Hello! I am Kenza Puchtler. For the past 6 months, I had the pleasure of being employed as an all-round fashion intern at the vintage luxury brand, The House of Ginger Aardbei. It is an extremely dynamic brand that constantly finds new ways to cater to its customer bases and expand its network to like-minded companies. As an all-round intern, I was an integral part of this dynamic movement. Being part of a small company meant that I was constantly exposed to new expectations and challenges, and it also meant that the daily work I was producing always became part of final outputs that were displayed to end customers!
My main tasks consisted of me monitoring Ginger Aardbei’s (GA) social media as well as its e-commerce website. GA’s particularity is that it values and fosters initiative and creativity. Thanks to this, I was constantly encouraged to think of unique ways to tackle social media engagement and marketing, as well as website and stock management. This has led me to creating vibrant and creative visual marketing campaigns that were in line with my brand’s weekly garment collections, and fun videos that showcased both GA’s products and it’s behind the scenes. Indeed, alongside being a creative powerhouse, GA also enjoys connecting with its customers by displaying its daily processes in an authentic manner. I therefore enjoyed creating content that was both commercial and personal. The latter made me feel particularly valued and appreciated as both me and my intern colleague were always encouraged to show our progress and creative processes.
Alongside such marketing and e-commerce efforts, the latter engaging me in stock management, quality control and order packing, I was also involved in additional tasks. They ranged from assisting my supervisors with the buying of garments to the setting up and monitoring of weekly collection photoshoots. Such tasks were particularly fulfilling and fun for me as they were what demarcated my internship as an all-round fashion one rather than a regular marketing or PR one. This distinction was my goal when finding my internship because my true passion is the world of fashion in which I want to work as a communication and PR specialist. Therefore, working at GA allowed me to experience processes that were unique to the fashion sphere, which I adored.
Another aspect worth noting was the organisation and undertaking of a VIP brunch event for select GA customers. Organising this meant that I was also exposed to the logistics that go behind the preparation of an event. I was involved in contacting all stakeholders for that event, from caterers to flower shops to invitees. Since that brunch was also involved engaging attendees in fashion sustainability workshops, due to the sustainability week in which it was held, I was asked to conduct a speech alongside my intern colleague. We enjoyed crafting a role-play about fashion sustainability that we conducted in front of the guests and that allowed us to practice our PR and public speaking skills.
Overall, I truly enjoyed working at GA. As one of my first ever professional experiences, it not only blossomed many qualities in me, but also helped me create a better picture of my ongoing career path. I was surrounded by committed colleagues that constantly taught me new lessons. After working for such a small company, I now know that I wish to experience working in a larger business instead. This would allow me to weight the pros and cons of each type of company and guide me towards deciding where I picture myself more in the future.