New York State of Mind

I know I've been a little MIA lately. Usually I try to post once a week, but that just hasn't been doable this semester. However, I want to pop in and say "hi" when I can!

I want to share some exciting news with you all. I will be graduating in May, which is a little bit scary. I love Greenville, SC, which is where I grew up and would love to work one day. However, I have always thought it would be cool to work in NYC, even if it was for a short period of time. In fact, I would rather it be a short period of time because I'm not sure I could live in a huge city like that long-term. So, I decided I would try to land one last summer internship before I settle down with a full-time job.

The internship search began. I filled out lots of applications and sent countless resumes and cover letters. A couple weeks ago I had a Skype interview with a company called Hunter PR. That interview led to second Skype interview, and then last week they offered me a full-time paid summer internship with them! After working out some details, I officially accepted and am so excited!

This will be a whole new adventure to me as I don't know my way around the City and don't really know anyone up there. I've been to NYC before, but it's always been for short visits and I haven't been in a few years. I should also mention that I am directionally challenged, so thank goodness for helpful apps like HopStop to help me get around. Now I just need an iPhone :)

Now I am in the process of trying to find a place to live! Wish me luck!

How to Dress for the Holidays

Trying to figure out what to wear to a holiday get-together can sometimes be stressful, especially if you aren't sure what the dress code is. For my internship a few weeks ago, I got to model some clothes for my boss' monthly segment for WYFF 4, Schering Secrets. We headed over to Sassy on Augusta and starting styling some outfits. Check out some of these tips for some holiday fashion help. Here's the link for the video! Enjoy!

Men in High Heels?

Several weeks ago, I got to work an event like no other in downtown Greenville. The event was called the Ecy~Shoes N' Chic Men's High Heel Race. NYC and other big cities do high heel races, so why not have one in SC? You may remember the shoe fashion show I worked in March for Ecy~Shoes N' Chic, who is one of our clients at TK PR. The 1st Annual "Run a Mile in Her Shoes" Men's High Heel Race was another awesome event my boss planned that was a success.

I wasn't so sure how this event would turn out. I knew it would be great, I just wasn't sure how many men would actually want to participate. I've heard of high heel races in big cities, but we are the first ones to ever do a men's high heel race. Who would have thought Greenville, SC would be the first to do something like this? We may be the only ones to ever do it, but who knows? Maybe it will take off and we will see them spread to other cities.

One of the main goals PR professionals strive for is to get people talking. In this case, they may not have actually been talking about the client, but people were talking about the event itself because it was so unique. Ecy~Shoes N' Chic teamed up with American Diabetes Association since the race dealt with feet and diabetics often have feet complications. Most of the registration fee went to the ADA ($15 out of the $16.25 fee). It's important to team up with a cause when planning something like this because you need to have  reason why participants are running. Since the race was downtown, Soby's decided to donate free brunch vouchers to all the participants. So for $16.25 you got a free brunch, a t-shirt, donated money to a good cause and also got to be a part of the one-of-a-kind race.

We had 47 men race. While that may not seem like a lot, you wouldn't believe the amount of news coverage the race got. We were on every news station the day of the race and the morning after. People loved hearing about this. Here is a sample of the coverage we got.

The men that raced were so into their heels. I know that sounds weird, but it was hilarious. Most of them were extremely ugly heels because let's be honest, you might not be able to find pretty shoes in sizes 12 and up. I don't think the men really cared. Some of them even came with skirts or kilts on over their running attire. Here are a few shots from the day.

Pedal Chic offered to donate $50 to the ADA if someone was willing to wear this pink skirt. We had way too many guys ready and willing. 

Waiting at the finish line. 

1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. 

The race was only .1 mile. It wasn't long at all, but I was shocked at how fast these guys ran. However, some of them may have cheated a little by duck taping their shoes to their feet :) Now they have a taste of what women go through all the time. 

Just Call Me a Working Woman

I finished up my first week of my new internship last week. I am still working with Taryn two days a week, but I got another part time internship at Full Circle Public Relations in downtown Greenville. I work at Full Circle PR MWF and work for TK PR on TTh. Not only do I get to go somewhere different everyday, but I also do different tasks at each job everyday. I like that. I could never do a job where I do the same thing every single day. Although I tend to schedule out my days and have many routines I follow, I enjoy having a different to-do list everyday at work. 

Working at Full Circle PR is a totally different experience than working at TK PR. Although I am working for more than one person now, Full Circle is still a small PR firm with only four employees. I am the first intern they have had :) I enjoy the people I work with; all of the employees at Full Circle are women. I like working with all women and have actually worked primarily with women in all my jobs so far. 

I have done a wide variety of tasks at Full Circle PR. Their client base is completely different from Taryn's. Taryn's niche is small businesses, mostly in the luxury industry (fashion, beauty, travel, food, wine and more). Full Circle represents bigger businesses: Costa del Mar sunglasses, Hubble Lighting and Milliken Flooring to name a few. We are also doing some short term projects with Rack Room Shoes and Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The employees at Full Circle usually only work on one account, whereas Taryn works on 10+ different accounts. However, it is important to realize that bigger clients require more extensive, detailed work. 

I researched a lot of various social media strategies last week. It's interesting to see how different companies manage their social media accounts. I have also seen the detailed work that goes into monthly reports presented to clients and the meticulous process of recording everything you do for a client and how long it took you. While it is not fun to record every little thing you do, it is how you bill the clients for the work. No record, no money. 

During the past week, I have also attended at least four meetings. That may not sound like a whole lot, but I am just getting started. The first thing I did when I walked in last Monday was go to a status meeting. While meetings may sound boring, I have learned a lot just through listening at various meetings. Meetings can even be fun sometimes-especially when they are meetings to brainstorm ideas. 

My favorite part of my job so far is getting to write. The field of public relations requires a lot of writing, so it is important to enjoy this aspect of the job. I have to post to the company blog every Friday. I also will be helping with some of the blog posts for the client blogs we manage. I posted my first post last week and it is currently on the homepage of the client's website. 

I am really glad I started this blog several months ago. Not only has it helped me write frequently, but it's not quite as intimidating when I am asked to write a blog for work. Blogging is something I do for fun, so it doesn't always seem like work to me :)

Sorry if this post was long and heavy on information about PR. I enjoy reading/hearing about other people's internships, so I thought I would share what I have been doing :)

Wedding Wear

As you know from previous posts, I have gotten to do some pretty neat things because of my internship. Last week was no exception. 

My boss does a short segment for WYFF4 each month called "Schering Secrets" (her last name is Scher). With all the Royal Wedding news lately, she thought an appropriate theme would be dress codes for weddings. Summer is wedding season after all, and most people already have a few weddings penciled in on their calendar. She asked me to be one of her "models" for the clip. I hesitate to even say model because really all I did was try on pretty dresses at Trousseau and smile while she talked about the different dresses :) I have a rough life. Here's the clip: http://www.wyff4.com/video/27894722/detail.html.

Talk of the Town

I've been a little MIA lately. I know. But these things called exams came up. Then I went to the beach with some of my girlfriends for a little R&R. Now I am back and will be on a regular schedule soon hopefully.

Remember when I blogged about the Super Duper Office? All those pictures of the crazy bathrooms (which for some reason decided not to show up on my blog)? Well if you want to see how the photoshoot turned out then you need to check out the May issue of TOWN magazine. If you aren't from Greenville or didn't get it delivered to your house, check out the link in the previous sentence to flip through the digital issue. The fashion spread is on pages 54-61. Also check out page six for a sneak preview. Some of the pictures were taken in bathrooms and some were in conference rooms or displays around the office. Yes, the black room with neon paint is a bathroom. So cool.

Enjoy!

Super Duper Office

This past week, I had the opportunity to watch a photo shoot for Greenville's new TOWN magazine. TOWN is a recently released magazine that features art, fashion, culture, along with social scene in Greenville. My boss just so happens to be the fashion editor for the magazine, so she thought it would be a fun experience for me to come watch a photoshoot for May's upcoming fashion spread. Let me tell you, this spread is going to be amazing. Not only did she put some great outfits together, but the spread was shot at a building that is possibly the coolest building in Greenville. Now Greenville has some beautiful, old, unique buildings, but that is not where we shot. We shot at Super Duper Publications on Pelham Road. If you live in Greenville, it's the building that looks like a castle from the outside. The outside is unique, but no words can describe the inside of the building. When I walked in, I felt like I was walking into an IKEA showroom. The place was amazing. As I strolled wide-eyed through the conference rooms, I learned the also have 16 themed bathrooms, which is where we shot the majority of the photos for the May spread. These are NOT your typical bathrooms, in fact the toilet is the last thing you notice in most of them.  I was kicking myself for not having my camera with me. Here are a few pictures I snapped with my phone. 

This bathroom is called "Girl Power." I think you can see why.

"The Princess Powder Room." I will say the life size doll is a little creepy.







"Cowboys and Cowgirls." 


I should also mention that each bathroom had music, candles, and lighting fixtures that went along with the theme of each bathroom. No overhead lights for this place. If you want to "take a tour" of the bathrooms virtually, you can actually go to their website and see them. Here a few other photos of conferences rooms.

Typical conference room table.

Egyptian themed conference room. Please notice the camel.


They also had a lunch room set up like a diner for the employees to go during their lunch break. No, it was not a working restaurant, but it did have a jukebox. Next to the diner was  break room complete with pool tables and massage chairs. So cool. 


You have got to check out the fashion section of TOWN's May issue. Just remember, most of the shots took place in bathrooms. Including the black room with neon lights everywhere. 

Walk this Way

Fabulous shoes. Fantastic accessories. Models walking the runway in burlap sacks. The first two sound normal, the third not so much. This list basically makes up the components of the Walk this Way runway show I worked at Thursday night. The runway show was the first event I worked at for my internship. Definitely a success. Very fun and unique event.

 A few months ago Taryn (my boss) added Ecy Shoes n' Chic to her list of clients, a dream client for her. Ecy Shoes n' Chic is a new shoe store in downtown Greenville. If you are in Greenville and haven't checked it out, you definitely need to go by. Taryn told me about the event a few months ago and I have been looking forward to it ever since. It was definitely a fun event, but it made me realize I never want to be a full-time event planner. Events are hard work! The event itself was glamorous, but the seven hours we spent setting up and rehearsing the event were anything but glamorous. However, I will say that I enjoyed unpacking and putting all the "outfits" together for the models. I loved opening each box of shoes to see what I was going to find :)

Here are a few shots from the show. The show was held at Thornblade, and as you can see, shoes and accessories were the main focus. Ivy Salon (another one of Taryn's clients) did an awesome job with the models' hair and makeup.

   
   


                    

Dressed to Perfection

As you know from my previous post, I had the opportunity to go to a luncheon featuring Carmen Marc Valvo this past Friday. After much searching, I finally figured out what I was going to wear. I know it seems like I kind of obsessed over this outfit, and you are exactly right. But I mean come on, how many times do you get to attend a lunch with a fashion designer? I mean this guy has dressed Oprah, Beyonce, the princess of Sweden, Katie Couric, Kate Winslet, Queen Latifah...need I go on? I finally settled on a black and white print tunic, a big black belt, leggings, classic black patent leather heels, a turquoise purse, turquoise earrings, turquoise bangles and a bright yellow necklace for an unexpected pop of color.

I pulled up to Coplon's on Friday morning and sat in the car a minute scoping out the ladies walking in. It looked like everyone was older than me, and when I walked in I realized I was most likely the youngest person in attendance. Most of the people were in their late 20's, 30's, or 40's. The cutest group in attendance was the little old ladies that pulled out their two piece suits and got all dolled up for the event.

Coplon's was the perfect place to have the luncheon. Not only is it one of the most high-end stores in Greenville, but the store is beautiful and spacious in itself. Jimmy Choo's, Miu Miu's and Louboutin's acted as centerpieces for each table. I loved looking at all the clothes in the store, but thankfully was not tempted to buy any of them because they were WAY out of my price range.

Here is a picture of the centerpieces:

As we all sat down to eat, a representative from Blue Cross Blue Shield talked a little. I didn't realize this, but the luncheon also acted as a fundraiser for colon cancer research. Carmen is a survivor of colon cancer and has begun sharing his story in order to encourage people to take the steps to prevent the disease. He recently shared his story on The Today Show and is working with Blue Cross Blue Shield in their campaign to prevent colon cancer. Carmen spoke for a while and shared his story of fashion and cancer with us. He was so down to earth, not like a artsy fashion designer who had his head up in the clouds. He was sincere and spoke from the heart. His speech made me want to go buy all of his clothes. I can dream right?

While we ate our girly frufru food, models walked around in some of Carmen's evening gowns. So beautiful. Carmen also came to each table to sign books and talk with us while we ate. He recently released his book Dressed to Perfection: The Art of Dressing for Your Red Carpet Moments. 

Such a great coffee table book. Who knows, I may end up buying it on Amazon at some point :) After the luncheon Taryn (my boss) made sure I had the opportunity to get a picture with Carmen. Here it is:

I know this is a long post, but this was such a cool experience for me so I wanted to share it with you all! I felt like I lived in the high fashion world of NYC for a few hours.  Hope you have enjoyed reading about it!

Long Time, No Blog

So my goal is to blog at least once a week. If you look at the number of blog posts I have written lately, you will see that I have not been meeting that goal. I love to blog, but sometimes this thing called school gets in the way. And sometimes I just don't have anything that I am dying to write about.

However, I want to tell you about an exciting opportunity that I have this week. Last month, my boss asked me if I would be interested in going to a luncheon with a fashion designer that was coming down to Greenville. She offered to by my ticket for me if I could get out of classes for that day. After checking my schedule to make sure I didn't have any tests that day, I told her I was definitely interested (no brainer).

After researching the designer, Carmen Marc Valvo, the hunt for my outfit began. My boss told me I definitely wanted to dress fashionable for this event, but not to worry about going out and buying designer clothes. This was good to hear since there is no way my budget could possibly handle designer clothes. She said to research trends for this season and find the look for less. So that is exactly what I have been doing the past few weeks. I wanted to wear something black. Black is just classy and always feels fashionable to me. However, I wanted to add some of the seasons trends into this outfit. Bright colors are one this seasons hottest trends. I am working on finding some bright accessories to add to my outfit. Bold prints are another hot trend this season. Take this dress for example. Now I don't plan on going around wearing a house on my dress, but I did find a black and white tunic with a bold print this past Saturday. The search for the accessories continues...be looking for an update next week about the event!