An exterior view of our new home!
My mood board for my Fall 2014 line!
More to come soon!
Yours,
Amanda
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Onward and Upward...
Thane and I just put down a lease on a beautiful townhome in Urbandale. I won't lie, I'm probably most excited to finally have a porch and a yard! I'm already planning my herb garden, haha. Our landlord is the kindest, most wonderful woman ever (she's a foster mother and a grade-school teacher in the area), and she's allowing us to really make the space our own. We're even allowed to paint if we want! Oh my goodness, I'm already planning the color schemes... We're both searching for jobs, and I had my third interview for a full-time position at J. Crew last week. I called on Friday, and they said that they were just waiting for the background check to come through at this point and hope to make me an offer early this week! I'm so excited. I would be in charge of operations for the store, as well as some selling and visuals/merchandising for the men's and Crew Cuts departments. Thane is looking for positions in PR and social media, and has had some luck with interviews this past month. Our townhome has two bedrooms, one of which we'll be turning into an office space for our personal projects. Personally, I'll finally be starting my own line! My concept is higher-end women's plus-size day and evening wear for a younger, trend-ready customer. Think J. Crew or Anthropologie (in quality and, to a certain extent, aesthetic), but for sizes 12 to 22. In the coming months, I'll post more about my process and hopefully get some work up on Etsy. For now, feel free to browse my website, Amanda Lynne Designs , for estimates on freelance opportunities in apparel and advertising.
What a Year!: Senior Line and Graduation
For my senior line, I was inspired by the contrast of hard and soft, masculine and feminine, and the juxtaposition of purple and yellow flowers on the side of the freeway. I was so incredibly inspired by the texture of clover flowers that I dreamed up this line about 7 months before I even started the class! I spent the semester balancing 16 credit hours with 30 hour work weeks at Justice as an assistant manager. It was truly one of the hardest semesters of my life... But I am so proud of the work I accomplished through it. I graduated in May with amazing friends, memories, and work, and I am so excited to start the next chapter of my life!
My initial illustrations, MONTHS before I started the line!
Hard at work over spring break...
Read on for more photos of my senior line and year!
What A Year!: Design Internship in New York City!
One of the most amazing things I had the opportunity to take part in last year was, hands down, my internship in New York City. I worked as a Creative Design intern at Nanette Lepore (www.nanettelepore.com), a New York based company that does 90% of its production in New York. I made amazing friends and learned SO MUCH. On a day-to-day basis, I did everything from hand-beading and dyeing fabrics to sourcing materials (beads, elastic, trims) and picking up fabric samples from local vendors. Nanette was always on the design floor and I worked and spoke with her a few times, but the majority of my work occurred with the other designers. My first week out in New York was during Fashion Week, so I even worked at the show! It was so fun to go backstage again in another city!
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One of my jobs included hand-sewing silk appliques onto tops for the show-room.
I also worked on beading this hand-bag for the CFDA Auction my last week in New York.
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Most of the time, I worked on hand-beading 13 tops for the showrooms all over the world.
Read on for more amazing New York photos!
What a Year!: Summer 2012 in Iowa
Last summer, I was so grateful to be home for a short period of time! I spent most of the summer working at Gap, but I did have vacation in St. Louis with Mr. Himes, where he got down on one knee and proposed! In case you were wondering, it happened at the Missouri Botanical gardens... He'd been faking me out all day, stopping me in beautiful places to "take a minute," and we were about to leave when we stopped by the Ottoman Garden exhibit. It was 99 degrees outside and I, exhausted from a full day of wandering/sight-seeing in the heat, slumped down in the throne in front of this fountain:
At that point, I didn't think he was EVER going to pop the question! But, lo and behold, he got down on one knee and gave me the most beautiful speech ever (I may have teared up a bit), pulled a box out of his pocket, and put a ring on my finger while I said "yes" a few dozen times.
Read on to see more photos from our awesome St. Louis vacation!
What a Year!: A European Wrap-Up
Well, as you probably could tell, I'm awful at keeping up with a blog. But in the year and a half since my last post, SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED! I returned, safe and sound, from Paris, spent a summer in Iowa (where I got engaged to my awesome long-time beau, Thane) before jetting off to New York City for an internship at Nanette Lepore, and then spent my last semester at ISU slaving over my senior line and portfolio before graduating in May. Now I'm career hunting (hoping to hear back this week!), moving to a beautiful townhome in Urbandale with the boy, planning a wedding for next fall, and hoping to start my new line soon! That's the short version, but I'll provide pictures to make up for my lack of words. Here we go!
First, my spring break in Europe was amazing. Not only did Thane fly out for a week in Nice, but I got to travel to Scotland and London on my own and experience some of the most amazing history!
First, my spring break in Europe was amazing. Not only did Thane fly out for a week in Nice, but I got to travel to Scotland and London on my own and experience some of the most amazing history!
Thane and I in Nice... Please excuse the anime hair, it was SO WINDY!
Next, Edinburgh and London...
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Spring Break, Here I Come!
Oh my gosh, it has been SUCH a busy month or so! I got through Fashion Week and am well into my projects, plus I've moved into a one-person apartment. First, though, Fashion Week!
I worked as a dresser for four different shows: Manish Arora, Rick Owens, Gareth Pugh, and Steffie Christaens. All were so different! Manish's theme was "Life Is Beautiful," and I worked with a top American model, Heidi Mount. Manish was very involved with the show, and you could tell he had a vision for everything. He spent most of his time down with us in the small dressing area. His show was at a dock, and it was SO COLD. Some of the models almost refused to change! It definitely is incredibly cramped and busy, no matter what show you're working--and everything has to move whip fast. You're helping a girl change her entire outfit in about a minute, with at least twelve other girls around you, and you have to be careful of her hair and makeup and shoes, too. Everything was so colorful at Manish Arora, though! I think that may have been my favorite show. Rick Owens and Gareth Pugh were both more goth-inspired, very dark and heavy, but they were easily the best-run shows I'd been to. Gareth came by to all of us and explained how he wanted the models to look, how he wanted the clothes styled, etc. He was super nice. Rick Owens wasn't very involved with us, but we got to see him after. Caine and Elise worked at his showroom the next week on internship. Steffie was so quiet, and you could tell she just had too many cooks in the kitchen. They kicked half of us out, and most of the time was spent with the people fighting for control yelling and getting upset. One girl didn't even go out for the finale because there weren't enough shoes!
Anyways, here are some great pictures from Manish Arora (we couldn't take pictures athe other shows):
After that, it was a week or so until my birthday. We went out to WOS (Wide Open Spaces), an international bar run by an Australian and an Irishman (I think). We go there almost every weekend, but we're hoping to go to a swing club near here tonight!
It's getting warmer, in the 60's now. It will never get "hot," like Iowa, but it's still nice enough to pair a pretty skirt and top, which is great. The downside to Paris is that everything is SO EXPENSIVE here. I've told this to a few friends back home, but I bought a box of granola here last week that was $10!!! It's ridiculous. I'm having to work super hard to budget, and it's not all coming out so great. It's worse to not have an income. I'm so used to working 20 hours a week that to not work at all is a shock to my system. I'm hoping to get as near a full time job as I can over the summer. And, of course, I'm still looking for internships in the fall as well--which will be another semester of no-income :(
Spring break starts today! I've got all of my travel stuff booked and ready to go! On Tuesday, I fly out to Edinburgh, Scotland, and I'll be there two days and take a tour around the Scottish highlands. On Friday, I take a bus overnight down to London, where I'll stay until the following Tuesday. I have a couple friends going to school in London, so they're going to show me around town! I'm still debating whether I want to go on a tour to see Bath and Stonehenge. Of course I'd love to, but I'm not sure I have the time/money. There's so much to see in London, you know??
I'll be back in Paris Tuesday night, and then I'll have a day to chill (and do laundry!) before Thane arrives Thursday morning! I'm planning to walk him down to Notre Dame, take the metro up to Port Royal, and then walk back up past my school, get lunch, and then go back to the apartment to pack. This should all take maybe four hours, and then we have to go to the airport to fly down to Nice. Nice is on the southern coast of France, and has everything from Roman ruins to a Russian cathedral--and a flower market every day! We'll stay in a hotel in Nice Thursday night and Friday night, and come back to Paris on Saturday night. Then, we'll take Sunday and Monday to tour the city (the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, etc...), and Thane leaves Tuesday morning. Then, I only have three weeks left of school before I come home! I am so busy, and I don't know how I'll manage to get all of my work done. It's ridiculous.
Anyways, I'll try to update more often from here out. Hope to see you all soon!!!
I worked as a dresser for four different shows: Manish Arora, Rick Owens, Gareth Pugh, and Steffie Christaens. All were so different! Manish's theme was "Life Is Beautiful," and I worked with a top American model, Heidi Mount. Manish was very involved with the show, and you could tell he had a vision for everything. He spent most of his time down with us in the small dressing area. His show was at a dock, and it was SO COLD. Some of the models almost refused to change! It definitely is incredibly cramped and busy, no matter what show you're working--and everything has to move whip fast. You're helping a girl change her entire outfit in about a minute, with at least twelve other girls around you, and you have to be careful of her hair and makeup and shoes, too. Everything was so colorful at Manish Arora, though! I think that may have been my favorite show. Rick Owens and Gareth Pugh were both more goth-inspired, very dark and heavy, but they were easily the best-run shows I'd been to. Gareth came by to all of us and explained how he wanted the models to look, how he wanted the clothes styled, etc. He was super nice. Rick Owens wasn't very involved with us, but we got to see him after. Caine and Elise worked at his showroom the next week on internship. Steffie was so quiet, and you could tell she just had too many cooks in the kitchen. They kicked half of us out, and most of the time was spent with the people fighting for control yelling and getting upset. One girl didn't even go out for the finale because there weren't enough shoes!
Anyways, here are some great pictures from Manish Arora (we couldn't take pictures athe other shows):
After that, it was a week or so until my birthday. We went out to WOS (Wide Open Spaces), an international bar run by an Australian and an Irishman (I think). We go there almost every weekend, but we're hoping to go to a swing club near here tonight!
It's getting warmer, in the 60's now. It will never get "hot," like Iowa, but it's still nice enough to pair a pretty skirt and top, which is great. The downside to Paris is that everything is SO EXPENSIVE here. I've told this to a few friends back home, but I bought a box of granola here last week that was $10!!! It's ridiculous. I'm having to work super hard to budget, and it's not all coming out so great. It's worse to not have an income. I'm so used to working 20 hours a week that to not work at all is a shock to my system. I'm hoping to get as near a full time job as I can over the summer. And, of course, I'm still looking for internships in the fall as well--which will be another semester of no-income :(
Spring break starts today! I've got all of my travel stuff booked and ready to go! On Tuesday, I fly out to Edinburgh, Scotland, and I'll be there two days and take a tour around the Scottish highlands. On Friday, I take a bus overnight down to London, where I'll stay until the following Tuesday. I have a couple friends going to school in London, so they're going to show me around town! I'm still debating whether I want to go on a tour to see Bath and Stonehenge. Of course I'd love to, but I'm not sure I have the time/money. There's so much to see in London, you know??
I'll be back in Paris Tuesday night, and then I'll have a day to chill (and do laundry!) before Thane arrives Thursday morning! I'm planning to walk him down to Notre Dame, take the metro up to Port Royal, and then walk back up past my school, get lunch, and then go back to the apartment to pack. This should all take maybe four hours, and then we have to go to the airport to fly down to Nice. Nice is on the southern coast of France, and has everything from Roman ruins to a Russian cathedral--and a flower market every day! We'll stay in a hotel in Nice Thursday night and Friday night, and come back to Paris on Saturday night. Then, we'll take Sunday and Monday to tour the city (the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, etc...), and Thane leaves Tuesday morning. Then, I only have three weeks left of school before I come home! I am so busy, and I don't know how I'll manage to get all of my work done. It's ridiculous.
Anyways, I'll try to update more often from here out. Hope to see you all soon!!!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Getting in the Swing of Things
Well, I've officially been in Paris for 3 weeks now, and I think I'm finally settling in. Caine and I are now in a 4 person apartment with Jasmine (from Boston) and Elise (from Melbourne). Classes are going great, if a bit abstract. I've been applying for internships back in the states, and running into a few problems with interviews because I'm overseas, but Diane Von Furstenberg wants me to contact them when I get back to the States to set up an interview. She e-mailed me the same day I applied, and passed on my resume/portfolio to Marc Jacobs and Polo Ralph Lauren! I also applied at Tory Burch yesterday, but as I did it through the online application and not through a contact, I'm not getting my hopes up. Contacts are EVERYTHING in this industry, so getting out there and networking (whether through e-mails, phone calls, LinkedIn, whatever) is so important. It's a little intimidating!
As for classes, I go back and forth. On Mondays, we have Haute Couture sewing (hand-sewing samples, mostly, to get the hang of things) and Fashion History (17th to 19th centuries), as well as a three hour class at the end to catch up on things, so we're there 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays, I only have one two-hour class, and that's French 3. Wednesdays I have off, so we usually do homework, go to the fabric district, do laundry (SO EXPENSIVE HERE. Like, 8 euros per load!), and generally take a breather. Thursday is another 9 to 6 day, with Draping in the morning, then Textiles class, Costume Research, and some other class I don't know the name of in the evening. Thursdays are our days with Xavier. Xavier is your typical French man--kind of catty, wears all black, acts like sunshine could turn him to dust... He has his own knitwear line and works for Yiqing Yin, a major Fashion designer who was selected to run a Haute Couture show this year. He pushes SO hard in terms of the creative thought process. He makes us go so far out of our comfort zone that it feels like we need a rope just to get back. Right now, for him, we're designing a garment out of "things we hate," a silhouette entirely from squares and triangles (no darts! no curves! NO CHEATING!), and a garment based on images of our favorite place (he just told us that we will have to use these images to create a garment out of "camouflage," in any sense of the word). Fridays we have Xavier in the morning for Illustration, and Martine in the afternoon for more Haute Couture. Martine is the sweetest thing! She only speaks French, so she and I have a lot of fun conversations (yesterday we had to peel an orange in one go, trace the pattern, and cut out fabric to sew it back together into a ball. SO MUCH HARDER THAN IT SOUNDS. But the cloth was green, so we decided that it looked, LITERALLY, like un petit chou!). For 20 years, Martine worked for Madame Grey, whose factory burned down some time ago. Madame Grey is a legend in the fashion industry for her pleating techniques. Martine is one of only TWO PEOPLE LEFT who know the techniques, and she's the ONLY one willing to teach them to others! It's such an amazing opportunity to learn from her. At any rate, two of our professors only speak French, one prefers French due to her self-proscribed "horrible" English (not true, but I let it go), and Xavier learned English in London. I get a lot of opportunities to practice my French! Below are some pictures of our classroom.
Of course, it's not ALL work and no play. Last weekend, Jasmine, Caine, Elise, Phoebe (also from Melbourne), Chantalle (from Lebanon) and I went to the Luxembourg Gardens by our apartment. They were so beautiful. The sculptures alone made up for the fact that it was about 20* outside and snowy. By the way, where has Warm Paris gone? I'm constantly told, "Paris is never this cold! This is so unusual for us!" However, I've yet to see a day that is both above 30* AND sunny. Ah, I guess I should know better. I mean, I AM from Oregon, after all--Land of the Rain...
Elise, Jasmine and I went to a Tibetan restaurant right next door to our apartment last night. I love the French--their customs are, at times, so different from our own, yet they still make SENSE. For instance, if you want your server's attention, you must ASK for it, as the French don't believe in "rushing" their customers. You have to ask for the check when you want it, because they don't want you to feel like you have to leave! I was talking to the owner, and she was telling us how everything was homemade. I was so impressed! I did make a little faux pas without knowing it, though--I asked her if the ice cream was homemade as well, as it was the BEST chocolate ice cream I'd ever tried--she started laughing and said, "You must be joking me!" Then she left. Oops... It's okay, though--most French people are pretty understanding. I mean, I feel like it means more to them that you're actively trying to speak the language, and not just forcing your own culture on them. I can totally understand that. I've worked in retail for quite some time, and I know that if someone foreign comes up to me and tries to insist that I speak his language and not my own, I would do my best, but I'd be a little insulted.
Anyways, I'll leave you with some fun pictures of the Gardens and us goofing around at our flat. It's a beautiful day outside, I think we're going to do some shopping today! Tonight should be fun as well; it's Thelma (from Iceland)'s birthday, so we're having a get together at a friend's house. That reminds me... I'll have to pick up some wine for her gift! Bonne journée!
As for classes, I go back and forth. On Mondays, we have Haute Couture sewing (hand-sewing samples, mostly, to get the hang of things) and Fashion History (17th to 19th centuries), as well as a three hour class at the end to catch up on things, so we're there 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays, I only have one two-hour class, and that's French 3. Wednesdays I have off, so we usually do homework, go to the fabric district, do laundry (SO EXPENSIVE HERE. Like, 8 euros per load!), and generally take a breather. Thursday is another 9 to 6 day, with Draping in the morning, then Textiles class, Costume Research, and some other class I don't know the name of in the evening. Thursdays are our days with Xavier. Xavier is your typical French man--kind of catty, wears all black, acts like sunshine could turn him to dust... He has his own knitwear line and works for Yiqing Yin, a major Fashion designer who was selected to run a Haute Couture show this year. He pushes SO hard in terms of the creative thought process. He makes us go so far out of our comfort zone that it feels like we need a rope just to get back. Right now, for him, we're designing a garment out of "things we hate," a silhouette entirely from squares and triangles (no darts! no curves! NO CHEATING!), and a garment based on images of our favorite place (he just told us that we will have to use these images to create a garment out of "camouflage," in any sense of the word). Fridays we have Xavier in the morning for Illustration, and Martine in the afternoon for more Haute Couture. Martine is the sweetest thing! She only speaks French, so she and I have a lot of fun conversations (yesterday we had to peel an orange in one go, trace the pattern, and cut out fabric to sew it back together into a ball. SO MUCH HARDER THAN IT SOUNDS. But the cloth was green, so we decided that it looked, LITERALLY, like un petit chou!). For 20 years, Martine worked for Madame Grey, whose factory burned down some time ago. Madame Grey is a legend in the fashion industry for her pleating techniques. Martine is one of only TWO PEOPLE LEFT who know the techniques, and she's the ONLY one willing to teach them to others! It's such an amazing opportunity to learn from her. At any rate, two of our professors only speak French, one prefers French due to her self-proscribed "horrible" English (not true, but I let it go), and Xavier learned English in London. I get a lot of opportunities to practice my French! Below are some pictures of our classroom.
Squares and Triangles dress that I'm conceptualizing
Of course, it's not ALL work and no play. Last weekend, Jasmine, Caine, Elise, Phoebe (also from Melbourne), Chantalle (from Lebanon) and I went to the Luxembourg Gardens by our apartment. They were so beautiful. The sculptures alone made up for the fact that it was about 20* outside and snowy. By the way, where has Warm Paris gone? I'm constantly told, "Paris is never this cold! This is so unusual for us!" However, I've yet to see a day that is both above 30* AND sunny. Ah, I guess I should know better. I mean, I AM from Oregon, after all--Land of the Rain...
Elise, Jasmine and I went to a Tibetan restaurant right next door to our apartment last night. I love the French--their customs are, at times, so different from our own, yet they still make SENSE. For instance, if you want your server's attention, you must ASK for it, as the French don't believe in "rushing" their customers. You have to ask for the check when you want it, because they don't want you to feel like you have to leave! I was talking to the owner, and she was telling us how everything was homemade. I was so impressed! I did make a little faux pas without knowing it, though--I asked her if the ice cream was homemade as well, as it was the BEST chocolate ice cream I'd ever tried--she started laughing and said, "You must be joking me!" Then she left. Oops... It's okay, though--most French people are pretty understanding. I mean, I feel like it means more to them that you're actively trying to speak the language, and not just forcing your own culture on them. I can totally understand that. I've worked in retail for quite some time, and I know that if someone foreign comes up to me and tries to insist that I speak his language and not my own, I would do my best, but I'd be a little insulted.
Anyways, I'll leave you with some fun pictures of the Gardens and us goofing around at our flat. It's a beautiful day outside, I think we're going to do some shopping today! Tonight should be fun as well; it's Thelma (from Iceland)'s birthday, so we're having a get together at a friend's house. That reminds me... I'll have to pick up some wine for her gift! Bonne journée!
Caine rocking the headphones and mustache
Jasmine's oh-so-healthy dinner
Caine's addictions
Our ever-growing quote wall
The Luxembourg Gardens
Chantalle and I
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