Becoming part of the furniture at SIES!isabelle
I have had the privilege of doing an internship at Sies!isabelle during my studies. I am a student in Consumer science at TUKS and I did my internship in 2014 and I am now working part time at Sies!isabelle as assistant designer and admin person. It was my first job in a production environment and I had no idea that it would turn out to be such a rewarding experience.
On my first day I learnt the most important thing of my whole experience and that was that I still had a lot to learn. Suddenly my University knowledge and hours of studying for tests seemed, not unimportant but not nearly enough. On the production side I learnt where to buy fabric and haberdashery, how to manage admin (and how much admin there was), how to manage staff and staff issues, how to logically set up a production line and easier ways to do things than what I was taught in my studies. I met important people in the industry: other designers (clothing and accessories), buyers (Spree, Zando, The Space etc), media, SA fashion week staff, photographers and models (they can be good brand ambassodors). At the Oh!PEN DAYS and Popup shops I learned how to sell (which wasn’t easy) , how to keep customers happy and how to take criticism from customers in order to develop and improve the product. My design skills improved by learning to just play with the fabric and losing all inhibitions when draping or designing. I also learnt that it is important to respect and develop the industry to make it a better place for everyone.
What makes Sies!isabelle different? Designers often see students as cheap labor who can perform all the tedious tasks that the designer can’t afford to pay someone else to do, but not in this case. Isabelle sat down with me and asked what it was that I wanted to learn out of the experience and she went through a lot of effort to make sure that my learning experience was worth while. She was never hesitant to share her knowledge and trade secrets (like her insane spreadsheets that calculates almost anything). She did the same for all of the interns that passed through.
My initial plan was to do the internship for the first week of my December holidays and that was it. But after that week I knew that I still had so much to learn and that I would be stupid not to go back. I returned for another week in January and after that returned once a week for the duration of the year whereafter I was appointed as assistant designer. It isn’t always easy to balance my studies, work and social life and it is hard work but it is always worth it and I still learn something new every day. Interning at Sies!isabelle is an experience and opportunity that I will always be grateful for.
