Email

beckymawbey@hotmail.com

Independent Project

Visions

Visions is a sensory event experience encompassing all aspects of a certain brand by hosting an inspiring day for all types of staff. The project uses trends forecasting, visual merchandising and events management to create an innovative idea for a business that does not exist in the current fashion market.

It offers exciting inspiration for brands to use within their new collections but also as a tool for team building and an opportunity for areas of staff to work together that do not usually get the chance to.

This would help enhance future collections to their full potential and give brands the opportunity to maximise sales by creating a whole theme within the store and running trends that show strength in knowledge and consumer awareness.

Inspiration for project

The inspiration for my project comes from a collection of past projects and understanding the importance of new ideas in the current market. Trends forecasting is crucial to the fashion market, therefore it was important to create a totally new concept that not only interested and helped brands but made sure they returned, respected and trusted the company. The idea of expanding the normal seminar or inspirational talks was to help all members of staff understand the importance of where inspiration for new collections comes from.

Contacts & Mentors

• Ben Harris – Industry Mentor, Mudpie
• Pat Brandt – Mudpie (International)
• Kelly Burtenshore – Pretty Green Marketing Department
• Helen Baker - Pretty Green Management
• Store Manager – Jack Wills (Covent Garden)
• Store Manager - All Saints (Derby)
• Store Manger - River Island (Derby)

Ambition

My ambition for after University is to become a visual merchandiser at high street level, then to move onto a head office level of creative visual merchandising. I also have a strong passion for trends forecasting so would look into a placement for a well established company then hopefully move into the trends forecasting field at a later date when I had the appropriate experience for the job.

Experience

An eight week, voluntary work placement in store at House of Fraser, Birmingham, formed my confident team skills and knowledge of industry Visual Merchandising in a large and busy department store. Daily tasks included: dressing mannequins and shop floor displays, re-dressing windows and creating seasonal window schemes. Working daily with different brands and concessions on the shop floor improved my strength in consumer awareness and brand knowledge, it also gave me an advanced knowledge into trends. I also had the opportunity to learn completely new skills, these include; wallpapering, handling tools and acquiring practical construction skills, understanding displays that maximise sale potential and have strong visual impact.

Working every day in a team meant building upon my group skills from University and adapting them to work in a busy and demanding environment. Strict time deadlines and work standards were constantly monitored, therefore it was important to keep my work to the highest standard at all times, not only for management but my other team members. Working alongside the general public all day, meant being professional at all times and helping them whenever they need store or brand information.