Day 9

Today was a slow day at work. Well, sort of. I started it by cutting out some bias bindings and dress pieces from the fabric I picked up yesterday in Shepherds Bush. It was fun playing with chalk, and learning a trick to find the bias in a really easy way. (Bias is the exact diagonal on a fabric, where it's the stretchiest and curves the best.)

After that I took my lunch break and finally found the perfect black trousers at Selfridges. I wouldn't have gone in except that they were playing Stacie Orrico's song "There's gotta be more," which I found ironic. But I love the song, so I did go in, and I'm happy I did. The only problem is that everything seems so much cheaper than it really is! The conversion rate really is terrible.

Back at work, I wrote down some bands that I liked playing on the radio, and read my book for a while. Then I put some invoices and letters into envelopes, addressed, and stamped them. It was an interesting look into the world of a fashion designer, because they were letters about not receiving payments, and about contacting solicitors if payment isn't made. It's quite sad, because either the products didn't sell well, or the businesses are having money problems. I doubt they just forgot, but maybe they did.

I sat in the shop for a few hours and read, when a customer came in and actually bought something. People never come in the store, so I wasn't quite sure what to do. Here in England, sales people either hover too much, or not at all. So I wasn't sure which one to do, and I tried for a happy medium. I'm way too awkward though, because I don't know the products as well as I should. But now I know exactly what questions I need to be asking so I do a better job. One woman bought a jacket, and put a clutch on hold for tomorrow, and another one came in to look at dresses for her daughter. She talked a lot, and that was nice for a change. A lot of people in the area don't talk much. All in all, I found myself praying nobody else would come in, which is horrible, because I should want everyone to come in. Normally I would, but not when I'm alone and don't know the answers to the questions I'm asked.

At the end of the day, Julia and her two friends came back and had me model a dress for them again. I was half naked and it was rather awkward, but that's okay, it's part of the business. It makes me realize how different every person's body is. For example, the dress I was wearing is considered a perfect European size 10. On me, that's a little too tight in the butt, and too loose in the chest, and also too short in the torso. But I suppose most of us are okay with a pretty decent fit in most of our clothing, as long as it's not too tailored. Some garments don't have to be perfect, and they still work. It all comes down to dressing for your body type.

Then I mailed the letters and went to class, which was interesting. I talked to the professor about my paper, and when asked why I want to do eco and fair trade stuff, I told him a lot of it has to do with my faith as a Christian. He replied that Christians are the worst, tree cutting and baby chopping damned people. I didn't really know how to reply to that. It's really sad how Christians are viewed in England sometimes, and I think I was too shocked to make a coherent reply. Then he kept talking about my paper. But that sure did throw me off.

After the meeting I walked home through the park, stopped on a little obscure trail and read by some squirrels and birds, and enjoyed the beautiful breeze. I really want to go to the deep south for some reason. And I really want to garden and spend some quality time outside. I miss New Mexico summers so much. Hopefully I can go back there soon.

That's wicked!

I stayed up too late last night, so I really didn't want to get up today. But I did have a really good time reading my Bible once I did get up. Two Psalms really stuck out to me:

Psalm 37:23

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him with His hand."

Psalm 62:5-7

"My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength and my refuge is in God."

I loved these verses because they apply directly to what I'm dealing with in life right now. So good.

Today work was a bit slow, I just hand tacked a million gathers on a beautiful dress, read some magazines, and watched the shop. Julia and I had a nice chat about relationships, and I'm getting really used to instant coffee. It's actually quite good, so I might consider working it into my life back in the states...

This afternoon I went to Shepherds Bush to find fabric for Julia, and was able to find an almost exact match for the peach jersey. I was very glad, because I went into a lot of stores before I finally found it. Peach doesn't seem to be a very popular color.

I'm home early now, and I just made an attempt at curry. I boiled potatoes, lentils, and quinoa, then made a sauce of garlic, onions, coconut milk, and very spicy green curry paste. It's quite delicious, and I'm going to experiment some more with it soon. Tonight is Bible study at Yumchaa, then I'm going to a show with April at some venue here in Camden. Hopefully it's lots of fun, I'm sure it will be.

Day 7

Today has been an intense day, but I've been so blessed throughout. It started with my bus never coming, so I had to take the tube, thus being half an hour late to work. Because my phone is still missing, I wasn't able to call Julia and tell her, so I felt really bad. Tomorrow I will get a new phone for sure. When I got to the store, Julia sent me straight out to find a dry cleaner that could finish her boyfriends pants by the end of the day. Thankfully I was able to sweet talk a persian man at the first one to get them done before 5pm. He then handed me a pair of fingernail clippers and asked if I wanted to use them, because of how long my nails are. I said "No... thank you."

Back at the shop, I ironed a batch of clothes that are being sent to a store in Brighton. It's fun to see Julia's stuff picked up by other stores in different places. Next, I cut out a shirt in a silky blue fabric that liked to slip and slide all over. I was shocked when Julia just cut the fabric in a jagged half, because I'd spent hours trying to figure out the layout for all the pieces. I got all the bodice pieces out of one half, then realized she had forgotten we needed 2 of one of the ruffles, so in the end there wasn't enough fabric. And there was another lesson in reading patterns really carefully.

On my lunch, I ran into almost every store in the closest 5 blocks of Oxford street looking for black, closed toe high heels. I didn't find any in the hour, and ended up back at work stressed out because I needed them by 5. After that, I cut out a dress from this crazy pink ruffle material that hopefully hangs right. I always wonder when I cut out stretch fabric how it will work. Being very careful and measuring 8 million times is something I've become very accustomed to on this job. When 3:30 rolled around, I started to wrap piles of advertising cards together with grosgrain ribbon, then she let me leave early for tea.

I put on my Black Market White House dress for the first time in the dressing room, then ran out the door to hunt for black shoes again. In Barret's shoes store, I came across a glorious pair of 5 inch black stilettos for a reasonable price, so I bought them and told the man to keep the box. He was so shocked I was just going to wear them right then and there, it was hilarious. People take their shoes so seriously here.

So I got on the tube and went to Green Park, and got to Fortum and Mason half an hour early. It's an amazing store, where the queen gets her groceries. I wandered around for a bit, then found Dr. Wilder (my academic advisor at Point Loma,) her daughter, and her granddaughter. We went upstairs, and waited to be seated for our tea. It was a cozy and beautiful place, complete with couches and pillows, with beautiful china place settings. We picked from the extremely expensive menu out of two afternoon teas or high tea. I chose the basic afternoon tea with strong Assam Tea. I had so much fun talking to them, and I found out that Dr. Wilder had met with a friend of hers, who just happens to be the ex-editor of Mademoiselle magazine. The woman gives scholarships on occasion, and somehow I am receiving one. It's such a blessing! Now I'm just required to have lunch with the two of them.. which is pretty much the coolest stipulation ever. I can't wait.

Our tea was wonderful. First they brought a plate of little appetizers. There were some cheddar sticks, meat pate pastries, and crackers with some sort of tuna on them. Then they brought out a pot of tea for each of us, and a three tiered plate of pastries. There were little sandwhiches and egg eclairs on the bottom level, scones on the second, and a variety of chocolate and cheesecake pastries on the top. There was also a three tiered plate of jam and clotted cream for the scones. This was the first dairy and meat I've had in a while, because my stipulation to being vegan was to not let it interfere with obligatory social events, such as this. I was so full by the end, and I still got to take home the leftovers in a beautiful box tied with ribbon.

I wish I could have recorded all the great things we talked about. Everything from life plans, my designs, and the young Loma marriage rate, to British culture. It's such a blessing to have people like them in my life, and I know that there will be many more similar occasions over the years. Praise God :)

Day 6

I was tired when I woke up today, come to find out it's probably because I haven't been taking my vitamins. But nevertheless, I went to work, ready for another day. I got there around 10:30 and watched while Julia showed me all the patterns that needed cutting out for the day. There was a dress and lining, this crazy black mesh for another dress, and a blue ruffle shirt. So I turned on the radio and went to work while she went to a meeting. It took me all morning, and I didn't finish, but all of the patterns went well.

The best part of the day was talking to Xana, the other woman that shares the studio. She gave me some pointers on how to cut the mesh better (slippery fabrics are a nightmare to work with,) and it helped a bunch. We talked about loving design and how to take instruction and learn from those who know more than we do. Her favorite advice she's ever gotten was "Fashion design is only half about talent. The other half is all hard work." And it's so true. Anyone who thinks the life of a designer is glamourous is highly mistaken. Yes it's fun if it's your passion, but it doesn't come easily. I found out that Stephanos, the patternmaker that was in on Tuesday, has worked with many amazing designers including Vivian Westwood, and is a genius in his profession. Xana told me to ask him lots of questions, but to be prepared to learn a lot because he's very picky. I'm going to bring in my portfolio and sketchbook so she and Julia can critique it, because I'm desperate for feedback on what I'm doing right or wrong.

When I told Xana I will be working for Zandra Rhodes in the fall, she was very excited for me. Apparently Zandra has a studio by the Fashion and Textiles museum, so I'm going to go by and see if I can find her. She helps out a lot of young designers, and I'm really happy to hear that.

At the end of the day, I went to the factory in Hackney yet again. This time it was a piece of cake, and I was in and out in no time. The way home was a different stories because of tube delays, I guess the police had to search a train in Leichster Square. Who knows why. But anyways, I'm glad it's the weekend now, time to have some fun at Itunes fest tonight :)

Internship Days 3,4 & 5

I've been too forgetful and tired to keep up with my journaling the past three days, because I've been working a lot. It's terrible getting behind, because I know that I forget so so much. But here goes.

Day 3:

Today I got to work and was sent straight back to the Polish workshop in Hackney. I knew enough to take the bus this time around, and it was a little less scary because I knew where I was going. This trip was to pick up patterns and extra fabric for 4 garments. It went quickly, and I was back not too long after. Back at the store, I traced patterns for the next few hours, and met the wonderful patternmaker Stephanos. He is from Greece and spent the hours talking about what it is like there. But the best part of the day was when he found out I'm from Vegas. He and Julia both freaked out and said that they had no idea people really lived there. Then I got a lot of weird questions such as "Do you have tacky taste?" and "How do you pay for your water at your house there?"

It was fun, and I got to see him make patterns and drape a skirt, so I learned some things, or at least reinforced some things I already know.

Day 4:

Julia had me open the store for the first time this morning, and I met her at the Euston tube stop to grab the keys for it. She had me cut out a black jersey skirt, then just hang out and mind the shop. I played about 100 games of Spider Solitaire and listened to the entire Arctic Monkeys discography, which was wonderful. When Julia got back, I was sent on an adventure to Liverpool Street to find a haberdashery called William Gee for zips. The buses are getting much easier to use now, which is good, because I've been taking them to a lot of places. After getting the zips there, I went to John Lewis to grab the colors I was missing, then to Rymans for tape. By the time I got back, I was so exhausted. Maybe it's being vegan, or just running around all day in hot weather, I'm not sure. But I will start eating vitamins again.

Day 5:

I opened the shop again today, and set to cutting out a ton of pieces for a dress. It took me almost an hour to get the grain and layout right, but I think it turned out very nicely. I also cut ruffles out of calico, and then ironed and put tags on some Julia Smith shirts. She gave me one, and I love it. I almost bought it online before I started working there actually, because it's organic cotton and made in a fair trade shop in Turkey. I asked Julia about where she gets her recycled fabrics, and she gave me a list of places she uses. Most of them are in the US, which is great for me.

Xana was in again today, she's the other designer that shares the studio space. What a sweet woman, I am so blessed to work with her and Julia. They are kind, thoughtful, and gracious, which is not what I was expecting in my line of work. I hear a lot of horror stories from other people in my class, so I am so happy to be where I am. Julia even made me coffee today and apologized for not having soy milk because she knows I'm vegan. I was so touched, it really made my day. I hope that if I am ever a boss, that I will be just like her.

Why'd you sing with me at all?

Today was pretty much the best day I've had in a while. It was one of those never ending crazy days when life just flows by in a series of wonderfully random events. Starting at 9, I went running with April to Regents park. We ran for an hour and a half exploring the areas around the zoo, running through large flocks of Canadian geese, and finding an outdoor theater where a Macbeth performance was taking place. We sun bathed by a fountain, and looked at the menu in the Queen Mary's Garden Cafe.

After a shower, I went with my roommate Allie and April to the grocery store to start my vegan diet off right. Raw granola bars and soy yogurt will be my best friends in the coming weeks. Then April and I set off on a bus adventure to find the Borough Market and Monmouth coffee company. This led to us walking around Big Ben and Parliment, then following the river Thames on the banks, picking up rocks, silverwear, and pieces of porcelain.

At the market, we tried the hottest chili in the world (unofficially) and got unique coffee at Monmouth. They have a unique brewing process that is a mix between french press and filter coffee. It's a great free trade and organic company, and I mixed in brown raw sugar because I can't drink milk in my coffee unless it's soy. It was strong and delicious, and got me through the rest of the crazy food market. It was unfortunate I had finished my grocery shopping earlier in the day, because the market was full of amazing produce.

On the way back, we walked over the millenium bridge, past St. Paul's cathedral, and got on a bus that got us extremely lost. We got to see half the city on the bus, and ended up right next to where I work. Thus I took April to see where Tony Blaire and Jimmy Choo live, and we walked to another bus stop near school. Finally getting home, I took a nap, then made some vegan goodies for dinner. I'm being careful to get all of my vitamins and minerals, and enough calories.

Around 10 April and I went to a club called the Westbury in Kilborn and met up with our friend Sebastian. It was a neat place, with upscale architecture and good music. We danced for a few hours, then got chips at the kebab place next door. And now I'm unwinding to some Damien Rice before going to bed.

Church at Westminister with my friend Ki tomorrow :) I'm so excited. And praise God for such a wonderful day. For legs that let me run and walk, run, and dance all night. For friends that watch out for me and will go on adventures with me. I'm very blessed.

Day 2

Today started out with a lot of rain. Waking up to the gloomy pouring sky is great, if you don't have a long commute of walking and public transportation to look forward to. The bus worked out better than I planned however, and I was forty minutes early. So I stopped for coffee and breakfast at a fun 2 story Pret on Oxford street. I usually don't eat in, but I had to escape the rain somehow. Unfortunately I had forgotten my book, so I just journaled for a while. When eleven finally rolled around, I picked up my pound sandwich and went to the store.

Julia sent me straight back out to find her a zipper, deposit a check, and mail another envelope. Thankfully I've had a few adventures finding the kind of zipper she wanted, so I knew where to go after the first store was sold out. I knew it would be, but hey, why not check. So a few stores and inside out umbrellas later, I got back to the shop with my wellies intact.

My tasks for the day included folding and organizing fabric, watching the shop with the other intern Dana, and once again modeling. Now I'm pretty small on the top half, so that works fine for their tiny garments. But my hips don't care much for size 0. Combine that with an already awkward dress, and three people you barely know tugging at the dress and completely hating it, and you get a slightly uncomfortable situation. But at least I can fully appreciate what I put my models through now during their fittings.

Julia is helping two people start their line, which turns out to be what the samples I picked up yesterday were for. They're quite crazy and intense personalities. I also met the sweet woman who shares the studio, she was very interested in the States. The only customer of the day was a woman in burka came in to look at a dress. The dress was skin tight nude material covered in magenta tulle strips, so basically glorified lingerie. Now I want to know what all the women walking around in burka are wearing underneath the complete cover of black.

Later in the day, I was asked to hand stitch the lining into a top, then to sew crazy black jewels onto the waistband. I tried so hard to make the stitches invisible, but it's hard with cotton thread on satin. We'll see if she redoes it... but hopefully it was good enough. Then I was free to go home, for a nice long 4 day weekend.

So far so good, though I'd love to work more than I do. Having days off are fun, especially now that I'm making a lot of plans with my friend April. We went to a vegan lounge to watch live music and eat vegan ice cream tonight. She's a really sweet girl, and it's nice to have a friend to hang out with after work and on the weekends. The next month should be fun, I'm going to try to see and do everything I can before I go back to the States... It seems so far away, yet so close. I'm not ready, but yet I am. I think I'm just used to being here now, so it feels like I am home in a way. There isn't much of me that can imagine what it will be like to not have this life anymore, and maybe never again. London is... amazing.

Internship Diary #1

I'm supposed to be keeping a journal of my internship every day that I have it, so I decided to put it here. This is half because it may be somewhat interesting to you, and half as a precaution in the event the inevitable hard drive crash occurs.

Today was my first day working as an intern for designer Julia Smith. She's a younger, really sweet woman with a fun asymmetrical haircut who makes way cool stuff. Her establishment is a small store with a workshop and office in the basement off of Connaught Street, just up from Hyde Park in London. It's a beautiful part of town. As soon as I got there, we established my schedule for the rest of my time, and she then put me to work. Job number one: take the tube to Manor House, find a Polish woman named Kasha in a gated industrial park, and pick up samples from her. Sounded easy enough, though I was warned that it was a rather.. shady part of town. But I figured it couldn't be that bad, so I took her lovely hand drawn map and set off on my way. I got to read my new book, The Last Empress by Anchee Min on the way, so the tube ride was fun.

Then I got off the tube, and realized I was in Hackney. Since I've been here, Hackney is pretty much the only part of London people have said is dangerous. And it was super dodgy, but so be it. When I hit the industrial center, then I started to pray a lot. It was full of rather creepy looking men, most of them foreign, who let me in, then pointed me into a maze of hallways in one of the buildings. I found the suite, and a woman who didn't speak english let me in to their workshop. It was a bright room, with three middle aged women on industrial sewing machines. Pictures of runway shows, bolts of fabrics, and block patterns were everywhere, and she motioned for me to wait for Kasha. Then I realized they had calendars of naked men all over, and were blasting Katy Perry's California Gurls. Bizarre situation, but interesting to see nonetheless. Eventually Kasha showed up, gave me the sample and the invoice, and I headed home. This time I took the bus back to the tube station so I wouldn't get all the weird kissing noises guys kept making on my walk there. Everything else went smoothly, and I made it back to Connaught Place in one piece.

Job number two: try on the samples that I just picked up and model them for Julia, because apparently I'm the size they were supposed to fit. It was a plain black tank top, black and silver cardigan wrap sweater, and a pink see through tank with crazy ruffles down the front. Now I know how all my models feel when I fit them.

Job number 3: follow the map to the post office and mail three packages, bring back extra stamps, and buy trash bags. Hey, nobody said this job was glamourous. And honestly there are far worse things than running errands, especially because Julia draws really good maps with really good directions. I was afraid she'd ask me to do a lot of obscure tasks with no direction of how to do it. Thankfully she's the opposite of that. After I mailed everything and brought back the other stuff, I was free to go home.

And that was day one. We'll see what tomorrow holds.

"You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.

This has been a good weekend, though a sad one saying goodbye to all my roommates. I'm excited that I got to know them and learn from them in so many ways. One of them, Kristen, has a grant from the University of Hawaii for research on natural plant dyes. Through than, she taught me how to make the dyes and how to test them on different fabrics. I'm aquiring so much amazing knowledge that I can't wait to put into practice when I get home.

I was excited before I came here about the people I knew would impact my life that I had yet to meet. And now that I've met a lot of them here, it's clear that each path that crosses changes you at least a little bit. What a blessing to make new friends, to share the gospel with people here in Camden, and to just learn about other people.

My internship starts tomorrow, and I'm a little bit nervous, but mostly excited. I'm going to really start working on design stuff in the next week, and I'm hoping to gain both inspiration and skills to kick that off. I'm really glad I'm here right now, I love it like another home. Praise God for His plan for my life. Even when it gets hard, I know He's here with me, seeing me through it all and growing me in ways I don't recognize yet.

Cheers!

Cheers apparently means thank you in Ireland. I learned that today from my Irish friend Porridck (pronounced Porrick.) Today was the official end of my classes here in London! I have been at school almost 12 hours every day apart from weekends the past three or four weeks, and I must say it was more work than I've had in a long long time. The lessons I learned were so good though! I am so blessed to have learned everything, and to have been taught by such wonderful teachers. So watch out world, when I get my sewing machine back, there's going to be some major craziness happening.

This past week or so has been hard spiritually, especially after all that God has been teaching me and showing me. I should have been more prepared for spiritual attacks now that I'm in the ministry I'm in here. Praise God that He has no limit on how many times He can and will pick me up after I fail, which is constantly. I'm trying to not live in my past failures, and to look forward to Him using me despite my shortcomings.

Tonight at Bible study, Pastor Tonye talked about how we are all vehicles (or double decker buses) leading people on a route to God. No bus is perfect, so are creaky or smelly, or just strange, but they can all lead to the right destination. The only ones that aren't good is one going to the wrong destination, or that aren't moving at all. Now that I'm moving again, things are starting to get hard. But that's okay, the joy of God overshadows it all. The sun still burns the shadows out :)

I'm so excited for free time! I'm going to the Tate Modern museum tomorrow, and to check out the Dover market. I can't wait to have time for general things like laundry and grocery shopping, and time for designing and sightseeing. All the stress was worth it because of how much I value my free time now.