2014 H A P P Y N E W Y E A R (in advance)

I don't know about you but i'm thrilled 2013 is almost over and a new year is starting. It's taught me alot about hardship, strength and passion which i am grateful for but I keep realising that i've compromised myself quite abit especially since i've started university.

Don't get me wrong, university is a ball, but there's certain things i've forgotten about that make me, me. So just 'cause it's a new year, i'm not wishing a new me, i'm just wishing that i am a better and truer me. I want to do things i've never done before, i want to take more risks, i want to eat more fish lmao, i want to go to more place, i want to achieve something.


 

I don't do New Years resolutions because by the third day i've already been caught eating sweets (usually the one i go for ), so last year i started doing themes. I chose two, one was to get closer to God and the other was to do things that make me happy. Now i've decided, i'm going to keep at it but just add one each year. So this year i'm going to become more active!

You would never guess i used to be a sporty person, my physique hasn't changed, but mentally i've become a sleeping cat. So I hope that this coming year is much better than the last and that you don't completely change yourself into a new person. Instead, i hope you become a better you!

Happy New Year! X

I N T E R N S H I P A T D E S I G N J U N C T I O N

Summer is now becoming a distant memory; crazy how now that university work has properly started to pile on me i keep trying to find time to post about my internship at DesignJunction for London Design Festival 2013, so now i'm forcing to make time! Design Festival happens each year in September and is London Fashion Week's alternative to interior and architectural design.

Whilst i was doing my own mini projects i wanted to do an internship this summer and i kept sending a chunk full of emails starting with the normal 'Dear so and so... my best attributes are.. and i'll be of great benefit to your firm because...' but that didn't go too well because i didn't receive many emails back and i'm quite persistant but through this whole process i realised calling the firms up after an email is the way forward and that's exactly how i became an intern in London.

 I've lived in London previously so the area around Tottenham Court Road was pretty familiar, but i can't say the same thing about the work. Now if you've ever seen me in real life, i'm very slim, a little tall and little on the loco side and i'm not saying i'm not strong,  mentally yes, but physically... er, No. I can barely carry and push my suitcase onto a train let alone carrying boxes of chairs, tables, worktops... yes, you name it, I was carrying it all and my little feeble weak body carrying anything heavier than a mouse is a joke especially up three flights of stairs.

So by the end of my third day into work i was so crippled that i could barely get my foot up one step and telling myself 'pain is beauty' was not working. Surprisingly, the next day i was as good as new, running around like a monkey to do the last set up stages before private viewings and the RIBA breakfast, we were very much ready.


I was even more surprised that i still made it alive, but to be honest it was the best experience i've had in such along time. The other interns i worked with were more or less in the art and design sector and because i was one the youngest and one of three still at university they helped me understand what it will be like when i graduate, how important making connections are and being consistent and persistent (i love it when they rhyme).

 For the next week and a half these 13 interns were my mini family, when one struggled we all helped out and who could forget our boss, George. He was the boss of the interns, with his yellow book of iterniries and his walkie talkie, he was always needed.


The first day, George split myself and the rest of the interns into 3 groups. One group was placed at the entrance, another group was placed at the back for the VIP entrance and the last group was based on the VIP floor. If you wanted to make contacts this would be the start of it all and studying architecture had its benefits as there were alot of architects and architect assistants around.


At the end of the private viewing, we got to go the The Hospital club, where the after-party for the VIPs were held. A very lavish bar that overlooked the London eye and a very peculiar white clock room that had us interns feel like we could relax, but 15 minutes in we decided to head home as we knew that the 8 am the next morning was no joke especially as the RIBA breakfast was at 10 am that morning too and would be a great platform for me to get advice and more connections.

Standing just outside Jamie Oliver's Barbecoa restaurant, which was inside DesignJunction that next morning was scary.  I don't want to lie to you and tell you it was easy breezy when it wasn't, but standing around all these architects made me realise if i really want to carry on with my course, i've got to talk to them (nike). So i went for it and started talking and from then on, i just kept talking to different people, exhibitors, architects, artists and designers. One architect even made me more determined on what i want to do for my sandwhich course.


The next three/ four days went so fast and i swear none of us interns could no longer contain our laughter especially at the entrance and if it wasn't George sneaking us food from the streetfeast or cocktails from the free bar, we were having long conversations with the public and press sometimes even trying to learn the language if they were from abroad.



By this time we were able to see more of what was going on when it came to the exhibitors and because we had to work alot during the start and closing of each days events we only had a few hours to really experience each element.
Exhibitors like VW+ BS, Modus, Tony Miles, Sharon Marston and her intriguing shaped lights.

Kyla McCallum's abstract origami lights.


As it got to the 4pm on the Last day, Sunday, it was kind of sad and having to close and pack everything away for the next few days made it more real that the old post office was no longer DesignJunction.



Soon enough it was just the old warehouse again and the only evidence that showed DesignJunction had been there, were the many walls that we, as interns had spent many hours painting. I now have learnt not to underestimate people who say they are tired after painting one wall in their house,it's not easy! On the last day, we all celebrated at the pub and made our way up the endless stairs outside the Tate museum that so many people were raving about (going up those stairs felt like i was going up the stairs at DesignJunction to be honest, no difference. DesignJunction stairs were even better).
 

We found ourselves eating at Vapianos for our last meal and finally parting ways. Through working at DesignJunction for the little amount of time that we had, it taught me so much about really being hardworking, team work and how laughter really is the best medicine! My confidence has improved so much especially in my work and also in terms of the industry i want to go into.



I really don't think painting walls will ever be the same again...

H U L L C I T Y O F C U L T U R E 2017

A couple of weeks by my surprise i received a phone call from a close friend, "you'll never believe it... we got the bid for 2017". Best believe that the whole day after that phonecall was all sunshines and unicorns. Okay, maybe not so much unicorns because that's a bit corny but i must admit the smile on my face didn't leave and before you know it my twitter and facebook feed was full of people getting excited about Hull. Every four years the UK government invest 15 million pounds in a city that they see has a future and this time it was Hull's time to shine.

To be very truthful, i wasn't sure if Hull was going to get it, the contenders that we were against were pretty big (Dundee, Swansea and Leicester) and already i thought Leicester had it in the bag. Don't get me wrong i was rooting for Hull but already with the amount of criticism that we were getting i thought that we completely had no chance and we were getting forgotten about.  I even think more emphasis on the fact that Hull is a failing city came more personal to me whilst i was reading The Telegraph about how ministers came together to discuss about cities like Hartlepool, Middlesborough and Hull. 
Instead of speaking positivity and discussing how to invest in these cities that they can see are failing  they wanted to forget about them. Merely, push them to the side until they were a complete mess and instead invest more in cities that were already booming. Does that even mean sense? I was insulted because living in Hull as a student has made me realise of all the capabilities and opportunities that Hull has. Staying in Hull over summer where i worked with mental patients, the elderly and the locals gave me an insight to what Hull really is about and how the lack of employment has great influence on the locals behaviours which in some cases result in alcohol and drug abuse. Yes, it is not the same as close cities like Leeds or Manchester, but it is something.

It's historical value is not just of the past tense, it is of the now and ever since World War II, Hull was the second most damaged city in the UK during the the blitz) it has never fully been able to recover. Not to mention, the leader who paved the way for the emancipation of slavery in the United Kingdom, William Wilberforce was born and breed here in Hull. The fish industry also was booming in the 1700s and was the main trade in the world to places like Norway and Russia. The list for Hull could go on and on.

  Luckily enough at this time my university tutors felt the same way, as i arrived late to my lecture, literally had 20 minutes left (not a great way to start my day). They wanted to do something that would push Hull in being recognised instead of being forever lost and doomed and as we got into the semi finals of the bid, this was the perfect time. So as a group they got us on board on a secret project and boy, do i love secret projects, but this one was different. They showed us a live project that they had started and wanted my year to finish it off.

After many weeks of keeping it hush hush, we got together brainstormed and got building and after many efforts of painting, striping, nailing and measuring; our final live project had finished and it was now time to build the rest on site. I can't say that i wasn't freezing my toes off, but i can say that people really worked hard and as myself and my friend Demi sat in the car laughing and trying to get every inch of warmth in the car, which was not a lot, the men were climbing, cutting wood and calculating on site and before we knew it, the time on my phone was 11:15 and i was back under my duvet covers.

I heard the lads stayed out until 6 am with the last finishes and bottles of beer to celebrate and news reporters had come on hearing about our project on the day of the bid. The project was to signify Hull's presence, that not only will we explode and become better, but Hull's rich culture is just waiting to seep through to the rest of the country. 



So i guess the secret has been out for a while now but, just in case you haven't seen it, it is still placed on top of the Adelphi club, on De Grey Street off Beverley Road. Winning the bid has not only allowed us to be recognised but has also unveiled our worth in society, that Hull isn't just a stop off, it will continue to evolve and that there is so much more to come.