Shmi Shem

New Year. New Job

2012-01-09T22:06:00.000+11:00

And so, I started this year a bit rested. After all those graveyard shifts at Myer, I was able to have a few days to myself and with V to celebrate the new year. We went to Sydney and watched the fireworks (only the 9 pm show since we wimped out. hehehe) and came back with 2 days to spare for myself before the my new job started.

Yep, you read that right. I'm now working in a job I've always wanted to do (always being after finding out there was more to the fashion industry than just being a designer or a buyer). I'm so happy people remembered "I had a brain". =PPP

It has only been a few days but I'm already learning a lot of things. I'm truly grateful and happy. =))))

Done!

2011-12-26T12:10:00.000+11:00

After years of studying, I am finally done. What I learned, which have been reinforced these past months, is that I would never be a machinist. I have great respect for those who can just whip up clothes but I am not one of them.

Here is part of my collection:

Model: Nicole Labianca
Photographer: SMB

Progress

2011-11-04T21:24:00.001+11:00

or lack thereof.

So many things are just cropping up that's not making me happy. I have toiled and retoiled so many times, it's no longer funny although I'm trying to find the lighter side of things. But I have persevered so it's not that bad. I've found alternatives and my lecturers have actually helped me find solutions for them, for example, my final fabric for my dress was sheer so she recommended using gore to give it a bit of a weight.

My timeline states that I should have finished two outfits by now but I'm still in the troubleshooting stage. =(

The Heat is On

2011-10-20T19:32:00.000+11:00

And I don't only mean the surprising summer weather this early spring but the stress level to do the graduation collection is on and increasing by the day.

I've ordered my fabrics and they have arrived with the exception of my wool which I've ordered from Michael's fabrics. They have limited but exceptional fabrics. They carry Armani and Zegna fabrics. They're a bit pricey but you do pay for quality products (I hope. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the wool.) There's also the Fashionfabricsclub and they have more variety. They sell by the yard and not by the meter so essentially, I'm going to lose 10 cm each time. I haven't bought anything from there yet since I found a local wholeseller here. They're in Sydney but hey! it's local to me. =)

Two of my fabrics have been sent for dyeing and while I was told that it usually takes 11 days, I could expect the fabrics by next week.

All I need to do now is buy my threads and stock up on the appropriate needles. I know I should have ordered everything earlier, which I did, when I bought my fabrics in Shenzhen, but it turned out that I needed more. Two of the fabrics were sent for dyeing and the others, I'm using to toile my garments. I've already used up my wool elastane which goes to show that I didn't take everything into account when I did my plan. Well, now that I'm in the thick of things, everything should fall into place nicely.

It's Crunch Time

2011-10-05T23:21:00.000+11:00

Haven't been uploading much as I've been so busy with school and work ~~(and watching kpop videos on youtube)~~.

Now, it's gotten busier since I have to do my graduation collection. I've done my initial toiles but now I have to do my final toiles (isn't that a misnomer?). Before I could that though, I have to clean the house. tehehehe. All the stuff that I've accumulated over the past months have piled up and the living room looked like a garage. It took an inspection notice for me to clean and tidy up and now the living room looks like a living room - nice and airy. =)

Tomorrow, I have to sit down and start working. No more procrastinating. =)

VIP Night at Myer

2011-09-22T22:46:00.000+10:00

From 6.30 to 9 this evening, we had a special event for Myer One VIPs.

Designers who came in to mingle and to say something about their range were

Wayne Cooper

from www.stylepalace.com.au

Fleur Wood

from www.fleurwood.com

Teresa Liano of T.L. Wood

www.earthwatch40th.org.au

Kate Sylvester

www.katesylvester.co.nz

And I think I even saw Charlie Brown of Charlie Brown.

www.news.com.au

Sadly, there weren't a lot of people who came. I'm comparing that to the last VIP night they had one season ago. People must be saving up instead of splurging on clothes.

Back from Hong Kong

2011-07-29T21:56:00.000+10:00

I had a marvelous time in HK with my friend who was the most patient and indulgent friend I could ever had. Not only did she bring me around HK but she went with me twice to Shenzhen. =)))

I managed to buy 10 to 15mtrs of fabrics which I'm hoping will be enough for my collection.

The fabric place at Lo Wu shopping centre in Shenzhen

The loot from Shenzhen

Inside Zara Melbourne

2011-07-03T11:29:00.000+10:00

on a Monday. At 3.30 in the afternoon. Women in a flurry and barely contained excitement.

Not even the long queue to the fitting room would deter them.

Inside Zara ground level

The queue to the fitting room

Cute but not enough to entice me to buy

Lots of cute, colourful and girly clothes but my sentiments are still the same no matter which Zara store I visit, whether in Europe, in Asia or Australia. It doesn't tug at my purse strings. =P

Zara fever

2011-06-27T09:25:00.000+10:00

It appears the fever still hasn't gone down over Zara.

2 Saturdays ago, this was the scene outside Zara at Bourke St. Mall.

A few days ago, when I passed by Zara, there was still a steady queue of people going in even at 9.30 in the morning

Coco Rocha's Wedding by Gilbert Le

2011-06-02T10:58:00.001+10:00

I stumbled on this on a blogger's website (www.rantingsofashopaholic). It's a short movie of Coco Rocha's wedding to James Conran. It was shot so beautifully and you could tell the couple truly love each other. I found it especially moving when James said his vows. It was so heartfelt, I could just melt. =)

July...come faster

2011-06-01T11:22:00.000+10:00

I've ordered a swatch book from the Angus International I/E Agency in Hong Kong a few months ago. They claim to be the "purveyors" of the finest silk from around the world. The prices were competitive when I received the swatch book but then I received an email stating they were increasing their prices.

Since I've already booked my flight and hotel, I decided to still go and check them out. If I find fabrics at the right price, I suppose I'd buy them then buy the rest here in Melbourne.

At the same time, I can go visit my friend there and we can go to Citygate Outlet. I've always been a fan of outlet shopping and July, apparently, is the sale month in Hong Kong. yey!

Robert Clergerie

2011-06-01T10:31:00.002+10:00

What's going on so far

2011-05-28T20:38:00.000+10:00

I've been working and studying and saving like crazy since I'm going to Hong Kong this July.

I'm nearing my target amount, unfortunately, the shifts started dwindling as of last week. Couldn't really blame them as retail in general has gone down. Still, I did manage to save enough. =)

A lot of work plus homework

2011-04-28T20:13:00.000+10:00

makes for one very very tired marsupial.

I finally had to request to cut down on hours this week and next week only because all my homeworks are due.

But after that, back to working.

=)

Tension

2011-03-26T23:56:00.000+11:00

is our first project for Design 3.

So far, I haven't felt that yet. Been working and studying with nothing much in between.

School Work

2011-03-18T19:32:00.000+11:00

Two words that can mean one thing but also two separate things. Words that dominate my life at the moment. Not that I'm complaining.

School started two weeks ago and so far I'm feeling positive about my lecturers. Sure, the rooms are small, much smaller than the previous rooms we have in the other building. The promised "small size" classes weren't really small as there were 19 of us in a room. Not good when everybody's going to be doing their graduation collection.

So far though, our lecturers have been very helpful and very methodical. =)

****

Today, I had to redo my bodice blocks to fit the mannequin. Finally, I learned how to properly transfer the calico design onto my block and alter the blocks. I'm slow but I finally get it. My sewing has improved as well though I still need to mark the stitch lines to serve as my guide.

Best thing is, I found a McDonald's outlet that had a McCafe that serves pastries for $1.95! Amazing. Now, I can have my sugar fill whenever I'm at school. Not good for the health but good for my psyche. =)

Aches and pains

2011-03-07T21:55:00.000+11:00

and school to look forward to. Sigh.

So glad I followed my GP's advice and bought these compression tights. They help! A lot! They're made by Levante, an Italian brand exclusively distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Ambra Corporation. I bought the support factor 10 and support factor 12 (or was it an 8 and a 10?). The first was for when I had to work for 8 to 10 hours and the second for when I have to work for 10 to 13 hours a day.

My back no longer aches as badly and my legs don't get as swollen as they used to when I work more than 8 hours.

I seriously recommend it to anyone who works in industries where they have to stand up for a very long time. The material is sheer so it's smooth to the touch. =)

You can read more about it on Levante's website.

from www.levante.com.au

Back to Work, Back to School

2011-02-16T20:36:00.001+11:00

Came back from the US on a Saturday and went back to work on Tuesday. Surprisingly, jet lag didn't seem to affect me much. In fact, it actually helped me wake up early. I've been doing mostly logistics work, dirty, sweaty job but hey! I quite enjoy the physical work.

Speaking of work, my plan of finding a full-time job didn't pan out so I decided to go back to school and finish the course. As if reading my mind, the school (new administration) sent the first assignment even before classes started. They forgot to send out the full class schedule though so I have no idea when I have to go back to school.

So I've been taking lots of photos for my assignment though I haven't really made any headway. Hopefully, that will change by next week.

And by next week, I hope to get me a new sewing machine. Yey! I initially wanted an industrial sewing machine since that's what we use in school but there's no space for it at home. Also, the prices are prohibitive (for me anyway). Instead, I'm now planning to buy a Bernina 350 and an overlocker. That way I get two machines for the price of what I would be paying for an industrial machine.

BCBGeneration shoes

2011-02-07T10:59:00.003+11:00

Remember this pair of shoes? I just found out its style name: Impulse. It also comes in nude but I prefer black.

From US$118.00 to $99.99 to $89.99 to $71.99 excl tax.

For a casual look, I'm going to pair it with this outfit of mine.

Back from my US Trip Part II

2011-02-07T09:48:00.000+11:00

After Georgia, we flew to Florida, less than an hour's flight away.

After cold Georgia, it was a relief to finally have the sun on my face and feel the heat on my skin. What I did notice in both states is that the places are just so far apart. Wide open spaces. You definitely need a car when you're in these states. They say New York is different with its subways and proximity to almost any place. But I wouldn't know.

It was hard not to be reminded that we were in Disney World. Everywhere we looked, Mickey Mouse was there. But I didn't care. I wasn't there to go to the theme parks (though I did go to one), I was there to check out the shopping outlets. =) I went to Prime Outlet at International Drive (it's called Premium Outlet but locals still refer to it as Prime as there's another Premium Outlet at Vineland Ave.) and had fun browsing and buying things at Neiman Marcus Last Call, Saks Fifth Ave Off Fifth, Coach Factory Outlet, Calvin Klein, Guess, etc.

Since I wasn't the type to worry over being on trend, these last season's merchandise at heavily discounted prices, were a sight for me. One of the items I bought was this

I love the way it just envelopes my body. It's made of thin polyester (I'm not a snob; I do wear polyester) but mimics the feel of silk. And it's blue!

Back from my US trip Part I

2011-02-06T12:27:00.002+11:00

Despite the long and sleep-depriving travel (about 26 hours according to Zuji but felt like more due to the delays), I enjoyed the brief and my first trip to the US.

I was only able to stay for 2 days in Georgia but I have no complaints save for the fact that Alpharetta was so far from downtown Atlanta. Then again, I suppose it's a good thing. I had a fun time listening to people talk. Their southern accent was just so lovely to listen to especially the African Americans. I had a chat with my taxi driver and he told me about the rich blacks and other celebrities who were living in the expensive suburbs of Atlanta. And how ten years ago, there was nothing but farm lands owned by red necks. Now, Atlanta is growing. There are lots of shopping malls and restaurants and the only thing missing are theatres to complete the cultural vibe.

African-Americans really have a way of talking and communicating. They are frank but they know how to throw in compliments. For some reason, I like the men better than the women though. I find the men so slick. They know what to say to hook you in. They make great salespeople in my opinion.

Talking about sales, I had the most amazing time shopping at North Point Mall. I went directly there the day after I arrived and went straight to Macy's. I had a domestic pass which I printed out and was told to get an International Pass at the Executive Office. I did and got a pass which entitled me to a further 10% off merchandise even those on sale.

So I went around and found this BCBGMaxAzria dress and a BCBGeneration pair of shoes. I forgot how much the dress cost but the shoes! The shoes were originally priced at US$118.00 (before taxes). On sale, it was $ 89.99 but after my pass, I got it for $70.00+ (I forgot the exact amount) (Side note: I had to work my head around adding the sales tax on top of the price. Since each state had a different sales tax, I just added 10% to be on the safe side.)

I saw another pair of shoes, in suede. It had a ribbon at the back which you need to tie into a bow otherwise, it'll be dragging on the ground. After walking a bit in it, I decided not to get it even though they were telling me they'd give it to me for a further 20% on top of the 10%.

Then, I visited Dillards and was amazed at the 70% discount they were giving! Whoah! But I only managed to buy just one item since the sizes just didn't fit me. But a few doors down at Ann Taylor, I scored two dresses at $49.99 each! Can you believe that?

But it wasn't all just for me. I also got V a shirt which looked great on him. =))

Looking for Work

2011-01-10T21:15:00.000+11:00

While having breakfast at Vue Monde to celebrate a friend's birthday, we got into a discussion of what each of us were up to.

R was finishing her collection to have them photographed and included in her folio. Next stop for her would be London to get work experience.

H has been sending out resumes and still waiting for calls. Funny enough, she got a message on her voice mailbox from one of the designers in Melbourne. =)

J and T would be going back to school to finish the remaining courses.

As for me, I'm still waiting from the companies I've applied to. Some have already rejected me. Sad. But I'm still hopeful. =)

R's coffee at Vue Monde

The pastries at Houpton Tearoom

Our very crowded tiny table

Window shopping at GPO Building

Retail land...

2011-01-07T17:53:00.000+11:00

has been slow after the new year.

Had a 3-hour shift early this week and got called for a 5-hour shift tomorrow.

Speaking of retail land, Myer, Harvery Norman and the Greens have banded together to urge the government to impose GST on all imports. The two retailers have been calling for this measure before Christmas when the strong Aussie dollar made online shopping in other countries (i.e. USA) cheaper. Bernie Brooks claimed that should the trend continue, part-time and casual workers would suffer as retailers would have to cut hours.

Now I work for a big retailer but I think the reasoning is a bit off. Retailers should have already anticipated this move by consumers. Consumers are a savvy lot. They can a smell a bargain a mile away and they know how to use the most out of their money / credit cards. Why else would sites like Scoupon, Groupon and all those other coupon based companies proliferate? With internet sites like net-a-porter, bluefly, yoox, Luisa Via Roma offering products online and even delivering to Australia, consumers are given the opportunity to buy things they wouldn't normally buy in Australia.

While being nationalistic and supporting Australian made products shouldn't be pooh-poohed, the government had made it difficult for Australian made products to compete with relatively cheap imports. I say relative as you get a good, quality made product, same as it would have been made in Australia, but relatively cheaper in price even if you factor in the shipping. Most people I've spoken to during my work placement days and even news articles have lamented that the artisans in Australia were not supported enough. A lot of the talents by the Italian and Greek tailors and dressmakers were not passed on to the younger generation or if they were, the financial support wasn't there. When overseas manufacturing became the norm, a lot of the factories here closed down as they couldn't compete with the cheap prices of overseas manufacturing.

France and Paris are still the forerunners in quality made products but even some of their companies have taken to manufacturing overseas. That's how things work. You either adapt or you lose.

In the case of the retail giants here, they should've seen how online shopping have now become a part of the shopping habits of consumers. It's a bit strange that Myer and David Jones don't even have online shopping in their web sites. And while taxing people who shop online seems like a desperate move, it's more the big retailers fault for sitting on their laurels. Yes, Australia is far, far away from most shopping destinations but that doesn't give a lot of the retailers the right to charge so much for the products they're selling.

It is unfair to compare online shoppers with that of retail giants' importation of products. Retailers buy in bulk which is how they get a relatively cheap price per product. Add the GST and other customs taxes and they still can mark up their prices so high as to make profit. Then they pass on that GST to the consumer to pay. Online shoppers buy a product individually and don't get a discount unless it's on sale. They pay the cost of the good and for the shipping. They don't make a profit out of their shopping unlike retailers.

And on the issue of staff losing hours, shouldn't that be a challenge on the part of the retailer? Don't employ too many people if you're not going to be cutting back hours in the long run. Make your employees happy by giving them decent hours, acknowledge their work and take care of them. Happy workers make shopping a happy experience.

Students' Works

2011-01-03T10:40:00.000+11:00

Some of the amazing clothes the students made, presented during Melbourne School of Fashion's graduation last December 15, 2010.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the names of the designers of some of the dresses.

Hayley Archibald

Probably a 2nd year student's work

Karen Jeffers

2nd year couture student's work

2nd year student's work

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T14:20:00.000+11:00

First day of 2011. We heard the fireworks but didn't see it.

Today, I spent the day working. It was only for 6 hours and I wanted to extend but I suppose they didn't have enough hours to give so I left after my shift. Had to extend a bit due to some things that needed to be done.

Now, V is trying his best to convince me to go with him to the US. I think he doesn't want me to go on an adventure of my own. hehehehehehe

Last entry for the year

2010-12-31T11:53:00.000+11:00

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

2010-12-23T19:08:00.000+11:00

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

2010-12-06T19:56:00.000+11:00

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

2010-11-28T11:07:00.000+11:00

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

2010-11-17T18:54:00.000+11:00

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!

2010-11-11T12:16:00.000+11:00

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

2010-11-01T19:41:00.001+11:00

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

2010-10-23T21:31:00.000+11:00

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

2010-10-16T15:44:00.001+11:00

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

2010-10-16T12:38:00.000+11:00

Good for importers and overseas travelers.

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

Everybody's having a Sale

2010-10-14T21:17:00.000+11:00

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

2010-10-06T20:04:00.000+11:00

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

2010-09-22T16:33:00.000+10:00

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

2010-09-15T18:10:00.000+10:00

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

2010-09-11T18:56:00.001+10:00

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!

2010-09-09T20:33:00.000+10:00

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

2010-08-26T12:03:00.001+10:00

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

2010-08-10T14:47:00.000+10:00

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

2010-07-29T21:40:00.000+10:00

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

2010-07-17T14:49:00.000+10:00

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

2010-07-10T11:21:00.000+10:00

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

2010-07-08T20:37:00.000+10:00

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...

2010-07-01T18:09:00.000+10:00

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!

2010-06-25T20:03:00.000+10:00

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

2010-06-10T17:03:00.000+10:00

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

2010-06-04T21:56:00.001+10:00

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

2010-05-23T21:16:00.000+10:00

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

2010-05-14T17:36:00.000+10:00

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

2010-05-03T16:28:00.000+10:00

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

2010-04-19T21:01:00.000+10:00

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

2010-04-11T10:19:00.001+10:00

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

2010-03-19T16:16:00.000+11:00

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

2010-03-03T15:49:00.000+11:00

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.

****

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

Confusion

2010-02-27T18:15:00.000+11:00

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

2010-02-01T22:42:00.000+11:00

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

2010-01-11T23:14:00.002+11:00

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

2010-01-06T20:20:00.008+11:00

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.

Fitting

2010-01-05T21:45:00.003+11:00

I had a job today. No, really. A paid job...assisting other people. Waaay back beginning of last year, I applied for a job for a production company. It was a contractual job where I get called for a specific task and just bill them for it afterwards. I wasn't able to do any work with them last year since school already started and the works were always during the day. Since I was studying 5 days a week and I wasn't the type to skip class, I just let them go always hoping to be able to work with them someday.

Well, someday arrived. I initially signed up to be a dresser for tomorrow's fashion show but when they asked for more people to help out in the fitting, I said I'd do it.

This morning, after some two hours sleep due to the fact that I couldn't sleep, was tossing and turning until 2 in the morning, and felt hungry and woke up before my alarm went off, I went to Crown Casino with what seemed like the start of a nasty headache. When I got off the tram, I started walking around outside of the complex a bit confused as to how to get to the conference centre. I went in, asked the cleaning guy where the conference centre - promenade room was. I followed his direction then checked the instruction on my mobile. Hmm...there were no walkways to the right. Saw a crown security staff who told me the promenade room was in the Crown Promenade Hotel and even walked me to the entrance of the casino. I thanked him, made my way through the gambling tables (and smiled at the woman, not without a tinge of envy, whose poker machine screamed announcing that she won. It was about 700,000K I think). I realised I was at the bottom of the escalator which led to the Palladium. I figured the promenade room might be there since the function rooms were in that area. Checked the signs, didn't find the room. Saw a couple of cleaning ladies, asked them again where the promenade room was, was told once again that it was at the promenade hotel. This time, they told me I had to go out of the complex, cross the street and I would be at the promenade hotel. By this time, I had decided to send an sms to the production person in charge. I saw another crown security who was very kind enough again to accompany me this time all the way to the hotel lobby where I remained seated waiting for C to call me.

When she did, I realised I had to go back inside the complex (those who have been inside Crown Entertainment Complex know how confusing the inside is) and go back the way I came. And then I saw again the first guy who helped me out. This time, he walked me all the way to the walkway where I saw C. Turns out the direction I received was on the assumption that I would be arriving by car and thereby entering via the car park.

Ah well. At least I found out how nice Crown people were.

The entire day went whizzing by. We arranged the clothes, waited for the models to arrive and dressed them. Shoes were matched. Outfits got changed around (either because they didn't fit or the client had other ideas on how the garments were to be worn. One jacket we all thought was for a girl turned out to be a guy's jacket. heheheheh). Models outfits were photographed. Mini rehearsals were made by the models. Then they all went "thank you, bye-bye." After they left, garments got moved around again and there will be a final fitting tomorrow just before the show. Not sure how it'll turn out but I think it'll be okay.

I would have wanted to photograph them, unfortunately photo taking wasn't allowed.

Getting my Groove Back

2010-01-04T11:51:00.002+11:00

is hard.

My brain is still in holiday mode and my body just wants to sleep. But I've signed up for work tomorrow and for the next day so that should force my body to adapt to work mode. I really need to be in the zone, so to speak, especially since I have to think of what to make for my graduation collection. My brain's sort of working but I'm still wishy-washy as to the style and theme.

I was hoping to get inspired by my latest travel but it seemed the only inspiration I had was to travel more. Teheheheheheee.

Snow

2009-12-23T08:09:00.002+11:00

Lovely, lovely snow.

Small flakes falling slowly.

Small balls falling rapidly.

Flakes in my mouth, my nose and my eyes.

I love it!!!

Except when it turns to sludge.=(

Officially on Holiday!

2009-11-30T14:42:00.004+11:00

Okay, so it should've happened last Friday but since I wasn't able to finish the shirt for textile and had to hand it in this morning at 10.30, my holiday officially starts now! Yey!

I'm taking one month to sort my brain, get some, scratch that, lots of inspiration for next year's signature collection. I bought myself a notebook and some jelly pens from this new stationery store at DFO for a start. Well, not really, it's supposed to be a travel journal but who knows, I might be inspired. =)

End of School Year

2009-11-28T11:26:00.003+11:00

Yey!

Finally finished the last project for the year. I was supposed to hand it in last Thursday but the fabric paint hadn't dried yet. I don't like the outcome but right now, I'm so over it, I don't want to change it anymore. The good news is that the school is planning to offer a workshop of sorts to those taking the Advance Diploma course. Textiles, I mean. Students would be allowed to experiment on the techniques they want while S, the lecturer, would be supervising. I don't know when that will be implemented but it's one thing to look forward to.

***

The Bias Gown project ended last Wednesday. There were great ones and simple ones. Mine was simple. It looked like a child's dress, no, more like a child-bride's dress. lol.

Here are some of what I thought were the really good ones.

Anu's dress

Hayley's dress

2 Major Projects Done

2009-11-19T19:32:00.002+11:00

Still recovering from lack of sleep. I didn't sleep a wink the entire night before the Fashion Design 2 presentation on Tuesday and was quite proud of myself.

Unfortunately, not many were able to finish. It was, in my opinion, the worst presentation ever. In our class, there were only 3 of us who presented. Many didn't show up. The bad thing was, the others were given opportunity to present this coming Tuesday and would only be deducted 5% off the total mark instead of getting deducted 5% each day as was the rule. It was unfair for us who finished our stuff to meet the deadline. So...two so far have expressed their intention of writing to the school to complain about this. Don't know if the school would do anything since they normally don't.

Today, I finished my CAD homework using the materials I for Fashion Design 2. Cam was fairly happy, I think, since I used illustrator in almost all of my work.

Next week, the Textiles Folio is due as well as the Bias Gown.

Tomorrow, off the buy fabrics. Hopefully I get a good pile to be used for next year since I'm looking at lean months soon.

Sigh

2009-11-08T17:22:00.003+11:00

Still not done smocking. Yes, you read it right. Smocking. No. Not Smoking. Smocking. The old world way of embellishing clothes by running seams through it.

I'll post a photo when done.

Fabric Hunting...

2009-10-31T18:46:00.003+11:00

...resulted in me spending nearly 500AUD. I was looking for a particular fabric, silk crepe, but didn't want to spend a lot on it after spending over 500AUD on my ball gown. Then, miracle of miracles, Steve, the school technician, said he had fabrics over at his shop. A bit skeptical but still hoping to look for good deals, I was amazed at the range of fabrics he had. They weren't on a roll but remnants but still! They were sooooo soft. I loved the silk, silk cotton, cotton voile! I was literally turning things over just looking for fabrics.

And the prices? Hah! I bought his taffeta for 25AUD per metre when they retail about 80AUD at Tyler's. I decided to buy as much as my budget could afford in order to prepare for next year.

Here are some of the fabrics I bought. You can't really tell the quality based on the photos but trust me, they are amazing!

And here are the Ball gowns

2009-10-17T11:03:00.006+11:00

Ballgown presentation was yesterday. The principal, Miriam, was there to observe.

Me and my electric blue fish tail gown

Kathy's barbie style gown. Btw, she's amazing! She gave birth 3 or was it 4 months ago and has 3 other kids and she still manages to do great work.

Hayley's crazy design.

Zoe's appliqued dress and bow.

Below is Jade's gown

I never thought I'd say this

2009-09-17T21:48:00.002+10:00

but I'm loving Adobe Illustrator!

Yes, yes. I'm a terrible terrible late bloomer when it comes to Illustrator and even to Photoshop. It's amazing what one can do and I've only scratched the surface.

Wheee!!!

Fashion+Aid

2009-09-13T11:06:00.008+10:00

Last night was fuuuuuun! Tiring but fun. I volunteered to be one of the dressers so I could put more experience in my resume. =)

First off, we (those who volunteered) had to take Crown's Occupational Health and Safety Test 3 weeks before the event. No big deal but it was interesting to learn about what's supposed to happen in case of emergency.

Then we got our schedule in our emails. We had to be at the Palladium by 12NN and will be leaving by 10.30PM. Thought to self: Hmm...must get a good night's sleep the night before.

Yesterday, I woke up early and left for the city. I arrived one hour early, as usual, and wandered about to while away the hour. Ruby arrived and we waited for a bit at the foot of the escalator where we were supposed to meet the other girls. Didn't see anyone. We went up to the foyer of the Palladium and saw Xen and Simon of Trumpet events, who were handling the event. Nice people.

We were told to chill out while waiting for the others. More girls arrived. Everyone except for Cara, who was from Boxhill TAFE, were from the school. Eventually, Mils arrived, she was in charge of the dressers, and brought us to the room where the dresses were. I was surprised to discover that the models would only be wearing two outfits. Then again, there were 16 models and only a few labels participated in the event.

Then we went to the security office where we had to get a contractor's pass. That's where I met a bit of a roadblock and intensified my feeling that people who don't drive get discriminated against. Bohooo. We had to show an ID and since I don't have a driver's license, I just brought along my school ID. Apparently, school IDs are no longer accepted and the only accepted IDs were driver's license and passport. Dude, who brings along their passport when they live in that country? And I don't gamble so I wouldn't have known to bring my passport along. So, the other girls had their contractor's pass and I had to call V and ask him to bring my passport. He wasn't too pleased about it but he obliged.

While waiting for the passport, I went back to the palladium and met my model, Lucy. She was a lovely girl although she looked beat. There was no problem with the clothes and accessories except for the shoes. The pair she was supposed to wear for the first outfit was too big for her. They couldn't find another Tony Bianco pair so we ended up just letting her wear the other pair of shoes which fit her.

Then my passport arrived and I had to run to the security office, when I write run, I mean run down the escalator, past the food court, up the escalator, through the cinema, down two flights of stairs, and to the parking lot where the security office was located. Then I had to find my way through the maze of hallways to get to the palladium. I had to keep asking people how to get there. They probably thought I was an outsider who had infiltrated their inner sanctum. lol

We didn't get to do much since the choreographer was such a perfectionist, he had to keep making the models do the same stuff over and over. Dude, you should have rehearsed that yesterday and final rehearsal on the day. Instead, he wasted about an hour just going over and over the sequence of their walk. The good thing was we had lunch/dinner break early. I must say, Crown takes care of its employees really well. The cafeteria was set up like a canteen but people just swipe their card to get in and just eat as much as they want. They had all sort of food to cater to people. They had different kinds of bread, bread rolls, sandwich fillings, viands, and desserts. They even had several vending machines for coffee, tea, juice and even ice cream. How cool was that?!?

After linner (lunch/dinner), we went back and they were still rehearsing the darn sequence. So we did other stuff like carry out, lay out and masking tape in place the carpet; put up the media wall and place show bags onto seats. Then we ran out of things to do so we just watched the rehearsal. And I managed to talk to a cute model AND see Jason (producer of So You Think You Can Dance Australia) choreograph and dance. Yep, he can dance. His group Ministry of Dance did a number.

After waiting and waiting and waiting, we were told to go to the Hair and Make up room where the models were and just chill. Napoleon Perdis Academy was doing the Hair and Make Up. They were good although one hair dresser didn't seem to know how to do the hair properly. I finally got to talk to Airdrie who was providing the accessories for April Marie. She did all the beads and pearl necklaces and earrings and they were amazing. I asked for her business card.=)

Then it was time. We put the models into their first outfit. They had their hair and make up touched up. Then off they were to the catwalk. Second outfit, my model's necklace got broken so Mils just attached it just to get it on. Off they went again. Then for the finale, they had to go back to their first outfit. Airdrie changed the accessories for my model. So instead of the crystal beads, she wore strands of pearls. It was amazing.

Then it was all over. We had to take all the racks out of the back stage and into the Garden Room. We had to do a bit of dash and wait since the foyer was still full of beautiful people. I even saw Matthew Newton (Bert Newton's son) and Camilla (the I-select Girl). How's that for people watching. Then we had to dismantle the racks, wrap them in plastic, and tape them. The other girls had to count the number of shoes, the fans, and the umbrella. They had to run backstage and after models to check if they were still wearing the shoes or had the umbrella with them. Clothes had to be put back into their label's garment bags along with the shoes, counted and taped together. Finally, near 11 pm, we were able to leave.

It was a great experience. The Trumpet people were so nice. No yelling, no panicking. Everything was in order. We got to see the moneyed set in their beautiful clothes being interviewed and photographed. They had fun. We had fun. And it was all for charity. Nice, huh?

You can read more about Fashion+Aid here. Compared to last year, which was the first Fashion+Aid, this year seemed a bit more toned down. I supposed it was due to the recession.

The only regret I had that night was that I wasn't able to bring my camera so the photos I took from my mobile aren't that nice.

The show bags

The rehearsal, models under the umbrella, trying to feel cold and lonely

One of the items being auctioned off

Jason Coleman of So You Think You Can Dance directing his dancers, Ministry of Dance. He's the one in blue clothing and a cap. I thought he would be taller. =P

Lucy, my model, from Chadwick Modelling Agency, wearing her first outfit.

2009-09-09T17:53:00.005+10:00

Above are the photos of my knitwear project worn by my classmates, Jade and Aleona. The first two were taken by Jade's photographer friend in his studio. It was for free but I had to photoshop the photos since the angles were wrong and my vision wasn't realised. I should have talked to him and clearly stated what I wanted since he didn't know what I wanted. Next time, will make it clear. And it was for free, too, so I shouldn't really complain.

The bottom two were taken using Aleona's video cam. Bad move since the images came up blurry. Truth be told, I liked being the photographing since I knew what angle and what look I wanted. Maybe I should take up photography again?

I chose Christian Cota as the designer I wanted to do a collection for hence the tag.

Next project - childrenswear. I want to do a formal look for the kids so I can combine tailoring with embellishment. Hope it works. =)

Sad

2009-09-09T13:52:00.000+10:00

...to hear about friendships breaking up due to small stuff that escalated over time. Awkward, too, especially if those two people are relatively close to you.�

Hope they manage to sort things out.

***

Happy

to finally be able to sleep earlier than 11 pm. I shouldn't really but since I've decided on what to do with my life, I don't feel as stressed as before. I'm enjoying learning more now despite the deadlines.

***

Excited

for my classmates who'll be presenting their own creations tonight at the pre-screening of the movie "The September Issue" I didn't sign up for it since I knew I wouldn't be able to finish my garments on time.

Told them to take lots of photos!!!!!!

Knitwear Presentation

2009-09-02T20:32:00.003+10:00

Yesterday was really fun. We had our presentation for the knitwear and lingerie/swimwear. This time, we did knitwear while the other class did lingerie/swimwear. Most of us agreed that we did way better this time compare to the last. Quality of work has vastly improved especially in the knitwear department.

It was just sad that our class had a lot of missing people. It gave a bad image as the same thing happened during the first presentation. While most of the class were there, a lot were half-finished or weren't finished at all.

Anyway, here are a few of the works that I really like.

Amy's cougarish bedroom wear

Alysha's dominatrix lingerie

crinoline

Ashley's swimwear

Ruby's knitwear

My Knitwear

2009-08-11T21:59:00.006+10:00

This time, I'm relatively happy with the results of my knitwear. It didn't quite go as planned due to miscalculation and lack of foresight but still the end result looked passable enough to be part of the range of the designer I've chosen.

Surprisingly, I found it easier to

knit although I stuck to a very simple silhouette. The knitting machine I appropriated for myself also helped since it didn't stuff

up as much as the first knitting machine I got hold of did.

I still haven't finished the range book but I've already scheduled a photo shoot with A this Saturday. We wouldn't be able to use the photographer s

he knows but I get to use her for my model which is great.

Here's the pre-photo shoot photos. I'm excited to see how they'll look on a person.

The first one I made. Originally, the flap shouldn't have been there but I knitted too much, thus the flap.

The black and green top with scarf

(that's wool felted on the fabric....hmm..doesn't look good on the photo)

One project done

2009-07-18T21:55:00.002+10:00

Jacket is done and I got a 90 for it, too. Whohoo. First time I got something over 9 this year, and in styling and couture class at that. The skirt was not up to par though.

Still dyeing my silk. I've discarded 3 already since I wasn't satisfied with the outcome. Right now, I'm waiting for the last one to dry before painting on it. I even bought a 40"x40" canvass to use a silk canvass.

I haven't done anything for Design Class which isn't good. I have to finish the range plan because that always takes me awhile to finish. In class, I need to do my knitting. M wanted me to do fully-fashioned garments so I had to do a bit of calculations. And recalculations. Makes me want to buy a knitting machine but that's just way out of the budget right now, especially since I have to spend a whole lot on the upcoming project in styling and couture class.

Yep, it's the dreaded ballgown. We have to present 3 designs to a panel this Wednesday. The designs have to be backed by research and must contain either a corset or petticoat or both and must have embellishments. I've already calculated how much it would cost me and it would reach about AUD500 or AUD 600 just for the main fabric. That still does not include the tulle or the other materials (i.e. boning, lining, trims, etc). Sigh.

Deadlines...

2009-07-08T21:01:00.002+10:00

are looming.

I thought I'd be able to finish my jacket today but my jacket had other ideas. I had to spend the entire day just trying to match up my collars so that the pointy bits are matched properly. Then when I finally managed to sew them onto the neck, their heights aren't the same. When that one got solved, one end decided it wanted to have puckers and them puckers are so stubborn. 10 minutes before the end of class, I decided to shift my attention to my sleeves. Of course, this time, they decided they want puckers as well. Haaarggh.

Seriously!

And I so wanted to start on my kilt already. I've already sent out the registration form to the Wool Awards, not that I'm expecting to win. Initially, I wanted a wrap around skirt to go with it, but T said not to bother and just send a pair of tights. Then I re-read the rules of the contest and it stated that entries should be a complete outfit. Now I can wear a double-breasted coat and just pair it with boots and tights but since the event isn't exactly run by young fashion forward people who can appreciate the look I just described, a matching skirt had to go with it.

So, I went back to my original idea of a wrap around skirt with a button. T said just use a waistband and have it tied on one side. I didn't like it since the jacket is fitted. Any bulge would show. Pencil style skirts? Simple but I have problems attaching invisible zips. Finally, we settled on a kilt. I still have about a metre and a half of the wool I bought from Georgette so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that would be enough. Time to google "how to make pleats".

On other subjects, my silk painting was not happening. The water based gutta just won't play nice with them. I had to redo an entire drawing. Second one was so-so. I might have to redo it as well. Deadline, two weeks from now.

Colour matters final assignment. Who ever invented a software that won't allow you to go back several steps is one seriously mean person. Once you get the hang of undoing everything each time, it's a bit easier but still it's such a hassle. And always framing the work before saving? Somebody tell the person, persons, or company to make their software more user friendly, please! It's a good software especially when it comes to tonal changes, draping and colour separation but these two things are it's biggest drawbacks. It takes tremendous amounts of patience to finish one project in class. If it weren't for the deadline, it would be hilarious. I've been laughing myself silly and mumbling to myself too much to cope with it. My classmates have gotten used to it and are no longer scared I could be psychotic. hehehe

To get away from it all for a bit, I'm going to watch Noche Flamenco this friday with people who are not from school.

Silk Painting

2009-07-04T21:29:00.001+10:00

I looove how the colours just bleed!

Still on the experimental phase. Will see how it goes.

Updates on Knitwear and Tailored Jacket

2009-06-19T22:40:00.003+10:00

Soo...in knitwear, we're using knitting machines from the 1970s. The ones where you move your hand right to left while the yarn gets knitted. First time I used it, all my knitting was soo bad. 2nd time, I had awesome results even when I used the punch cards. Then when someone else started using the machine, their knitting got wrecked. Temperamental machines. At least, we're not doing any hand knitting.

Things I learned in knitting. In doing the toile, think in terms of rectangles. Don't force the fabric to work like woven fabrics because it won't do. Let the fabric drape as it wants. Learn what types of ply and yarns there are before buying any yarns. The last one is for me to remember since we'll be buying our yarns next week. I don't really like merino wool. I prefer yarns that are soft like cashmere. I'll have to watch my budget though. Note to self: do not waste wool.

For the tailored jacket. I finished my toile. I finished cutting my fabrics. Done with the fusing as well. Learned another valuable lesson: Think before cutting the fabric. Sigh. Not only did I cut the wrong side but I also ran out of fabric and Clegs doesn't sell the red wool I wanted anymore. A boink in the head for me.

Wasn't exactly a disaster since T, my teacher, told me to just use the reverse of the cut fabric. So, that's that.

Oh, and must deal with the different shades of my wool. I burnt the wool on my back panels so T said we'll have to burn the other panels as well for consistency. But that's for when I've finished everything and would just be doing the final press. Sigh. Continue pad stitching...

Fabric Buying

2009-06-12T21:11:00.003+10:00

Spent a lot buying fabrics. I already bought about a metre and a half of black Italian wool but I wasn't sure it would be enough. Also, there were patches where the wool was "damaged" in some way. Since it was a remnant of a private collection and it was being sold dirt cheap, literally, at AUD10.00 per metre, it wasn't a bad bargain. In the end, I got the remaining roll for AUD5.00.

But I was still worried it wouldn't be enough for my tailored jacket so I went with E, V and R to check out this wool place in Richmond. Talk about "Whoah!". The place had so much wool to choose from. And they allow students to purchase even though they were a wholesale business (from what I gathered). Anyway, I bought 3 metres of wool/cashmere (80% wool and 20% cashmere). I wanted the 97% cashmere/ 3% wool combination but at AUD89.00 per metre, it was way out of my budget. Sigh.

I just love fabric places especially those with lovely natural fibre fabrics. They're just so great to be in.

Done!

2009-06-03T20:57:00.006+10:00

Yey! Presentation was yesterday. I liked the knitwear. They were so cool.

I didn't like mine. It was just not good enough for me. I'm hoping to do better in knitwear.

I did like my ad boards. They were the only ones I was proud of. heheheh

Here are some that I liked.

Some of the knits

Viviana's macrame swimwear

Ruki's lounging around the pool swimwear

Lingerie Project Update

2009-05-31T01:26:00.000+10:00

It's 1:26 in the morning. I'm taking a break from drawing since my hands were getting tired and stiff from all that drawing.

I finished sewing the garments, but I still need to do a bit of cleaning up. However, half of the requirement is done. Now, I just need to finish the range book. This should've been done loooong ago when I was still relaxed and didn't have much to do. Unfortunately, I was plain lazy and now am suffering the consequences.

For the past two weeks of what was supposed to be a school holiday, I, along with a small group have been going to school as early as 9 in the morning and leaving at 8.30 in the evening sewing, overlocking, babylocking, threading overlockers. By the second week, too many late nights have caught up with us and we started belting out old (Tom Jones old) songs just to amuse ourselves.

Seriously, too many late nights are not good for my skin. I easily get dark circles under my eyes and I tend to resemble a raccoon minus the fur. I don't have break outs yet but I'm not looking forward to having them.

Okay, break over. Back to work.

Aaarrrrgggghhh

2009-05-20T20:26:00.003+10:00

It's supposed to be a two-week break but there's no break for me and those who are still not done with the lingerie/swimwear project. After weeks of draping and correcting patterns, I have not yet perfected a single pattern. I tried to wing it by not doing a sample but that ended in disaster. Lesson learned: don't wing it.

After a private class with V, I think I'm on the right track. I hope to at least finish two things this week so I could concentrate on other things, dyeing for textiles and doing the catalogue for the designs. Sigh.

Tomorrow's another day in school.

On to the next project

2009-05-09T19:13:00.000+10:00

After the corset comes the jacket. I've finished the design and I'm liking it. Kind of. If I manage to make it good, I'd probably even enter it into the wool awards. Must look for red wool and red cashmere.

For the lingerie project, I'm feeling a bit frustrated since I don't think I'm making headways in my bra pattern. Such a tiny thing but it just makes me scream. I've revised the patterns 6 times already and it's still nowhere near fitting as I want it to be. sigh.

Corsets! Corsets! Corsets!

2009-05-01T17:06:00.003+10:00

We handed in our corsets today. I was glad to finish my mine, just the binding actually, at 12.45 in the morning. That gave me 5 hours of shut eye. My classmates weren't so fortunate. Due to the intricate designs they've made, some had to keep working at their corsets until past the due time which was at 2 in the afternoon. T, our lecturer, wasn't bothered by it. He was happy at the work done by the class and he was even complimented by M, the principal of the school. She said the works this year was much better than last year. Yey!

So here are the corsets. Forgot to bring my camera so had to do with my mobile phone.

My corset inner layer

My corset with outer layer

Eileen's corset. She stitched all those designs herself, to get the effect she saw at Clegs.

I think this is Kirsty's

Viviana's corset

In class

2009-04-16T12:34:00.002+10:00

Thought I might sneek in a bit of blogging since we're not doing much in CAD class. I've done my marking (placing the patterns on fabric via StyleCAD to get the best possible yield) and still thinking about what borders to use on my fashion design research journal.

Corset is coming along nicely, fingers crossed. Still haven't posted the photos though I promised I would. It was a bit of a learning curve though. First, I learned the hard way not to use patterned fabrics if I don't have the patience to match them, second, using silk satin is haaaard, unless you use backing paper (or baking paper as a classmate suggested) to hold the fabric in place, third, there are always solutions to the problems especially when your lecturer is keeping a close tab on your progress. Solution for the first? Change the fabric to silk dupion. Expensive but less time consuming.

For fashion design, we need to do production notes for 12 designs so I'll be doing that over the weekend.

Lunch time now so logging off. =)

Feeling the Fool

2009-04-01T20:06:00.002+11:00

Not really though 3 weeks into the new school year and I'm having a bit of a self-reflection of what I've gotten myself into. So far, I've learned how to weave (wafting as a classmate calls it. From weft to right) then I've learned how to knit (repeat after me: plain and purl, plain and purl). Seriously, my fingers became stiff after a whole day of knitting. It didn't help that I was knitting the wrong way when I've finished a square piece. =P

I've also learned how easy it is to do lingerie. We've done 2 kinds already, one is a g-string which was really fun to do. The other was a normal pair of undies. Next week, we're finishing the boylet (or was it boyleg) cut. Yep, we're using lace. Amazing how you can do those itsy-bitsy little thingies and how much they charge for them at the department stores.

For styling and couture, we're doing a corset. And we've done it by draping calico over the mannequin, unlike the flat patternmaking we were doing in first year. Unfortunately, I had to redrape because after I took the calico off the mannequin and traced it on cardboard, I made all the curved lines straight. Then after I corrected my pattern, cut out the calico for fitting, sewn the panels together, I thought I might fiddle with my patterns because the panels didn't match perfectly (there were teensy weensy excesses). Of course, once I did that and re-cut the calico, the panels definitely didn't matched so I had to retrace the draped panels onto cardboard. But it's good. I'm learning what I shouldn't do. =P

Will post photos later. =)

Golden Age of Couture at Bendigo

2009-03-20T19:59:00.008+11:00

Our styling and couture class went on an excursion to Bendigo to view the exhibit entitled the Golden Age of Couture. The exhibit were made up of exquisite clothes and magnificent photos from 1940s to 1950s from London and Paris.
The clothes apparently were donated by the clienteles of Dior, Chanel, Balenciaga, Fath and others. The entire collection were on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Unfortunately, photo taking was not allowed. Pity.
There were many magnificent dresses there. I was impresses by most of them. Some I didn't really like. There were miniature dolls showing the clothes and it was just amazing looking at the details. the beading on the dresses were also awe inspiring. It's sad that these kinds of high quality work is no longer as prevalent as before.

Missing Japan Already

2009-03-15T16:42:00.010+11:00

What can I say about the trip? It was a cold, wacky, and totally inspiring experience. I knew there was a reason why I've always wanted to go to Japan, not just because it was the land of manga and animes although that's a very good reason, too.

It was strange seeing temples and shrines in the middle of the concrete jungle. It was fun watching people hurry along dressed in their business, preppy, and out-of-this-world outfits. I loved lookinga at the architectures at Omotesando and Ginza, Omotesando has edgier buildings from my point of view. Pity I wasn't able to see all the other designer buildings.

I smile as I remember the high-pitched greetings whether it was at Takashimaya or at Yoshinoya. I grimace a bit while recalling being pushed quashed inside the monorail while a polite white-gloved wearing staff pushed the crowd in. I laugh as I remember the horrified look of V when I explained to him the concept of the maid cafe. How he tried not to look embarrassed while we were being served by a very cute girl dressed in a french maid who could not speak a word of english but tried to entertain us, anyway. Maybe I was channeling my inner child, but I was so happy surrounded by cuteness. Even their commercials are cute.

I went there to be inspired, and, boy, was I inspired. Yes, the Japanese are known to have a cattle-mentality, follow the pack, so to speak, and yet, inspite of this or maybe because of this, they also have the ability to break away from the pack and do something marvelous. I'm not a fan of Rei Kawakubo's clothes but I can admire the genius behind the deconstructive clothes she makes. Neatness and cleanliness also seem to be one of the hallmarks of the culture. Whether it be in Tokyo Central or downtown Ueno or nearby Mitaka, things seem to be in order. Houses and buildings are neatly separated or stand neatly together.

That wasn't my first impression though, when we were riding the Skyliner and seeing parts of Narita. My first impmression was that it looked like Hong Kong without the haze. It was reinforced when we arrived at Ueno. Again, it looked like Hong Kong, albeit with wider streets and cleaner surroundings. When we started checking out the tourist sites, I thought, "Now it looks like Beijing but with more stylish people following the traffic/pedestrian lights."

Then we ate at tiny shops and went into department stores and finally it hit me, this is Japan. There maybe similarities but Japan, I should say Tokyo since I haven't seen the rest of Japan, has its own qualities. Its own quirks. But what I love the most is seeing beautiful people. By beautiful, I mean people who look like they like dressing up, who look great in what they're wearing and who are confident as they giggle and walk down the streets. I can also stare endlessly at the perfectly trimmed / pruned bushes, as well as at the elegant buildings.

And the food? Love their miso. Sounds weird but I seem to have developed a love for miso. =)

Can't wait till next time when we go to Kyoto and Osaka. Fingers crossed.

I wonder if they also have cute greetings like this?

Updates to continue

2009-03-08T03:55:00.000+11:00

Sorry, peeps. Will have to postpone uploading and updating as I'm on travel again.

Blogging and posting of photos will resume when I come back.

Ta-ta

**Groggy ***

Shinjuku

2009-02-26T20:44:00.003+11:00

After visiting the Ghibli Museum, we decided to go to Shinjuku.

According to Lonely Planet, it is the place to go to to experience modern Japan in all it's screaming neon glory. And they were right. Coming out of the station, even with the grey sky and slight drizzle, the neon lights and mass of humanity give the place a buzz.

I had a hard time concentrating since my eyes were constantly drawn up to the large electonic screens and beautifully presented window displays as well as to the very chic-ly dressed people I was meeting on the street. I managed to take some pictures, taken from the back most of the time as I didn't have enough courage to ask them to pose for me. Had it been the Sartorialist, he probably wouldn't have had any qualms taking their photos. sigh.

But it was great. Ginza just didn't compare to Shinjuku and I was actually expecting to see more well-dressed people in Ginza. I did see a lot of kimono-clad ladies in Ginza so that was another visual feast.

Photos to be uploaded later.

Ta-ta!

In Japan

2009-02-23T15:27:00.000+11:00

Hullo,hullo

Day 2 in Japan. Have not been able to update since was too tired yesterday. Arrived yesterday and was so beat. Managed to go around Ueno, where we are staying right now, while waiting for the room to be ready. Will write about it more later.

Today we went to Kamakura, kinda similar to Kyoto according to one description. Would not really know since have not been to Kyoto. In case you guys are wondering why I am spelling it out everything, it is because the keyboard here is on an international mode, meaning, it has Japanese, Chinese and English characters but the apostrophe key seem to be missing. Anyway, lots of temples in Kamakura but could only go to 2 major ones and 3 minor shrines. Will upload the photos later.

Food is not that expensive since we eat at relatively cheapy but good eats places. We tried Yoshinoya, a popular fast food, and Suki-ya which from what I understand specializes in beef. I even started liking miso again. There are a lot of Western style restaurants but we didn't really want to eat there since we could have them back in Melbourne. Lots of sweet shops here too. I bough mochi, sticky rice thingies, at the the Giant Buddha temple. They even have them, the mochis, similar to bochi from what I can tell, in the shapes of the buddha. hehehe

That's all for now.

Tomorrow, we will probably go to Akihebara, the electronics city, since we want to see other things aside from temples and shrines.

Nyt, nyt.

Still Packing

2009-02-20T11:29:00.002+11:00

Sorry for the long silence. I was just busy (reading manga) preparing the itenerary for tomorrow's trip (wohoooo)and as the title states, I still haven't finished packing (because I've been sitting infront of my laptop watching manga online for hours on end).

One goal I have for this trip is to get inspired. By the culture, by the lifestyle, by the temples, by everything!(maybe not by the cold)

I'll be taking lots of pix and will upload them in my multiply account. =)

Cheerio for now!

New Task

2009-02-04T16:45:00.005+11:00

Bought 3 metres of cotton fabric yesterday. I'm going to try to sew a shirt, the shirt I did for class but with a bit of variation. I'm going to shorten the sleeves to 3/4.

I'm also thinking of turning the 2 (or less) metre of silk fabric I bought last year into a long skirt. Dunno how I'll go with that.

Will update on how I go. I'm still waiting for them to dry since they have to be we washed prior to being sewn to avoid shrinkage of the final product.

UPDATE: I've ironed the fabrics and have cut the cotton fabric using my school patterns. Now, I understand all those red marks and notes on my patterns and why my notch placements were wrong. Not to mention, those pesky 3 mm differences. Whohoo, I really did learn something from school. hahaha

2nd UPDATE: I've finished hand sewing the shoulder seams, the princess lines, and the back yoke. Unbelievable! I didn't think I'd have the patience to hand sew not to mention to make my stitches small! I had to make another adjustment to the neck since I forgot to add some allowance when I decided to turn the button down shirt pattern to a closed one. I'll be attaching the fusings later.

Ginza Fashion

2009-01-29T15:59:00.005+11:00

In preparation for my upcoming trip to Tokyo, I started surfing the net to see what clothes I need to bring. I can't use Melbourne weather as basis since we're in the middle of summer and currently in the middle of a heat wave with the temperatures in the 40s. Today, the temperature is expected to reach 44 degrees. Poor tennis player. Nadal was dripping in sweat while he was playing in court last night.

Based from little research I've made, we'd be arriving at the tail end of winter although I've read posts where it states that February was the coldest month. So, I went online and found these photos of pretty girls whose photos were taken in Ginza.

I don't think I'd ever be as fashionable as these pretty girls are but there's no harm in dreaming, eh? Photos from this site, Style Arena.

Is this layer-on-layer? I'm a fan of it. I also like the ear muffs.

I like the collar of this one, not to mention the length.

Love the dress, not the leggings.

Colour of the leggings contrasts too much withe the light colours. Not fond of bunching up leggings as well.

Don't like the boots, but I like the style of the jeans. I don't wear tight jeans but on some people, they really look good.

Jill Biden's Inaugural Attire

2009-01-23T22:05:00.004+11:00

While most eyes were on the First Lady (of the US) that day, mine was immediately captivated by the lady in the red coat. I immediately thought, "Who is that stylish lady in red?" Later, I found out that she was Jill Biden, the Vice-President's wife.

I like red. When I see a piece of clothing in red, my eyes follow it.

There were those who didn't share my admiration for her outfit though. Some slammed her "Fleurette coat, plaid Milly dress and tall black boots" as inappropriate for her age and for the event. Some even said, she was trying to outshine Michelle Obama. I wouldn't know about the last one. Based on photos I've seen online prior to the inauguration, Jill Biden had her own sense of style.

Anyway, this was the photo that had some people applauding Jill Biden and others shaking their head and slamming her.

Photo from E Online

If I were to describe Jill Biden's style, it would be classic with a bit of youthfulness in it. Just because she's old does it mean she has to dress dowdily.

Here's another photo I got courtesy of Associated Press.

Mood Board, Fabric Board

2009-01-21T19:43:00.011+11:00

In fashion design class, we're always required to do 3 sometimes 4 boards. Collectively, they are referred to as Story Boards. Individually, there is the Mood Board, the Fabric and Colour Board (sometimes they could be on 2 different boards), and the Style Board. This is not always the case in industry as we were told and as I've personally seen on a field visit. Sometimes a Story Board encompasses everything that are on these different boards. In a company we visited, their board consisted of a massive white board where they tacked on photos of the styles they wanted to sell and the fabrics they wanted to use.

The size of the boards gets smaller as you progress to Year 2 and 3 but in the industry (as per my observation), the bigger the boards and the images, the better.

Anyway, this is all about what we do in school in Year 1.

The Mood Board is all about what inspires you and how the images convey the feeling or the mood. Example, the mood I wanted to convey for this childrenswear range is a fantasy-based wonderland so I used a photo of a castle, fantasy photo of a sky, and lots of glitter.

Here are other mood boards, two boards depicting one theme. The theme is all about Old-Fashioned romance so I downloaded images from various sites. I do not own the images.

The Fabric and Colour Board contains the fabrics that would be used in the range. Depending on the teacher, the names of the fabrics are included as well as the code (i.e Fabric #3033 Silk). For the colours, the paint shop is a favourite destination. The colour cards section is great since the various shades could be found. On top of that, they're free. The colours are renamed to best represent the range, example, instead of just writing Red, it could be Warm Blood, or Pink could be Blush. It's all about marketing.

The Style Board contains images of the style, silhouette, etc that the range is inspired by. So, if the range is all about ruffles and puffed sleeves, the board would contain those images. Often the style is based on a trend declared by Fashion Forecasters. Fashion magazines and online sites like style.com also have these trend shots or trend explanations.

(Will look for a sample of this one in my pile of thingymajigs. Found one)

EDIT: Another board is the Hair, Make-up and Accessories Board. Depending on the teacher, you either have this on an A3 sized board like the others or the contents of the board could be placed in the Research Book. The Research book, sometimes referred to as the Journal, will be on another post.

Again, if the contents fit in one board, one will do but if two boards are needed, then two is also fine.

The purpose of these boards is to focus the attention on what the range would be. As I have personally experienced, once I start designing, I tend to go different ways. So, it's always good to have these boards propped up to remind myself that I'm just doing ruffles or I'm just doing a geometric silhouette.

Testing Part 2

2009-01-20T22:42:00.008+11:00

The first one got deleted accidentally as I was trying to navigate.
My second attempt to blog using my mobile. Yep, am a late bloomer to mobile blogging. The small keys are a bit of a hindrance even with my average-sized fingers.
Okay. Let me see if I can upload photos.
The photos are from my mobile and taken during the December graduation.