Lesson 1: Flowers, flowers, flowers

Making flowers for ball gowns, body suits and other fabulous creations...

Ok, so I can't actually remember the order which I learnt to make things as it's been a few months and A LOT had happened since I first started. So I'll start of with the things I learnt to make early on. 

My role tends to be quite varied and pretty much depends on what's happening at the time as to what the priorities are. Very early on, I did lots of things like taking product shots for the website as Stacey was in the process of updating the images to make them more uniform across the site. For me, this isn't the most fun job as I prefer a more creative outlet but as I said in my previous post, Expectations , sometimes you have to do things which you don't enjoy as much but in the end it's all worth it and you have to do these things in order to be able to do the more enjoyable tasks. 

I also do a few of the less glamorous jobs such as cleaning latex and packing it away after shows. Again, not the most enjoyable job but it holds more value than you would think. For me, my job is making Stacey's life easier. If I'm doing things like these, this frees Stacey up to do important work, and things I'm not able to do yet. 

I always enjoy learning how to make new things and this was one of the things which appealed to me initially when starting this internship. I was rather excited to learn how to make these amazing flowers. 

Stacey is a brilliant teacher and has the absolute patience of a saint. I was abit slow at first but after lots of practice (and I mean lots!) and determination I have got a lot quicker at these now. The first lot I made were for the flower body suit, part of the spring/summer '14 collection. We were on a deadline to finish as this was one of the pieces in the manchester fashion week show. The body suit actually has around 100 flowers on it, and is a great example of the workmanship which goes into a Eustratia garment. 

The body suit features three types of flowers, two of which I learnt to make. These flowers were also used on the flower bra and the flower harness.

The other week it was back to the flower making for a commissioned piece for Wella Trend Vision. The floor length gown features fake grass trim to the shoulders and train with latex flowers on the grass. Luckily by this point I've got a lot quicker at my flower making!

It's show time!

It's been a busy few weeks over at Eustratia house getting the final preparations ready for the Fashion and Lifestyle Exhibition this weekend at Event City, Trafford. We will be headlining with a unique fantasy fashion show featuring models from the fabulous Vauhaus agency.

  

As well as getting everything ready for the show, we've been busy getting ready for our stall, where you can purchase items and find out about the after party we're throwing with Vauhaus. 

This year, my family holiday has come at a rather unfortunate time, the week before the show! However, being the good little intern I am, I've taken some prep work with me.

I've been making jewellery ready for the stand. Luckily I've got a great work space in the 

cottage I'm staying in and it's been nice and cosy with the fire on. Fortunately I'm back the day before the exhibition so I will around to help out all weekend. 

In between working and relaxing, I've been out to see some of the local attractions here in Northumberland, including this amazing medieval castle, complete with dungeon and torture room. 

I'm really excited for the exhibition which is expected to attract over 15,000 people and the after party is sure not to disappoint! At least I will be well rested after my relaxing holiday ready for a busy busy couple of days.