It has been rainy, rainy, and my camera is fussing again. I've been taking pictures but am having trouble uploading them...I hope to troubleshoot this weekend.
Until then, some verbal updates:
Yesterday was absolutely pouring all day, it's like the hurricane wasn't quite done and needed to dump a bit more on us for closure. I still had to do my errands in the rain. Unfortunately, I no longer own rainboots so I just wore some really worn out flats...well, to say the least, by the end of the day my flats were in the can at Century 21 and I had new rainboots with fleece liners on my feet.
Went to Barney's (to visit that snooty new mother) Studio Services and then made some shoe returns at Lord & Taylor. Saw the most gorgeous suede cut-out lace boots....the prettiest boots I have seen in years. Not horribly priced at $328 but also not affordable at the moment. One can still look. Unpacked 4 boxes of shipped rentals from costume sources all over the country and abroad. Currently the designer is working on an "underworld" scene, and is thus renting all sorts of period costumes, because there are dead people from all different centuries, right? Anyway, I took some photos of beautiful 1800s gowns and turn of the century corsets and petticoats and bum ruffles. Hopefully will be up soon! Oh, and we got Thai food for lunch yesterday :). Having my work buy me lunch every day is silly, but a highlight. Unfortunately, someone ate my leftovers that I planned to eat for dinner. First world problems.
Today was a slightly different day than my previous ones- first of all, I got to work with the Assistant Costume Designer. I also was chauffeured on the rest of my errands all around New York City in the film van. Woot. First thing this morning I met the Assistant Costume Designer Christine Bean at the Costume Collection. It was basically a huge warehouse full of costumes from every time period. The racks were stacked three rows high. I helped restock (i.e. put back costumes we no longer needed in the correct time period, color order, etc.) and then just got to take a look around. Before I met Christine upstairs at the Costume Collection, I waited for her in the lobby for 20 minutes. This was quite the experience. I guess the building is full of artsy-fashion type things, because never have I seen such a crowd in the lobby. From skinny model types who were going to Peter Som's open casting, to old gentlemen with the glasses and pants hemmed just so with no break so they can show their socks, to women in artisan / tribal prints. It looked like any other busy downtown working building, but I did not see a single suit! The people watching from my little corner was marvelous, and intimidating! Everyone was so purposeful and knew exactly where they were going. Somehow it reminded me of the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter, sans robes.
After the Costume Collection, Christine and I sat down to get some tea and a snack as we waited to get picked up by Jess, the production assistant. She was available to drive us around because she did not have to be on set that day. It was great to get some one-on-one time with Christine and get to know her better (and have her get to know me at all, yay!). I was able to ask her questions about the industry and how she got there etc. It seems like there is plenty of work to be had but it is all word of mouth, so it is best to find people you like working with and then try to continue to work for each other as sort of a team. For example, this is the third movie Christine and Kate (the Costume Coordinator, who is my direct supervisor) have worked on together, because Christine always recommends Kate for her position since they work well together.
After Jess picked us up (and I rode in the car with Amela, the designer! what a rarity!), we got back I checked in things from the Costume Collection and we all had lunch. Amela, Christine, and Jess all like to order food from this vegan place that has this thing called a "macro" plate. Apparently it's sort of expensive. Anyway, they got one for me today. It's so silly! I mean the food was fine, but it literally was some seaweed, brown rice, and steamed veggies with beans. Healthy, but it's silly that this food is more expensive than random other food they order. I don't even think it's local / organic / whatever. See? Marketing is everything! This restaurant can make money off of making you feel healthy, by giving you food you could easily make for yourself at a fraction of the cost!
After lunch, I had the luxury of having Jess drive me to Saks, Barneys, and J. Mendel. Mostly returns. We then picked up some 70s suits at Hero Costumes, and then headed back. Great to get some time with Jess as well, and nice not to have to lug all of that expensive stuff all around the subway in the rain!
After work today, I decided to head over to the Eileen Fisher headquarters just to see if I could see anyone in person. It's sort of stupid, just walking up to the front desk of a company you want to work for, and saying "I just wanted to stop by to say hi," but that's exactly as I intended to do. I went in, went to the 9th floor, and found the office space. It was very colorful, and had lots of natural light. I saw some women sitting on the floor, laughing with one another. Maybe they were having an Eileen Fisher-style "meeting." The front door was closed, and the receptionist had gone home. However, a woman in the event planning department opened the door for me as she was leaving the office. I walked down with her. It all felt corny inside my head, from all of their classes talking about the "elevator pitch," but that is exactly what it was. End of story, she was very nice to me and gave me her card and asked me to email her to she could remember to give my information to HR. Not a definite "in," but if I keep at it, eventually I will have spoken to 80% of the company, and they will no longer be able to ignore me! Those HR people must talk to one another, I hope. I've already been interviewed by 2 and am now going after the 3rd.
I also walked around Parsons a bit. Definitely a hodge-podge style / hipster set. Good to get to know the area.
