Bon Voyage

Week 13:
August 12-August 16

I swear that every year of my life, time moves faster. Here I am, already done with my summer and both internships. When I started in May really does seem like just yesterday. Monday and Tuesday were super sad at Good Housekeeping. Okay, not super sad, but they were very sad that I was leaving and it was nice that I had clearly made an impact and proved myself a worthy intern. On both Monday and Tuesday, I trained two new interns who would be there for the entire fall. I passed the figurative "torch". It felt very strange to actually do the training because I was just trained by another intern 3 months ago! I showed both girls how to complete the daily tasks and they caught on very quickly. I have no doubt that in December they will be pros. Jasmine and Victoria gave me cookies from Magnolia Bakery that said THANK YOU. I thought it was very sweet and just proves once again how great the work environment is at Good Housekeeping. Monday, the new intern and I went to an invent to celebrate the beauty brand mark.'s 10th birthday. It was on the top floor of the Trump Hotel in Soho. Lucy Hale from Pretty Little Liars was there because she was the brand ambassador. It was beautiful overlooking the city and a really great way to end my time at Good Housekeeping. My summer spent at Good Housekeeping was definitely an unexpected pleasant surprise. By the time I left, I loved the people, the work environment and working with fashion in general.

At Creative Communications, I actually began two new projects and nearly finished them. One project was for Delish. I was in charge of finding the photos associated with the recipes and contacting the photographers and purchasing the image and the rights from them to use in the magazine. I created a massive spreadsheet with tons of information that made this otherwise complicated project do-able. The other project was for a corporate ad campaign that we are running at Hearst in the fall. I also had to assemble rights for photography. However, in this case, we also had to get rights from talent because we were using people's images for the ad campaign. After a few Word documents, most of the information was easy to understand. I also demonstrated to others how to use Flikr, the online photo database that Hanna and I had been updating all summer. They were very impressed and I was happy that the re-vamped database was going to be put to use in the future. Looking back, I definitely dabbled in a lot of different areas and projects. By far, my favorite was the United Way Campaign. I really enjoyed the whole process, meeting different people and organizing and being on set for photo shoots.

I know, I know, you all saw this paragraph I am typing here coming. Of course, it is going to consist of me wrapping up my summer and summarizing it for myself---I promise to not get too emotional (hah, who are we kidding?) This summer was definitely an experience, one giant experience. There was so much that happened, I am already mentally preparing myself for the array of questions I will get about it. I will have to prepare myself for the best parts, the worst parts, the celebrity spottings, and the ultimate horror stories straight out of Devil Wears Prada. I learned a ton this summer, not just about the jobs I was in, but the industry. I met some really great people who I will stay in touch with, and others that I cannot wait to flee the building and never see again. Although I may have liked certain parts more than others, the parts I didn't liked helped me to define what I want to do in the future. AH! There's that word again--the future. Thank god that I am only going to be a junior and have more time to figure out exactly what I want to do. This summer definitely narrowed it down and allowed me to explore more options I hadn't even considered before. So what's in store for me--Becca Bryden in the future? I plan to return to NYC next summer and embark on a new journey (aka internship). There is always more to learn and you simply cannot beat a first-hand experience. Until next summer my friends! Cheers!


xoxo,
Becca

mark.'s 10th Birthday!

Goodbye gift from GH

Lucy Hale and the CEO of mark.

August Rush

Week 12:

August 5- August 9

The second to last week of my internships commence! I probably could have stopped blogging because my internship evaluation is done and let's face it--I'm home free, I wanted to anyway. I started this experience on this site and will absolutely finish it. My two brief days at Good Housekeeping were brief as usual. It was sad because this was Alena's last week. I cannot believe how fast the summer went and the fact that she is actually leaving. I feel like it was our first day together just yesterday! I hope to stay in touch and hopefully her and the rest of my intern friends can reunite for our next summer in the city! We celebrated by going to the place we first got dinner together, Peanut Butter and Co and after we walked the Highline which was so, so gorgeous. We were busy as usual at Good Housekeeping. We had to send back a lot of the coats we received for the Coat Story starring in this November issue. This made for a lot of heavy packages! I also finished the Holiday Gift guide. It ended up being a pretty intense spreadsheet detailing  the product name, image, price, details and shipping info. I'm looking forward to seeing the items I worked on in the magazine come this holiday season.

I remember talking about a week of firsts. This week has begun my week of lasts. This week at Creative Communications was also Hanna's last day. The department threw us a party with baked goods to celebrate us. Compared to last week, where I was very, very busy, this week was a little slower. I had to make a few deliveries to the corporate floor and continued to work on spreadsheets I had begun earlier. Get ready next week for my last post! I know, I know, I might have to control the tears as well.

xoxo,

Becca

Celebrity Spotter
- FAB aka Frank A. Bennack, CEO of Hearst (Hearst Tower)

The beautiful Highline Park

Red White and Blues

Week 11:

July 29-August 2

Hello end of July! I know I say this about every other blog post--but this time I am absolutely serious. I truly cannot believe how fast this summer is going. This week was already the beginning of August. Part of me is excited to go home and begin school, but the majority of me is really enjoying the present as well. I continued to enjoy the present at Good Housekeeping. Things continued to be manic as we hunted diligently for prices for the coat and belt stories. A large concentration of my days there was also spent on the Holiday Gift Guide. We had our first run through on Monday and I was in charge of creating a spreadsheet containing the price, shipping info, description, and an image of the product. Some of the ideas were really cool and out of the box. Wish I could tell you, but you'll just have to wait to find out just like any other Good Housekeeping reader! This week, the September issue came out and Alena and I were able to see all of the hard word we did on the pants issue! I fully plan on saving the issue and showing it off someday. I have also been chosen to train the new interns. That's crazy, right? It feels like just yesterday that I was trained on my first day back in May. Looks like I will have to fake it til I make it so these interns are impressed with my knowledge.

At Creative Communications, my week could not have gone more differently than at Good Housekeeping. Both internships were complete mayhem, but Creative Communications took on a WHOLE new level. On Wednesday alone, I had to create two high importance spreadsheets that I only learned mid-afternoon were due later that night. One was for a timeline for invitations we are creating for the new CEO's gala in September. I had to estimate when proofs were arriving, when they would be approved, and when everything would be shipped to the calligrapher for final touches. In addition to that gem, I also had to create an expenses spreadsheet for a project we are doing in October that in estimates totals over half a million dollars! I didn't want to say it---but I told you so! These were no small tasks I was given. After a little bit of panic (ok fine---almost an internal mental breakdown), I completed both tasks and gave myself a huge pat on the back (literally). The next two days were a little slower, but I was still in charge of updating the new projects. I also reverted back to my favorite summer project, United Way. We had a couple of quotes from participants that needed to be approved and one quote that we are still waiting for. I will not name who is being so difficult with their quote--but it has come to the point where the other intern and I feel like stalkers. We have repeatedly emailed and called her assistant. This past Friday on her day off,  Hanna sent a particularly nasty email to her assistant only to have her assistant call our office and yell at me thinking I was Hanna. Let's just say that I understand that her boss is an important and powerful person, but this quote business is getting out of hand! Hopefully, before our last days we can get her quote. Honestly, when it's my last week I probably won't even care about leaving a bad impression and will do anything (within my power) to get that damn quote.

Well, on that note, I will stop ranting and raving and have you enjoy one of the last few blog entries that I will be writing! Read it and weep my loyal readers.

xoxo,

Becca

 

Once Upon an Internship....

Week 10:
July 22- July 26

As the end of July nears, I am attempting to wrap my head around the fact that my internships are almost over! This summer has gone unbelievably fast and I have enjoyed each and every moment of it (well, most of them at least!). This week at Good Housekeeping we were still prepping for November. We began to assemble the looks for the coat story and the belt story. Our fashion director returned after a vacation in Italy and was very pleased to see the new and improved, but mostly clean, closet. We began checking into our inventory shipments of boots, hats, mittens, scarfs, and an odd assortment of items and trinkets for our holiday gift guide spread. The other intern and I also continued to work on our project of updating the massive contact list. The list, like the closet, was new and improved. It was very exciting to see our hard work come together and the fashion assistant applauded us for a job well done.

Although the United Way shoot was over a few weeks ago, we still had items that needed to be taken care of at Creative Communications. We received the last few quotes from the participants. This process was quote painful and involved the Hanna and I stalking the participants who had not yet given their quotes. You may think the term 'stalking' is a little extreme, but it sure felt like this was what we were doing. We sent them emails on emails, called them, until they finally caved and we received their quote. Some were way more difficult than others. At this point, we still do not have Anne Fulenwider's quote. Her assistant keeps dodging us, but don't worry, the super interns will prevail! We also began to send the photos from the shoot to the participants. They wanted to use the photos for other purposes such as Facebook, LinkedIn, or a monthly column. Some were very happy with their final picture, and others...not so much. One of those unhappy campers just happens to be the assistant to Joanna Coles. He made his unhappiness extremely evident when he telephoned me asking me to change his photo or he will (and I direct quote here): personally hunt me down. Let's just say that the situation was taken care of. Other than the United Way, we continued to work on the Infiniti event. The coffee cups and sleeves were delivered and the VIP wristbands are on their way to Pebble Beach. After much deliberation, the jackets and polos were approved and are being completed hopefully as we speak. Besides major projects, we worked on recipes for the fall edition of Delish magazine and the new CEO, Steve Swartz's celebratory gala in September. For this, I contact a calligrapher to address the invitations and am currently working on finding either a wax or faux wax seal for the envelopes. On Friday, I also worked on the FAB retirement book, a project we had started earlier in the summer. I was in charge of scanning FAB's personal documents so we can put them in the book. I thought it was going to be a normal, uneventful scanning session, until I scanned a personal letter from Jimmy Carter ( YES--that Jimmy Carter) to FAB. Let's just say that this was the highlight of my day.

xoxo,

Becca

Celebrity Spotter
-Does a note from Jimmy Carter count? (much to my dismay, I didn't think so either)

Say Cheese!

Week 9
July 15- July 19

As usual, I was excited for my two favorite days at Good Housekeeping. This week, Jasmine was in Italy on vacation and Victoria was busy going to PR open houses to see trends for fall, so Alena and I were alone for most of the day in the closet. No worries, we were busy as every and started a few new projects. Victoria wanted to clean out the closet as a surprise for Jasmine's return. Alena and I and the other interns took turns tackling different parts of the closet, some that looked like that had been untouched for years. By the time we were done, the place looked amazing. We cleaned out a ton and were able to send some stuff back that had been lingering in the closet for far too long. For the things we could not find homes for, we put into a giveaway bin. I'm excited for Jasmine to come back to see her reaction about the closet and most of all to approve the things in the giveaway bin so we can start rummaging through it for ourselves! Alena and I also started to update the contact sheet. We started a new doc on Google that everyone can access and began with contacting various contacts we have listed on our current sheet. We have learned that a lot of the contacts are really outdated. Hopefully, by the end of our time at Good Housekeeping we either fully update the contact list or have at least made a dent in it!

At Creative Communications, it was a happy but sad day on Wednesday as we finished our last day of shoots for the United Way. We had a full schedule and were booked solid from 9:30-5:30. As with the past days of shoots, we got to meet more really interesting Hearst employees and our photographer Phillip made the shoots a blast. The last person we shot was the editor in chief of Marie Claire, Anne Fullenwider. Her shoot took 45 minutes. She also had a personal make-up person who touched her up every few minutes. It was all quite extravagant and gave Hanna and I a good laugh. The next two days after the shoot were spent collecting quotes about the United Way charities that people had not yet given us and sorting out items for the Infiniti event that is rapidly approaching. We were able to check off a few items on our list that have been already delivered to California, however, the polos and jackets have proved to be very difficult. Every time we get a sample of a new item, the embroidery is not perfect and we have to get another sample. We are beginning to run out of time to see any new samples. Hopefully, these two items can be approved and we can move on so we can place the order so we do not have to panic in the next few weeks leading up to the event.


xoxo,
Becca

Celebrity Spotter
Joanna Coles, Hearst building, hailing a cab (yes even editor in chiefs take public transportation)
Anne Fullenwider, United Way shoots

 

Joanna Coles EIC of Cosmo, hailing a cab

 

The new building at the site of the twin towers

 

Phillip with EIC Anne Fullenwider of Marie Claire

Christmas in July

Week 8:

July 8 - July 12

It is mid-July here in NYC and the weather is hot hot hot! This weather definitely does not match what we have been getting in at Good Houskeeping. We are already working on the November issue and have been receiving shipments of coats and other cold weather clothing. We are now working on a coat story in addition to the belt story so we have been busy checking things in. We have also started to clean up the closet and send back things that should have been returned a long, long time ago. Some of this stuff we cannot find an owner so we get to put it in the giveaway box aka it's for the taking! We also continued to find credit for the celebrity spread and the teacher spread.

At Creative Communications, we are still hard working on the Infiniti event for this August. We have been in contact with various vendors for the premium items and for t-shirts and jackets. We are trying to get samples of the products so we can approve them but also figure out an exact delivery date for the items to be sent to Pebble Beach so we aren't in a panic when the event rolls around. We didn't have a photo shoot for the United Way on Wednesday, but we still worked hard on it, getting staff member's quotes, scheduling more shoots and rearranging the schedule. On Thursday and Friday we had more shoots and they were both a blast. I really enjoy meeting the all the different types of people that come to get their photo taken. Some of the most memorable was the assistant to Joanna Coles, a editor at Harper's, staff from Food Network Magazine, and Ann Shoket from Seventeen. On Friday I worked the shoot alone and was able to manage well. Our last day of shoots is this week and it makes me sad that such a big project we have been working on has come and gone so fast! I want to end this post by giving a big shout out to whomever brought Baked by Melissa Cupcakes to the office on Friday. This was a much needed Friday treat.

xoxo,

Becca

Celebrity Spotter
-AMANDA BYNES (in front of Hearst after work, and if you can't tell, I'm going insane about this spotting)

Red White and Bloomingdales

Week 6:

July 1-July 3

What a way to start off July then with a super short week! This week was the 4th of July so it was basically a long holiday weekend which was really nice. At Good Housekeeping, we had a run through on Monday for our big fashion spreads for the October issue. One spread is for Solve My Style Problem. This problem for this issue was to find cute ways to dress for teachers. The other spread focused on 4 celebrities: America Ferrera, Oprah, Mariska Hartigay, and Martha Stewart. We found pictures of looks from them and then chose similar items so the readers can dress like the celebrities. The editor-in-chief chose the looks she liked and edited out the looks she didn't. We were then in charge of finding credit information for the looks that she liked so readers could see information about the product and where to buy it. These credits will be published in the Shopping Guide at the back of the magazine.

At Creative Communications, the day finally came! And by day, I mean the first day of United Way photo shoots! I was really excited to meet some of the people we have been corresponding with and to be present in general for the shoots. Hanna and I got there early and I met the photographer, Phillip, who is extremely fun and really brings people out of their shells during the shoots. Overall, the shoots went really well and most of the people were fun to interact with. During the day, a few people cancelled and others changed around the dates of their shoot. A definite bonus was the fact that next door they were shooting an HGTV Halloween spread and we got all the leftover candy! I'm very much looking forward to the next round of shoots!

xoxo,

Becca

In the spirit of Independence Day, I'm including some shots of how I spent my 4th below!

Macy's Fireworks

Shot of NJ from the West Side Highway