Last entry for the year

Bye-bye 2010. It was a fun filled year. Lots of excitement. Lots of ups and downs. But it was an interesting year.

V and I have gotten closer after that debacle the previous year and V teamed up with a dependable business partner.

We'll be celebrating the end of year quietly much as we have spent our christmas. We initially wanted to spend it with the crowd but as I have an early shift tomorrow, we'll just be watching the festivities on tv if we can even stay up that long.

I'm looking forward to 2011, after chinese new year, it's going to be the year of the rabbit. As V's sign is a rabbit, we're hoping that it's going to be good year for him. I looked up my sign but forgot what it says. I dimly remember it saying my career will be good so hopefully it will. =)

Happy New Year!!!!!

Shoes

Why couldn't anyone design a pair of stylish shoes that massages your feet as you walk?

Seriously, there is a big market out there especially for those who work in industries that require people to stand up for a long time.

Festive Days and Cranky Peeps

I would like to apologise to all those people who I disappointed today as I was not able to process their transactions properly. I'm truly sorry and I hope I didn't ruin your day.

Talking about customer service, I think trying hard isn't good enough especially when you're dealing with parents with cranky kids.

In addition, being left to fend on your own isn't such a smart move as no matter how hard I try, if I'm doing the wrong thing over and over then it's not a good thing. I understood why R was a bit irritated when she found out that LM took her break at the peak hour and left me to my devices. A bit of guidance for the clueless noob would have been appreciated.

I am eternally grateful to the ever patient shoppers who didn't become cranky while I tried to learn how to work the register. And to the team member who was supposed to be a customer that day but took time to teach me how to process gift cards, you are a wonderful person and I hope you get good vibes in your life.

http://media3.1800flowers.com/

Looking for Work

Interesting bit of information I learned after an interview with a recruitment agency (yes, I've been sending out my resume - CV as they prefer to call it here). Apparently, there are graduates out there looking for work who have never done any work experience. Work experience here is what we call On-the-Job-Training in the Philippines. This is where you work for a company for free for a set time. Back in the Philippines, most OJTs were more of the making coffee, organising files and running errands kind of things. It was more observation that actual work being done. If your supervisor was the mentoring kind, you'd be invited to meetings and maybe even given an actual task / project to work on. 

Here, work experience require more from the students. I've done quality control for one designer, sewing garments for a factory owner, preparing spreadsheets and calculating gross margins and other financial data for a retail company and sat on video conferences and meetings / presentations for another company. My classmates did patterns, stitching, and sewing for designers. 

Sewing a garment 

In RMIT, students of the Visual Merchandising course, according to the lecturer we met in our class excursion, are required to do 70 hours (I think) of work experience. It could be with just one company / person or with a number of companies as long as they complete the 70 hours required. In addition, the school has partnered with some companies and have given briefs to the students to work on. 

RMIT Students' Visual Window for Ray's Outdoors

The objective is not only to give an idea of how the "real world" operates, but also to allow students to put theory into reality. Another objective is for students to build their networks. Now, I hate networking. I don't like the idea of going to places and exchanging business cards or pretend to be interested to obtain other people's business cards. But someone told me that networking doesn't have to be that way. Networking can simply be knowing the employees in the place you're having your work experience, knowing what they do, learning from them and keeping in contact with them. 

Eventually, you might even end up being genuine friends with them as opposed to being user-friendly. 

Doing work experience also gives you first dibs on vacant positions in the company. If you were good at what you did and you had good rapport with people, there's no reason the company wouldn't consider you unless you had no permission to work in the country, then that's different (although a company might consider sponsoring you under a certain type of visa but I'm not sure if that still works what with the visa changes they've been doing recently at the immigration department).

So, go forth and do work experience! It could be fun. It could be painful. It could be interesting. But you'll learn a lot.

At Holeproof

Started my work experience at Holeproof last Monday, they're a division of Pacific Brands, which owns other brands in Australia such as Bonds, Sheridan, Jockey, Rio, etc.

The people there, specifically the ones in the Design and Product Development, are great. They're friendly and they don't mind me pestering them with questions even though they have a deadline to meet. Oops.

School Over for the Year!

Yey!

Yesterday was the last of my classes. I handed in my cocktail hat

view from the side

view from the top

I wanted it to look like a flower but I think it looks more like a cake. =) Goes to show how much I love pastries. 

***

And tonight, I start working for Myer. I'm going to be helping out by moving things. If you've been to the new Myer Melbourne store, you would have seen how amazing it is but there are still lots of things being done. And lots of people getting lost. Hopefully, with the number of people they've hired, things will move faster.

Everything is scheduled to be finished by March, if it gets done faster, it would be better for everyone. 

Ta-ta!

Myer Update

So...as I mentioned in a previous post, I got a call from Myer saying I got in. That was a month ago. Last week, I received an email from Myer saying to log on with a username and password for the orientation. Since I haven't received any of that, I decided to call them up and that's were a series of interesting events happened.

First off, I was told that my application was still under consideration for another store I didn't apply for. Therefore, I shouldn't have received that email and was told to disregard it. Ten minutes or so after the call, I received an email thanking for applying and that they had filled up the vacancies. At this point, I was at war with myself, trying to decide what to do. Note, this was in the middle of finishing my business plan. After some pushing from V, I decided to email them the next day. And received a call from the original HR guy who told me somebody must have pushed the wrong button because I was in and I was supposed to get that email. After that call, I received an email, this time welcoming me to Myer.

But there's still the orientation which starts this Wednesday and I still don't have my log on details. My email this morning hasn't received any reply. I'm hoping I would get the details tomorrow.

*UPDATE: A second after uploading this post, I received an email from Myer with my log on details. Yey!

***

Last Friday was the last day of Fashion Business. That was another experience in itself.

After two hours sleep, I woke up and got ready for school. I only needed to print out my 100+ business plan and have it bound. I left early and arrived in the city about a quarter to 9 in the morning. I got on the 86 tram which had only a few passengers on. The tram was traveling without incident when it reached Parliament House and got stuck there. Apparently, the 96 tram in front stopped and couldn't move. The promised 5 minutes of waiting promptly turned into 15 minutes. As I wasn't in a hurry, I waited which was a stupid mistake.

The tram was then told to go back to the city and take the La Trobe route. We were assured we were still going to Bondoora so just stayed put. But when we reached Southern Cross, we were told, the tram wasn't going to move any further and we were to walk to La Trobe St and catch the tram from there. By that time, it was already 9.30 in the morning. I, along with the rest of the passengers, walked (me in my high heels - I was glad they were comfortable) to La Trobe but I couldn't see any tram in sight.

So I decided on a cab, which promptly got stuck in traffic. The cab driver was sympathetic to my plight and gave me candy. (That was really sweet of him). He did manage to avoid the worst traffic and we arrived at the printing place. Which was closed. (Aaaargh)

The cab driver was still there and seeing that it was closed offered to drive me to the next printing place which was at Cambridge St. But after going around the block, I saw Snap Printing. I got out while the cab driver promised to wait in case they couldn't do the binding. Happily enough, they were able to though they had to do it in two due to the bulk. I waved to the cabbie thanks and waited for my assignment to be bound.

After it was done, I was debating whether to get another cab to school but saw the tram. I wasn't sure whether I could catch it but there was traffic and the tram doors were open. Yey, for nice drivers.

The presentation went well and everybody did great although not everyone came and presented, which was a pity.

I wish I could say the day ended well, but a a case of a restaurant staff miscounting the money and overcharging a friend's credit card ended the night on a sour note. I forgot the name of the restaurant but it's the one on Smith St, beside Copacabana. The food was small portioned and good but the staff attitude were atrocious. Avoid at all cost!

Comparing Customer Service

Dear EMCO Shoe Retail Staff and Management,

Having your back turned to your customer while having a conversation and trying to resolve an issue is not only rude but shows lack of professionalism, as well, especially when you're leaning over the table and have your butt facing said customer.

I loved the sales assistant the first time I went there and bought my wedges but I won't be going back to shop at your store anymore after today's rude behaviour.

***

Dear Alberto Piazza Retail Staff and Management,

Your ladies at your clearance store were so nice and attentive. I was mentally ticking all the points of good customer service while I was being served. It almost distracted me from the dog poo smell inside the store and the dog poo marks on the carpet brought in perhaps by a previous customer who stepped on dog poo outside.

Dog poo aside, I bought a pair of new season high heels from your store. It was comfortable and pretty. The fact that it was made from Italy was an added bonus.

I will be visiting your store again.

The Making of a Chanel Haute Couture Outfit

Saw this on youtube. It's amazing how these ladies can look at Karl's drawings and just make a dress.

They don't even do flat patterns; they immediately go to draping which, for me, is hard.

You go, ladies!

US$ to AUS$ = 1:1

Good for importers and overseas travelers.

Bad for exporters and shoppers (creates a big hole in your wallet).

Everybody's having a Sale

It's probably because the American dollar and Australian is at near par. Bad news for exporters (like us) and great for importers (most retailers here).

I went to our accountant today to ask him about how to set up a Discretionary Trust. I read up before I went but it was still a bit confusing. After the meeting, I finally have a clearer idea and it'll be a useful thing to know should I do pursue that avenue.

After that serious meeting, I went in search of a Tony Bianco outlet. And I scored!

www.tonybianco.com.au

Got this baby from EMCO, a Tony Bianco stockist at Richmond. They were selling it for $135.00 while Tony Bianco's online store was selling it at $ 199.00 

Then I tried this one on and I had the strongest urge to get it as well. It was priced at $ 150.00 so I decided to let it go until the sales staff said it was further discounted to $ 135.00. Weeeellll, what's a girl to do? Place it on lay by. =) Next week, it's coming home with me. =)

www.tonybianco.com.au

And to think it's being sold online for $189.00.

Funny how a few months ago, I've been complaining how nobody seems to be selling wedges with thick soles and how a few months later, they're everywhere. 

Done with BI et al

Finished my temporary casual employment at Blue Illusion. It was such a stimulating experience. My brain was fried just trying to absorb everything J was teaching. But it was great! It just strengthened my belief that I should be on the business side and not on any of the creative side.

The space I occupied while at BI

***

I forgot to mention that MYER called me up a week ago. It was a bit funny since the HR person basically said I passed the interview but could I go to their website and apply online? Apparently, the one I sent via the school either got lost or wasn't placed in the system. So I did and the next day, the HR person said that I would have to attend a two-day orientation in late November. I haven't received any official documents though so I still don't know if I will be working this Christmas. Fingers crossed!


***

I finished and submitted my hat today.

It was a fun project although I found it a bit annoying how the sinamay started fraying / breaking while I worked on it.

I blocked the crown but I did free form with the brim.

In the afternoon, I went to Rich for work experience. S, who I bumped into on the tram, needed help with quality control and asked if I could help. In return, I could ask her questions with regards to the company for my assignment. And I asked heaps! In the end, it was a good exchange. I even got two free garments from their clearance sale rack. I might go back to buy some more garments. =))

Moon Cakes

It's the Mid-Autumn Festival and even though I don't have one drop of Chinese blood in me, I am one with them in celebrating this happy occasion. I say happy because this is the only time of the year where I can eat moon cakes. Yes, those yummy confection that blends sweet and sour, mochi and green tea, mochi and green bean paste, or whatever concoctions they come up with.

I don't remember the first time I tasted moon cakes but I do remember one particular moon cake. Somebody gave a family member a tin of mooncakes. They looked heavy and were heavy. I couldn't wait and took a fork. There was a big egg yolk in the middle of the brown coloured paste. One forkful and I was in heaven.  The sweet and sour taste blended perfectly. And that was all it took - one forkful.

Each year, I try to look for moon cakes but I wasn't able to until this year. This year, I told myself I'd go look for moon cakes no matter what it takes. I initially wanted my friend to post me some from Hong Kong but knowing how tight Australian Customs are when it comes to milk and dairy products, I knew it would be impossible. So I did the next best thing, I texted a Taiwanese friend. The standard reply: Chinatown. Anywhere else? Bread top.

And bread top it was. It was 8.35 in the morning and I was one of the few who were early buying moon cakes. They had pandan flavour, the traditional white lotus paste and what do I see? Mochi and green bean paste. The last one was yummy. But it was too heavy so after eating one piece I gave the other to a classmate who squealed with joy when she realised it was her favourite flavour.

I got two more boxes and still not satisfied, I went to Chinatown in Little Bourke and saw Maxim's Cakes. And there they were - mooncakes in tins. They had a buy one take one promo and discounted rates for others but since I wasn't sure V would share my taste for them, I bought the individual tins for AUD14.00 and got another one for free.

These should be enough to last me until my cravings are gone. =)

From Bread top, the mochi ones got eaten early on.

From Maxim's Cakes at Little Bourke St in the city.

When I checked the label, it says they were manufactured in Hong Kong. So, in the end, I still got my Hong Kong - made moon cakes.

MYER Group Interview

I didn't think I'd enjoy it although I did prep myself not to take it seriously and just to have fun. Especially since I thought I would be late for the interview as I left the house much later than planned. The tram was a bit slow, or maybe that was just me but surprise! surprise! I got to the city with plenty of time to spare. I quickly dashed into OfficeWorks to buy a folder since the email said to bring the resume.

I arrived at the MYER Learning Centre after following a very long corridor to find people in suits and very business looking attires sitting at the lounge area. And I noticed a friendly face from school! How's that? There was a bit of a wait then a lady came around asking for our names. Mine and Jo's and another's girl's name weren't there so we had to write down our names. Then they called us into a room with tables that had a maximum of 10 chairs each. But for our table, we had 8 since we were the last to come in, which turned out great in the end since nobody tried to dominate the conversation. I hope I didn't. I know I spoke a lot but I also tried to involve the other two guys who weren't very outspoken to speak up.

But before that, the HR Manager introduced herself and the other 3 ladies who would be monitoring us. Then she told us a bit of the company, what the general benefits are for team members, a brief history of the company, what the company is currently doing with their buildings, etc.

Then she gave us a problem-solving task. We had to come up with 5 key points in line with the store's international image. She said while we had to answer the questions, the main thing that they would be looking at would be how the discussion in each table would go. That's when I was glad that we had fewer people in our table as it would be harder to speak up in a bigger group.

The second part was a role-playing task. We were put in pairs and we had to play the part of a seller and a customer. We have to show that we know how to provide excellent customer service but at the same time how to sell products.

After that, it was done and we were thanked for coming.

For the results, we were told that we would be informed of the results after 3 weeks. If we didn't pass, we can apply again after 6 months. If we did pass, they'd keep our resume for 6 months while they try to match our qualifications with available positions.

And that's how it went. =)

Fun Ladies

was the lasting impression I have after I left my retail work placement at Blue Illusion Malvern.

My feet hurt from standing the entire day. I absolutely have no idea how Esta and Jane do it. They were marvelous people. They knew almost 90% of all the customers who came in. It was what customer service should be in a retail store. They greeted them if not immediately, at least while they're in store. If they're repeat customers, they chat to them about their families, their recent vacations. They ask them what they want to see in store. They give them honest feedback about the clothes they're trying it on. And what's more, they know how to sell add ons if not upsell. If the customer says its not a good fit, they give them another size. If they say, it's too dark, they give them a lighter colour. They don't just let them go.

And all the while, they were patient, fun and always moving. The only break they had was when they have to go to the ladies' room. They even eat lunch while working!

I think I did ok. I wasn't as great as they were. Also, I think the customer don't really trust my judgement because I'm younger than they are. But I don't really mind. I got what I wanted out of it, which was to see and experience how retail works. What I saw was how retail is supposed to be and what makes BI Malvern one if not the best grossing stores among all the BI stores. They know how to take care of customers but they know how to treat the store as a business as well. They really enjoy what they're doing (they've been with BI for more than a decade) and it really shows.

Whew!

After that very brief holiday in Cairns, I quickly got into the groove by having my work placement at BI. It was a great opportunity to work with J. Just watching her calculate and project sales was a fascinating process. The past week and the last few days made me realise I missed working  in the corporate world. While others loathe it (cue dear hubby of mine), I seem to thrive in it. I enjoy working with people who know what they're doing and who make me learn, too, by entrusting tasks to me.

And it seems, the feeling is mutual. Today, the talent manager asked if Jd and I could continue working for the next two weeks just to help out J until the other lady comes back from her annual leave. The great thing about it is that it's going to be paid work (that is if I heard it right. yippee!)

Also, I got a call from MYER saying that they received my CV via the school and I was invited to a group interview next Wednesday. It's for the Christmas casual position and while it's not a permanent position, I think it's a good way to experience working at MYERs. I was emailed what to expect and hopefully, I get it.

It's going to be a busy week starting this weekend. I was given the opportunity to visit one of BI's retail store which I believe is one of their top earners. It's this Saturday. Sunday and Monday, I have to review for the Customer Service Test. Wednesday, I won't be attending Millinery as I have to attend the MYER interview. Thursday and Friday, I'll be in BI for (hopefully) my paid work.

Funny how things seem to come together once the ball starts rolling.

Here's for more things to come!

Back from Cairns

Hiiii!!!

Had a marvelous time at Cairns with my bestie and hubby. Those are two different people, btw.

Managed to relax before class and work placements start next week.

Life underwater. Sadly, I couldn't find Nemo.

Touching wildlifes

Riding the sky rail. Didn't really like being so high up the air in a seemingly small and woobly container.

Sigh, how fleeting vacation time is. 

Wire Hat

Finished my wire hat project two days ago and just finished the paperwork an hour ago. Yey!

It was only after I wore it did I realise how massive the flower is. Reminds me of a satellite dish. teheheheh

Me wearing the hat. Pocahontas with a satellite dish on her head. lol

Hectic Week

After the mess up with the schedule of classes, I managed to make the schedule work for me. After a few emails and a meeting with the business coordinator, N, she allowed me to skip the Customer Service classes so I could go to my work placement at Blue Illusion. She emailed me all the lessons and I'll just have to come in for the test.

So starting last week, I did work experience at Tresur Knitting Factory, helping to steam knit garments, cut out patterns on knits, cut out samples for colour cards and basically do the repetitive but time consuming tasks. It was also the first time I saw the massive knitting machines. It was so different from the tiny Singer knitting machines we used in school. The old Greek ladies were fun to be around. They just talk and work at the same time. No dilly-dallying. They come in between 7.30 to 8.00 am and leave at 4 - 4.30  pm, have a 10 minute snack in the morning and about 30 minutes of lunch. Not that they were being told so, they just work, break, work. It was great just observing and trying (yes, trying) to help.

Today was my last day there and M, my lecturer, treated me to lunch. And I got myself a knit shirt as a memento. =)

And while that was being happening, I had to visit the dentist (and will have to go again tomorrow), review for a test, visit one of the potential offices and buy trims for millinery.

Excursion

After that test on International Purchasing, we went to this place.

It was educational as everything we learned in theory, we heard it being practiced in reality.

And I'm going there for work placement next month. =)

Presentation

Last Tuesday, we had to present our Store Competitor and Buying Plan to the class. After considering the massive task of identifying classification of ranges, fabric content per garment per classification and price per garment per range, I decided to concentrate on a more manageable store - I picked Calvin Klein Underwear. It was a wise decision I later found out.

R thought she would also have a more manageable store. Unfortunately, she picked MIMCO, an accessories store without thinking that the accessories classification was wide: Kinds of Accessories - Bags, jewelry, hair accessories, wallets, etc. Subdivisions under each classification: Bags (Shoulder bags, hand bags, totes, clutch, etc), Fabric content for each, etc. Some of my classmates were at near breaking point. Add crashing programs and lost spreadsheets and there were tears all around.

But we did (most of us did) finish on time and were able to present on time. Best of all, I found out that I had the best presentation (yey) and my lecturer asked for copies of my powerpoint presentation to give to some of my classmates as a basis of making presentations. Then, I regretted not putting my name on my power point presentation. Oh well.  Next time.

Yesterday, we got our marks back and I got 99%. One point was taken off because I didn't have a uniform format in my spreadsheet. =( Lesson learned. Take time to format everything. =)

My Pari-sisal hat

And here is my hat.

Finished it at the end of yesterday.

There was a lot of unpicking done but I'm glad I finished it. 

This made me stop and think...

At the Salvation Army store, on one of my random walks.

At first I thought it was a pile of stuffed toys... very life like stuffed toys (reminded me of that news story where a guy got spooked by what he thought was a siberian tiger sleeping beside his car but turned out to be a toy tiger). But in this instance, it was not a pile of stuffed toys but a pile of mink. Yes, mink. Those small, cute animals noted for their fur.

While I like the feel of fur, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable wearing fur still with head and paws attached.

Happy!

Finally, they've arrived after weeks and months of waiting.

The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute published by Taschen. 

Fashion: A History from the 18th Century to the 20th Century... and I got it at the anniversary price of $140. =)))))

They were heavy! But they're worth it. I'll spend some of my days just looking at the fabulous images, hoping to be inspired. =P

A wedding dress.

Dress by Yohji Yamamoto.

RPL

That stands for Recognition of Prior Learning. 

I decided to apply for it for one of the subjects I'm studying. Since I've already studied management in the past, I didn't want to study it again, not after I had that disappointing experience with Marketing. 

Yesterday, I had a meeting with the coordinator and I'm scheduled for a test on the 21st of June. If I pass, which I know I will (prepping myself up), I'd be free in August to enjoy the break and not think about class when I get back. =)

So, I've been refreshing my memory by going online and checking out management principles and practices. I also went to the library today but after scanning some books, I decided to go to Borders which was a good thing as I found a book that had a bit of what I was looking for.

Now, back to studying. 

Full Window Display

Today, our Visual Merchandising class ended.

As a last class work, we were to make a full scale window display.

This is what Roberta and I came up with.

Our contemporary window

But I liked Eileen and Ruki's display better. Ruki used her ball gown from last year and they gathered leaves and twigs from the nearby park.

Another contemporary window

Open Day

Melbourne School of Fashion had an open day today.

Since I never attended any open day before and since I wanted to do some work with my felt hat, I decided to go. It was also a good opportunity to see which works were selected.

Here are some photos.

JD Mannington's vintage eagle feather hat.

Arnavaz Lindsay's felt hat

Karen Jeffer's dress

Karen Jeffer's dress coat

Karen Jeffer's ball gown

Visual Merchandising

We went to Oswald Sealy and Mei+Picchi today. They have two names but they're in one place. Visual Merchandisers / Installation Artists apparently go to them to buy or rent items for shop windows and exhibitions.

Amazing stuff.  I didn't know they have different kinds of mannequins now, from the traditional to the fibre glass to size zero dynamic mannequins (they're from New York).

Then we went to RMIT's Visual Merchandising Department and I got depressed seeing how they had their own cutting studio and painting studio. They even get their own mentors and they work with different companies like Ray's and Country Road which gives students the opportunity to work with industry people while still studying.

Oh well. I'll just keep on working on my thing.

Flat Pattern Hat

Remember what I wrote about me not being artsy-crafty? Well, here's proof that I'm not. 

My first hat. It was such a disappointment even after I did several revisions. The skull cap wasn't the issue since I did a fairly good job of doing the patterns and toiled it a number of times. No, it was the actual petals that gave me the biggest disappointment. 

I thought that I could just use a hat stiffener to make the silk dupion stiff but after using quite a bit of it and letting it dry that the fabric barely got stiff. I experimented with hairs spray and wood glue but none worked. It was only on the day of submission that I realised I should have used wires to give the petals shape. But it was already too late since I've bagged out the petals and glued them together.

Lesson learned: Think everything through and don't assume reality would conform to imagination. 

Marketing Plan

I was supposed to upload some photos but then we were given this task to make a marketing plan. I had been undecided for the past weeks and now I have this week to finish it. Procrastination is never good especially if you're supposed to hand in what essentially would be your mark for the course.

So, I have decided on Roger Vivier. Yep, him again. This time it's not about the man but the brand. It's a bit satisfying showing continuity in my assignments.

Now the problems I've been encountering. I just realized that I had no idea whatsoever how much luxury brands spend on their advertising. I know that the likes of Chanel and Hermes never do TV ads unless it's for a perfume (Chanel) and they would only (as far as I know) only advertise in say Vogue US but how do they maintain brand image? Sure they use celebrities to promote their products and they come up with collections every season but do they really just depend on those? I find it intriguing to say the least.

Happenings

Lots of things happened but I was just too lazy to post. Not good when I'm trying to detail what I do. =P

****

First, I finally met my mentor. The school organised a mentoring program with Holeproof, an underwear company owned by Pacific Brands. The program's objective was a bit vague in the beginning since the mentors and mentees were unsure how it was supposed to work. I had a bigger problem since my mentor only started working for the company the day after we visited Holeproof to meet our mentors and to learn about the mentoring program. I didn't have a good feeling about it since I knew that new employees would be very busy with training and orientation and a voluntary mentoring program would be an added work for them. Also, nobody could tell me about the mentor's background, whether he's a fresh graduate (in which case, I wouldn't be learning much) or someone who's had loads of experience in the industry (which would be a great thing). 

After about 3 or 4 weeks and some slightly panicky emails to the program coordinator, I finally met my mentor, F. I was invited to sit it while he gets briefed on the new design range. L, his supervisor, and F were fantastic letting me ask questions and elaborating on the answers. My eyes kinda glazed from all the info but I learned about the process of designing and the amount of work and collaboration that goes with designing and tweaking a range of underwear. F had 4 weeks to change some bits and pieces, to include graphics, to incorporate colour, etc but not tweaking too much with the silhouette all the while consulting with the other team members and the graphic print designer and staying within the price range. 

The briefing went on for an hour and a half. And I wanted to learn more but I had to leave since he had to start working. I did get his email address though so I'll be emailing him some of my questions.

***

For Fashion Business, I was surprised and happy to get my very first 100 mark. The highest I got since I started studying Fashion Design was a 97 and that was in Computer Aided Design II which was funny since I got a 67 in Computer Aided Design I. Lol.

I had to do a report on a fashion item, didn't have to be clothes, it could be shoes or bags, and write about the history of the item and how it became well-known. I wanted to do my report on the red high heels but when I found out that a lot of my classmates were doing their reports on shoes, I changed my topic to  the Wrap Dress, as popularised by Diane Von Furstenberg.

My report was a bit long but I'll try to upload it along with my report on Roger Vivier, which I did for Fashion History. Now that one I found very interesting. Not many people know about him but now that they've relaunched Roger Vivier, the label, I'm sure his fans will increase. 

***

For Millinery, we had to do a flat pattern hat. It was a hat where you had to do a pattern and cut out fabric and sew them together. I had so much problem doing the skull cap for it. I think I did 5 patterns and did 6 toiles on calico. Finally, I gave up and used sinamay, which was great for holding the shape but the rough edges makes it itchy on the head. Will have to change that I guess.

Photos will follow. 

It's supposed to be Autumn but I feel like it isn't

On Tuesday, I went to the Rialto. Imagine that! Never even thought I'd be able to enter that place. Then again, I never even heard of the place until I got invited to join this event.

It was part of the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival going on right now which, unfortunately for me, I wouldn't be attending in or participating in. By participating, I mean, working backstage or working as usher and the like. 

The light breakfast was relatively light. I didn't like the muesli with yogurt but the little pastries were alright. Too much caster sugar though. But, hey! who am I to complain? It was free. Unfortunately, again, I wasn't able to socialize much and wasn't able to talk to any of the industry people (there were heaps of them!) since I got shy. =( I did talk to one girl who turned out to be a law student at Deakin. =P

Class Begins

Had my first class on Fashion Business yesterday. J was very interesting. Listening to her, it was pretty obvious she knew what she was saying. She's been in the buying business (England based) for years before coming over to Australia.

Most of the day was taken up by our introduction. J wanted to get to know about the students so I guess she didn't mind letting us talk about ourselves. It became apparent that most of the students wanted to become buyers if not business owners. And the reasons for the first one was that they either have done a lot of traveling and wanted to bring what they saw overseas to Australia and that they saw it as something glamorous and exciting. Heck! Traveling while you get paid, why not? Then again, after listening to Julie, I'm not sure how many would stick with it. Yep, you travel but you travel a lot and if you have a family, it would be difficult. But since most of them are young and probably not committed, that wouldn't really bother them.

The reason for the second is pretty obvious as well. Who wouldn't want to own their own business? Not answering to anyone is great! Sure, you'll have to navigate the tricky areas of labour laws and taxation but other than that, you're the boss.

At least those are my assumptions. Whether they are true or not, I'm not really concerned. I just hope it's a class where everyone will work hard regardless of their ages. Yeah, I'm the oldest in the class. Sigh.

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Had a chat with school admin this afternoon and my request to defer has been approved. Yey!

Confusion

refers to the state I am in.

I finished my internship/work experience a week ago and I was so gung-ho going back to school after what I've learned in that two months of working with L and S. And I did learn a lot. I learned that I would never be a patternmaker nor a dressmaker since my skills on those really suck. I already knew that before hand but it got confirmed when I did my internship. At L's, I got relegated to quality control which wasn't bad. I learned to spot the mistakes and things that needed mending. At S', I learned how to control my grip when using the plain sewer and the overlocker/babylocker. I even got to use the electric cutter in cutting fabric. Now thaat was cool.

Then when I finally got around to looking at the briefs for this year, I started having panic attacks. I couldn't sleep. I didn't want to leave the house. I literally wanted to just shut myself from the world. I have 4 subjects this year. One is for the signature collection, which would take 2 days a week. Another subject which would take two days a week is Fashion Business, where I'm assuming we'd be learning all about how to establish and run a business) and the remaining day would be taken up by Millinery (half day) and Design and Product Development (half day). In short, it'll be another 5 days a week of 10 am to 5 pm (officially) which unofficially meant 9 am to possibly 7 pm.

The schedule and the fact that I'd be seeing and dealing with the same group of people have been causing me to stress out. It's not that I don't like these people but there are some who I am not happy to see. Last year, there was too much drama. And I hated it. Some of my classmates who are my friends share the sentiment. We've actually decided on a solution which was to fill our mp3 players with songs, focus on work and tune out the class.

But I don't think that's enough for me. I'm thinking of deferring some of my classes not only for said reason but also because I want to make sure I have enough time to learn what I want to learn. I just don't understand cramming everything at once and thinking that that's the way to learn. I'm also thinking of going on futher internship or work experience (whatever they'd call it) and for that I need available days. So I'll be talking to the person in charge of the deferment in school next week and hopefully they'd approve.

@ Work

Aside from interning at L's, I have decided to do work experience at S. So now, I work two days a week at S and two days a week at L's. S' is more of a factory setting. He has a small shop out front where he sells fabrics (he used to sell pjs and other sleepwear) and he has a factory out back. With S, I do various stuff, such as doing pattern, cutting fabric, selling fabric, attending to customer enquiries and sewing. It's not a design house so there are no mood boards or range plans but he does the manufacturing of garments of some of the labels sold in Australia or exported to other countries.

At L's, I did two toiles (one was sewn very badly due to the fact that I have no love lost with overlockers particularly overlocking knits), gave my opinion on and even modeled his designs, did quality control, and assisted in packing his garments for delivery.

For some reason, I find it more exciting working there. It's more laidback for some reason even though I do more compared to what I do at L's. Then again, it's probably because of the time. With L's I work from afternoon to evening where my energy level is on the wane whereas I work from morning to afternoon at S.

Anyway, I'm just grateful that I'm given these opportunities to work and to learn from these people.

Internship

Yey! I got myself an internship with a designer.

He's Lui Hon, a former Australia's Project Runway contestant. I had to google him to find out who he was before I went in for interview and saw his amazing drapey looks. I liked drapes not that I'm a good draper but I like the way the clothes he made just looks so comfortable.

I went in today and just started working. Just like that. A, my former classmate, who posted the intern wanted post in facebook gave me a mini tour of the studio and told me what to do. Then Lui came in and just went through some things and already asked me to do stuff. Not stuff like making him coffee but real things for me to do. I did quality control on some garments (which I will be continuing on Wednesday) then learned how to fold a soft merino wool top properly (use white tissue paper and a board - like the boards they put on shirts so it'll hold its shape), how to pack it and how to update the list (haven't done it yet). Then he asked me to cut the fabric for the toile.

I even got to chat with him and he wasn't stingy at all with his advices and while he is honest, he also looks at the positive side of things. I'm fortunate to have arrived when he's starting his next season's clothes so I get to see how things work from start to finish (hopefully I get to see the end).

I heard he can also be a bit of a yeller but I suppose that's to be expected when things get tense and deadlines are looming.

Here are some of his clothes from his collection "Little Heroes". Photos taken by Christopher Tovo.

See more images on his website

Oakley Event Dressing

It was a disaster from the point of view of the production manager but it was a success for me. =)

I was hoping not to get any of the tricky fast changes. Guess what? I got assigned to said model. Waaaah! But afterwards it was actually a great break because the guy was such a pro. He knew what to do and even gave me tips on how to do stuff to make it easier for both of us. Later on (after I googled him), I found out that he's been modeling internationally so he really knows his stuff. Thanks, D!

***

The show started on a shaky note when the song change didn't happen but the show went well as it progressed. However, towards the end, the order of the models wasn't followed. At the finale, when the models were supposed to stay on stage, half of the models left the stage leaving just 3 of the first group looking around in surprise.

The audience clapped enthusiastically but R, the production manager, wasn't very happy.

I don't blame her. They did rehearse it before the show and for it to turn out that way was a bit disappointing.

Anyway, I guess that's one thing to keep in mind when organising things such as fashion shows.

Here are some of the photos from Oakley's website.

I must say, they really have cool stuff. It made me want to go skiing.

I don't know if this is the same ski coat but the ski wear kinda looked liked the one above and below. The models said they were really nice and warm. They really looked cute, too.

I really like this SI Assault Boot 6. They really look cool.