NYC: LIM and Tommy Hilfiger

Standard
Friday morning we woke up nice and early to get ready to head over to LIM, a business fashion college in Manhattan. On our “Saunter” over (as so called by Mr. D) we tried to take a good look at the 5th Avenue window displays.  Our professors Mr. D and Ms. Ehrhart pointed out to us how the visual merchandisers used elements of design to best draw the attention of customers and move the eye through the entire display.

We arrived at LIM College and were greeted by the Assistant Director of Admissions–Mr. Anthony Urmey.  Mr. Urmey gave us an overview of all that LIM has to offer us as a potential transfer college.

Ms. Amanda Hallay is a professor at LIM, and she was nice enough to take some time out of her day to speak with us about the Merchandising program.  She was able to help paint a picture of what we would experience in classes if we chose to attend LIM.  Ms. Hallay was definitely a shining example of the expertise we could expect from the faculty.

At this point a panel of LIM students–including 3 of GCC’s own alumni–answered any questions we had for them and told us about all of the ups and downs of classes and student life at LIM.  At the end of the presentations our students were welcome to a tour of the campus. Who knows, some of us might end up choosing LIM after we graduate GCC!

In the late afternoon we were told to find a building on the west side of Manhattan. Luckily, we all made it to this location; some of us (myself included) had successfully hailed a taxi; others had bravely made the trek on foot! Whatever the mode of transportation, it was surely be worth our lightened wallets and worn-out feet; we were here to meet with representatives from Tommy Hilfiger.

When we arrived, we were directed to the Hilfiger lobby; from the crisp sofas, to the red patchwork carpet, the framed stars and stripes, and the Tommy Hilfiger promo videos playing on a flatscreen–this room itself exuded the Americana-prep that is Tommy Hilfiger.

DSCN2281

DSCN2282

From here, Ms. Catherine Welsh took us through the office areas, passed the showrooms, and into a meeting room where she filled us in on the history of Tommy Hilfiger (from man to brand-name).

Ms. Christina Caruso spoke with us about applying for summer internships–and offered some valuable advice for making living arrangements during internships in the city.

Ms. Anna Christensen and Ms. Amie Robinson from the Creative Projects Research and Development explained to us the process of taking the latest trends and creating a general concept for the designers to use as inspiration; this way Tommy Hilfiger captures the same aesthetic, even though there are numerous sects of design teams.

Next we got to learn about the system Tommy Hilfiger uses to create a uniform look in their visual merchandising store-wide.  Personally, I was impressed to experience the infinite number of possibilities for employment within the fashion industry.  As we students saw, fashion has truly become a specialized profession which demands hardworking individuals from an amazing number of backgrounds and areas of talent.

And so concluded our final field trip on this whirlwind city adventure.  We broke back into small groups to try to squeeze in some final shopping, see last-minute sites, and maximize the mileage on our tired legs, before turning in for our last sleep in NYC.

Tracey Ashley/Open Mic Night

Standard

Known for her seamless story-telling, sharp topical material and hilarious punchlines Tracey Ashley is a comedian on the rise.  Tracey performs on college campus and comedy clubs across the country.  Becoming an instant college favorite, Tracey was nominated by Campus Activities Magazine as Best Female Performer for her rave reviews of performances.   Tracey was a semi-finalist on NBC’s Last Comic Standing 5 and has appeared as a co-host on TVLANDS Prime Movies. Entertaining audiences with the ups and downs of her world, Tracey Ashley comedy is hilarious, endearing and all around fun to watch. She has also performed on Wanda Sykes presents Herlarious.  She has also been on OWNNetwork.  You can follow Tracey on Twitter – https://twitter.com/TAshley305.

Even though she is a comedian who has had many great opportunities and has traveled all over, she is just a normal person and portrays that through her comedy.  She had the whole audience cracking up with every joke.

After her performance, there was Open Mic Night where a local band performed.  Bobby Skrzypek, Greg Brennan, Nichole Murtha, and Jared Diehl performed first.

Local band

Local band

Willie Jakes and Julio Morales swapped out with Nichole and Jared.  After they all performed it was just Bobby and Julio.

Local band

Local band

To wrap up the night Bobby performed by himself.  He is also part of another band; Bobby Skrzypek And The Pedestrians.

Bobby rocking out on the Steel Drum

Bobby rocking out on the Steel Drum

Bobby on the Ukulele

Bobby on the Ukulele

Day one in the big city

Standard
Today was our first full day here in the big apple!  Though it was a bit rainy in the morning, it turned out to be a fair–and action-packed–day!
I’m here in NYC with other Fashion students to learn more about design, fashion, and business from people that work in the industry in NYC.
Our first stop of the day was to the Gitman Bros showroom.

There we met with Mr. Chris Olberding; the Vice President of the company.  Gitman primarily focuses on menswear, and is a top producer of fine shirting and suiting in the USA. Mr. Olberding exhibited his zeal for the industry and spoke with us about the production of classic, quality clothing.  Olberding helped us see how much precision is involved in such an industry; though the basic design and cut of the shirts does not change rapidly, the fabric choices for each line must be chosen meticulously.  Possible fabric choices include material that is already produced and ready to be used as-is; manipulated versions of prints or plaids; a print created using a design; and reproduced vintage prints.

Along with Mr. Olberding, we were also able to meet with the personnel from the merchandising, marketing, communications, and managing departments.  We asked lots of questions and got a glimpse of Gitman’s business practices and some potential careers in menswear.
After a brief break for lunch and shopping, we got together again for a meeting with Ms. Diane Alexander, the PR Director of fashion powerhouse, Buffalo David Bitton. Ms. Alexander told us many stories–from the woes of interns with attitudes, to the high demands of some celebrities–she has seen it all.  As Alexander spoke to us, we were surrounded by Buffalo David Bitton  lines for Spring 2014 and–my personal favorite–Holiday 2013/14.
DSCN2236 On this field trip, we really got first-hand proof that networking is an integral part of  the fashion business.  Alexander explained to us all of the ways in which celebrities, bloggers, and magazines can be used to promote a line or product.  Alexander was very down-to-earth and not afraid to tell everything like it is; no sugar coating.  I loved her no-nonsense nature and one particular bit she mentioned about her interns stood out to me–“I wouldn’t ask you to do something I wouldn’t do myself.”  Even the smallest, most tedious and menial jobs must be completed.

And with that we were free to explore the city–for me, it was time to head down to the garment district in search of some new fabric to work with!

Matt Attack at Genesee

Standard
Students listening intently to presentation.

Students listening intently to presentation.

Diversity According to South Park and Family Guy- Matt Glowacki

Matt Glowakci is one of the greatest guys I know.  He was born with no legs, but that doesn’t stop him from living his life and being happy.  He has the best personality and outlook on life, that you wouldn’t even be able to tell that he is missing his legs.  My favorite story of his, that demonstrates this is the one night that he went out to dinner with his wife.  They were eating dinner, and Matt had said something inappropriate and all of sudden he flys back from the table.  He asks his wife what that was for, and she responded ‘I’m sorry, I was trying to kick your legs, but I forgot you didn’t have any.’

Diversity is a learning process.  Take the time to get to know someone before you judge someone.

Matt talked about how he never works a day in his life because he does what he loves.  He loves speaking; he does 180 shows a year all over.  He loves music; he has a DJ business where he sends DJ’s out to where they are needed.  He also has a wheel chair business where he makes custom wheelchairs.  He makes all of his wheelchairs, and he has also made many wheelchairs for Special Olympic athletes.

He also showed many television statistics, for example half the amount of homes have two or 3 TVs, and other shocking ones.

South Park and Family Guy are designed to be offensive.  In the Family Guy theme song it even says what the show is going to teach to viewers.

With everything in the world that we see on magazines, billboards, commercials, etc. it’s hard for many people to understand what beautiful really is.  Just be yourself, and love who you are.  Lookism, is the term for judging someone base on their looks.  Companies use fear, uncertainty, doubt, to sell products.   Young girls are hating their body weight because of what they see on TV, with how the models, and celebrities look.  They also play with Barbie dolls, and Bratz dolls, whose body proportions wouldn’t even be realistic on an actual human being.  Many companies have produce fake advertising and consumers see that and they make it out to be real.  Many companies will take someone, put them in the companies clothes, makeup, have a photo shoot but then photoshop all the flaws that they don’t like and advertise that fake person.

Racism, is also still a part of people’s daily lives.  One thing Matt told us, was that we have been conditioned to treat disabled people better, for example, always opening the door for them.  Try not to be ignorant towards the issues of racism.  He also spoke to us about how a word is just a word until someone says it’s a bad word.  Intent + Context = Interpretation.

Talk to your friends about diversity.  If you see something say something, stand up for people’s rights.  If your friend says something you don’t agree with tell them “I’m sorry, but when you say things like that it is hard to be your friend.”  Don’t give control of your feelings to a person who has no role in your life.

Some final tips Matt left us with are:

If you are in the bathroom, and if you can use the smaller stall because 7% of the time someone will need the handicapp stall when you may be in it.

Walk around open and curious, you will have a better time in life, most of the time, if you do.

Why not do the work to be happy.

You can visit Matt at his website, http://mattglowacki.com/ add him on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/matt.glowacki.73?fref=ts and follow him on Twitter, https://twitter.com/MattNoWalkie.

Telling a story about one of the colleges he visited.

Telling a story about one of the colleges he visited.

 

Saxophone man

Saxophone man

Matt Corey Nighttime Live and Open Mic Night

Saxophonist Matt Corey has traveled the world with a high energy show that features music you wouldn’t expect to hear from a saxophone. It’s an amazing show with the saxophone playing the role of the singer. Covering everybody from Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake to Jay Z and Michael Jackson. Pop, Hip Hop, Rock, and even Country! Matt was nominated “Best Music Act of 2012” by Campus Activities Magazine. London Theatre Guide singled out his performance as lead role in sequel to the Emmy and Tony winning Broadway spectacular Blast! as “Exquisite!”

He has been featured as a soloist at the Queens Theatre in London, Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center, Sixthman’s 311 Carribean Cruise and Rock Boat, and hundreds of colleges and military bases nationwide. Matt Corey was named Campus Activities “Male Solo Artist of the Year” in 2011, 2012, & 2013!

Matt Corey has also been featured as an opener for Joe Walsh of the Eagles, Comic Legend Gallagher, American Idol Bo Bice, George Benson, Dave Koz, Trombone Shorty, Third Eye Blind, O.A.R., Mike Posner, Far East Movement, B.O.B. and many more. Matt has also toured as a member of both the Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey Orchestras.

Matt Corey is amazing on the saxophone, but I guess he should be seeing as how he has been playing since 5th grade, and still in his twenties.  He can pretty much play anything.  He did Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke, a song by Michael Jackson, a song by Bruno Mars and more.  Matt is a great guy to have fun with.  You can follow Matt on Twitter, https://twitter.com/mattcoreymusic.

After he was done playing we had Open Mic Night where a local band performed, and they were great.  Matt even joined in on one of their songs.  Bobby Skrzypek, Jared Diehl, Willie Jakes, Greg Brennan, were the great guys who made up the local band.  Bobby is also part of a separate band, Bobby Skrzypek and The Pedestrians.

Matt Corey assisted a local band in a song they were performing.

Matt Corey assisted a local band in a song they were performing.

Posing with Matt Corey's belt.

Posing with Matt Corey’s belt.

Matt Corey & Open Mic Night

Fashion Students Learn About People with Disabilities

Standard

On Tuesday, October 7th, the Merchandise Planning and Control class was visited by a unique guest speaker. Shelley Falitico, the Director of Development from the Genesee Arc, came in to talk to the fashion students about people with disabilities. Ms. Falitico discussed how disabilities can be mental, physical, or developmental. She also stated that 10% of the people around us are disabled in some way.

During the workshop, students did activities to get a real idea of what it felt like to have a disability. Students experienced how it felt to be not have vision by wearing blindfolds throughout the hour long presentation. Other students were given masks to place over their mouths, because they lost their voices and could not talk. One student was asked to sit in a wheelchair, with her dominant arm tied down. She was told the lower half of her body was paralyzed, and she had no movement in her right arm, but she needed to complete a task of handing out papers to every student in the class with her disability. Another student had her legs tied together above the knees, and was asked to run to the back of the classroom. This was to demonstrate how someone with Cerebral Palsy might walk.

All of these exercises made the students realize how people with disabilities have to live their everyday lives. At the end of the class, the students could stand up, untie their legs, and take off their blindfolds, but someone with a real disability can not. Some people are born with a disability, others can be acquired over time. It is important for everyone to learn about disabilities and how to deal with people who have them because anyone at anytime could become disabled.

           Candace experiences how it would feel if she could not see.                                                                                                Emma experiences the difficulty of being paralyzed.

 
Candace experiences how it would feel if she could not see.
 
Emma experiences the difficulty of being paralyzed.
   
 
  
   

CV October Events

Standard

Look what we have coming up for the month of October.  Get involved, meet new people, and have fun!

Tuesday, Oct. 8th Board Game Night and Snacks! 7pm VHB Come play UNO, Checkers, Jenga, Connect 4, Cards, Head Bands, and other games.

Friday, Oct. 11th Late Night Shopping Trip to Wal-Mart 10pm-12am

Sunday, Oct. 13th Pizza Party 7pm VHB

Monday, Oct. 14th Chef of the Month: Spaghetti with GA Tiffany Ralston VHB (look for flyer for the time) Come learn to cook and eat what you make.

Thursday, Oct. 17th Shopping Trip to Marketplace Mall Bus leaves at 5pm

Friday, Oct. 18th Scary Movie Night and Snacks! 9pm VHB

Saturday, Oct. 19th Nightmare Manor Bus leaves at 7pm. sign up prior in RA office.

Monday, Oct. 21st National Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie Day 7pm VHB

Wednesday, Oct. 23rd Halloween Cookie Decorating! 8pm VHB

Thursday, Oct. 24th October Birthday Party! 6pm Hickory 2nd Floor. Enjoy your birthday with others who have an October birthday.

Friday, Oct. 25th Karaoke 9pm-1am VHB

Saturday, Oct. 26th Spirits of the Past Ghost Tour. Sign up prior to event in RA office.  Look at flyer for departure time.

Sunday, Oct. 27th Pumpkin Carving 8pm VHB Show off your carving skills!

Monday, Oct. 28th Halloween Door Decorating Contest. Being Judged Halloween Day.  Prizes will be awarded.

Thursday, Oct. 31st Trick or Treating Haunted Hayride 7pm

*Above events are for residents at College Village only.  Check flyers for missing times, and locations.  

Guest Speakers From Verizon Wireless

Standard

It’s Friday morning, September 27th, in Mr. Dudkowski’s 8am Professional Sales class. We went through the usual routine of reviewing homework and forgetting each other’s names (current students–you understand; Future students for BUS 201–learn your peers’ names…you will understand) has been disrupted. Who are we to thank for our rescue from Mr. D’s much-too-early-in-the-morning name game? Guest speakers Cindy Carpenter and Jon Spencer, who have come to share with us their experiences in business with Verizon Wireless; experiences which, between the two of them, are undoubtedly abundant.

For over 15 years, Ms. Carpenter has worked in various business positions in Rochester and has been the recruiter for the Verizon Calls Center since 2006. Mr. Spencer, a former GCC student himself, has held positions in Verizon in numerous facets including customer service, billing, tech support, inventory, and sales, and currently holds the title of “Device Expert.”

In his talk, Spencer highlighted how fortunate he is to work in a business that is so connected with technology.  He emphasized the incredible world we live in today where technology is growing and expanding more than ever before. Spencer’s career in business with Verizon gives him the opportunity every day to be right at the hub of this age of technology and help others connect with our increasingly tech-driven society. Aside from the obvious application and knowledge of the latest gadgets, the business aspects of working for Verizon allows for human connections through customer relations.  As Spencer stated, customer interactions make his job worthwhile; the ability to introduce customers to devices which allow them to speak with loved ones over long distances, recover priceless photos, and could even change their lives, creates visible gratitude which is “Worth more than all the money in the world,” said Spencer.

A Friday morning class–usually merely the last hurdle before a long weekend–proved to be an enriching and worthwhile experience for the students in my class.  Not only did we get to hear firsthand experiences from two Verizon Wireless Employees, we were also given some advice; though we’ve heard it many times before it still rings true, as Spencer said: “At the end of the day, the paycheck and the benefits don’t mean a whole lot if you spend 40+ hours a week doing something that makes you miserable.”

Meet Jerry Greenfield

Standard

Many GCC faculty and students got to do this on Wednesday Sept. 25!  Jerry Greenfield is the “Jerry” of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream.

What a joy attending the annual Wolcott J. Humphrey III Symposium. The guest speaker, Jerry Greenfield was incredibly inspirational. Prior to the main event Mr. Greenfield met with a few staff members and business students to answer questions they had for him.  He is very down to earth, and I felt very comfortable and was drawn in by his demeanor and enthusiasm. Nearing the end of our allotted time he turned to the students and wanted to know more about us, asking what we were pursuing as careers. Before he left to speak at the Symposium, all of us were given the opportunity to take a pictures.

I’m not sure if it could get any better than meeting him in person, but to my surprise it did! During his talk, Mr. Greenfield took us on a journey down memory lane. He started his speech by telling the story of how he met Ben. They met as young men in school while on the track. They were required to run a 7 minute mile, and the two of them shared the “bringing up the rear” position in the race, which he joked about. Throughout his speech he spoke of many problems they faced in business together and how they got through them. Many of the memories he shared were told humorously, and the situations Ben and Jerry found themselves in were very funny.   All of the stories were told with the undeniable respect and appreciation he has for his partner. He described how they almost quit because the job was no longer fun, and they were becoming the type of business they didn’t want to become. A friend told them not to quit and if they didn’t like it, change it. This was the start of the Ben and Jerry’s that cared and wasn’t afraid to show it.

Although there were plenty of laughs, I can’t forget the sadness as he spoke about selling Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Company. Mr. Greenfield’s voice became softer, and his eyes lost their sparkle and for a brief second his grief had returned. It was only for a second and then back to business! The business of Ice cream!  JERRY BROUGHT ICE CREAM!  Everyone that attended the symposium got to enjoy it after he had finished speaking.

The evening was wonderful and I would like to thank the Humphrey family, GCC and my motivational teacher, Mr. Dudkowski, for giving me the opportunity to meet Mr. Jerry Greenfield. It was an honor and pleasure.

Blog post contributed by: Ellen Kirkpatrick

Fashion Students’ Color Analysis Seminar

Standard
Professor Donna J Ehrhart tried example of color analysis.

Professor Donna J Ehrhart tried example of color analysis.

On Wednesday, September 18th the Fashion Students conducted a Color Analysis seminar. They were discussing the concepts from the popular book written by Carole Jackson, Color Me Beautiful. The concept looks at the 4 seasons, winter, summer, autumn and spring. The students learned that there are 2 cool seasons and 2 warm seasons. The sophomores draped each student and explained why certain colors were better suited for them, as opposed to other colors. Each of the 75 students who attended were given a chart of the colors that work best for them. Students learned that the colors they wear compliment the appearance of their complexion, hair, and eyes. These monthly seminars are co-sponsored by the DECA Club and the fashion students.

The freshman are hopeful to have their designs featured in the 33rd annual fashion show.

The freshman are hopeful to have their designs featured in the 33rd annual fashion show.

In addition to color draping, the freshman took the floor and showed the sophomores some of the design they have been working on. The freshman are hopeful to have their designs featured in the 33rd annual fashion show. The upcoming t-shirt design contest that is being organized by the fashion design sophomores was also discussed at the seminar. Many freshman have submitted unique designs that will go on the t-shirts to represent the fashion program.

T shirt contest presentation by fashion design sophomores

T shirt contest presentation by fashion design sophomores

New Year, New Job, New View

Standard

As I begin my second year of the Fashion Design program at GCC, I also began a new job. As required by the Fashion program, each student needs experience working in the area of fashion, either over the summer or throughout the school year. For me, my recent new job was something completely new to me: men’s wear.

My job experience throughout this school year will be at Charles Men’s Shop. It is located at 200 E Main Street right in Batavia. While at the Men’s Shop, I will be setting the window displays. Showing the all of the amazing merchandise the store has to offer, while creating a theme and telling a story, keeping in mind the latest trends for fall was a challenge at first. I haven’t taken the Visual Display class with Ms. Ehrhart (the fashion design professor at GCC) because it begins in October, so trying to accomplish that goal made my first few window attempts difficult. I had a hard time finding inspiration and translating it through men’s wear. Until that time, I had only acquired experience with women’s retail. I had received some advice from the Men’s Shop’s helpful staff, Kristen, Don, and Dave. I also asked both of my professors, Mr. Dudkowski (the fashion merchandising professor at GCC) and Ms. Ehrhart for some advice. I’m very glad i decided to ask for some much-needed tips. After getting a better understanding of the window displays and finding my inspiration, I created a window that i was truly proud of. My vision for the window was the New York City pop up sales, since I, along with all other fashion students, will be attending a field trip to the Big Apple next month. Don Brown (Charles Men’s Shop VP) was recently showing me some pictures from the past trips to the city. He told me of the pop up retail stores that would be selling men’s wear, which made me think of trunk shows. I combined the two ideas with my inspiration of the city and created my window.

Business Wear

Business Wear

I really have enjoyed my time so far at the Men’s Shop. If i hadn’t attended GCC I wouldn’t receive an opportunity like this, nor would I have the always available professors ready to guide me with expert advice. Getting hands on training from such an accomplished and well-known store is great experience. Just as Don Brown had said, along with having fun, learning is the most important part of working at the Men’s Shop. After I have had more experience completing some windows and in-store displays, I could move on to learning new sewing techniques along with more planning and customer service skills.

As I look at window displays, men’s magazines and online articles, I see more now than I would have before this job. I wonder about what the message is that they are sending, what story they are telling, why they made certain choices. This ongoing experience will always make me think more about the way a display is shown than I would have ever thought. There is always room to grow and enhance skills with GCC and job opportunities.

Come down to Charles Men’s Shop and join me on the Wine Walk, October 5, 2013!