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

Candyland

Week 6

June 24-28

Goodbye last week of June--hello July! As the temperatures began to rise, so did my workload. Don't worry, I'm not upset about that, I'm thrilled! I love being busy and it makes the day go bye quickly. Good Housekeeping was inundated with shipments on shipments of items for the October issue! We were busy checking in sweaters and coats and long sleeve shirts, a very strange thing to do considering it is almost July! We began to gather price requests for a Solve My Style Problem spread and for the gift list for the holiday issues. We also received gift cards from one of the shoe companies that we work with and I took home a pair of navy blue oxfords with hot pink soles. It is nice to see the closet start filling up with clothes again--it looked much too bare after September! On Wednesday, I attended an event for Good Housekeeping at Dylan's Candy Bar. You certainly did not have to ask me twice if I wanted to go! The event was held in the top floor of the store which is a café, bar, and ice cream parlor. The event was a Holiday showcase and featured specialty items for Halloween, Hannukah, and Christmas. Of course I sampled basically everything and at the end we were given gift bags with some goodies inside as well as an empty jar which we could go downstairs to the main part of the store and fill it up with any candy we wanted for FREE! I know, I know, basically the best event I've ever attended.

The week continued to get crazier as it continued. Wednesday at Creative Communications we were busy scheduling photo shoots and bugging Hearst employees that had not responded yet. The first shoots are scheduled for this Wednesday, July 3, and I am really excited to see how they go! We had an unfortunate mix-up where the other intern, Hanna, and I had a miscommunication with the events team and it ended with us emailing the new CEO directly. Luckily, the situation did not get too out of hand and it turned out fine, although the CEO is unable to participate in the shoots, much to my dismay. I think it would have been really cool to say I was in charge of a photo shoot in which the Hearst CEO participated! We finally placed the order for the Infiniti premium items for the Pebble Beach Event and are just waiting to hear back about the shirts. I also worked on another significant project where I had to look up recipes for the holiday issue of the small food magazine, Delish, that is published about 4 times a year and is packaged with Hearst magazines such as Good Housekeeping, Country Living, and Redbook. I was in charge of finding recipes and good pictures of the food in the recipe. I had to find recipes for appetizers, drinks, side dishes, winter fruits/veggies, Thanksgiving leftovers. Overall, I really enjoyed researching and hopefully some of my recipes make it into the magazine!


xoxo,

Becca

Celebrity Spotter
Roberta Myers (editor in chief of Elle magazine, Hearst building)

 

Every good Jew loves a Hannukah candy display!

 

Tables filled with gumballs at Dylan's

Another colorful candy display at the party

Biting into the Big Apple

Week 5

June 17th-June 21st

The second to last week in June sped by, just like every other week. At Good Housekeeping, we began to request items for the October issue. A big project that I had to do was for the September credits. We got the mockups of the fashion spreads and had to identify what every item was on the model and have a credit request for that item. A credit request includes manufacturer, price, fabric contents, and where you can purchase it. The spread looked really great and it was cool to see the looks come together on the models when we had seen the fashion director picking out all of the clothing in weeks prior.

At Creative Communications, we were busy preparing ourselves for the portrait revealing next week. The infamous easel finally arrived and Hanna and I put on our construction helmets and went to work assembling it, which turned out to be much more challenging than we had imagined. Part of this was due to the very sketchy directions included. After 2 hours, the easel was assembled. The next morning when I came in the easel was still in tact and hadn't spontaneously combusted while we slept, so I definitely considered that a win. For the portrait event, the programs came so I assembled them as well. The program consisted of a small version of the portrait with a vellum overlay giving a background on the artist. Both of these elements were sealed with a custom sticker in a small silver pocket invitation. The other major event that is rapidly approaching is the United Way Campaign. This week, all the emails congratulating the recipients on being selected were sent out. Slowly but surely we have started to get responses and have started scheduling photo shoots. So far, some major people that are participating are Ann Shoket, editor-in-chief of Seventeen, Anne Fulenwider, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire, and Jack Essig, the publisher of Esquire. I am very much looking forward to these shoots and continuing to work on the whole campaign in general. I continued work on the Infiniti event that is to take place at Pebble Beach. I also got to go shopping, which I must admit is always a plus. Basic tees, tanks, and button downs in neutral colors were needed for the Dove Hair shoots taking place next week. I picked up these items at American Apparel, Gap, and Banana Republic.

Another busy week in the life of an intern has come and gone. Each week has brought new adventures and I am excited to see what else is in store for me. Although the time has gone fast--I cant believe its already July--I still have more time here and will soak up each and every experience.

xoxo,

Becca

Celebrity Spotter

• Joanna Coles, editor-in- chief of Cosmo (the 43rd floor of Hearst when I was running an errand)

In-Vince-able

Week 4
Monday June 10- Friday June 14

I cannot believe we are halfway through June already! Working everyday really makes time go fast. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but at least I'm never bored. This week at Good Housekeeping was slower than usual because we are in between shoots and issues. We sent back all of the clothes and accessories for September and the closet looks so empty! Next week I believe that we will start requesting things for the October issue, so we will once again be busy getting in new shipments. This week we researched scarf and bag companies and created a list of winter fashion advice questions. An example of a question was: "What type of cute, fashionable shoe can I wear in the winter? I always wear my leather boots but end up ruining them." The fashion director will choose questions that she thinks will be great for the issue and then come up with solutions for the questions. Yet, the most exciting part of my two days at Good Housekeeping was going to the Vince Camuto store opening on Tuesday! Our director couldn't go, so she offered up the invitation to Alena and I who immediately jumped on the chance to go. The store was opening on Madison Ave and we gave our names to people dressed all in black at the door. It was really cool to have our names on the list! The crowd inside was a mix of fashion industry people both young and old and other interns who were there for the same reason we were or to interview the guest of honor who just happened to be Victoria's Secret model Adriana Lima. After deciding that it would not be totally lame to get a picture with her, we stood in line only to find out that the line was for interviewers only. We thought on our toes and quickly came up with interview questions about her favorite summer beauty trends. Adriana was really nice, absolutely beautiful in person and more than willing to take a picture with us. All in all, it was a really cool event that Alena and I were glad to have said we attended and look forward to more events that our director passes up on in the future!

On the flip side at Creative Communications, we are starting to get into planning the United Way campaign. Hanna worked on it last year and filled me in. Basically, Hearst selects people in the company involved in the United Way. We set up photo shoots for them and then create elevator screens demonstrating their involvement and a quote that will run through the month of October. We work with the photographer and the honorees themselves throughout the entire project. We are also working on assisting with an event for Infiniti that is taking place sometime this summer at the famous Pebble Beach in California. We are in communication with both the event planner and the vendor in which we have to place orders for the event. Another big project is Frank A. Bennack's (who I learned this week is called FAB) retirement book. For his retirement, a beautiful Smythson book was made in which people wrote in, wished him luck in his future and thanked him for his services to the corporation. However, the signatures did not take up as much space as was hoped and we are re-making the book so that it looks more complete and full. We would like to add commemorative photos of the luncheon that I worked on my first week and special documents that FAB's team has gathered. We have to figure out what would be the best method to re-create this book, taking it apart and adding the new pages, or creating a whole new book that is exactly like the original.

With that, another week comes and goes before I know it and I find myself here blogging again. Until next time my friends,

xoxo,
Becca


Celebrity Spotter
Adriana Lima (store opening of Vince Camuto)

 Invite to the Vince Camuto store opening!

Good Housekeeping Interns with the guest of honor-Adriana Lima

Livin' the Good Life

Week 3:
June 3-7

And begins week 3 of the summer of my dreams. I can't believe its my first week already! It's going so fast and so much is happening that I have to force myself to remember to blog so I can recall what I did all week for myself and my loyal fans (ok-- you caught me, I don't have any yet, but I know some of you out there will become loyal fans, or at least I'm hoping!). This week also contained a lot of firsts, actually it seems that every week has a lot of firsts and when I look back its exciting to see how much happened in one week! This week at Good Housekeeping was enjoyable as always. We were preparing for a follow up story for the shoot that was shot last Thursday so we had to send out a lot of credit requests for the clothes and accessories via email. My hearst.com email address was definitely worn out by the end of the week. I feel so official using it, and no one really knows that their fate rests in the hands of an intern. A very exciting thing that also happened was that it was the first time I got to participate in a giveaway. Basically, everything that doesn't get sent back or that has been in the closet for awhile is put on a rack or tossed in a box and anyone in the Good Housekeeping offices are allowed to take for FREE. Alena and I rooted through everything and were actually able to find some pretty cool stuff. I got a pair of Hudson jeans for my mom, a stack of bangles, and brand new New Balance running sneakers. Pretty good loot for my first time! The rest of the week was spent organizing the closet so we can send back the clothes after the fashion story is done for September and watching a run through with some of the editorial staff including the creative director and the editor in chief.

At Creative Communications, the week took on a whole another role. Once again, I have to appreciate how lucky I am to get such different experiences this summer in both internship roles. I love working every day and it keeps me busy. The big job this week was to find an easel. Yes, I do realize how strange that sounds. Basically, at the end of June there is a ceremony presenting the new CEO with a portrait that was recently done of him. For the reveal, the portrait needs to rest on an easel. Therefore, it was Hanna and I's job to find a high quality easel that was worthy of a CEO's portrait. We contacted everyone and their brother. Well not really, but by the end of the week, it certainly felt that way! We called prop houses, antique stores, auction house, even custom woodworkers. It was a very long process and hopefully an easel was chosen, even those it might end up costing the corporation $1500. We also had to deal with how to reveal this portrait. Covering the painting in cloth was not an option because the staff wanted to get more creative, so a tri fold board with the Hearst logo was created to hide the painting. This reveal turned into quite the elaborate process, and just like the old CEO's retirement party, I was very interested to see the extravagance. I added to Flikr and also flipped through competitive magazines to find P&G ads and any other advertisement for our records. I'm totally fine with being asked to flip through magazines as a means of work. I mean, who honestly wouldn't be? Finally, reminiscent of the ribbon debacle, I had to run to a bunch of paper stores around the city in order to find invitations for another event for the CEO. I picked up a bunch of samples and am waiting on approval on which one we will be going forward with.

On a social note, I finally made friends my own age! Can I get a whoop whoop? I went to this Ed2010 Welcome to NYC Intern get together on Tuesday evening. A bunch of interns I knew were going and I decided to go and planned on leaving after an hour. I actually ended up staying for three. I met people from all over the US interning at different places all over the city. It was really cool to share stories not only about college but about our internships as well. So far this week, I've met up with them a bunch of times already and I'm really excited to spend the summer with everyone in the city. This is what I dreamed of -- interning during the day and hanging with friends on weekends. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but if this week is any indication of how this summer will go, I'll fully on board! Anchors away!

Celebrity Spotter:
Glenda Bailey, editor in chief of Harper's Bazaar (lobby of Hearst building)

xoxo,
Becca

Some of my new friends and I at the Boat Basin reppin' our sororities!

 (and yes--those are twins)

 

 

The beautiful Hearst building on my walk to work one morning.

My free loot from the GH closet!

Competitive mags-working hard or hardly working?

Summer and the City

Week 2:
May 28-May 31

Week 2 came and went quickly! Since Monday was Memorial Day, the week felt shorter than usual. On Tuesday I reported to work at Good Housekeeping. Alexandra, the fashion assistant was away so it was only Alena and I to tend to the fashion closet. We got a lot of new clothes and accesories in and we were busy unpacking them. The giant crisis of the day was an incoming delivery from Bloomingdales. The fashion director needed it by 1pm for a run through with the editor in chief later in the afternoon. I spent the majority of the morning  speaking to the Hearst Delivery Service asking them numerous times where the delivery and messenger was. Finally, the delivery came in at 1 exactly, but I had to go down to the delivery center on the 2nd floor to get it because it would take another hour for the messengers to bring it upstairs! Crazy. It was mayhem down there. Orders were flowing in from every which way and messengers were everywhere. After I picked up the Bloomingdales order, the last thing I heard before I left was someone shouting, "SOMEONE HAS TO GO TO LOUIS VUITTON!". The rest of the afternoon was mildly tame and it was interesting to see the editor in chief,Rosemary Ellis, go about the run thru with our fashion director. On Thursday there was to be a shoot in the meatpacking district for the fashion spread. Although I couldn't make this one, I'm hoping to go on one in the future!

At Creative Communciations, I met the other intern I would be working with, Hanna. She had been there last year so it was cool to get her perspective on things. We worked well together and a lot of the tasks we completed using teamwork which made them soooo much easier. Apparently, the luncheon that I had worked on the previous week went swimmingly and everyone was really excited about the successful outcome. The party planners even brought in a box of maccaroons to our office to celebrate our hard work. Hint for the future, maccaroons can and will be an exceptable form of payment! Hanna and I received one of our big projects for the summer- or at least the time being, which was Flickr, the online photo database. Basically, we had to catalog previous ads that the department made onto the website so that they can show it to potential clients or reference a past work themselves. We then had to tag each photo with various words that anyone could easily type in and find the ad on the site. Besides that, I organized completed projects that the department had finished into a filing system and paged through magazines looking for specific ads our department made to tear out and put into binders. Obviously, I was not too bothered by looking through magazines such as Cosmo, Elle, and Harper's on the job. I can definitely live with that. On Thursday, I had lunch with Hanna's friend and some other girls who intern at Seventeen. It was interesting to talk to other interns about their jobs and generally our love of working in the building, for the company, and in the industry. After another week of pure fabulousness, I could get used to this life. Just wait NYC, my journey is just beginning!

Xoxo,
Becca

Celebrity Spotter:
Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Somewhere on the West Side after dinner)

Washington Square Park after an amazing dark chocolate peanut butter and banana sandwhich at

Peanut Butter and Co. Check it out: http://ilovepeanutbutter.com/ 

First Week

Welcome to my blog about #Life as an Intern! After a lot of stress and emails, I finally landed not one but two internships at Hearst Corporation! Obviously, I am beyond excited, and I wanted to be able to share my experiences not only for people who may or may not read my blog, but also for me, so I can keep a record and remember some of the things I had to do during my first summer interning in NYC! First things first, I am going to try to blog on a weekly basis, recapping the week's events. I will also try to post some fun photos that I took during the week from the beautiful building itself, errands I am running, or tasks I am completing! Hopefully this ride will be a wild one filled with many adventures. One can always hope!

Week 1: May 20- May 24

This week was filled with many firsts. First off, I had my first day at Good Housekeeping on Monday. I was so nervous! The weather was not what I expected and I couldn't make up my mind of what to wear. I ended up wearing pants and a cute top but regretted it, I wish I dressed more fashion forward like I have the rest of the week. The Hearst Tower is located on 57th and 8th Avenue and is absolutely gorgeous. I waited in the lobby for a bit, looking at the the other interns and employees coming into work. That was really cool, but then I always did love people watching. When I got up to Good Housekeeping on the 28th floor, I was immediately whisked into the fashion closet and put to work. The fashion director in charge of the closet is Jasmine and her assistant is Alexandra. The other intern working with me is Alena. She is from Michigan and has never been to NYC before! Maybe I can show her around. Everyone was really nice and friendly as we worked unpacking boxes of clothes, shoes, and accesories that were coming in for the September Issue. We had to write down everything that was in the boxes, take pictures of them, and then put them away in the closet and file the paperwork. It was a lot of work, but the system is fairly efficient and I already have gotten the hang of it. Some of the clothes are matronly and some are cute, which is what I figured for GH. I learned how to log all of the items, mail things back, and ask people for price and credit requests. During the two days, the fashion director was prepping for a photo spread that was to be shot this Thursday so she was constantly hanging up outfits and figuring out if they looked good together and what accesories to pair with them.

On Wednesday, I had my first day at Creative Communications on the 12th floor. I'm really glad that I decided to do both internships because I like the variety, the people, and keeping busy every day. I was less nervous for this one and was actually more excited. I have my own desk in the back closet, along with a Mac and I got my own Hearst email. On the floor, there are graphic designers, but I specifically work with Leslie and Kati, director and assistant of Creative Communications. They are really nice as well. This week my main objective was to work on items for the corporate "Hearst Homecoming: Past and Present" party. The CEO of Hearst was retiring and a huge luncheon is being held on Tuesday to honor him and fellow retirees and current employees at Hearst. Basically, it was as if I worked for an events company and had to prep everything for the party. First, I had to get a sepcific ribbon for menus and thank you cards. Armed with the company credit card, I briefly got lost onn my way to the first art shop. Later, after two taxi rides and visiting two stores, I had all the ribbon I needed.This felt like something out of Devil Wears Prada. The rest of the days, I made nametags, menus, thank you cards, programs, and anything else for the event. The people in charge were very specific and I had to redo things a couple of times, which was extremely frustrating, but I got through it. On Friday, I luckily had two extra helpers and we were able to complete everything which felt really, really, good. So far, so good. I really enjoy both jobs and am excited to see what is in store next!

xoxo,
Becca

Celebrity Spotter:
Joanna Coles, Editor in Chief of COSMO, outside Hearst building
Chris Rock, Comedian, Columbus Ave
Jerry Seinfeld, Comedian, Beresford Gym

 

Empty Tiffany Boxes that held the Silver Frames that served as place cards for the

CEO luncheon.

Ribbon store #2 M & J Trimmings. Way cool.

 

My ID! This lets me get in the building and into the doors on my floor.

 

View from the GH Fashion Closet.