Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Administrative Event Coordinator @ OFW

An opportunity I caught just in time. Looking for a new project, I remembered Samantha (from STARFISH) mentioning that Ottawa Fashion Week (OFW) was coming up in March. So, I decided to check their website out for any updates on job openings, and it just so happened that the deadline for most of their "meaty" positions was coming up in a matter of days. I luckily emailed my application the day before the deadline (how appropriate for the industry) and got a response back right away from the HR coordinator. I applied for two positions: administrative event coordinator and designer coordinator. She said I would be contacted in a couple of days for an interview.

A week past and nothing yet. I was so excited for her original reply but hopes were dwindling at this point. Did they hire someone else already - neglecting/forgetting my interview? Being the persistent person that I am, I emailed her with a follow-up. Turns out the creative director is ALWAYS busy - he consults for Moblicity AND is the big kahuna of OFW. I swear he gets no sleep. But as he is, we ended up having a phone interview while he was driving. The interview did have some difficult questions - but ever since Toronto, I've felt I'm confident with who I am enough not to be wavered by new challenges. He even said that none of his administrative event coordinators last. He did say he had "mad respect" for what I've accomplished so far. That felt good. I guess hearing congrats from friends is nice and all but hearing it from a complete stranger who's gained so much from the industry, that really hits it home.

I'm officially the administrative event coordinator for the March 18-20 fashion week. It's great because I get to work right under the creative director. Basically I try to coordinate internally what needs to be done. Right now, we're just trying to gather designers for the show. I'm already really excited with one of the confirmed designers - not sure if I can leak that out, probably not... but all I have to say is they have a great opening video for their website. Wish I could save it somehow and use it as a screensaver or something. I'm really excited about this position because that one day from the FASHION internship, when us, three, interns, were cleaning out the lookbook closet, it just clicked what I wanted to do in the fashion industry. I love fashion, shows/events, and organizing. Manifesting a runway show, which calls for both creativity (venue, decor, music, lighting, vision) and organization (seating, model arrangement, outfit arrangement, timing..) brings together environments that I could thrive in. My heart might skip a few beats if I could be flown across the world for Paris, Milan, London, New York fashion weeks to live a little bit in heaven.


Behind the Scenes Marc Jacobs FW 2011 @ NY Fashion Week
My first live stream runway show (I know .. I'm a little slow on this, but what a great designer to start this off with. They flash a few fashion bigwigs: Anna Wintor, Grace Coddington.. and a few celebs: Fergie, Martha Stewart, and Whoopi Goldberg. Ah, the life...

3 comments:

  1. Hey Kristy!

    My name is Tram and I'm a friend of Jackson. (he was actually the one who showed me your blog).
    I saw from his facebook page how you worked at FASHION magazine and had some questions, so he showed me your blog hoping I could find the answers myself.
    Your blog is very aspiring and I enjoyed reading it very much.
    I do have some questions for you still though. x___x

    Sorry if it seems creepy of me for reading your blog haha.
    I just haven't met anyone who was striving for something that i wanted as well.

    Let me know if you're able to chat and help me answer some of the questions I had.

    Sincerely,

    Tram

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Tram,

    Actually... I've been meaning to update my blog with how it all got started! You've just nudged me a little to get on it. Haha. I'm going to put an update on my "About Me" section in the next few days. Hopefully, that'll answer some of your questions. If you've still got some after that, please feel free to ask away! Either way, I'd love to chat with you about your interests/passion!

    It's definitely not creepy to read my blog - it's public! Haha.

    All the best,

    KJYZ

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Kristy,

    Oh, that's great! I can't wait to see it.
    If I have any additional questions after, I'll be sure to message you! :)

    Thank you! :)

    - Tram

    ReplyDelete