ITS ALL ABOUT WHO YOU KNOW...

Annoying but very very very true. 

I am lucky to have a creative family - many of them who are successful in the creative world! My aunty Rikki Finlay is a fashion stylist who is based in London and has worked with the likes of Kimberly Wyatt and has had 2 successful years working on the X-Factor. Initially i wanted to try and get my work experience by myself by emailing out CV's and cover letters just to see if i could break out of the saying "its all about who you know" 

It was getting closer and closer to easter and i still handout secured myself a work experience - i turned to Rikki for help! She was really helpful and sorted me out straight away, the weeks that i could work she didn't have that much for me to do so she spoke to 2 of her stylist friends - Laury Smith (head stylist at the x-factor and for Nichole Shirzinger) and Frank Strachan (another x-factor stylist and head stylist for The Saturdays!) to see if they needed an extra pair of free hands. 

Before this i had to try and arrange somewhere to stay for 2 weeks... i cant express how handy it is having a best friend living in London! I got the best of both worlds for them 2 weeks, living with my best friend in London and working with top stylists - i could defiantly do this for a living. 

The first day i met up with Rikki in Topshop on Oxford road whilst she gave me an insight to what a stylists' job actually involves. It sounded like a lot of returns and quite a tight, close knit community, everyone knew what everybody was doing - not in a bitchy way but it is a competitive industry. In Topshop i met James who was Franks 1st assistant. He had just been doing lots of returns to Topshop and was back off to the office. Little did i know i would be working along side James for the remainder of the 2 weeks! 

My first task was quite nerve racking! Rikki had gone back up north to Manchester and left my phone number with Felicity (Laury's first assistant) I had a phone call Wednesday morning from Felicity asking if i could make my way to Dalston, to Laurys house and wait for a FedEX parcel which should be arriving with a credit card inside. Once i had the card Felicity was going to ring a car to come and collect me, she explained that there was a few Topshop bags on the bed, all that stuff needed taking back to Topshop and putting the money onto the card that i was waiting for. Eeek.. i was very excited for my day ahead! 

My first thought was ah god, how on earth am i going to find this house! Poppy who i was staying with lives in North Acton so it was quite a treck to get to Dalston from her flat. It took me an hour anyway, i got a little lost on the way after getting off at Dalston Junction as my stupid iPhone map decided to stop working (TIP- always have your phone charger on you & a phone with maps!!) luckily mum came to the rescue and got the directions up on her laptop from home and directed me. 

I FOUND IT! woop.. finally got to the gorgeous house, walked up the steps to the large door and let myself in. Wow.. there was about 10 Topshop bags lay on the bed.. by 10 bags i mean 10 bags full of shoes & shoe boxes - these bags arent light!! I had a feeling this was going to be my first Devil Wears Parada moment. 

These bags didnt see Topshop for another 2 days... to cut a long story short FedEX never arrived that day, so i left around 2pm and Felicity told me to come back tomorrow and she had arranged for FedEX to come between 8am and 11am. FUN- i had to be up at 6:30 and out of the house by 6:45 to try and make it to Dalston before FedEX because knowing my luck FedEX would have got there at 7:55 - nope this didnt happen. I was sat in the house from 8am to 6pm waiting for FedEX who never arrived. In the end Felicity had to get them to FedEX it to Poppys flat and i had to go back to the house the next day to collect the bags and do all the returns. Safe to say my first experience of being an intern was an experience. (a good one)