Have you ever wondered what it would be like to land your dream job? This post is the first in a series where I will be interviewing people about various "dream" internships. Today I am interviewing Rudy Saunders who was a "pinktern" for Lilly Pulitzer last summer. Rudy works at my local Lilly store and is easily spotted in his bright pants and printed jackets.
1) What's your typical day as an intern for Lilly Pulitzer?
There was no typical day at the Pink Palace, which I loved!
Typically the group of interns, or as Lilly likes to call them: Pinkterns, that
lived together would drive to the Pink Palace together. It is always fun to see
what everyone is wearing, from samples to vintage pieces and everything in
between. Everyone is just as friendly, upbeat, and fun as you would expect
working for Lilly and is extremely fashionable. It was a great experience in
that we were treated as regular employees, different from many internships in
the fashion industry. I was the Visual Merchandising Intern which meant I got
to help with how merchandise looks in stores, window displays, and new store
designs. Juggling many different aspects was always challenging, but because of
the fun subject matter it felt like it wasn’t work at all. For lunch many
people head to Wegmen’s, the amazing grocery nearby. It always made me laugh
during lunchtime seeing the groups of Lilly employees getting lunch covered
head to toe in print. Every day was different, whether planning what print
designers were painting in store fitting rooms, playing at stores making them
look beautiful, or spray painting oranges for goodness knows what! I also
traveled to different stores for visual visits which was great!
2) What was your favorite opportunity/activity as an intern?
This is a really tough question, everything was great. I
would have to say traveling to New York City for a long weekend with a Lilly
Print Designer to freshen up our store on Madison Avenue in the Upper East
Side. This was such a treat to get to explore the city and have fun working
along the way. We repainted some of the fitting rooms and the highlight was
getting to help our print designer out! Glueing shells to the wall, painting
cats, (there are 54 in one fitting room) and then re-merchandising the store
were on the to do list. It was great fun getting to interact with the Madison
Avenue Store Team and leave my stamp at this special store. Plus, I had my
first New York City Home Depot experience...trust me it is a long story!
3) What are you majoring in/ what job do you hope to have in
the future?
I am an interior design major at The University of
Cincinnati DAAP Program. There are literally too many fun options to select
just one for the future, but I know it will involve color and a happy
atmosphere! I love hospitality, retail, residential, and textile design and
hope to find something that allows me to work on these. This past spring
semester I interned for Dorothy Draper & Co. in their Palm Beach office
(trust me it was a dream internship too!) and am headed to Dorothy Draper in
New York City this fall semester!
4) Did your internship feel more like work or play?
Definitely play. Everyone who is there is there because they
love the brand. Laughter is rampant throughout the entire Pink Palace and the
countless stores I visited. I loved getting to dream and let creativity run
wild! Additionally, growing close with the other interns last summer was great
and helped to add to the fun atmosphere.
5) Do you have any advice for people hoping to land this
internship in the future?
The best advice I can give is to have an optimistic attitude
and lead a colorful, fun life! Lilly really is such an amazing company that has
a really great intern program over the summer. I would recommend to anyone
looking for loads of fun, hard work, and the best summer ever!
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| National Wear Your Lilly Day |
6) What's one clothing item you can't live without?
Probably the hardest question. I would honestly say Lilly
swim trunks. They are great quality and scream POOL PARTY! I love long summers
at the lake in Northern Michigan and winters on Palm Beach in Lilly trunks. The
company doesn’t make Men’s Stuff anymore, so all of the pieces I have I
treasure. My collection of Lilly items makes me really happy and has so many
great memories.
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| Rudy's Shell Designs |
7) What's the weirdest/ most bizarre task you have ever been
given as an intern?
Probably the most bizarre task I had as an intern was
working the Lilly Warehouse Sale. The stories from the event are numerous, but
it was definitely an experience! Such a rewarding experience seeing the amount
of Lilly lovers who turn out to support the brand. Definitely a wild ride those
couple of days, but a memory I won’t ever forget.
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| Lilly Pulitzer Warehouse Sale |
I hope you enjoyed this peek into the life of a Lilly Pulitzer intern! Thank you Rudy for all your help.
Xx,
Meg
All photos by Rudy Saunders
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