Internship Day Four

Today was my first full day at Curtain Call headquarters. Ashley and I each got our own desk/computer set up and a full set of Perform Group catalogs to flip through whenever we want :) In the morning, we sat in on a brief meeting between all the design department members and then Sara (my supervisor) assigned us each a task for the rest of the morning. Ashley was cutting swatches to send to a woman we met at the photo shoot who is interested in custom tops for her studio and I got the job of altering a costume! One of the women up in Advertising also teaches at a dance studio and one of her students' costume was WAY too short - like 4".
It was this costume - In the Spotlight. While I was altering in, I got to meet a bunch of people again! I had to get the pattern dept to print me out the front and back skirt pieces and while I was there, I discovered that one of the pattern makers had gone to Moore! She was a graphic design major and fashion minor so we talked about Moore and teachers while the pieces were printing on the plotter. The pieces come out of the plotter perforated so you can just tear them apart - so cool. Then, I took that over to the cutting room and got Bev, one of the cutters to help me find the fabric and then she cut me out an extension. Next, I borrowed a seam ripper from the sample sewers and spent some time picking off the sequin and fringe trim that is at the hem. Finally, I went back to the sample sewing room and got Sharon to show me how to use set up the super industrial overlock. It was so nice to sew on!! Sooo much better then at school! It was a four thread double needle with industrial needles to sew the sequined fabric and it sewed so smoothly! She also helped me set up the industrial straight stitch to stitch the trim back on after I attached the extension. Luckily, I remembered a lot from Mina last fall but the machines were just a little different then the ones at school.

We had a working lunch today - the design department went out to eat with the Interim VP of Marketing, John Misner. We went to a diner nearby and talked about the upcoming catalogs over lunch. After lunch, Ashley and I were assigned to research Broadway shows that are playing in NYC in July - we're going to take a trip up to see a show and look at fabric!

Sorry, no photos from my internship, all the ones I took at the photo shoot are top secret :) But...here's a link to a quick blog about some of the models at Moore's fashion show with a photo of my menswear! It was a good school related day - I got my internship check in the mail and my final grades for last semester - 4.0 :-D

Days 2 & 3

Yesterday and today were spent up in Lebanon, PA, at the final photo shoots for Curtain Call's 2011-2012 catalogs! I had a great time seeing all the costumes, accessories, props and seeing how it all comes together. There is always a professional choreographer on site, who poses the models (many times they are actually dancing, to show how the garment moves better). The one the past two days was Jason and he was hysterical - he had about 75 CDs and he always had to find the right song for each shot - to "get the vibe". It was amazing how some costumes could be photographed so fast and others would take much longer - especially if the model was jumping or turning. And of course group shots always took a long time. Ashley and I didn't really have any official duties these days but we helped out with straightening costumes, trimming threads, pinning, etc. One of the most important things was making sure everyone matched - for most of the spreads they shoot each model individually and then drop them into a group so it's really important to make sure that everyone has the bracelet on the left hand and the socks are all the same height, etc.

My inner graphic designer had a blast admiring the giant iMacs they were using - each time they took the photo it would pop right up on the screen so we could all scrutinize every last detail. There was also another graphic designer across the room working on the layout - as the photos were taken, he would clean them up and drop them into position so they could make sure that every outfit had been photographed. Tomorrow will be our first day of work at the main headquarters :)

Internship: Day One!

Today was the first day of my internship! I am one of two interns at Perform Group, LLC this summer. It was the first day for both of us and it was nice to have someone else to share the adventure with. Ashley (the other intern) and I spent the day meeting pretty much everyone in the building - from the owner/CEO Tighe King to all the pattern makers, sample sewers, cutters and even the shipping team. There are about 130 employees and I think we met most of them!

We also got to sit in on a meeting between some of the departments and spend some time getting used to where we'll be working. Tomorrow and Wednesday I get to go up to Lebanon for photo shoots. I had the chance to attend one of Perform Group/Curtain Call's photo shoots my senior year of high school, thanks to a family friend and I'm really looking forward to going back.

Summer 2011...

will be full of sewing/design adventures. I scored my dream internship with Perform Group, LLC in York, PA, so I'll be working in their design department 5 days a week. I also have plans to make two or three high level custom figure skating dresses and some practice wear for assorted skaters I know.

For myself, I'm going to try and skate three times a week so that I can work on my Junior Moves in the Field. I passed Novice at the end of last summer and I have two tests left to complete my gold medal.

Hopefully this blog will serve as a record of all my adventures for myself and all my friends who are scattered across the country this summer, with their own adventures!