My experience in getting into the creative industry

Fashion and art has always been a part of me, and something that I keep coming back to again and again. Apart from sport I've never really had a specific interest that I am passionate enough about to consider a carer in apart from fashion or a similar art form. Unfortunately fashion is one of them carers that no one really goes and studies for however many years and comes out a certified fashion designer, its about showing that you have enough experience to work within the industry. But how can you get experience if no one will let you?!

Unfortunately the school which I attended did not offer any classes for creative subjects which made me more and more confused with what carer path to take. It wasn't until I started college when I took Photography, Fashion and Textiles and PE Alevels, when I could really explore my creative side further as well as continuing with my sport at the same time. Although the courses themselves wasn't 100% what I wanted them to be, through doing them it really opened up my mind to think more creatively and explore new skill sets that I didn't know I had. Some people might think you have to be born with an artistic skill other wise they can't be an artist but, art is all about the interpretation of your inner thoughts and what's deeper than the surface.

When starting my second year of Alevels there was an enormous emphasis on what you were going to do next, and when doing art subjects it is very common to do a foundation diploma. If your planning on going to university you generally have to do a foundation degree anyway on top of your art degree, so what most students do is stay at their college to do it as it is funded for students 18 and under. I decided for a while throughout my Alevels that I didn't want to go to uni for a multiple of reasons and i wanted to do a minim of year of studying then I wanted to get straight on with building my carer.For reasons that were out of my control i didn't end up doing my Alevels until I was 17 going on 18, so the by the time it came around to decided whether i was doing my foundation or not I was in fact 19 so not qualified to be funded.

As my Alevels were coming to an end I decided to go ahead with doing the foundation degree as i had no idea what I wanted to do where I was going or what was going on in my life. So I had the interview with the foundation teacher and it all went well and i got accepted for the course. but on my interview the teacher was very hesitant to say a specific price but said the course would be no more than £1500 which was fine because i was going to get a summer job to save up the money for it. I later then emailed the financial person of the college to see if she can give me a actual figure of how much it was going to be. She shortly emailed back saying the 1 year foundation degree would actually be £4,000, which is a bit more than £1500. This then changed everything and yet again confused things for me all over again. I had no idea what to do because i was pretty sure i didn't want to go to uni so the only reason i wanted to do it was because 1. i had no idea what to do after Alevels, and 2. i wanted to try something new where i can learn new art forms and incorporate everything arty i love, together. So i was left with saying is it even worth it? So i started thinking what else can I do. i had three options 1.uni 2. foundation 3. apprenticeship?

Everyone was talking about apprenticeships and i absolutely loved the idea of learning and working at the same time and As i started looking for apprenticeships it seemed like there was so many apart from ones in art.

I had my mind set on getting an apprenticeship in fashion or fashion design and every time i thought of it it became more and more attractive. But again how would I get there? I emailed my fashion and textiles teacher asking about what she thought of the idea and asking if she thought i should still go ahead with the foundation degree. I asked her if I could set up an appointment to talk about it and we did. So I can into college and was waiting for her to talk and she was no where to be found, she didn't turn up. So after that I decided to take it into my own hands.I did absolutley everything possible to apply and try and get a chance, I posted my CV's out to major clothing brands asking if they were taking on apprentices and looking on all social medias at #fashionappreteship to see if I can find someone to talk to about how they got their foot in the door. I only found one wesbiste that offers apprenticeships at different companies in fashion. Of course all of these jobs were all located in London being one of the fashion capitals, this wasn't ideal as I live in a country town about two hours from the city, but I would make it happen if i was to get an opportunity.

I proceeded to apply for nearly every apprenticeship that was on the site because i just wanted something even if it was just an interview i really just wanted to get as much experience as I could. A week past and I had no response from them so i emailed the website advertising the jobs to see if they had received my application and they replied a week later with a very blunt repose saying they needed to process all the applications and they'll get back to me. About a month and a half past and still I had heard nothing from them which I found so disheartening because I had no idea who to talk to or who to go to about what I should do. So I just caried on researching and trying to find anyone that could give me some information. I came across a girl on instagram who had posted a picture using '#fashionapprentice and i sent her a message. Funnily enough She replied saying that she got the job through the website i had been previously applying on, so i was infact back to square one once again! A couple weeks after we had this conversation the girl sent me a message saying she received an email about a new apprenticeship. So she kindly enough forwarded me the email and said to reply and send me CV. The email said they were looking for 5 new apprentices to work for a semi famous TV presenter to work with her to design and bring out her new range of women's wear. Of course I jumped at the opportunity and applied straight away! I received a reply quite swiftly from the same lady who sent me the blunt email previously. In the email she said I can come along to the interview that was happening and sent me an itinerary and schedule of what would be happening on the day which i thought was a bit odd because an interviews an interview right? but I got straight on booking some transport to get to London. Swindon where i'm from has a great commute link to London as its where a lot of people come to settle down and start their families. Unfortunately that means the prices of trains are sky high, which for someone who's just come out of college i really didn't have the money to spend on £100 train fair. So the next option is to get a coach which is probably a fifth of the train price, but for an obvious reason it takes near 3 times the time!

Coach booked! I set off for my interview day at 6am ready to get the coach. even after the two and a half hour coach journey i then had another hour tube journey to get to the location in north London. When I arrived I was quite surprised as the location wasn't the "high fashion Central London" design studio I imagined, it was infact on an industrial estate but I didn't mind because I had no idea what on earth to expect anyway! I got there about 15 minutes early despite the travel and I sat down and waited for the interview. There was about six or seven others there also waiting which I was feeling positive about. Time went on and nothing happens for the next hour just more and more people starting turning up until the whole room was filled and even then we had to wait another half an hour or so! When it was time for the interview we got sent up in groups of 5 and we must have had about 3 minutes each to basically "pitch" ourselves to the TV presenter who we'd be working for. I thought I did well considering I had been travelling for 3 hours and hardly any sleep! We went back downstairs for more waiting and had to wait for others to have their interviews also. Some of the other people in charge told us that the people chosen today would have to come back again for a second interview and then the final 5 would be chosen. In the first email it said that we would be told on the day who would be chosen but of course "they couldn't make a decision" so they'd have to let us know. So I trecked back to Swindon and when I got home I received another blunt email from the same women saying I wasn't successful. When we were at the interview they said we would also receive feedback on how it went and also some advice about where to go next and more opportunities etc. I have received absolutely nothing from them since that last email. I even emailed back asking for feedback but they didn't reply which obviously disappointing but made me want to take this now into my own hands and not let people tell me what they're going to do for me and this that and the other. A few weeks after I was browsing the website to see who got the roles from the interview, and as I was looking it said that the interviews for an apprenticeship scheme to help underprivileged teenagers in the local area. They knew from day one I was obviously not from the local area but still built my hopes up and made me waste my time, energy, and my money!

My way of thinking about it now is very realistic i am looking more for assistant roles now of different types of art not just fashion, more around my area. I am currently doing an internship for an online Fashion and Lifestyle magazine writing articles for them and also continuing writing my blog which i started in 2015. I have really found a love for writing since doing this especially writing about things I am so passionate about. Even though both of these "jobs" are unpaid and I have to find my own time and have a "normal" job at the same time, its letting me be free and creative my way, not how people want you to be which is what creativity is all about.