Sportsgirl shorts. Wittner boots. Fossil Necklace. Seiko Watch.
Apologies in advance for the excessively
long post...but the best day to date in Shanghai deserves a solid word
count!
Cannot even express my excitement at being
able to share with you the festivities of the last few days! Friday, after an
exciting and long first week, meant more market research, a good meeting with
the boss and discussion of the inspiration and direction for the next
collection set t be released in the next few months. We also did a bit of hands
on dealing with the product, given that the company I’m working for not only
produces jewellery pieces as part of their own line and brand but also under
the banner head of various UK and US companies as their accessory creators.
So, seeing the thousands of pieces going into
the boxes brought a bit of reality to our situation. I also visited the design
studio that’s also in the Shanghai Mart where our office is, and was
able to see all the hard work that goes into the full production process of
creating and packaging and shipping these tiny hair clips or necklaces.
However, most excitingly, my roomie and I found out the great news of what the
next week would entail for us!!
Basically, my fellow intern and I will be
taking up the occupation of international fashion buyers for the whole week!!!
That means we’ve been given a list of Shanghai’s fashion hubs and we’re to
spend the week visiting, experiencing and documenting these areas, using our
fresh perspectives to pick up on trends and inspiration for the next collection
while at the same time, getting the opportunity to experience so many new and
intriguing parts of Shanghai.
Oh, and we get to shop! Could this sound
better? We’ll be putting a report with photographs together towards the end of
the week to present the following week. And did I forget to mention, when we
return to the office for our last week (I understand that will mean I’ll have
been officially interning for a short 3 weeks but that’s all the time I have
off from uni) we’ll be drawing on our observations to help design some new
pieces which will then be produced on site, photographed by us and put online
for purchase. So, we’ll be slightly legitimate jewellery designers in
about two weeks and people may actually be buying and wearing these hand-made
pieces we’ve contributed to...SO EXCITING!!
Shanghai Science and Technology Metro Station
Market: Along came Saturday and it was certainly one
of the best days I’ve spent in Shanghai to date. As it was my friend Viv’s
birthday we decided it was the perfect day to shop. After what some would call
‘buyers drought’, this day saw full recovery as we visited the underground
market at Shanghai’s Science and Technology Museum metro station.
After some quick sustenance consisting of some casual hot pot at one of the
restaurants at the station, it was time to give our wallets a workout as we
perused aisle after aisle of shops selling bags and beads, wallets and shoes
and everything in between. In comparison to two other markets we’d visited, the
selection and quality was so superior. Having stopped by Tao Bao City Market
near Nanjing West metro station and the Hong Qaio Pearl Market (which,
visiting after work on Friday saw few purchases and a near death experience
including the combination of dodgy taxi driver and Shanghai’s infamously
chaotic traffic – Note to self and everyone reading this: AVOID THE RED CABS),
this has by far been my favourite and I’ll definitely be going back before the
end of the trip.
M1NT: After
our solid hours of shopping, there was time for some sushi for dinner before
heading back to the hotel to get ready for what turned into the biggest and
best night of the Shanghai trip so far. Now, I understand I’ve made these hefty
claims before but, what’s potentially the most exciting thing about this trip
is that I’ve had experiences that not only far exceeded my own expectations but
that also continue to surpass each other. Gathering the gang of interns, we
headed to Shanghai’s famous M1NT nightclub (David Beckham’s been
there!), Now, I am not exaggerating when I say this was the coolest, most
exclusive, expensive looking club I have ever been to. Not sure if that was
a result of the shark tanks lining the walls, the private booths facing
the lights of Shanghai from the 24th floor (to get a table we’re
talking a minimum table spend of 7000 yuan) or the overtly rich, effortlessly
hip clientele (an even mix of foreigners and locals of all ages).
This meant our over-the-top reactions and
selfies against the shark tanks probably didn’t paint us in a particularly
flattering light but that didn’t stop us from dancing to the hypnotic mix of
electronic, house and trap music (says my roomie, I admittedly have no idea
what that means?!) mixed smoothly with my favourite radio hits. Until the wee
hours of the morning, we had one of the best nights of all time (this is a
popular opinion throughout the group), some dancing on podiums with the
professional dancers, some sipping their excessively expensive but delicious
cocktails and the rest of us dancing below the giant crystal globe-shaped
chandelier in the middle of the dance-floor. And, given we were on a birthday
list, we avoided the 100 yuan entry charge. Could not recommend this venue
enough and cannot contain my excitement at returning next weekend! Also looking
forward to the return of my voice, which somehow got misplaced at the club. I’m
a good 5 steps past husky and am at a perpetual whisper which could be an issue
over the next few days.
More stories to come! But before I go,
couldn’t resist attaching a pic of me and the beautiful birthday girl Vivian
(check out her fashion blog http://capitl.blogspot.com.au) before
the best birthday ever!
Love Jess
xoxo
Emanuel Ungaro silk blouse. Fossil skirt. Seiko Watch.
