Week - 3-

OH man.

wooden blocks. shelves. nails. drills. dust.... is my ability to do intensive physical labor being tested here? 

A new sale room is being built, our job was to install the shelves, move all the merchandise, and set up in a way that will be "appealing to the eye of the shopper". As easy as it sounds, moving and installing those shelves was not the breeziest walk in the park. But none the less, the job was done and we were to set up all the pretty home wear in a way that will make them even prettier. 

May i say that i've missed the studio this week, but stepping out of my comfort zone definitely helped me expand my experience within merchandising and learning how to take the shoppers perspective upon things vs. mine. Ive learned that in such industry, knowing how to make beautiful things wont cut it. But an artist should rather look beyond the physicality of the art work and onto the bigger aesthetic spectrum the work is presented in,  in order to appeal to the, in this case, shopper.

Second day was not as intense. Actually quite the opposite. Making pink gentle flower petals all day was pretty ironic after an intense day of using hammers and drills.

Week - 2 -

This time around, i was prepared. A cute dress, high heels, pink blush, a fearless attitude, and i was ready to conquer this place. My work was allready set out for me and i was ready to work and prove that im worthy of this space. I was given the task to make these new yet vintage looking hanger covers. Stencils, old canvas, and a sewing machine, and i got the job done. Took the entire day, but non the less, it was done and ready for Valentines day. Ironed, pretty, and embroidered with a heart. My new yet vintage looking hanger covers were ready for display.

Second day, second week and i was given a bit more responsibility and it could not have felt any better. I was told that i wasnt going to be a given specific task today, but rather help out execute some research. I spent my time doing online research for products, tools, and supplies for a new Ocean/Sea shore theme. who knew that finding cotton knitted grocery bags was going to be so difficult? Being done with the online search i headed out to the hardware store where i picked out the colors i thought were suited for this next Sea Shore project. In control and productive, thats how i ended my week.

ps. In my room lays a cooper coated bird that was made out of trash that was going to be trashed, i don't know what to do with it yet but its definitely keeping me company for now.

Welcome to Anthropologie

- Week 1 -

My first hour, and i was already bombarded by all these 5ft little determined women running around with cute dresses and high high heels. Intimidating? i would say so. Defiantly not the atmosphere i thought i was stepping into from my preconceived notion of the quite "mythological" "Anthropological" atmosphere of Anthropologie. Before the store opens at 10am, the visual team is there at 6 preparing the store's displays and setting out the merchandise. They're very welcoming yet very serious, and they put me to work right as i entered through the doors. Behind all the knitted scarves and the elaborately designed dish ware lays a little art studio filled with manly tools, hardware, and massive piles and wood. And thats were ill be spending most of my time. Myself and a group of 3 other interns were introduced to the new Spring 2011 installation / merchandise display idea. "Denim, Denim, Denim!" is what the Visual Artist said, so i take it that Denim is the main focus of this spring season. One of the projects i started working on is this huge wall installation for the front of the store. We were to create a painting surface made out of various sized cubes covered with denim squares. The cubes with the attached denim will be hung on the wall and and an image will be painted onto the denim surface. I spent my first five hours at the internship cutting up old jeans into stacks of denim squares, ironing each and everyone of them, and lastly nailing them onto the white painted cubes. In addition to this fun so called "slave" work  i learned more about how this idea was formulated. Each store receives a set of undetailed instructions and its up to the visual team to take these instructions to the next level, allowing them to make their store unique and unlike any the other store. i thought that was really cool and made me get excited again about this great opportunity. 4 bloody fingers, a bruise, and a new eye opening realization, and we called it a day.

Visual Internship Spring 2011

The Visual internship at Anthropologie offers a great atmosphere for individuals to experiment with the contemporary visual art world. The internship involves creating and maintaining displays, assisting in the completion of visual projects, and upholding the overall aesthetic of the store and its objectives. This internship provides a cross between studio work and visual merchandising/ display, which both are areas that I’m sincerely passionate about. As an intern, I get to work with the visual team they have on site, and help them develop and execute the projects they have on hand in order to provide that “Anthropological” experience for the customers. Each season, each store undergoes a series of display changes, and I am glad to be part of the Spring 2011 change.

Upon entering this atmosphere, many questions arise. How, where from, and who exactly is behind this hype about their unique visuals. I would love to learn more about the source of their inspiration and the process of how they develop their great ideas. In addition to that I would like to expand my experience with professional studio work.

At the end of each week, I will make an entry to my blog explaining what I did during the time I spent there (10 hours/week), and describing the projects I helped work on. The Company’s strict publicity rules will make providing photos a challenge. But ill try my best!

I don’t exactly have the project planned yet, but I would definitely want to create something that is inspired by the visual teams’ process of formulating their ideas and executing them. This will offer me a chance to develop my “thought process” techniques and push it in the direction of positive creativity.