Progress!!!

Yesterday was eventful and wonderful!

As far as activities, I had to subway my way to 2nd and 50th to pick up the dresses from the photoshoots, then I went sourcing for a lavender tulle, but alas was unsuccessful! Then I went to C&J to pick up an order and some swatches, where I met G, a woman whose account was our company, and we got to talking about beaches.. which somehow led to a possible internship?!? I dropped off 2 dresses at Kleinfelds for Kelly, who was there to meet appointments. I hadn't seen our section of the store yet, and it was so cool to behold! Then I went to Rehka to ask for an estimate on a new beading sample, and she was also asking for interns! Of course, Rehka is pretty much the most beautiful place because of all the beading samples and their new atelier is gorgeous!! I quickly obliged to a Friday internship with her and I am so excited!! I get to see the dress side on thursdays and the beading side on fridays. Her company is international and sources out to China and India. I can't wait to observe these exchanges!!! Lastly I went to Excel to pick up horsehair, grograin ribbon, and a zipper. I am off for a student ambassador meeting, work at rickshaw, and a housewarming party. Wish me luck in the future and I love you daddy! Hope you are proud! :)

-la vie en rose

after a long absence...

so i have been quite busy this summer! new friends, new places, new activities, busy busy busy!! as summer is winding down, i feel busier than ever! Still, i should not have neglected my poor blog...

Last thursday, kelly's first words to me were, "oh thank god you're here i must put you in a cab immediately!" I was confused cuz I NEVER take the taxi anywhere for internship, but turns out I had 4 dresses to deliver to 2nd ave and 50th st. for a photoshoot of the designer's new collection!! i buzzed the door and wandered to the 4th floor, where I found a studio cramped inside a tiny apartment, full of makeup mirrors, cameras, and dresses!!

After having dropped off the new samples, I returned to a newly relocated rehka. Their new place was GORGEOUS!! Top floor, skylights, open white walls and tonnns of beading samples, even a nice waiting room! I dropped off some tulle and beads, and then ran over to lining club to buy 4 yards of lining.

I finally stopped at the dollar store for some office inventory (garbage bags and a new broom), dropped off a check for the designer, and then ran over to Super to pick up some newly ordered fabric.

The company is not open on Fridays now for summer hours, but tomorrow (or i should say, today) I will be off for another adventure, so stay tuned!! My thoughts are with my father, and I hope that he is doing well!

-la vie en rose

Day 19

Seeing as 4th of July is just around the corner, the company decided to take Friday off so Thursday was my only day for interning! Thae thing is, they didnt have much for me to do. Just find navy acetate 5 yds at Lining Club, and a 24" navy zipper at Mood and a 22" fuchsia zipper at Excel. When I arrived back, all I did was continue organizing the shelves, send out a bunch of packages, and spent an hour brainstorming with the designer and manager for the new line of bridal gowns they were going to try to expand. Every good name we came up with had already been used, so I hope we find a good one soon! Lastly I had to go to Rehka beading and wait wait wait till it arrived from China today. The dress was already behind schedule and Kelly and Jamie had been really stressed out about it, because the reason we were behind was because the people at the retail store had not paid yet for the dress to go into production. Anyways, I waited till it arrived, dropped it off at the office, and blundered through the rain to go meet up with an old friend before tumbling into Rickshaw for my evening job. Have a great 4th of July!!!!

-la vie en rose

Day 17 & 18

This week I only worked on Friday because Thursday I got to see Leighton Meester at a live taping of It's On with Alexa Chung!! (thanks irving...)

Therefore, when I went in on Friday at 10am, Kelly informed me that she was physically unable to move around much, and so unfortunately accumulated a lot of errands for me. I first ran over to Lining Club where I searched in vain for an aqua-color acetate lining. I finally settled on poly lining because I thought color match was more important, but Jamie still wanted acetate. Then I went to Excel to pick up 3 different zippers, and then to Mood to get a 24" zipper, since Excel only had 22" zippers. The Mood zipper was requested by a customer who returned her dress twice since the 22" zipper would not fit the customer x.x!! I also picked up mink balls that Kelly had to reserve (I had to ask for Johnathon). At C&J I picked up a roll of chiffon and taffeta, and paid by check. Finally I went to Rehka to pick up the beading that Jamie and I had set up last week. I also went to B&Q to pick up 2 yds of single row and 1 yd of double row rhinestones

Then it was time for drop-offs! I went to 35th and 9th ave to go to Eagle, a dye company in a run-down building. I had to drop off some tulle to be dyed a certain color.

I picked up some subway for lunch, and then went to the dollar store to pick up plastic bags, paper towels, and floor cleaner wanna-be's, then to Steinlauf for a box of pins. I also had to run to Kleinfelds (one of the bridal stores that carry Pesavento), on 20th and 6th, to drop off a swatch sample book from one of the fabric companies (Super) because a client was requesting one of our dresses in another color. When I got to Kleinfelds I was again amazed, absolutely taken aback by the gorgeous building and sculpturally trimmed bushes, and then finally the endless rows of beautifully arranged gowns. So unfathomable. Once I came out of my stupor I asked for Ingrid, and was instructed down the stairs to meet her and hand her the sample card.

Upon returning I sorted the last of our taffeta fabric and organized everything in the fabric roll racks. Finally, done for the day!! Till next time!

-la vie en rose

Day 15 & 16

These past 2 days have been both long and progressive! Thursday I had to finish sorting and organizing the remaining (aka. most disastrous) fabric shelves. I rubberbanded my way through chiffon and pinned my fingers through layers of scrunched tulle. I was then delighted to be asked to do something i havnt done yet: beading layouts with Jamie! Together we found the original beading samples from 2 dresses. The first was a long vine and flower pattern I had to cut out, but the sample was a gold. So, Jamie asked me to pin it to the back of pattern paper. Then, he proceeded to point to the various beads and write directions on what color changes he wanted to appear. He had me go over to the beading shelf and pull out the gold and silver bead boxes to find the right 2-cut, round, bugles beads, and sequins in the right colors. Then we taped a few samples of each by the directions, so that when we sent it to Rehka beading, they would know exactly what color and size each bead should be. It gets sent to China, so we have to make sure everything is perfect and correct, or else major problems occur! After making copies of the invoices we wrapped up each beading package with a corresponding tulle on which to do the beading work. I was sent to Rehka to drop off the bundles and Super to pick up 2 yards of chiffon. I also stopped at C&J to pick up an iridescent taffeta swatch, which I used to find tulle to match (at Mood) and to find beads.

Friday I first went to Fun 2 Bead in search of a sequin, round bead, and 2 cut to match the taffeta. Unfortunately my first attempt was unsatisfactory, and I had to run back to 38th and 6th in search of better luck. I was really discouraged and winded up with 5 vials at the next store, NY Bead (because they wanted me to go to Toho Shoji but it was under construction) but I kept second guessing myself. Since the taffeta was iridescent, I didnt know which color to match, or whether to go lighter or darker so that the beading would contrast the fabric. Finally, I decided to go with my gut and chose one vial that stood out particularly well with the taffeta. Thank god I did, because Jamie loved it and we used it as the reference color for the rest of the beading. After, I went to lining club and picked up 4 yards royal blue and 5 yards bright red acetate lining. While I was there I engaged in a confusing debate about everyone in America cheating each other out of money, and it eventually screwing the bank. Thoughts, anyone? I then ran over to Mood to find matching tulle for those colors. Finally, I went to the Bank of America to drop off a check for the bank from Jamie. Kelly and I packed up the last bundle for Rehka, and I went to the Post Office to buy a new booklet of stamps and send out a 2-Day first class package for Jamie.

Day 13 & 14

Thursday Kelly was back from Italy and we rearranged so much furniture around! We unhooked and rehooked up 2 monitors and hard drives, and we felt very accomplished and strong. :D Kelly finally had a computer at her desk and we had a functioning fax machine! Next I dusted in some areas that have probably not seen the light of light bulbs since 2003, and we switched the garment ticket organizer with the swatch sample books and beading samples. I then went over to lining club to buy 5 yards of lavender acetate lining. I also had to repeatedly badger Klauber, a lace company, about whether they could offer a certain pattern composition in a much smaller width. It took many persistent phone calls but the representative finally called me back to say that they did not, but she was going to ask a guy named Josh to try to find alternatives. We lost the center front drape of 3506 and were all freaking out. I luckily found it in the bad version of 3503, but after a major freakout, we were able to return the right pattern pieces. Deana and I packed away a few dresses and then I was on my way home again.

Friday Jamie finally came in and I showed him my term garments, with which he was very pleased. We had another pattern scare and basically annoyed ever yone in production trying to find the patterns. Then I read the instructions of the packet more carefully nd aI realized that the pattern 3509 used a different pattern (3510H) for the bottom skirt pieces that we were trying to locate, and Kelly was able to avoid a heart attack. Yay for me! We spent the rest of the time trying to inventory alllll of our lining. We didnt even begin the other fabric yet, individually labeling and documenting years of accumulated lining was not a quick process!!

-la vie en rose

Day 11 & 12

Well, I have finally returned to New York! Yesterday I arrived to Pesavento at the surprise of Deana, the other intern. Jamie was at a trunk show and Kelly (the new manager) was in Italy! So, I just helped Deana drop off a sample dress at Kleinfelds, a BEAUTIFUL huuuuge eveningwear boutique. It was so formal and professional, I was ashamed to be standing in jeans and sneakers! I also dropped off a package and and bought 5 yds of navy blue acetate lining at Lining Club.

Today was much more productive, and I had to stay all the way till the end. The weather was absolutely horrible, however, and both umbrellas that I attempted to use broke and crumpled up on me. I came home soaking wet after stepping through countless puddles and running in pouring rain to make sure that I covered the beading I picked up from Rehka and the silk taffeta I picked up from C&J. It was funny, because right after I entered the building for Rehka, the front desk asked if I spoke Chinese. There was a Chinese delivery guy who had to deliver to 11G, but the front desk insisted that 11G has been long vacant. After trying several other numbers, to no avail, I talked to the delivery guy's manager, and explained the situation, and proceeded to tell the delivery guy to return to the restaurant! The front desk was very grateful for a translator. :)

Friday is also inventory day, so I had to go buy black covered boning as well as 3 navy/3 black 22' zippers at Excel. Also, black thread at Sil Thread. Then I had to buy 4 yards of 3 row rhinestones at B&Q. It was supposed to be $66 but it was $71.53 after tax, and I didn't realize that as resalers we were not supposed to pay tax! So I had to run in the rain all the way back to 38th street to get the refund. At Guide Fabrics I dropped off an order form for 10yds each of firm black, soft black, and soft white siri. Also, 15 yards of soft muslin. Lastly, I stopped at the 99cent store to buy garbage and plastic bags, and Staples Copy/Print Shop to make copies.

Lastly, I packed 4 dresses to be shipped to Kleinfelds, the Engle Shop, and Rhonas. Two of the cocktail dresses had been sewn a little too high on the bustline and Jamie worried that it would simply stick straight up, but with UPS coming on this day, and the other of the Rhonas dresses (in which Jeanie had forgotten to include sparkly tulle) needing to be shipped, Jamie could only sigh and send them off after a bit of tacking. The creative design gone wrong is the worst thing that a designer must deal with, because everything has already been clean finished and in serious need to make the deadline.

Well, until next time!

-la vie en rose

Day 9 & 10

Thursday was another long day, because Emily asked me to source red and pewter (dark grey) flowers. I ran around Manhattan again and could not find the dark grey. I also went to Malibu to pick up 5 yards of tulle, and excel to buy 2 zippers. It was crazy because there were rows and rows of zippers but some had lost their sample and I was at my wit's end trying to find that purple navy color but finally I did find it in one of the unmarked drawers, thank god! Back at the office, I also helped pack 4 dresses at a time to be packed into a trunk for a trunk show that Jamie would attend. Then I printed out yet more interviews and listened as Emily and Jamie pored over their records in search of how they were $4000 short. I was not exactly sure how it was resolved, but they first thought it was their production manager's fault of not turning in exactly what he was paid (the accountant left and Jamie did not have the skill or energy). Finally, I made Blank Store Invoice templates for each of the boutiques they sold to so that Emily would be able to easily enter in new invoices as they came.

Friday I ran inventory which led me to go to Excel to find just the right zipper color to go with each dress order and buy 2 more rolls of boning. I sourced again for the dark grey and found a decent one that could work. Jamie was not thrilled but there wasn't much either of us could do. I also filled out UPS forms to ship and made 4 boxes. Then Emily let me leave early because she couldn't think of anything else that she needed done. :)

I am taking the next two Thursdays off for working on all my final projects and tests. Then I shall leave for 2 weeks the last 2 weeks of May. Yay for some extra time!

-la vie en rose

Day 8

Friday went by very quickly, and I loved it because I only went out once to drop off the swatch request I had made on Thursday! The rest of the time I got to stay inside! :D Emily had me doing random office work, such as printing out resumes from applicants for a patternmaker job as well as a managerial one to replace Emily. She was flustered and overwhelmed by all the calling and scheduling and rescheduling for interviews, etc. I was pleased when she went over each applicant and listed pros and cons, and why she liked one person better than another. It gave me great insight into what to do for future intervies. I also went down to the 5th floor to check on Janie and Richie's production of the garments. I also had to call various stores because Emily could not find one of their dress samples. To her great relief, I located it, at Emily's Boutique. I then filed all the past orders and made files for new clients. I organized a list of trunk show inventories and filed them too. Emily wanted me to call each store and do inventory so that she could have a neat list for each store when the new manager came in. We didn't have the time so I'll probably be doing that next week. Finally, I packed 2 dresses to ship, and the 2nd one I had to pad a size 5 mannequin to fit the measurements of the actual customer. Then I pulled the beautiful dress over the mannequin and checked the production before finally tissue-wrapping, bagging, and packing the dress. So, Friday was pretty uneventful, but at least I didn't have to walk so much! The weather outside was also so beautiful. Finally!

-la vie en rose

Day 7

So, today Emily informed me that she had put in her 3 weeks notice. She had already been working here as manager for almost 2.5 years and she figured it was time to move on and get back to designing, which was her original dream. I will miss her greatly because she was such a great but chill person! My errands for the morning included: buying an x-acto knife from Design Partners, another black flower from Charm Creations, picking up a beading sample from Rehka, and picking up swatches at Eastern Silk and C & J textiles. Eastern Silk had all the chiffon organized in cabinets it was so neat and beautiful, as was C&J: very organized and pretty. I have learned that all the real business establishments operate upstairs in some corporate building, haha!

Upon my return, I made a swatch request form for Rhonas with the 2 swatches I had collected (the fabric of the dress they ordered was no longer produced so we were sending 2 options of available fabric currently), checked on production downstairs, and also ran inventory. I also helped make press kits this time, and using the x-acto knife carved out the center of Pesavento letterhead, placing in order this season's collection pictures behind it in a folder. I also had to run to Home Depot to pick up tiles that Jamie had ordered for the office floor. They were so unbelieveably heavy that I had to bring my rolling suitcase and the 12x12 box even almost crushed my right wheel! But it's all good because they paid for my lunch this time, and I went and got Pad See Ewe at Pongsri.

Throughout the entire day Emily was running interviews for the new managerial position. There were some girls that didn't even finish school yet, some women who were way overqualified, and another few that seemed just right. It was a great learning experience to hear Emily's questions and the various responses of each interviewee.

Off to the workroom, and more tomorrow!

-La Vie En Rose

Day 6

Whew! Thursday was flustery. Friday I had a mandatory Student Ambassador training. I learned to do inventory, which is to basically check up on how much we have of everything, ranging from office supplies to boning to number of copies of this and this document. I ended up needing to buy 33 gallon garbage bags, post-its, zip-loc gallon bags, BIC mechanical pencils, tape, paper plates (Jamie was complaining he had nothing to eat off of), black and white covered boning, black tulle, muslin, black hook and eyes, about 80 copies totaling from 7 different documents, and that's all I can remember for now. I noticed they sent me to the cheapest places for the most trivial things, like the dollar store for garbage bags and paper plates, but I had to go to staples to buy the name brand post-its and mechanical pencils, because the cheap ones always came apart. I went to Steinlauf for the hook and eyes, which is known for their cheap parts (even I go there) and a place called Excel to pick up their last two bonings. The Zip-Loc I couldn't find anywhere cheap so I had to run to the last resort: Duane Reade.

Afterwards, I stopped at Rehka to pick up more beading. My next mission was to go to the Upper East Side to a consignment shop to pick up a dress and a check. The lady in there seemed to really want me to do an internship there, and said lots of high school kids interned there to learn "the real business of fashion". Upon my return, I overheard Jamie and Emily discussing the pros and cons of having a fashion show. Jamie was very upset and wishing he could put on a show, but you can't count on anything, on any press or customers as a result. He would love to put on a show, but he doesn't have the funds, he can't expect anything in return, and stores never pay. Even today, the Rehka beading called to say the price for the beading they have requested every month for $30 is now randomly $45. Though Emily tried to argue, she settled for $40, and even Jamie admitted, after she hung up, that they get the beading done what they want, when they want, and if just said "goodbye" they would be screwed. They had no choice but to comply. This reminded me of a chapter in a book I recently finished (The Fashion Designer Survival Guide) about how as a small business stores and people just won't pay! It definetely scares and shocks me how hard it is to secure payment, even after dealing with discrepancies throughout the production process.

Another example was my last assignment for the day: go with the other intern, Dena, to Lining Club to pick up 32 yds of black acetate, 18 yds of pewter acetate, and 5 yds of navy acetate. The guy tried very hard to sell us the pewter for 30 yds, because he complained that he could not sell the leftover 12 yds to anyone, he is a wholesaler, not retail! However we only needed 18 yds, and since we do it dress-by-dress we have no chance but to order by order. We agreed on 20 yds even and he never stopped mumbling about he should never do this. From his point of view, I can definetely see how working in a cramped room selling random yardages to one company would break him down. The owner also wanted me to ask FIT if he could advertise his company for students to come buy muslin and lining, but they are a wholesale company! Why would they sell such small quantities? He said I was lucky to have a job, since no one hires anymore. It really is difficult times, and no one has any money to spare. In the end, it's all about bargaining so that both parties don't lose too much.

-la vie en rose

Day 4 & 5

This week was not very eventful, I must say. On Thursday Emily had me pack up 5 dresses to ship, and then run errands to pick up lining at Guide Fabrics, beading at Rehka Beading, and buy more flowers from Lasting Art. I also spent time printing out various resumes in emails that had replied to Pesavento's new ad for finding a freelance patternmaker. I took a quick peek through all the 4 different resumes and saw a range of expertise and education. While a couple applicants had very impressive resumes with 25 years of experience both in China and America, another one included only a few years of experience at some place called "DJ Fashion". The way they worded their cover letters also revealed that some had forgotten to spell check! I listened to Emily and Jamie as they perused over which applicants to interview and which resumes to throw out. I learned that experience really is everything.

On Friday, Emily had me send swatches out to Hartly's, a store in PA, I believe. The girl who had purchased a dress was asking for a swatch of the gown fabric so that she could go and find matching shoes and bag. I cut out two swatches for two sheets, one to be sent out and one to be kept in our records. I named the fabric manufacturer, color, style, and price. Then I found Hartly's address in Pesavento's master list of patrons, copied it down, added a stamp, and stuck it in their "to-go" mailbox. Then Emily sent me to Rehka Beading again, this time to drop off 1 yd of tulle to be beaded. Upon my return, Emily did not know what else she needed help with. I ambled around for 1/2 hour before the long lightbulbs burnt out and Jamie sent me across the street to buy 2 (they were taller than I!). Thank god the store was only across the street, I was so afraid of cracking the light bulbs! Finally, Jamie gave me one last assignment, and boy was it nerve-wracking! He pulled out a few magazine clippings with names and faces of the top senior vice presidents and fashion directors of various department stores, including Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Barneys New York, etc. He then asked me to make a chart of their name, title, address, phone, and email, by "gathering information". That was all he said and since these people are high profile I was not sure how to call and ask. Emily suggested I pretend that X Director had sent us an invite to show our pieces for the Fall 2009 collection and could I get a contact number. Dumbfounded, I nervously called X Dept Store first, sure that they were going to find out I was lying and cause me extreme embarrassment. However, nothing of the sort occured. I was first hooked up to the customer service lady, who put me on a 3-way connection with corporate. The lady was very nice and asked if I needed the showroom's phone number. Then I politely said "actually, we were looking for _________"? And the lady immediately said "Ohhhhh ____! He's not in NY right now you see, but hang on, let me get his cell, would that be okay"? Totally amazed, I replied that that would be great, and just like that I was able to get his number. Then it was 1:30 pm and I had to go to class, but I left with a sense of accomplishment that I could in fact follow thru with this tricky business. Even Emily was suprised that her idea had actually worked!

Next week Emily let me have the week off since it was spring break and I asked for some extra time to catch up on sleep and schoolwork. Check back 4/16 for new experiences!

-la vie en rose

Day 3

Friday was my third day, and I had a bit more range in tasking, thank god! It was my first time running a slew of errands. I picked up beading from Rehka beading, paid and picked up ribbon lace pleating from Stanley Pleating, and bought 12 yards of navy acetate lining from Lining Club. Each time I go out I am equipped with a canvas zip-tote with petty cash and a list of addresses to the places Emily would like me to go. When I arrived back, I was met with two sherbet colored satins: orange and blue, and ask to find those darn 3-size roses again. At least they were colorful, so I set off to 28th street where all the flower shops can be found, this time bringing my camera. In the process of searching for the orange and blue flowers, I also ended up finding black rose buds and brown medium roses, finally!! Emily was very pleased with me and said I did such a great job these past two days on my "flower mission"! I had been so worried that I couldnt find everything that she was going to be disappointed. However, she was very proud of me and I felt the same. :) My last task was finding more shipping documents from UPS and making 5 boxes for packing dresses to be shipped that day. Until next time!

-la vie en rose

Day 2

Today was my first full day (10-5) at Pesavento and holy hell did I work! The very first thing Emily assigned me was buying just an extra yard of lining for a dress that must be exactly that shade of navy. I went to Lining Club to buy it and was shown 2 navies that were too dark. So, I swatched it and returned. It was indeed too dark so she sent me to Guide Fabrics to find it. Luckily, the guy there found the perfect one and gave me that yard for free. Sadly, I was informed upon returning that the sample piece of lining was the wrong shade. The only piece of lining that was wrongly cut. I then ran back to Lining Club and lo and behold the dark navy was perfect. Glad to be done with the 1-hour ordeal, I moved on to my next assignment. It was Emily's main focus to have finished by today. I was to find black and brown (12 in each color) silk roses in 3 sizes. I ran back and forth through 5th-8th Ave, 28th-40th St, for just under 5 hours trying to find that brown flower, especially. Alas, NO ONE carried brown silk flowers. I found only 2 stores, and one did not have 12 (minimum order for more would be 100) and the other was too expensive. Funny thing was that the first store was the first I found, and the second was the last I found. Either was I was running all day trying desperately to find a brown silk flower! Finally I returned at 4pm with large black flowers from a hat store on 28th and cheap black medium flowers from YKK Trimming. My last task was to find out whether we could order from the original carrier of all the flowers.... the company had shut down. I instead went to 2 neighboring flower shops and found the prices for spray paint and rose buds. Let's see if tomorrow I get to stay inside the company!

First Day!

Friday was my first day interning at Pesavento Couture, a small high-end eveningwear company located on 29th Ave. Emily, the assistant first had me run to Spin Fabrics to pick up 2 swatches. I caught the guy just as he was locking the door, thank god! I also sent some lacey fabric and ribbon to Stanley Pleating so that they could manipulate the ribbon into a fancy design onto the fabric. I met the production team, Richie the head and Jeanie the seamstress. Both were Chinese and Emily was happy because she had been having trouble communicating! The designer, Jamie (an FIT Accessories Design Graduate) was sick so I actually took the 1 train up to 175th St. to his apartment! The apartment was right on the riverside and I could see the Queens? skyline from the edge of the river. It was a particularly windy day, and it had just snowed in the morning! Jamie's apartment was, like himself, very eclectic and tasteful. He was a geniuinely happy ole guy and reminded me of a toned down version of Austin Scarlett (Project Runway). Lastly I helped Emily pack 2 dresses to be shipped, one to Staten Island and the other to Maryland. I had to wrap the huge puffy dresses in tulle, then cover the entire thing in plastic, hang tags and purchase stickers, and fold it, front facing up, in the large rectangular cardboard boxes. Lots of tape and invoice taping later, 2 boxes were ready for UPS! I gathered my things to get to class at 1:30 P.M. and looked forward to coming in again next Thursday.