Live. Love. Loft.

Live.  Love.  Loft.


Flash back to approximately ten months ago, and I was preparing to return to Drexel as an incoming sophomore after my first, last, and only summer vacation as a college student--that is, if working 40+ hours a week at an internship in North Carolina counts as a vacation.  After my work-filled summer, I had discovered a newfound love and appreciation for retail and working and began to consider options to carry this over part-time in Philadelphia.  Considering my options, I was interested in applying to mostly to locations convenient to campus, where I both live and attend classes.  However, I was still hesitant as to whether I could balance class and work together and if I would have to work a demanding amount of hours each week.

Luckily, I remembered I knew older girls whom worked at Loft and Gap not too far, located on Penn's campus.  I was able to contact them and ask about their experiences with the balance and how realistic it would be to manage both.  The girl who worked at Loft, an older girl in my sorority, an incoming Design and Merchandising senior at the time, and overall a role model to me, talked me through her experience.  She had began working there as a sophomore, like I would be if I applied, and had been able to balance it through sophomore and junior years, as well as co-op.  I immediately applied to Loft on 36th and Walnut Streets and heard back from them not much later.  My process included two group interviews spaced apart by a few weeks, an exciting phone call hiring me (which I still have saved on my voicemail today), and four hours of training videos (a tad less exciting).  Finally, I was on the team.

As I had mentioned before, there were two prime reasons that helped me get to Loft: wanting to work in retail and the convenient location.  Despite my exciting summer, I went in knowing that it would be a job, and more so it would be work.  Little did I ever foresee how much I would love the brand and my fellow teammates.

Flash forward--this time to present day.  I am not who I thought I would be when I began working last October.  I find myself longing to work, using it as a therapeutic getaway from schoolwork, and most ironically working in the two Center City locations often, mostly the 17th and Walnut Streets location to be specific.

It turns out that the reasons I came to Loft and the reasons I have stayed at Loft could not be more different.  When beginning my new job, I always held an optimistic attitude, but I never would have guessed that I would be itching to return to work on school breaks or nearly begging to work at two different locations multiple times in a single week.

I think it is safe to say that I "Live. Love. Loft," and I could not be luckier.

New City, New Internship

Hey Bloggers!
I am back in the same time zone but cannot say I am too happy about it! I miss Ireland! I have started my new internship in Manhattan. I am a fashion intern at Krupp Group, a public relations firm. As expected, my experience is already completely different. I work at an office with about thirty, if not more, employees. There are about seven interns that rotate daily.
My daily tasks include making clippings of our clients press recognition, pull pieces from our closet to send out to magazines, and compose pullsheets for those selected outfits. The first day was very slow but as I gained enough knowledge to handle these tasks by myself, it made the day more enjoyable.
The office culture is laid back in terms of dress code but the pace is anything but. Once an email comes in, people are running around the office until the items needed are sent out. I found it very interesting and surprising that exactly what was in the job description is exactly what my daily intern life entails.
I will let you know what this week brings! 

Bridal Bliss

Hello Readers!

The bridal trunk show at Nicole Miller at the Bellevue this weekend was a whirlwind of stunning silhouettes, fabulous vendors and fashion fun!  We had lots of appointments for brides looking for a Nicole Miller signature style and we did not disappoint!  New collection pieces were a hit and the classics never fail to please the sophisticated and fashion forward bride.  Our vendors knocked it out of the park with their gorgeous displays and top of the line services.  Please see some images below of our wild, wedding weekend!

A gorgeous NM gown on the 19th Floor of the Bellevue!

Every Philly bride needs this picture on their big day!

   

Leaves of Grass displayed beautiful arrangements for everyone to enjoy!

   

Ann's Cake Pans showed off their show stopping cake designs!

DollFace Studio also captured some great shots of our weekend and we are looking forward to posting them soon!

Thank you to all of our vendors, our team members and, of course, our brides for making this weekend a success!

- Josie

Brides! Brides! Brides!

Hello Readers!

Beginning Friday, June 20th, Nicole Miller will be hosting a seasonal bridal trunk show at the Bellevue!  Nicole Miller Philadelphia hosts a bridal trunk show once each season because weddings are consistently booked throughout the year and we want to give all brides equal opportunity to see the new and gorgeous styles that we are bringing in!  For the trunk show, we feature the new bridal collection samples to give the brides a jump on the upcoming trends.  It is also an opportunity for the NM team to get some feedback on the looks before permanently bringing the styles into the store.  We have a good amount of appointments ready to go for this weekend and we can't wait for our store to turn into a bridal paradise! We will be featuring vendors to compliment the shopping experience and provide brides with personal information from top wedding professionals in the area.  Leaves of Grass Floral Designs will be showing off their beautiful arrangements alongside delectable treats from Ann's Cake Pans.  The Bellevue Salon & Spa will be representing the building with stunning hair and makeup options and DollFace Studio will be here to capture the unforgettable moments! We also will be offering 10% off all bridal trunk show pieces!  If you are a bride, don't miss out on this amazing opportunity to get an elegant and memorable gown that you will always love!

If interested in setting up an appointment, please call 215-547-5007!

Check out our amazing vendors!

http://www.leavesofgrassdesigns.com/

http://www.annscakepan.com/

http://www.bellevuesalonandspa.com/

http://dollfacestudio.com/
Also, stayed tuned for a follow up of the trunk show in next week's post as well as details regarding an upcoming SALE at Nicole Miller at the Bellevue!

http://mkdandassociates.com

- Josie

First Half Recap

Hey there readers!

This week marks the halfway point of my co-op at Nicole Miller at the Bellevue!  At Drexel, students that are in class are taking their finals and heading home for a week or two for a short summer break.  Then, they will be heading back to class to begin the summer term in the last week of June.  What will I be doing?  I will be continuing my co-op in Center City as I still have 3 exciting months ahead of me.  I thought it might be interesting to write about some of the things I have learned at Nicole Miller over my time as an intern!

- Event days are the longest days and require the most work but they are the most rewarding.
- I am a project oriented individual and love crossing tasks off my list at the end of the day.
- You never know which Philly celebrity will walk through that door next so it is important to always bring your "A game".
- When in doubt, ask a question.
- I can multitask more than I thought I ever could, but I still have to write everything down.
- The city is filled with successful businesses and individuals, use that as an advantage.
- I am improving my sales techniques and perfecting how to speak intelligently about the NM collections.
- Cooperation between multiple store locations is key.
- Finally, fashion is fun and always changing!

Needless to say, I am looking forward to the rest of my co-op at Nicole Miller and am positive I will continue to learn as time goes on!

Thanks for reading!

- Josie

Thanks a Million, Ireland!

Tomorrow is my last day interning at Wild Poppy Concepts. I cannot believe how quickly this all came and went. Dublin has been my home for the past ten weeks and I have gotten to know and love a completely different culture. My job has been nothing I was expecting in the most postive way possible. My boss has made a huge impact on my life and I know I am lucky to have this one on one experience. It will be comepletely different when I start my internship in New York City but I am so gad to have had this relationship whiie abroad.
I will be attending an event tomorrow night that our company has helped organize. Every detail was carefully planned out and I cannot wait to see it in action. The attention to detail shocked me. The process goes way beyond what appears to the guests on the surface. Event planning is an interesting area of this field but I can rule that out of my future plans.
I have to say, that is what I have gained most about this half of my internship. I have definitive plans and possibilities for my future and on the opposite side, I know exactly what I do not want my future to include.
This is my last weekend to finish up all my sight seeing around Dublin and then I head to Spain! Very excited to mix up the cultual experience yet again!
I hope to keep reading all your posts for the next ten weeks!
Cheers!

Already half way there?

I cannot believe I am more than half way done my coop at QVC. I have less than two months left working because I leave to study abroad in August! Reflecting back on my first few weeks working, I feel that I have grown professionally in ways I would not have in class. Not only have I learned tremediously, my relationships with my coworkers are growing stronger. I am now given more responsibility. I am given more tasks to work on throughout the day. This is a very crazy time in the office beacause of our Holiday event happening in two weeks. I really enjoy being busy in the office. Sometimes I even think there are not enough hours in the day to get all my work down. Between photo shoots, pitchs, organizing products, shipping products.. my day is very busy. I feel very confident in the tasks that I am given. I also feel pride when I do a job well done. Last week I got a "Rock Star" award, which is basically a certificate. But it is really nice to feel that I am doing a good job here.

I am excited to see what the next few months bring. It is hard to believe that so much time as flown by. Before I know it I will be off to Paris!! That is if I can figure out how to get my Visa in time! QVC has been an amazing company to work for. Everyday I am amazed about how many people it takes to run such an incredible company. Here I am- at headquarters. QVC is in seven different countries. Broadcasting live 24/7 and everyday except Chirstmas. This place never takes a break- never slows down. I am so grateful to learn from it.

As I continue to learn over the duration of my coop I want to take in as much as possible. I want to really learn about the company inside and out. I am able to meet with different people that work in different departments. I am in the process of setting up meetings with them. I think I want to learn more about the Merchandising and International side of the business.

It has been an amazing 10 weeks here. I cannot wait to see what more QVC has in store for me.