A Day at the Contractor

When I first started with Brynn, I had only worked with contractors within the company.  We work with an independent contractor; so working with them has been a whole new experience.  It has been very exciting setting up meetings with them, planning our production runs, making sure we have the materials inventory updated and ready for production, and then checking in on how the run is going.  When Brynn and I went to check up on the Fall 2012 line, they were in the process of working on sewing the Lauren Bags and cutting out the Sophie.  

To the left are the pre cut piles of Sophie bags ready to be sewn.  You can see some of the new fall colors, shown are Spill the Wine (oxblood), Imagine (blue/grey), Mary Jane (olive green), and Foxy Moma (burnt orange).  

We also went to make some changes to our overall order and some adjustments on a few bags. For example, we added a back pocket to the Sophie and changed the strap attachment on the Mini-Lauren.  Last minute changes are possible partly because we produce in Chicago!

To the right is the pile of half sewn Mini- Lauren’s waiting to be finished!  This photo shows the Spill the Wine, Mary Jane, Imagine, and To the Max (black).  There are also a few other leather and fabric colors not featured in these photos.  The contractor is hurrying to get everything done for our Liberation Collection debut next week!  Also, soon to come, sneak peek on Holiday 2012 colors!!

Love,

Your design intern Rebecca  :)

Meet Nicole!

Hi, my name is Nicole, and I am honored to be taking on both the PR and marketing positions here at Brynn Capella. I recently inherited the duties from the late great PR assistant Allison Mack, and I am super excited to be part of the team! Allison did a wonderful job, and I hope to continue her efforts and carry out a successful semester while I'm here.

Me with my fav bag, the Heather

I have learned a ton in the short time I've been here so far, and all of it has been truly valuable experience and education. I have to say that had my confidence shaken in the beginning, as I wasn't sure what to expect and had to get my handle on things, but Brynn has been awesome. She has shown me the ropes so to speak, and has also given me a lot of explanation and insight into her marketing and business expertise. To put it shortly, she has not just given me the 'what', but also the 'why' and 'how'.

Since then I have been working a great deal on press outreach, publicity efforts, press releases and other PR strategies. My favorite so far has to be the newsletters. Cutting my teeth with Photoshop (which I hated, but now love), and getting to design layouts as well as pitching their subject content.

I have always loved creativity and design since a very young age, and have owned a sewing machine for as long as I can remember. I used to make my own clothing and accessories in middle and high school. I was a creative little thing with a passion for design and expression, but little concern for technical aspects. Unfortunately that fact never changed, and while in school at Columbia College Chicago, I decided to switch my major from Fashion Design to Fashion Business with a concentration in Advertising Design and Marketing.

Being at Brynn Capella gives me the best of both of these worlds, as I can see the creative and design processes, how they carry into the business side as well. I am lucky to have been given a great reign of responsibilities that allow me to implement my creative thinking and passion for design with my marketing and business skills. I still have a great deal to learn, and am looking forward to the next few months!

Till we meet again...
Nicole

 

Meet Sasha

Hello! 

My name is Sasha and I have recently picked up where the wonderful Katie left off. It is evident that she made a huge impact on Brynn Capella Inc. and will truly be missed. We wish you good luck Katie on all your future endeavors, we know you will be great!

The beginning of my internship has already proved to be a huge learning experience. I'm lucky enough to get advice about the industry from Brynn directly and she has been great about answering my thousand upon thousands of questions, which has been really insightful- thanks Brynn! I'm definitely learning a lot about this side of the industry and getting a better idea of what I want to do with the Apparel Merchandising degree I am in the process of earning.

I have loved fashion ever since I can remember. When I applied for this internship, my first thought was "PURSES?! I can SO do this!" I was immediately intrigued and have finally gotten the chance to see what really goes into making what happens to be my favorite kind of accessory. From the design process and production to making sure that theses Brynn Capella originals find a home with fashionistas lucky enough to own one, we get to see every step of the way.

Lauren Crossbody in Champagne

An amazing outfit can give you the confidence to make you feel totally unstoppable. As much as I love clothes, I have always held a special place in my heart for purses. When I was 12, I saved up to buy myself a large Von Dutch bowling bag, because I thought it was super trendy-- and look at how well that investment worked out for me. I probably would have been better off buying a goldfish, because even a goldfish would have outlived that trend. Lesson learned was that trends may come and go, but a classic handbag will always be by your side to keep you looking and feeling good. That's why I am thinking about making the Lauren Crossbody in Champagne my new best friend...thoughts?

In this short period of time, I have already learned that these pieces are Brynn's pride and joy, but there is much more to this business than these being "just purses." For everyone who has criticized Apparel Merchandising and Design students, you have no clue what really goes into making all this stuff happen and let me tell you- it's tough work! I still have so much to learn and am so excited to get started!!!

Till next time,

Sasha

FashionChicago!

Seated left to right (me, Katie Sink and Allison Mack)

I was so excited that FashionChicago finally came! During the week, we separated and organized all the bags, so when Friday rolled around, we were all ready for it! It took a little over an hour to set up and put all the bags into place. Then within the first hour, we sold a Wyoming Yellow Edie and a Winchester Lauren with continued success throughout the whole night! While we interacted with the customers, we enjoyed h'orderves and Luna Bars, with a sneak peek at the runway show. 

Mercedes and me

There was a lot of good energy and excitement amongst the people and the vendors. On the second floor was the DJ, styles of Angie, she played awesome hip music as people were mingling and shopping around. On the third level was the fashion show that ran about an hour long. It highlighted some great Chicago Designers, such as Nora del Busto and from FashionStar, Barbara Bates! 

All the interns, Katie, Allison Mercedes and I, went and had a great time! Getting a chance to be part of that experience was really awesome and we're all glad we got to be a part of it. 

The Transition

It all comes to an end, and we are never prepared for it.  I am rounding out my last week at Brynn Capella Inc. along with apartment hunting and getting ready for a summer history course – can you say YUCK???

Taking my place is the beautiful Sasha, but when I first met her, I of course had to be protective of Brynn.  I mean, this is MY territory, right?  Wrong.  Sasha was amazing right when I met her.  She’s smart, hardworking, fast learning, and is going to make a great impact at the company after I’m gone.  I have no worries about leaving her to take over.

Allison (PR) and myself (Merch) enjoying pizza during set-up

 The things I am going to miss are the random conversations Brynn and I have in her car and our multiple stops to Taco Bell when we need our fake Mexican cuisine cravings satisfied. Why do they never get my order right by the way?  When I say I want a chicken Gordita Crunch, that doesn’t mean BEEF people! 

All jokes aside though, the most I am going to miss are the people that I have met during this internship.  I had great discussions with the ladies from Veronica Riley Martens, Juliet Jewelry, Red Belly, Squasht by Les, Stylish Girl, and Evon Cassier bags.  I hope to keep building relationships with them in the future.

Mercedes, me, Allison and Brynn (Blue in the front)

My number 1 group of girls, however, has to be the fine young ladies that I spend time with in the office.  We have had to get up close and personal in Brynn’s slightly tiny office, and I have become good friends with all of them.  We are definitely a dominating group of girls.  Look out future - here we come! 

Plan.Shop.Post.Click!

Our Marketing lady, Blue, may have gone into some details on our fabulous photo shoot from Sunday, but I am going to reveal the truth.  The dirty details. What really goes on in planning a photo shoot before we hit the set.

I’ve done a couple photo shoots in the past for creative assignments, but I have never been a part of a Brynn Capella shoot…it was definitely an entertaining but crazy ride.

First, I collaborated with the amazing Allison (our PR intern) to research trends of the 70’s as well as determining what approach we should take to suggest that era without duplicating it in a cheesy way.  After we formed our concept board, we set off to the best part- SHOPPING. 

Brynn put a lovely dent in her credit card limit at Nordstrom and Anthropologie, but we got some great pieces for our models including high-waisted pants, loose tops, and other menswear-inspired outfits.  Paired with the array of Brynn’s fall bags, and we were looking forward to some “shagalicious” photos.

Oh, but the ride was not over for me yet.  Because Brynn and I are type-A people on caffeine, we decided to make sheets of all of the outfits, with all of the bags, with all of the pose suggestions in neat little packets…and yes, that did take me FOREVER to complete because my boss always likes to make last minute adjustments to ensure perfection.  Love you Brynn ; )

On the day of the shoot, all of this hard work definitely paid off.  It was definitely the smoothest running shoot for Brynn so far, and I couldn’t help but smile at the final product that I helped create.

Fall 2012 Photo Shoot

Last Sunday was our photo shoot for our Fall 2012 Liberation Collection!  


So much planning goes into a photo shoot, that I didn't realize, from rounding up the perfect outfits to coordinating everyone's schedule.  With Chicago's finicky weather, we had to reschedule the shoot, originally planned for Saturday, due to the rain. Of course, with 0% mentioned, it still drizzled a little.  Ugh!  


But we were ecstatic to have our photo shoot nonetheless.  

 

Carla and Kelly were troopers changing on the streets of downtown and Nicole made their hair look beautiful!  The day started off at the Board of Trade and ended up all the way to the South Loop.

Brynn had a goal to have every bag in the collection shot with our two models Carla and Kelly.  So we had to be on it, getting the next outfit ready, so no time was wasted.

Aside from the cold weather, us girls were ready to face through it, strutting all around the loop in style! This four hour shoot was very fun and flirty! The energy that day was groovy and the bags never looked better!  It that was a great success! 

Spring is Almost Here

As the warm weather approaches, so do the new spring and summer bags. So that means it's time for Inventory day for the girls at Brynn Capella Inc.

Last Friday came and went so fast. It's actually amazing how many handbag bins fit in the office closet! After we took all the bins out, the main area was filled wall to wall with bags from season's past. It was fun seeing how much the line has evolved over the years. There were even some bags that we didn't realize were still in stock, as they aren't online anywhere. (I smell a new task a brewing.)

The morning was filled with counting every single bag and double checking our main inventory counts. After our quick Pizza lunch break, Brynn decided to have a fun session of researching names for the 70's inspired Fall 2012 Collection. From researching slang words (That's Dope, To The Max, Chill, Groovy, Foxy Mama), fashion trends (Bell Bottoms, Hot Pants, Menswear inspired) and popular movies (Annie Hall) and songs (Imagine, Heart of Glass, Brown Eyed Girl), we finally narrowed down our selections. Now besides Spring/Summer, I can't wait to see Fall too.

Lastly, we re-organizing the bins and shelves to make room for the new bags arriving soon.
I'm sure nothing will bring as much excitement to the intern girls once the new spring bags arrive! Fun bright colors to brighten the office, so as the days get warmer the anxiety grows!

Cameras, Lights, Action...

If you've been anywhere near our facebook page recently, you've probably seen all our new Holiday pictures. Yay!

It came about very suddenly, since Brynn's photographer Rod was moving, we had to make the appointment as soon as possible. He was leaving the Windy City and heading to the West Coast, sunny Southern California. Perfect timing for him!  However, Brynn being a favorite of his, he made the photo shoot happen (or maybe it could be the slight crush he has on our models).  Either way, he is a true professional!

Carla has been modeling for Brynn since 2007.  She always comes perfectly tanned, manicured and naturally beautiful.  Since Rod was finishing up another photo shoot, we got a chance to borrow his wonderful hair (Kelly Kristine T) and make-up artists (Michael Cartier Onsouvanh)!  I hope we get to use them on the next shoot too!

Since our Holiday collection is vintage inspired, we played up Carla's eyes with striking black liner and her lips were a deep red.  Her hair was teased with a long side curly ponytail.  Perfection!

Although we were under a MAJOR time crunch, the Photo Shoot came together, one step at a time!  Brynn recently had a shopping spree of dresses, that fit the girls perfectly! Although Kelly (the Design Intern) and I had never done a photo shoot before, we were quick on our feet and began organizing outfits with handbags, jewelry, shoes, etc.  And although everything was planned out, there was always last minute adjustments.


When it comes to finding ways to model the handbags, basic themes or poses, we refer to our "photo-shoot notebook." It's a book updated by the Design and Merchandising interns every semester.  Organized by size and themes.  It's full of inspiration from ads and editorials featured in InStyle, Lucky, Vogue, WWD and more. One idea that Kelly and I found perfect for the Holiday shoot was of a model holding a variety of bags stacked up in her arms. So we took the idea and made it our own by having Carla line up the Fall Cher Wristlets across her arm.  It Turned out GREAT!!

When it comes to styling the model during the photo shoot, it is good to be prepared, very timely and on your toes! You have to always be one step ahead, have outfits ready for the next shot, handbag in hand, lip gloss to freshen the lips, shoes and so on. 

In the photo above, Brynn and I are changing out jewelry for Carla. It is always little details that matter and at this moment different earrings was a must! Luckily, the dress I wore that day had two very convenient little front pockets that held all the earrings perfectly for a moment just like this one. And the Wyoming Yellow Lauren is on hand for the next shot...voila!

Par for the course, trying to get everyone set on one day, is always tough!  Angi and Veronica couldn't make it, so Brynn enlisted the help of one of her Starbucks regulars, Michelle. She just knew she would be a great addition!  We also for the first time did in-studio shots.  Nordstrom catalog here we come!

I feel both of them could be featured on America's Next Top Model. They may beg to differ, but either way they are amazing individuals with lots of spunk and personality.

Inventory Day...YAY!

September 17th 2010 marked the day all four interns were under the same roof. Thank goodness for that! We needed all hands on deck that lovely Friday. We spent the day meeting and getting to know each other, but most importantly doing INVENTORY. What was supposed to be a 2-hour day, quickly turned to an all day mega event.



Bags were everywhere! Believe it or not we actually had a system going. We decided to organize everything by bag style name not the color/design. We all agreed by doing this we would get through everything relatively quickly… boy were we wrong. As soon as we finished one style and moved onto the next, we would find 2 or 3 more 30 minutes later. Also, we are just learning the names for the bags, so that took up a lot of our time. Rest assured we are all now familiar with the handbags.



After the last bin was finish we all sat down to relax. And then realized we have to go through the samples UGH! So close, but yet so far away we thought. All and all it was fun times with great people!

A girl can’t help, but to fall in love with any of these handbags after spending the day with them! Come see them yourself this weekend!

We will be at The Indie Designer Market:
1300 Block of W. Randolph St. Chicago, IL.
Saturday 10 am to 5pm & Sunday 10 am to 4pm.

Hope to see you all there!

Just Another Day at the Office

Yesterday, Ali (the Business Intern) and I were sent on a mission to display all of the different ways to wear our Lauren Crossbody Fold Over Bag. We were to take pictures and create a marketing spread to send to boutiques. After 130 pictures we used 8 of them! We ran around the neighborhood all afternoon squealing like little girls! It was one of the best days at work this summer!

-Adrienne
Marketing Intern