To pick up where I left off....
Monday I reported to the corporate offices at 9:30 and went on air up to the 11th floor. I was greeted by the assistant to the higher-ups and she showed me to a desk where I was to wait for Tamara, who I am reporting to. Tamara was at the Mansion early that morning trying to recover the store from Private Sale. Tamara eventually showed up and I filled out some papers and we left the office for the Mansion.
I was thrown right into and started in the "tie pit" putting out the new summer ties. Nothing too thrilling. We then moved around some merchandise and reworked some areas. It was really disappointing to me (stop reading if you think the Mansion is glamorous) because I learned all about the back of house and the stock room and such. On the surface, everything is so pretty and perfect for the customer, then you step into one of the million doors marked "Private" and you suddenly learn that everything is a facade. Oh well, I guess that's true with most things. The rest of the day I worked in men's and then headed home for the day.
Oh yeah, Attly came in town on Monday, so he met me at the Mansion so I could give him the keys to the apartment so he could get settled. The apartment is a whole other bag of worms.........
After work I met Attly for dinner and then hit the hay in need of massive amounts of sleep.
Tuesday I was back at the Mansion slaving away folding millions of articles of clothing, I was probably late and got yelled at for that and I was probably not wearing appropriate clothing so I was spoken to about that, also. Ha. We worked some more in men's then went to lunch. After lunch we went to the temporary space and worked in men's doing the same moves we had just done at the Mansion. The people at the Sports store are much nicer than at the Mansion. The associates at the Mansion have an air about them that makes them seem better than you, but alas, there's not much I can do about that. Met Attly again for dinner and we went out and had some (much needed) drinks.
Wednesday was back to work at the temp space reworking some men's. I had to deliver a package to the Jitney to get some product to the East Hampton store. That was a fiasco--I went with Lauren who is a newbie in Product Presentation and we ended up missing the first bus as it drove right by us and then had to wait another hour to load up the box. After that we revisited the temp space to fill and fix what had been transfered out and then went to the Mansion to start working in women's. The remainder of the day we worked on women's Collection and tried to salvage the floor as it had been destroyed after private sale. Attly and I went to dinner/drinks again. Anyone see a pattern?
Thursday was not a fun morning. I didn't want to go in to work because I had far different expectations for the job. But I persevered and showed up (late) and was scolded yet again. We reworked women's collection (it takes up a whole floor so there was a lot of work to be done) and then peaced for lunch. After lunch I got to do some fun things. I reworked the vintage case in men's and women's antique jewelry. We finished pretty early and were released for the week until Tuesday. Hooray!
Friday Attly and I did some exploring on the west side (foreign territory) and walked a lot. Walking everyone is a real workout. I don't really remember what else we did. Saturday we went out to Greenwich, CT to have dinner with Gerdts. We had a delicious meal at Gaia and then went out for drinks. We barely made it home on the midnight train. Sunday we went back out to CT and relaxed by the pool and soaked up the sun. It was a really nice change. We had some great pizza and the Gerdts casa and drank some brews. We made it back again on the midnight train safely...
Today, Attly and I had brunch at the Barking Dog, it was delicious. We went to see Indiana Jones, it was pretty decent. Had dinner at an Asian spot and here I am. Exhausted from a busy weekend.
Ready to take on the week and see what I can stir up....hope everyone is well.
Talk soon,
wtc
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Hello from the train!
Hi all--I have been a bad blogger recently and haven't kept up; my apologies. It is hard to find time to sit down and type. But I am on the train now headed to Darien, CT to see Gerdts and hit the beach with Attly. The weather is so nice and I cannot wait to soak up some sun.
What's new in NYC...
Like I mentioned earlier, the Hamptons trip was a blast. I got there Monday night after some delays while waiting for Raul (Creative Manager from Rugby in Dallas who is moving to East Hampton to work at the new store). We took the Hampton Luxury Liner from the city and it dropped off right outside our hotel. The ride was only about 2 hours. We got to the hotel and went to check in. It was a historic hotel above the restaurant The Palm which is really famous in the Hamptons...quite a scene. After that we went and checked out town; peeped through the barracade and saw the Rugby store. The store is immaculate.
We headed back to the hotel and ran into a bunch of RL people in the lobby and sat around til the wee hours of the morning drinking and playing poker. The bar was closed but they left the tap on so we floated the keg before the night was over. All in all a good time for the first night.
I reported early on Tuesday morning to get busy on making the store pretty. All day I worked in men's doing the merchandising and setting the concept tables, etc. It was a ton of fun to have free reign over the merchandising. I met a TON of people from corporate, a bunch of the concept designers who are all really cool. The entire team was really cool--they picked the best of the best associates and it was great getting to know all of them. For dinner that night I went out with the creative team (read: windows and interrior rigging) to a famous place called Rowdy Hall and had the famous Rowdy Burger and many-a-beer. It was a good time. After that it was time for bed. Exhaustion had already begun.
Wednesday was an early morning: 6:00am. There was a lot of work to be done, and they happened to be putting a car in the window that had been cut in half. It was really cool. We were kicked out for a couple of hours while they repainted the floor (for the fourth time) and after that reworked a bunch of the merchandising in men's and started women's.
Thursday was another busy day. I worked in women's all day and reworked some of the merchandising to get ready for the photos and opening on Friday. The photographer came and I directed the photo shoot telling him what to take shots of, etc. We were there til 2:30 in the morning and it was quite a scene when everyone showed up from the bar. It made things more enjoyable to see skateboarding down the main road by a bunch of drunk people.
Friday was the big day. We were scheduled top open at 10am, but Ralph was scheduled to stop by at 11, so we held off and made sure everything was perfect. Ralph arrived a few minutes late in his black Ferrari with yellow racing stripes. What a baller. He walked in and loved the store and said it was the most beautiful Rugby store he'd ever seen. When he was in the room he has such a commanding presence, despite his stature. Every word that he said was important; he wanted some changes made in women's to edge it up a little, so we held off opening the store and reworked some things and then the store finally opened it's doors around 1. The rest of the day was pretty busy, a lot of people in the store had never heard of Rugby and were really enjoying the store.
Friday afternoon consisted of long naps and nourishment. After napping, Raul and I had dinner downstairs and the hotel and fittingly celebrated with multiple Long Island iced teas. We had some interesting company at the bar, an 80 year old man and his fresh-off-the-Jitney russian prostitute. Made for some great laughs.
Saturday I stopped by the store and hung out for a while. In the afternoon, a bunch of us went on a trip to Montauk, at the end of Long Island, and some ventured into the water to do some surfing while others relaxed on the beach. It was nice to get away from the hype for a while. We came back and grabbed a bite to eat and then retired to bed. The sleep deprivation was really setting in.
Sunday was departure day. I stopped by the store in the morning and caught the Jitney out at 12 to get back to the city. I got back and did some cleaning up and got everything settled for my first day on the job.
I'll recap the first week sometime this evening. I am tired of typing..........
Hope everyone is well.
WTC
What's new in NYC...
Like I mentioned earlier, the Hamptons trip was a blast. I got there Monday night after some delays while waiting for Raul (Creative Manager from Rugby in Dallas who is moving to East Hampton to work at the new store). We took the Hampton Luxury Liner from the city and it dropped off right outside our hotel. The ride was only about 2 hours. We got to the hotel and went to check in. It was a historic hotel above the restaurant The Palm which is really famous in the Hamptons...quite a scene. After that we went and checked out town; peeped through the barracade and saw the Rugby store. The store is immaculate.
We headed back to the hotel and ran into a bunch of RL people in the lobby and sat around til the wee hours of the morning drinking and playing poker. The bar was closed but they left the tap on so we floated the keg before the night was over. All in all a good time for the first night.
I reported early on Tuesday morning to get busy on making the store pretty. All day I worked in men's doing the merchandising and setting the concept tables, etc. It was a ton of fun to have free reign over the merchandising. I met a TON of people from corporate, a bunch of the concept designers who are all really cool. The entire team was really cool--they picked the best of the best associates and it was great getting to know all of them. For dinner that night I went out with the creative team (read: windows and interrior rigging) to a famous place called Rowdy Hall and had the famous Rowdy Burger and many-a-beer. It was a good time. After that it was time for bed. Exhaustion had already begun.
Wednesday was an early morning: 6:00am. There was a lot of work to be done, and they happened to be putting a car in the window that had been cut in half. It was really cool. We were kicked out for a couple of hours while they repainted the floor (for the fourth time) and after that reworked a bunch of the merchandising in men's and started women's.
Thursday was another busy day. I worked in women's all day and reworked some of the merchandising to get ready for the photos and opening on Friday. The photographer came and I directed the photo shoot telling him what to take shots of, etc. We were there til 2:30 in the morning and it was quite a scene when everyone showed up from the bar. It made things more enjoyable to see skateboarding down the main road by a bunch of drunk people.
Friday was the big day. We were scheduled top open at 10am, but Ralph was scheduled to stop by at 11, so we held off and made sure everything was perfect. Ralph arrived a few minutes late in his black Ferrari with yellow racing stripes. What a baller. He walked in and loved the store and said it was the most beautiful Rugby store he'd ever seen. When he was in the room he has such a commanding presence, despite his stature. Every word that he said was important; he wanted some changes made in women's to edge it up a little, so we held off opening the store and reworked some things and then the store finally opened it's doors around 1. The rest of the day was pretty busy, a lot of people in the store had never heard of Rugby and were really enjoying the store.
Friday afternoon consisted of long naps and nourishment. After napping, Raul and I had dinner downstairs and the hotel and fittingly celebrated with multiple Long Island iced teas. We had some interesting company at the bar, an 80 year old man and his fresh-off-the-Jitney russian prostitute. Made for some great laughs.
Saturday I stopped by the store and hung out for a while. In the afternoon, a bunch of us went on a trip to Montauk, at the end of Long Island, and some ventured into the water to do some surfing while others relaxed on the beach. It was nice to get away from the hype for a while. We came back and grabbed a bite to eat and then retired to bed. The sleep deprivation was really setting in.
Sunday was departure day. I stopped by the store in the morning and caught the Jitney out at 12 to get back to the city. I got back and did some cleaning up and got everything settled for my first day on the job.
I'll recap the first week sometime this evening. I am tired of typing..........
Hope everyone is well.
WTC
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
time to breathe...
nyc is crazy. i haven't had time to breathe. or eat. or sleep.
the hamptons was a ton of fun. i met ralph several times, her is very kind...and short. the store is amazing.
my internship is uneventful so far. i am going to work on getting into something more exciting.
i will elaborate at a later date. i am extremely exhausted.
hope everyone is well.
the hamptons was a ton of fun. i met ralph several times, her is very kind...and short. the store is amazing.
my internship is uneventful so far. i am going to work on getting into something more exciting.
i will elaborate at a later date. i am extremely exhausted.
hope everyone is well.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Let's try this again...
Well, here I am sitting in my new home for the next couple of months. It is kind of an out-of-body experience. But somehow, I feel like I belong here and that I've been here for quite some time.
Anyway, the trip up was pretty hazard-free. I am notorious for overweight luggage, and of course didn't disappoint when I arrived at the check-in counter. I managed to arrive at the airport with 5 pieces of luggage. Two huge suitcases, a duffle bag, a garment bag and my backpack. Jay at the AA check-in counter made me weigh my two checked pieces and they were all of two pounds over weight. But of course he insisted that I "redistribute" the weight. 10 minutes later after sprawling my shit all over the place I managed to get one down to 49 pounds and the other to 51 pounds. Jay decided to be nice and "let one pound slide." Thanks, Jay.
I somehow made it through security with three carry-ons. But of course was marked as a "SSSS" (read: 4S, who knows what that means) by the airline, meaning I was subject to a pat-down and having my bags emptied and checked for bombs. After all of that, I had about 15 minutes until my flight was scheduled to depart, so I grabbed a kid's meal at good old Mickey D's and bolted to my gate (I was miserably hungover for this entire process and thought some good grease would help my state. Next time Drew says it's a good idea to travel hungover, don't listen.)
No flight to NYC is complete without a delay. So, naturally my flight was delayed about 45 minutes. As the flight was boarding, it was my turn to have my boarding pass scanned. I made it about three steps before I was attacked by the gate agents insisting that I check one of my three carry-ons. Blast, they caught me. So I parted ways with my duffle bag and continued on to the second to last row, middle seat. I love looking out the window at the sparkling silver engine two inches from the window.
Alas, I arrived at LGA in one piece despite the bumpy landing due to the rainy weather in New York. I am so thankful to have amazing friends that are willing to pick me up from the airport. As I strolled down to baggage claim, I was greeted by a tall (freshly) blonde Gerdts with a big smile. Miraculously, all three bags arrived (wet from the rain) and off we went on an adventure into the city. Little did I know that Gerdts is a professional city driver and we arrived at my apartment building (with a brief stop at Tasti D-Light) and met the guy that I'll be living with for the next couple of weeks. He is very nice, works in banking in Midtown. He gave me the keys, and then bolted for the weekend out to Rhode Island to be with his mom.
Gerdts and I did a little unpacking. My room is about equivalent to a closet in Texas. And we all know I don't travel light. I had already shipped two boxes of shoes and clothes on Monday that were waiting here when I got here. So I put some things away and then headed off to dinner with Gerdts. We ended up at Rockerfeller Center and had dinner at the restaurant there. After that, it was time to hit the sack.
Here are some pictures from day one:
Gertds halling up one of my suitcases up the steep incline from the parking garage to the street.
My (tiny) room.
Saturday I woke up around 9. It was an odd awakening because I had no Idea where I was. I eventually figured out I was in NYC and excitedly took on the day. I was supposed to meet Kristina and Emily for brunch (which, in case you didn't know, is the new dinner) so I got up and got ready and headed out for some good exploration. I walked down my street (75th at 2nd) to Madison to go check out The Rhinelander Mansion (The RL Flagship) at 72nd and Madison. I perused the store for a bit and got a good feel for what I'd be working with. I then headed to check out the temporary space at 1055 Madison (80th and Madison) that RL is occupying while the Sports Store (888 Madison, across from the Mansion) is being renovated for a women's flagship and converting The Mansion into an all men's store.
Phew, lots of RL info. Anyway, I ended up heading over to Central Park and meandered down to the Village (roughly 70 blocks--lots of good walking) where we were going to have brunch. Only to find out they missed the train and weren't going to make it in to the city. Change of plans: take the train out to Rye (where Kristina lives) and hang out. The train takes about 45 minutes, the ride wasn't too bad. I met Kristina and (Emily) Gerdts in Rye and had some lunch and ice cream. Then we headed back to the Marantz casa to say hi to mom and dad. Which turned in to Gerdts and I joining the family for dinner.
No Marantz family holiday is complete without Coops and Gertdsie, so they say. We went out to the beautiful American Yacht Club and watched the sun set and slurped down multiple seabreezes. I love summer. Dinner was phenomenal; I had some tasty mahi mahi.
Sunset at the AYC.
Kristina, Me and Gerdts at the AYC.
Watching them retire the American flag.
I took the train back into the city and here I am. I am pretty exhausted from my first day in the city. I am so thankful to be here in good health and spirit. I am headed to the Hamptons on Monday to open the new Rugby store in East Hampton. I'm sure there will be many stories to tell. Hope everyone is well.
WTC
Anyway, the trip up was pretty hazard-free. I am notorious for overweight luggage, and of course didn't disappoint when I arrived at the check-in counter. I managed to arrive at the airport with 5 pieces of luggage. Two huge suitcases, a duffle bag, a garment bag and my backpack. Jay at the AA check-in counter made me weigh my two checked pieces and they were all of two pounds over weight. But of course he insisted that I "redistribute" the weight. 10 minutes later after sprawling my shit all over the place I managed to get one down to 49 pounds and the other to 51 pounds. Jay decided to be nice and "let one pound slide." Thanks, Jay.
I somehow made it through security with three carry-ons. But of course was marked as a "SSSS" (read: 4S, who knows what that means) by the airline, meaning I was subject to a pat-down and having my bags emptied and checked for bombs. After all of that, I had about 15 minutes until my flight was scheduled to depart, so I grabbed a kid's meal at good old Mickey D's and bolted to my gate (I was miserably hungover for this entire process and thought some good grease would help my state. Next time Drew says it's a good idea to travel hungover, don't listen.)
No flight to NYC is complete without a delay. So, naturally my flight was delayed about 45 minutes. As the flight was boarding, it was my turn to have my boarding pass scanned. I made it about three steps before I was attacked by the gate agents insisting that I check one of my three carry-ons. Blast, they caught me. So I parted ways with my duffle bag and continued on to the second to last row, middle seat. I love looking out the window at the sparkling silver engine two inches from the window.
Alas, I arrived at LGA in one piece despite the bumpy landing due to the rainy weather in New York. I am so thankful to have amazing friends that are willing to pick me up from the airport. As I strolled down to baggage claim, I was greeted by a tall (freshly) blonde Gerdts with a big smile. Miraculously, all three bags arrived (wet from the rain) and off we went on an adventure into the city. Little did I know that Gerdts is a professional city driver and we arrived at my apartment building (with a brief stop at Tasti D-Light) and met the guy that I'll be living with for the next couple of weeks. He is very nice, works in banking in Midtown. He gave me the keys, and then bolted for the weekend out to Rhode Island to be with his mom.
Gerdts and I did a little unpacking. My room is about equivalent to a closet in Texas. And we all know I don't travel light. I had already shipped two boxes of shoes and clothes on Monday that were waiting here when I got here. So I put some things away and then headed off to dinner with Gerdts. We ended up at Rockerfeller Center and had dinner at the restaurant there. After that, it was time to hit the sack.
Here are some pictures from day one:
Gertds halling up one of my suitcases up the steep incline from the parking garage to the street.
My (tiny) room.Saturday I woke up around 9. It was an odd awakening because I had no Idea where I was. I eventually figured out I was in NYC and excitedly took on the day. I was supposed to meet Kristina and Emily for brunch (which, in case you didn't know, is the new dinner) so I got up and got ready and headed out for some good exploration. I walked down my street (75th at 2nd) to Madison to go check out The Rhinelander Mansion (The RL Flagship) at 72nd and Madison. I perused the store for a bit and got a good feel for what I'd be working with. I then headed to check out the temporary space at 1055 Madison (80th and Madison) that RL is occupying while the Sports Store (888 Madison, across from the Mansion) is being renovated for a women's flagship and converting The Mansion into an all men's store.
Phew, lots of RL info. Anyway, I ended up heading over to Central Park and meandered down to the Village (roughly 70 blocks--lots of good walking) where we were going to have brunch. Only to find out they missed the train and weren't going to make it in to the city. Change of plans: take the train out to Rye (where Kristina lives) and hang out. The train takes about 45 minutes, the ride wasn't too bad. I met Kristina and (Emily) Gerdts in Rye and had some lunch and ice cream. Then we headed back to the Marantz casa to say hi to mom and dad. Which turned in to Gerdts and I joining the family for dinner.
No Marantz family holiday is complete without Coops and Gertdsie, so they say. We went out to the beautiful American Yacht Club and watched the sun set and slurped down multiple seabreezes. I love summer. Dinner was phenomenal; I had some tasty mahi mahi.
Sunset at the AYC.
Kristina, Me and Gerdts at the AYC.
Watching them retire the American flag.I took the train back into the city and here I am. I am pretty exhausted from my first day in the city. I am so thankful to be here in good health and spirit. I am headed to the Hamptons on Monday to open the new Rugby store in East Hampton. I'm sure there will be many stories to tell. Hope everyone is well.
WTC
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