Here We Go Again

My internship at Flare has come to an end. It definitely flew by; I feel like it was just yesterday when I was writing my first blog post, ready to embark on my journey.  From helping to plan the World Runway Tour happening in October in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, to attending events, organizing media lists and the typical (not-so-glamorous) intern tasks, I experienced a lot and learned more about what I want to do. I was actually asked to stay longer to help plan the whole World Runway Tour but I made the tough decision to turn it down. Some people would think that I’m crazy for doing so but in the same way that I knew my place at my previous digital agency wasn’t for me, continuing my internship with Flare wasn’t for me either.

Going to miss these girls!

Although I loved being exposed to everything in the fashion industry and enjoyed the planning I had started for the World Runway Tour, I also really enjoyed liaising with the media and missed the agency side of things. I definitely don’t regret leaving my previous agency because this internship was a great experience and I learned something huge, which is a slight alteration in where I want to take my career. I’m going to give Public Relations a try but not just any PR, PR agencies specializing in fashion, beauty and luxury boutiques. It has all happened so fast but I’ve been offered an internship position with an agency that couldn’t seem like a better fit for me! I’ll tell you how it all came about next time because I start tomorrow, so it’s goodbye Flare, hello Lotus Leaf Communications!! Here we go again.

Goodbye gift from my managers

JW Anderson Topshop Launch with FLARE

Being the Marketing & Events intern gets me personal invites to our events, both the ones I help plan and set up or just to take it all in! A couple weeks ago, Flare hosted an event with Topshop Eatons Center for the pre-launch of JW Anderson’s line for an exclusive pre-shop with one of our Fashion Editor’s Truc Nguyen. Invitees were given the chance to shop the new Topshop line before it became available to the public and get the inside scoop from Truc from Milan Fashion Week, where she had a chance to see JW Anderson’s line on the runway.

If I were to describe Topshop’s style, I would say a lot of their pieces can be a bit riskee, daring and unique. JW Anderson’s line definitely fits right in, topping the list of unique lines. He took casual men’s clothing and altered the cuts only slightly to bring us a grungy women’s line with a school-girl feel. The line includes jean dresses, boxy men’s button up shirts, an argyle knit skirt and top “suit”, a thick jean kilt-like skirt and not to forget the high flatforms. If you’re in Toronto, you can shop the line at the Eatons Center because it is only available at this location or for everyone online! Check it out here.

Jude and I

It was a great night filled with cupcakes, lemonade and shopping! Check out all the photos from the event on FLARE.com here.

Intern Survival

Ok so clearly I have been terrible recently with keeping up with blogging but I have been unbelievably busy with not a moment of down time! From my internship, to my part-time job at Tory Burch, I have not had a day off since I started. Almost 2 months! Needless to say, I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed and crunched for time and not to mention exhausted but things are starting to pick up at Flare and I am pretty excited. My internship started off with the typical intern duties – cleaning our gift bags and samples closet, couriering magazines and product to brands and the media, expenses for my managers and running errands. The other day I had to deliver a legal document and when I got there, was told that it was missing an important piece of information and of course I couldn’t get in touch with my manager because she was in a meeting so the man then slammed the door in my face. I headed back to the office, expecting to be sent back later to fix it, on top of all the other tasks I had to complete by the end of the day. I stayed late to finish up my work and rushed out the door to deliver the legal document before the man left. Mission complete. This isn’t what I am excited about of course but stay tuned, I will share what I have been working on and will continue working on shortly.

At lunch, a few of the interns and I try and find the time to squeeze in a quick bite together and get away from our desks (this is not including running errands for our editors). Our chats usually include office gossip and complaining about being broke. We motivate each other to keep going because we’re in it together. I leave you with a key piece of advice from one of my fellow interns, “To survive here, don’t ask questions. But if you must, then ask everyone but the one person that has the direct answer.” Words of intern survival.

First Day Jitters

What’s one of the worst ways to start your first day? Show up late. Yup, I did it. I arrived 10 minutes late on my first day. On top of my first day jitter nerves, sitting in traffic not having any control of the situation only added to my anxiousness. I of course sent my manager a quick email apologizing and to let her know I was just out front and would be there shortly!! She couldn’t have been sweeter! She told me not to worry at all, that it’s hard to gauge traffic and timing for the first little bit.

When I arrived, I walked through the Flare doors and was filled with excitement all over again. I met the team and we immediately hit it off, chatting about my winter boots and how they managed to be cute and stylish, while at the same time actually standing up to the dreadful Toronto winter we are having this year (on and off it seems, as today must have hit a record of the warmest day in January history). I was given the grand tour of our floor (which included the fashion samples closet!!), the 11th floor where Sales works because I may have to go up there from time to time and also the building facilities such as the cafeteria and the fitness center. Then I had to get my picture taken for my pass card, which I need if I want to get anywhere on our floor, let alone the whole building. Did I mention I love pictures but hate getting my picture taken when it’s for some sort of ID card. They just never turn out well and I happened to just get bangs last week because I was bored with my hair but I already want to grow them out, so I am now stuck with bangs in my picture 😦

Next stop, back to my desk to get some admin stuff out of the way. I spent the rest of the afternoon helping out the team with some upcoming events and plans, beautifying, wrapping and pricing a gift basket for a Gala Flare is sponsoring and assembling some mannequins. I ended off the day listening in on a conference call with Old Navy/Gap/Banana Republic and Lou Lou Magazine on an upcoming maternity collab. Stay tuned!

It was a great first day and I look forward to crazy busy days when I’m running around (hating myself for insisting on wearing heels) feeling like there’s not enough hours in the day. Careful what you wish for!

New Year, New Beginnings

I’m Kirsten McNeill, 23 years old and chasing after my dreams. If you know me, you know that I work my butt off and have a passion for fashion. With a new year comes new beginnings and this year I definitely have a great opportunity for one. Tonight is filled with nerves, excitement, joy and visions of my dreams coming true. When I graduated from university, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in marketing but didn’t think I would be lucky enough to combine my passion outside of work into my work. Never would I have imagined that tomorrow I would be starting my journey as a Flare marketing intern.

It still doesn’t quite feel real as I think about what my first day will be like and meeting the team. It’s a little past midnight and it’s just starting to hit me that this is tomorrow!! I mean of course I have been thinking about my perfect first day outfit and as I lay out my options on my bed I can’t help but feel like it’s the first day of a new school year. Except it’s my new beginning. Join me on my journey as a Flare magazine intern, as I take a leap of faith and chase after my dreams.