Start of Something Great...

Hey everyone!!! So the first 3 days of my internship have been super busy! I have already learned so much about the event industry. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am interning with AOO Events (check out their blog: http://www.designdawgs.net/), TFS Studio (http://www.tfsstudio.com/) and Images by Lighting (http://www.imagesbylighting.com/) in Los Angeles, California. My first day was Tuesday August 4, 2009. Tuesday was an orientation day for me to get to know each company as well as the employees.


I started the day meeting with Mark Shelton at AOO Events. Mark is the master behind developing this shared internship opportunity for me. He wanted to ensure that I received quality experience and an overall understanding of the ins-and-outs of the industry. As well as, making sure that the joint internship would be worth me traveling across the country. He is a wonderful man who enjoys helping others along the way. I really won the lottery when I got connected with him. As soon as I arrived at AOO I was greeted by so many wonderful people! I met AOO's Founder, David Merrell, then the rest of the producers and designers. I absolutely love all of the guys there! They are so friendly and SO much fun to be around, constantly making me laugh! After a quick orientation at AOO I was on my way to TFS Studio!

Suprise....Guess What???....The owner of TFS Studio, Clifford Miller is from DeQueen, ARKANSAS!!! It really is such a small world! There Clifford and Brandon Dunn showed me around. They really wanted to get an idea of what I wanted out of this internship. Both of them are extremely kind and will be tremendous role models for me. We then went to lunch at Urth Cafe (excellent) and worked on a few floral photo ops at the studio. Clifford and Brandon actually have 3 businesses: The Flower Shop, TFS Studio, and Clifford & Brandon(an interior design company). Luckily they have 2 California weddings (in Santa Barbara and Orange County) that I will get to assist at while I am here.

After leaving TFS, I headed to Images by Lighting. I will be the first intern for Images by Lighting, so I am hoping to make a positive impact on them : ) I most likely will get the most hands-on experience with Images. They have numerous events while I am in town. This really excites me because dramatic lighting is one of the new "innovative" aspects of events. It is also an aspect that I have the least amount of experience in. The owners, Ray Thompson and Curt Stahl are very well known and respected in the industry. They have a wonderful team and I am so excited to work with them! They even spoiled me on day one with Starbucks Coffee, Colin Cowie dishes, decorative vases, and other fun items! (Side note: The employees were able to go through some of Colin's extra decor/tableware that was cleared out of his warehouse behind Images, and they let me get some too!!! So sweet!!!) Next thing I knew, it was 5:30 and time to call it a day, a pretty successful day at that!!!

I am in a very unique position being an intern for 3 companies, all who are in the same industry. One huge factor in this equation is flexibility. Everyone is so flexible with the schedule and all want me to get the most valuable experience. As an intern, I could not ask for three better companies to work for. The variety of knowledge and experience of the individuals that I will be working with will enhance my career far greater than I could have ever expected. As a beginner in the industry, I have lots to learn, but I assure you, I am learning from the best "top of the mountain" leaders!