get the most out of your time, but you get the priceless respect from your colleagues. After all, I'm a new person in the team, and at first it was a little bit like Mean Girls (sitting all alone, eating the saddest sandwich, looking miserable.), that has changed drastically since the realisation that I would not leave anyone in need of help if I could provide it, whether it's last minute product photograph retouches, or compiling 26 page PDF presentations, or even popping down to the supermarket to get chocolates for everyone. Chocolates and Adobe Illustrator skills get you far!

6. Personal work becomes fun!?

Everyone I asked knew what I meant when I started saying that going home, sitting down in front of the computer and keeping on working on your university projects, becomes phenomenally enjoyable relaxation time. In my case, I was illustrating my own little graphic novel. After the increase in speed of work at the office, my university project sped up. My biggest concern had solved itself. On top of that, I was so inspired by my move to Amsterdam, I did an unplanned triptych of travel posters. The graphic novel and the posters are going to be a part of New Designers 2014 exhibition in London, along with the top students of my year, of whom I never dreamed of being listed with.

However, this would not have been possible without friends and lecturers helping organise these things on location. My boyfriend and a few students kept me updated on how the plans for the degree show were developing and all the things I needed to provide to them for its preparation.

The biggest challenge was being self-organised in the little time I had as I continuously switched between fashion-product design work and university projects that were driven by fantasy and personal narrative.

7. It's okay to dare a little more...

When I first heard  that an internal demonstration video was to be made, I kinda got excited and exaggerated my existing knowledge about video production. I didn't lie! I just made my experience seem more profound than it was. I have never had such an up close opportunity to get involved in video production before, so it seemed like a great chance to get myself participating in the project. I ended up doing the storyboard for the first half of the video along with the actual brief for the video team and photographers, and it was greatly appreciated! So much so, that everyone demanded my presence on all of the days filming the bags took place. Now this video has become a much bigger project for me, and definitely a great thing to put on my CV!

Now, I don't know how this internship will play out for me in the end, but I know that it has helped me finish university and break out of the rut I was in.

It made me a lot stronger and capable in my fields of expertise, provided me with an amazing opportunity to live in a new country and meet quite a few like-minded people! Another vital part of this experience is that an intern has the luxury of having the opportunity to participate in an active work environment while still having the freedom to choose whether that specific route is definitely the one you want to continue following. For me, this has meant a safe way to practice my existing skills, ground my work and experience an industry without being fully committed.