Weekly Reflections: Week # 3

Work was a breeze for me this week. Everyday, I do the same work and therefore, it gets easier and easier. This week, I was still doing the same jobs and tasks that I have been doing for the past two. The first week I spent more of my time learning what I was going to have to accomplish in the next two weeks. I learned several different tasks that I would be accomplishing in week one, and throughout that week I was able to do them on my own. By the third week though, I was able to complete several different jobs on my own; I knew exactly what I was doing and it felt really good!

The activities I was asked to do this week were the same as what I have been asked the past two weeks. Whether the activities I did seemed big or small, they were all very necessary and important to make the public relations department run well as well as the store. Some of my jobs ranged from running messages to other employees and making photo copies to working on approbations and going over events. Although some of the jobs may seem less important than others, the job has to be done and someone has to do it and that’s what makes them important.

My internship and my experience in New York City have improved so much throughout the past three weeks. I love that for the majority of my stay, I knew how to get around on my own. At first, I thought I would never be able to find my way around the city. By the end of three weeks though, I was walking and taking the subway to many different places in different parts of Manhattan. I lived on the Upper East Side, which is a pretty safe place to be and this made me feel a little better and not as nervous. I remember how worried I was on the first day of work. Looking back at the first day compared to the last, I realized how much I’ve learned and became more independent. I was so much more confident with the work and being on my own. I am very proud with the work that I have accomplished these three weeks.

Each day, I benefit more and more from both the work and the overall “city” experience. I have learned what it is like to work in communications. I have learned what it is like to live in a place with people who come from completely different backgrounds then mine. It has been so great to get a “taste” of the city and to see what else is out there in the world. It was a wonderful opportunity to get an internship at such an exclusive fashion company. I am so happy I chose to do this for my senior project because I really enjoyed it. I hope that in the future, I am able to get an internship elsewhere because I think they are very beneficial for younger people. It also opens many doors to different places. I am really excited to get back to school but at the same time, I am sad to be away from these past three weeks because they were amazing!

Last Day of Senior Project!

Today was my last day of work! I can hardly believe it! Today I did not have that much to do, however, I was able to work on my self-reflection essay, which was very helpful. I had the ability to go over my last three weeks with my sponsor and discuss how everything went. We also had a chance to look for pictures, event, books, magazine or anything that would be useful for my project.

Today I had to write down about 25 different addresses to envelopes that were being sent out to clients. It was an invitation for a certain event. The manager of the store really liked my handwriting, and she asked that I write all of them. This made me feel really good. Today I also wrote two different approbations. I sent a package to another store with wallets and belts. I then had to finish up with the jewelry approbation and have that sent out.

My day was very relaxing. It felt nice to be able to look over everything I’ve done and get everything organized for my presentation! I got to leave work today by about one o’clock because I had to catch a train to leave the city. It was very sad saying goodbye to everyone at work; I am really going to miss them! I am excited to get home and graduate but at the same time, I am very sad to be leaving my past three weeks. I had a wonderful senior project and I felt that everything went very smooth! I cannot wait to share my experiences with everyone!

Day 14:

I was very excited today when I heard that the manager of the store liked my handwriting and asked that I be the one to address several envelopes for her. I know this doesn’t sound very exciting, but it made me feel important and useful. The envelopes that I will be addressing are for an invitation that is being sent out to several clients.

Today I was asked to fill out a fairly large approbation for a photo shoot. A magazine would like to use our jewelry for a photo shoot from today until Saturday. I had to gather the jewelry, write the approbation and help to have it sent out.

Today, I had to walk to the company that owns Asprey with my sponsor for a meeting. The meeting was to discuss the upcoming events this summer. There are two very important events that are going to take place, and for the past three weeks that I’ve been here, we have been working on them. Today I had to photo copy a few different items and then file them. I am usually asked to make copies of several different magazines that have our products in them. For instance, we saw Kristin Davis in a magazine with our handbag. We need to make a copy of this and keep it on file because when clients come in and ask for the bag that Kristin David has, we need to immediately know what they are talking about.

Today was my second to last day and my last night in New York City. I can’t believe that my last day of work is tomorrow!

Day 13:

Although it was a quiet day, there was a lot of communications done to prepare for upcoming events. I took care of the preparation of two very large upcoming photo shoots. This process includes taking images of the products that the publication is interested in, sending the photos, detailing the availability of colors and quantities, and coordinating the pick up. One of them involves the coordination of available security. I also had to research credit information for several possible press credits, which means the company’s product will be featured in the magazine.

Today was not the most exciting day, but it allowed me to work on my paper, which is very helpful. I now have two days left of my senior project…only two more nights in the city!

Day 12:

Today was another rainy, cold and miserable day in New York City. In the morning, there was no rain and I didn’t bother to grab my raincoat. However, by the end of the day, it was pouring and I had to wear a trash bag, which was a little embarrassing, but VERY worth it!

Today I had to prepare for an upcoming jewelry photo shoot. I went downstairs to the first floor and had to get all the jewelry that was going to be in the shoot. I had to take down their prices and their sku numbers. I also was asked to see how many the store had in stock. Today I also had to prepare for an event, which will be taking place at the end of this month. I had to gather different jackets for the event.

I also organized the press shelves. I had to move around several products and put some products with others so they would be in the right place and easy to find. I ran a few copies of photos that our jewelry or any of our products are advertised in.

It is really hard to believe that I am almost done with my senior project! I am very excited to get back to school but at the same time, I am very sad to leave the city. It has been a wonderful experience to live here, and I am going to miss it!

Today I worked from 11-5.

Day 11:

The city was very chilly this morning; it was very windy and I was not prepared for the walk to work. I was wearing a dress with a cardigan and sandals and let me tell you, I was freezing!

Today, I went into work a little earlier than usual so I could get out earlier and have time to work on my paper. I also worked on the layout my project and how I am going to present it when I get back to school.

Today at work, I finished organizing the “custom orders” in merchandising. Again, I had to match up more numbers and pair the clients with the sales person. I then had to file the orders. I also had to open up a few emails while my sponsor was off working on something else. I had to open all the attachments, print them, and file them for her. Today, I also ran small tasks for my sponsor, which included sending messages from one department to another department. I sent out two different approbations to other stores with our products. My day was a bit shorter than usual, but this allowed me to work on my other projects.

Weekly Reflections: Week # 2

This past week, work was a lot easier for me. I have started to learn more about the “day to day” work that I am assigned to do. Each day, most of the work is the same, or very similar. I’ve been asked to do certain tasks each day that I have already learned, and it is nice for me to be able to go right ahead and do it without asking any questions. I find that I don’t do very many different tasks, and therefore my work is much like a job and I have the opportunity to learn my “position”.

I love that each day I go into work, my boss tells me to go fill out an approbation, and without any kind of question, I go right ahead and do it. When I first got to work, I didn’t know how to do anything and I didn’t like the feeling of not being helpful. Now, I feel like I am very useful to the store and I also feel really appreciated by others who work there. It is a good feeling to know what I am doing and what I can do. I pay close attention when my sponsor works on the computer, so in the future, when she asks me to work in excel, I have the ability to do so.

I felt that every job that I completed throughout the week was very necessary for the store. Some of the work I did, were things that the store didn’t always get done because it was time consuming and less important than their day-to-day work. I was put to work in these areas, but really enjoyed it because I knew how helpful it was for them. I usually helped with the work that caused my sponsor or others in the store to become sidetracked from their more important work. If they needed me to run a message to the basement, I will do so in order to save them that extra time so they can continue doing their work.

In the beginning of this week, I got a call from my sponsor asking me about the blog I have online. Apparently, someone in the company found my blog online and unfortunately I had to delete it. The company told me that my blog was okay but that it was unprofessional and that I should probably take it off the website. This was okay with me because it was an interesting learning experience. I never would have thought that there could be a problem with it, but it just showed me how professional some companies are and how much businesses are taken seriously. Basically what I had to do was print my blog from the first week and then delete it completely. From then on, I have still been posting a blog, but have not included the name of the store, or anything related to the store. So far there has been no problems and everything is going just fine, which is good.

This week, I felt as though I benefited that much more than last week. I feel more mature about work, sophisticated, and I take the store very seriously. I have created new friendships with other people who work in the store. I feel that I am more important this week than I was the last week. This is because I have learned more and have the ability to work on my own with less assistance than I needed in the first week. I am really happy about the way work has been going. I have learned a lot and I am also having so much fun! I love the people who work at the store, and so far I am really happy I chose this for my senior project! The highlight of my week, although mentioned in my last posting, was when I got to see Bette Midler!! She is a very famous actress in two of my favorite movies, which are, Hocus Pocus and First Wives Club. This was very exciting for me because she actually turned around and smiled right as I was walking by!

Day 10:

The weather in New York today was very lousy. It was raining and windy all day long. I really enjoyed being inside today because it was very cold outside.

Today I worked on a few different things. But when I wasn’t working, I was learning about the different departments in the store. I took a trip down to the first floor to learn about the jewelry. I walked downstairs to check out all the different kinds of jewelry and their prices. I also looked on the second floor on all of the miscellaneous products such as picture frames, back gammon boards, china, glasses, wallets, ties, dresses, jackets, shoes, etc. I was trying to see if there was anything I could possibly purchase, but there wasn’t. I couldn’t even buy a pen because the cheapest one was $500.

Today for work, I went back into the stock room to go through more and more clothes with the public relations assistant. We got an email sent in the mail requesting cashmere cardigan sweaters for a photo shoot. I had to go in the back room to look and see if this was in stock, but unfortunately it wasn’t and we weren’t able to send anything out. Today, I also sat with the logistics manager to see how the inventory process works.

The HIGHLIGHT of my day today, was when I got to see Bette Midler!!!! I walked into the jewelry department, and there she was, purchasing a piece of jewelry! For those of you who don’t know her, she is very famous and some of her movies are “Hocus Pocus” and “First Wives Club”. She turned around right as I was walking by and smiled and said hi to me! It was very exciting!!

Day 9:

I had an extremely eventful day today! When I got to work, the store had many jobs for me to complete.

Today, I worked on a huge project which involved working in the stock room. I spent a couple of hours with someone else, going through a bunch of clothing such as dresses and jackets, that will eventually be sent out to the other store. All of this clothing had just come back from a previous event, and we had to check it off to make sure it was all still there. As we were checking it off, we realized there were two pairs of gold pants missing. We then had to go back through all the clothing, through different boxes and spent a good chunk of time looking for these pants. My boss eventually went on her email and realized that both pairs of gold pants were at another store and they were already taken care of. We then had to go back to the stock room and put all of the clothing back in order, pack it into boxes and then have it shipped out. This process took a very long time for there were a lot of clothes, shoes, and packaging!

After this project, I was asked to take notes on this website that my boss would later send to a client, which explained the company and how it came to be. Today I filled out an appro for an envelope that was sent out. Later, I had to gather a few pieces of “rose” jewelry, which included a diamond rose pendant, diamond rose earrings and diamond rose pins. I had to create another appro for all of this jewelry because it was being sent out for a photo shoot. I wrote the appro, gathered the jewelry, packed it up and had it sent out with one of the guys at the store. Today was pretty eventful for me, and full of all different tasks. I can’t wait to see what I am doing tomorrow!!

Day 8:

Today was a very focused day for me. I worked in my boss’s office for the majority of the day working on editing the press contact list. Although this may not sound like that much work, it really was. I had three pages of names to add to the press contact list. It also had to be in alphabetical order, but I had to do this manually and not just by the computer. I had to type their name, address, phone numbers and email addresses and make sure they were all in order.

I also worked in merchandising, and helped with filing custom orders. I had to go through papers and match numbers with other numbers, staple them, hole punch and file them into a book. This also took a lot of time; as I had to be very careful that I didn’t miss match any of the numbers. I had to make sure the names of the clients matched with the names of their sales person.

Today, I felt as though I learned more, which enabled me to complete even more tasks than I have this past week. Everyday I learn something new and this allows me more options to work with. I think the best part about today though, is when I looked at the “material” book. This material book is full of several different animal prints that are used to make products that people buy. They use a lot of lizard, alligator and ostrich skins. Clients usually call into the store to have bespoke items made, which means they custom order product in a particular material or color.

Day 7:

I went into work today at around 9 in the morning and worked until 3 this afternoon. Today was a very long day for me. I ran several tasks for people in the store, which really added up by the end of the day. Today I was asked to look in the stock room, on the floor and the in the basement to find certain products that were going to be sent out. I constantly found myself running around completing various responsibilities that were asked of me. Sometimes I feel like I am a personal assistant to either my sponsor or whoever may be incharge of me for that specific day. Some times I run around to help out with merchandising and most of the time, I help with the public relations, which I did a lot of today.

Today I was asked to do a lot of photocopying and printing various photos of products. I was then asked to take copies of either paper work or photos to people in other departments of the store. I made many calls throughout the day to have a messenger come to the store for pick-ups that were being sent out. I ran messages from one office to the other, or from upstairs to downstairs. I will do any favor that is asked of me. I am on my feet the majority of the day, but I like it; it keeps me very motivated. Sometimes the days seem long, but as long as I am willing to work, they can be really exciting and often shorter than they really are.

Week 2- Day 6

Magazine and newspaper publications are an essential tool in public relations. In public relations, in this industry, the PR coordinator sends merchandise to magazine publications that fit into the “story”. For example, a magazine might do a games story, and they use jewelry as the game. In this instance, the publication will contact the designer and request merchandise that will fit this theme. If the product is featured in the magazine, then the company’s product receives press and magazine readers will find products they are interested in buying and the company makes sales. Press departments document all press they have received in some organized fashion. In this instance, they keep a notebook with copied images of the press. They keep a copy of the publication in which the product was featured. And they also keep a copy of each major monthly publication in order to follow the stories and themes that the publication does each year, and also which may have had stories in which their competition was featured but they were not,. An important task in the public relations department involves researching the magazines and looking at ways in which to include their product in future publications. Each magazine tends to have a certain product that they like to feature, a particular style. After understanding the direction of the publications, the PR reps can then pitch ideas to magazines with the products that they have available.


Today, I assisted with several projects, which are all part of this process. Some of these projects included organization, such as the organization of the publication, but while completing this project, I was able to look through some of these magazines and see where product had been featured, and the different ways in which the product was featured. I helped update the press book, and the press contacts, as the PR department is always making new contacts with different publications. I also sent out images to several publications of new product available in the store. This will hopefully be featured in the publications, or the editors will come in to see the new product. Today, while it was a lot of organization, I learned a lot about the public relations department.