Just Breathe!

I actually don’t know where to begin, this week has taken everything I have to offer out of me and given me sweet flick all in return. Ok maybe I’m fibbing, its given me sleepless nights, sore limbs and shown me that when needs be I can make things happen.

So this week was shoot week for me, when we shoot our main fashion feature for the magazine, but first a little background, with no creative director I have had to coordinate a fashion shoot in Durban without me there.

Thank my lucky stars Super mom has been but a phone call away providing guidance and hooked me up with the fabulous Irish Stylist. So leading up to this week has been about 2 weeks worth of logistics… nightmare.

Monday and Tuesday were choc-a-block with sourcing of merchandise, styling up, taking inventory of stock and sorting out insurance to cover our re-donk-ulously expensive merchandise! So those were some good 12 hour days right there! To add to the sleepless nights is the fact that I am not on location at the shoot and cannot monitor the merchandise myself but have to put my trust in other people, which should be easy because I know I’m working with a great team. But it’s that fear of the unknown and if something goes wrong I cannot control it… eek

But by the sounds of it the shoot is going smoothly, I just look forward to 17h00 on Friday afternoon once I have completed my returns of all the merchandise and its been a clean run!

At the same time, I am also dealing with freelancers who are making mountains out of molehills, and whining about 30cents difference in commission rates… seriously do you have no life that 30cents is really going to make that huge an impact? Ok then fine have it… just don’t waist 3 hours of my life moaning about it! Some of us actually have work to do.

To add insult to injury the Plumber saga is still continuing, I’m at the point where if I had a spare second in my life, I would go get a plumbing degree and sort it out myself. I cannot believe the stupidity of some humans... and as the Kind Chiro says, “He’s a complete muppet”... Serioulsly some mothers children!

And this is just the icing on the cake, I don’t actually know where to turn or what to do… 
In life it never rains, it only pours and right now I’m soaked through my bones with the reality of life!

Yet there is some good news, I can now officially Congratulate one of my  bestest girl's, who would have Thunk it,  the Crazii Redhead, knocked Clark Kent and I off our feet when she told us she was getting married to her Prince Charming and would we be apart of her special day. Like DUH… It was a magical day and I wish the two of them all the happiness in the world!

~Just keep breathing and looking for the silver lining~

Seriously!

WTF… why is it that at 16h00 on a Thursday I am busting my ass off at the office and it’s like a ghost town working on skeleton staff! Which leaves me to pick up the pieces of other people’s mess because they are not around to take responsibility for it!

Shit people I’m swamped as it is! But wait I still break my back getting everything done while you’re off sipping on cocktails or what ever it is you are doing!

Honestly there are like four people working on my floor, well that are here, whether they are working or not who knows… but I have more than enough work to go around!!! But alas I am the only person in my team at the moment, and that's not an option.

And secondly... I'M NOT YOUR BLOODY P.A!!!! Sales people are infuriating, do your own dirty work damn it!!!! But no I don't talk back I just do.. I sort it all out and they lap up the credit!

I feel like I’m drowning and no one is around to hear my screams!

PS: Still fighting with the Plumber... Yes, we going on two weeks now! If I never see another plumber again it will be too soon!

~ FML ~

The Need to Woooooo Saaaaaa...

Life has been pretty hectic recently. Between moving into a new position at work, The World Cup soccer, and trying to maintain some form of a social life I’m feeling completely shattered!

Everything that is happening or going on is really positive and I am excited for what the future has to offer, I just wish I had time to catch up with myself. I feel like a walking time bomb ready to explode at any minute!

Firstly, work is really busy and stressful at the moment, I have moved full time onto Editorial and Production of the magazine, which is amazing and I’m really excited about it! This is over and above all my old PR and Marketing duties. Anyways we have frantically been finalizing our next issue, which should be hot off the press tomorrow, I’m so excited to see it!!! But then the distribution process begins. (A never ending cycle I tell you)

So along with my new responsibilities, just to top things off, my creative Director is leaving me to have her second Oompa Lompa, which is all very exciting for her and completely nerve racking for me. You see I will now be the only person working full time on the magazine for the next two issues… EEEEEK!

Yes that means taking on even more stuff while she is away, Woooooo Saaaaaaa, it will be fine, just breathe. Today I finally hit freaking out point as it is her last day tomorrow and reality is setting in… but I am trying to take the high road and embrace this new challenge and I intend to kick the shit out of it and produce two awesome issues. Obviously I can’t do it alone, and I’m very lucky to have some wonderful people on the team to help bring it all together!

Secondly, its been World Cup fever, which unfortunately means lots of late nights, filled with shouting, vuvuzela’s and lots of walking in the cold night air…Basically good times with good people, and experiencing our amazing city like never before! But these also happen to fall on a lot of weeknights and I’m a grumpy person when I don’t have enough sleep. Which on top of hectic workdays and stressing out, It’s a recipe for disaster, and just for good measure let’s throw in a cold, see how you like that!

And although I’ve managed to kick the sick-cold gremlins, I’m feeling completely D.U.N. Dun…. So on Saturday I am packing a bag, getting into Denny (my most awesome little blue Ferrari) and heading to my Parent’s for 5 days, to get watered, fed and scratched! And hopefully be rejuvenated and fully recharged to take on the challenges ahead!

~Time to Relax~

The Life of a Fashion Assistant…

Wow… feeling vaguely human again after one utterly insane week!
Nothing like running on your reserve tank for 3 out of the 5 days in a week, knowing that if you stop for a second it will all come crashing down, so you just push through hoping you going to make it out the other side. Once you do, you take a second to breath then completely crash.

That's what happened to me at least and I think I have had a collective 24hours sleep this past weekend to refuel for what lies ahead.

Last week we shot the fashion feature for the next issue of the Magazine, and boy it is a lot of work, especially when you are part of a team consisting of two people and the other person is 8 months pregnant. Yes, early mornings, busy days and late nights… Sourcing, collecting, styling up, fittings, exchanges, shooting and returns… complete madness. But wow it’s going to be 10 pages of magic I tell you! It makes the sore feet and knees, the lack of sleep, the glamorous job of taping sanitary pads to the bottom of Prada shoes and walking around looking like a Christmas tree, thanks to all the metal clamps attached to your clothes ‘just incase’, all worth it.

And what a hoot it was on the day of said magic… we were based at the new fashion hotel 15 on Orange, which has some really spectacular elements, we worked with four really great male models, each a character I tell you, but nothing beats the blonde with a dirty sock phobia. Here he is decked out in a jet-black Hugo Boss suit looking to kill and his dirty, should have been chucked away a year ago, supposed to be white but are actually brown converse takkies, why you ask? He is so freaked out about having dirty socks he couldn’t walk 20meters (if that) in just socks (brand new socks we provided)… Because he is freaked out about having dirty socks inside his shoes… I guess it was one of those moments of ‘guess you had to be there’ to really appreciate the hilarity of the situation.

Not to mention the chaos that ensued when I left the crew alone for a total of 20 minutes, the clothes where everywhere the system, which I have carefully put together, had gone to shit and the keycard for the room had been lock inside… seriously people 20 minutes.

So for a day that started at 7am and ended at 10pm, we are going to have some wicked results to show for it. I’m so excited to see the images I think it might even top ‘A night at the Taj’ which was our last shoot with South African Haute Couture. Which totally took my breath away!

~For now we wait with baited breath~

The Final Product

I love that feeling of accomplishment, after all the blood, sweat and tears, the late nights, the hard work, the moments of crisis and even the odd moment of laughter. To see it all come together is one of the greatest feelings there is, well in my opinion at least.

Yesterday we received our new magazine hot off the presses, and it looks amazing! Beautiful! Delightful! (The word that was used to describe the magazine from the get go, they wanted a product that made the reader feel delightful)

To say that this project was the test of our teams sense of humour is a complete understatement, it was riddled with challenges form the get go, but we rose to the occasion and exceeded limitations, and we made it out with all limbs in tacked and we have produced a great product! One that I am very proud of! I am so lucky to work with such amazing people, they really make it all worth it!

So a big congratulations to the whole team, a job well done, and something to be proud of!