Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Sunday 2nd may
Just before we left today Pierro took us to the factory to quickly look at what we had done. He said he was really pleased with it which is really good. Whilst we were there he also showed us 3 presentation that they have made showing the collections and ideas for the next season. He asked us what we though and for our feed back. He also showed us a video of the Black Eyed peas new single and said tat he loved their ideas in the video. We were discussing this and Dora and I gave him some ideas to research into regarding this area. He seemed really pleased with us and gave us his contact information. He told us to keep in touch and that we are welcome to come back for a longer period of time.
Friday 30th april
Today was our last day as tomorrow is a bank holiday in Italy. We got in extra early as we had things to complete this morning. I started by taking all the pins out and doing some last minute bits to the petals. During this time Dora continued with the car.
By about 9 I was ready to put the giant flower back together again. This is where we hit a bit of a problem. Dora and I had marked out where the first petals went so we could put it back together. In the end it took me about an hour and a half as we got the holes all confused and it was far more difficult to put each petal into the base that we would have thought. By 11 the flower was finished and we put it on the top of the car. It looked really good and we were really pleased with it.
Now that the flower was finished we had to concentrate on the rest of the car. Although his didn't need much decoration because of the falling trims. We continued with this until the end of the day. All in all we managed to complete most of the car apart from the back window. We also got to make our own kind of trim to put on the car. We made these out of pieces of jersey, chain and other ribbons. I made plaits and Dora made twists. We got to put these on the car which was nice as it meant that an idea of ours was included within the car.
We finished a bit early today and went and said goodbye to the people we had been working with. We have worked really hard all week and i think we have achieved quite a lot. However it was a shame that we only got to do one week rather than two. The whole experience as a whole was interesting and it was defiantly a challenge to work where it was difficult to communicate and i had to rely on Dora all the time.
By about 9 I was ready to put the giant flower back together again. This is where we hit a bit of a problem. Dora and I had marked out where the first petals went so we could put it back together. In the end it took me about an hour and a half as we got the holes all confused and it was far more difficult to put each petal into the base that we would have thought. By 11 the flower was finished and we put it on the top of the car. It looked really good and we were really pleased with it.
Now that the flower was finished we had to concentrate on the rest of the car. Although his didn't need much decoration because of the falling trims. We continued with this until the end of the day. All in all we managed to complete most of the car apart from the back window. We also got to make our own kind of trim to put on the car. We made these out of pieces of jersey, chain and other ribbons. I made plaits and Dora made twists. We got to put these on the car which was nice as it meant that an idea of ours was included within the car.
We finished a bit early today and went and said goodbye to the people we had been working with. We have worked really hard all week and i think we have achieved quite a lot. However it was a shame that we only got to do one week rather than two. The whole experience as a whole was interesting and it was defiantly a challenge to work where it was difficult to communicate and i had to rely on Dora all the time.
Thursday 29th april
We got in early today as we had a lot to do to finish by this afternoon. We worked really hard this morning and worked individually to get things done a bit quicker. By lunch time we only had 1 more big petal to finish.
After lunch Maria-ellena told us that she had managed to get us a bit more time but also that we had to get more complete. We had to start on the car as this needed to be covered in trimmings. She also told us that we needed to cover the middle of the flower which all the petals are attached to. To get this done me and Dora again split up I continued to cover the last large petal with trims and Dora started on the car. Doing a big petal on my own took longer than when we did it together but time was quite so tight at his point. Once i had done the petal Dora and I swapped jobs as i had got a bit fed up with the petal. However, i them ended up helping Dora as it proved to be a two person job. By the end of the day all petals were complete and so was the middle. It just had to be left over night.
Before we left Maria-ellena told us that she needed more of the car to be complete to send a picture to Pierro. This she needed to do by 10 the next morning so It will be another early morning tomorrow...
After lunch Maria-ellena told us that she had managed to get us a bit more time but also that we had to get more complete. We had to start on the car as this needed to be covered in trimmings. She also told us that we needed to cover the middle of the flower which all the petals are attached to. To get this done me and Dora again split up I continued to cover the last large petal with trims and Dora started on the car. Doing a big petal on my own took longer than when we did it together but time was quite so tight at his point. Once i had done the petal Dora and I swapped jobs as i had got a bit fed up with the petal. However, i them ended up helping Dora as it proved to be a two person job. By the end of the day all petals were complete and so was the middle. It just had to be left over night.
Before we left Maria-ellena told us that she needed more of the car to be complete to send a picture to Pierro. This she needed to do by 10 the next morning so It will be another early morning tomorrow...
Wednesday 28th april
This morning we went and sat down in our space where we are working on the flower. As it is our third day today we are starting to get into it and working well as a team. We got some chairs and a little table today which meant it was easier to work as we wern't sat on the floor. We are also starting to interact more with the other staff members as we are in the same place each day. Although i cant really speak to them (as I cant speak Italian although I am trying and starting to understand what is going on a lot more) Dora is which makes thing a bit easier and she translates to me.
This afternoon we were told that we have to finish the petals by tomorrow afternoon at about 2. At this point we had only complete 1 large and 3 small petals. We also had all of the outside of the petals to cover. This send us into slight panic mode and we realised we were going to have to work really hard. Because of this we stayed late until gone half 7 and managed to complete all of the 5 small petals and 1 large. We also covered the outside of four of the large petals. This still leaves quite a bit more to do tomorrow to get it finished.....
This afternoon we were told that we have to finish the petals by tomorrow afternoon at about 2. At this point we had only complete 1 large and 3 small petals. We also had all of the outside of the petals to cover. This send us into slight panic mode and we realised we were going to have to work really hard. Because of this we stayed late until gone half 7 and managed to complete all of the 5 small petals and 1 large. We also covered the outside of four of the large petals. This still leaves quite a bit more to do tomorrow to get it finished.....
Tuesday 27th April
Today we went in with a positive attitude after yesterday. We send hello and went to find out what we were doing for the day. We were told to carry on with the petals of the car as a carry on from yesterday. I am presuming this will be our task for the week. As well as the surface of the petals we have to cover the sides of each one with a trim as the edges are raw and really sharp. Maria-ellena is watching over us and is actually really nice. She told us that they were really pleased with the petals and that instead of masking taping them down we could just go and stick them straight-away. This was good as it showed they were pleased with what we had done. To stitch the trims to the mesh we are using silicone.
The first petals we stuck down were the ones we did yesterday this was a new experience for both of us. The silicone is a pain to use we had to use gloves as it is an irritant. It also takes quite a long time to dry and covering the edges proved to be a bit of a nightmare as the trim would stitch round the edge. In the end we had to use pins to secure the trim until the silicone is dry.
By the end of the day we had complete 1 large and 1 small petal and had started on the third. It was proving to be quite hard work as we were sat on a cold stone floor and tackling the silicone.
The first petals we stuck down were the ones we did yesterday this was a new experience for both of us. The silicone is a pain to use we had to use gloves as it is an irritant. It also takes quite a long time to dry and covering the edges proved to be a bit of a nightmare as the trim would stitch round the edge. In the end we had to use pins to secure the trim until the silicone is dry.
By the end of the day we had complete 1 large and 1 small petal and had started on the third. It was proving to be quite hard work as we were sat on a cold stone floor and tackling the silicone.
Monday 26th April
So today was our first day at the factory. Up bright and early we arrived at the factory and were met at reception and taken to meet Pierrigianna Vivllia. After talking to him he told us that as we were there for such a short amount of time (normally it is a minimum of two weeks) they weren't really sure what to get us to do. We were taken to an upstairs room and told to have a look at the trimmings samples on rails in the room. We were left here for about an hour and a half at which point we were starting to get a bit fed up as we felt like we have been forgotten about.
After this we were shown a display that they are working on for next year 2011. We weren't really sure why we were being shown this as we were then taken to a different room as asked to make some hand sewn samples. She told us that we could do whatever we want using trims that had already been made and manipulating them into new trims. We did this until lunch time.
After lunch we were again shown to the display and told we would be working on this for the afternoon. The display consists of half a car (the famous fiat) that is going to be decorated and have a giant flower on top that is decorated with their trims made in the factory with the idea of selling them. Our job was to take apart the flower- it is made of mesh cut and shaped into petals with 5 big and 5 small petals in all. We had to take a large and small petal and cover in trims. We had to masking tape these in place to see the layout. As well as the flower they wanted the trims to hang of the petals and over the car. From what we understood this was going to be done once the petal was on the car.
At 6.45 Pierro and team came over to look at what we had done. At this point we had finished both petals but had no trims hanging. They were really pleased with the petals but were annoyed as we had nothing hanging off. It was frustrating as it was hard to explain ourselves because of the language barrier. Although Dora was able to talk sometimes the communication was still bit difficult.
Overall it wasn't a great first day. Me and Dora were both a bit fed up and tired. This was down to the fact that we didn't really know what we doing and it seemed like they couldn't be bothered as we are only here for a week. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day....
After this we were shown a display that they are working on for next year 2011. We weren't really sure why we were being shown this as we were then taken to a different room as asked to make some hand sewn samples. She told us that we could do whatever we want using trims that had already been made and manipulating them into new trims. We did this until lunch time.
After lunch we were again shown to the display and told we would be working on this for the afternoon. The display consists of half a car (the famous fiat) that is going to be decorated and have a giant flower on top that is decorated with their trims made in the factory with the idea of selling them. Our job was to take apart the flower- it is made of mesh cut and shaped into petals with 5 big and 5 small petals in all. We had to take a large and small petal and cover in trims. We had to masking tape these in place to see the layout. As well as the flower they wanted the trims to hang of the petals and over the car. From what we understood this was going to be done once the petal was on the car.
At 6.45 Pierro and team came over to look at what we had done. At this point we had finished both petals but had no trims hanging. They were really pleased with the petals but were annoyed as we had nothing hanging off. It was frustrating as it was hard to explain ourselves because of the language barrier. Although Dora was able to talk sometimes the communication was still bit difficult.
Overall it wasn't a great first day. Me and Dora were both a bit fed up and tired. This was down to the fact that we didn't really know what we doing and it seemed like they couldn't be bothered as we are only here for a week. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day....
Monday, 10 May 2010
Sunday 25th april
To continue with my work experience I am off to Italy (with Dora-friend) to work for Forza Giovanne just outside of Ancona. Today we flew out to Ancona and were picked up from the airport. From the moment we arrived it was obvious that they really didn't speak any English and i cant speak Italian. Luckily Dora can speak Italian so we are able to communicate.
We were then taken to the factory to have a look around and shown where we were working. The factory is far bigger than we thought. There are two big building next to each other. In both of these there is the main room as well as smaller side rooms. In the first part is lots of machines were trimming are made and garments are embellish. This is also where fabric gets cut and the main office to the company. In this building there is also a room full of fabric and a small shop where customers can come to purchase the trims made. This was off limits to workers.
In the second building there were also machines but of a larger scale. As well as laser cutting machines. In the room leading of of this is some more offices where Pierro the designer has his office and where they do research for each season. In this section it is also a sort of gallery that past displays they have created shown off. These include a decorated boat/ half car and spinning wheels. As well as dolls and balloons. It was really interesting getting to see this as it gave us an idea of what they produce.
Being shown round before we start tomorrow is really good as it kind of prepared us for what is to come tomorrow and gave us a bit of an introduction.
We are staying in a apartment about a 20mins walk away from the factory. Our hours are 8.30 am to 7pm. With a lunch break form 12.30 till 2. Tomorrow is going to be a long but hopefully exciting and interesting day .......
We were then taken to the factory to have a look around and shown where we were working. The factory is far bigger than we thought. There are two big building next to each other. In both of these there is the main room as well as smaller side rooms. In the first part is lots of machines were trimming are made and garments are embellish. This is also where fabric gets cut and the main office to the company. In this building there is also a room full of fabric and a small shop where customers can come to purchase the trims made. This was off limits to workers.
In the second building there were also machines but of a larger scale. As well as laser cutting machines. In the room leading of of this is some more offices where Pierro the designer has his office and where they do research for each season. In this section it is also a sort of gallery that past displays they have created shown off. These include a decorated boat/ half car and spinning wheels. As well as dolls and balloons. It was really interesting getting to see this as it gave us an idea of what they produce.
Being shown round before we start tomorrow is really good as it kind of prepared us for what is to come tomorrow and gave us a bit of an introduction.
We are staying in a apartment about a 20mins walk away from the factory. Our hours are 8.30 am to 7pm. With a lunch break form 12.30 till 2. Tomorrow is going to be a long but hopefully exciting and interesting day .......
Friday 23rd april
Sadly today was my last day at Bunmi Koko for the moment. I have been told that I can return whenever I want and if they get into LFW in September there is chance that I will be helping then.
Today has been a bit of a random finishing off day. My task was to complete the mask that I have been working on for the past few weeks. However, this morning we got back another of the finished garments. It was really good to see another dress finished before I had to leave.
Back to the masks... All that I had to do to complete the mask was to cover the backs in velvet to make them clean and professional looking. This was quite a straight forward task apart from the fact that we ran out of a certain glue and i had to change to a different one (disaster). This other glue was not successful so i had to go and do a bit of running round Upton park to find some of the previous glue. Once i had done this i finished the mask without a hitch. I am really pleased that i got to complete the mask as it means i have made them from start to finish, including the design, resourcing materials and making them. Once i had finished i laid them out on the table. It gave me a really good sense of achievement that i had contributed to the fashion show and that my work would be seen by everyone.
Before I left today i was presented with a certificate and gift which was really lovely. I have really enjoyed working at Bunmi Koko and we will definitely keep in touch. I have found that working for such a small company has really given me insight into the company and how it works and functions from day to day. It was really exciting to see the company growing and new opportunities arising each day. I really felt part of the company and felt that I was helping to create and move the company along, not just another intern. All the inters are really looked after and in return it makes the company successful and an enjoyable place to work.
Today has been a bit of a random finishing off day. My task was to complete the mask that I have been working on for the past few weeks. However, this morning we got back another of the finished garments. It was really good to see another dress finished before I had to leave.
Back to the masks... All that I had to do to complete the mask was to cover the backs in velvet to make them clean and professional looking. This was quite a straight forward task apart from the fact that we ran out of a certain glue and i had to change to a different one (disaster). This other glue was not successful so i had to go and do a bit of running round Upton park to find some of the previous glue. Once i had done this i finished the mask without a hitch. I am really pleased that i got to complete the mask as it means i have made them from start to finish, including the design, resourcing materials and making them. Once i had finished i laid them out on the table. It gave me a really good sense of achievement that i had contributed to the fashion show and that my work would be seen by everyone.
Before I left today i was presented with a certificate and gift which was really lovely. I have really enjoyed working at Bunmi Koko and we will definitely keep in touch. I have found that working for such a small company has really given me insight into the company and how it works and functions from day to day. It was really exciting to see the company growing and new opportunities arising each day. I really felt part of the company and felt that I was helping to create and move the company along, not just another intern. All the inters are really looked after and in return it makes the company successful and an enjoyable place to work.
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