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Monday, July 19, 2010

Interview with Jenna @ New York Design Shop part 1.

Hey guys! Here's a post ive been itching to put up! I got the AMAZING chance to interview Jenna C., the Managing Editor & Style Director of an awesome DIY Shop called the New York Design shop.
The interview is way too great to cut pieces out, so ive decided to divide it into 2 parts so you can see the complete responses. Enjoy! & thanks again Jenna.

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the New York Design shop & what you do?

- NYDS is a one stop DIY Fashion shop. We offer high quality blank apparel (Alternative Apparel is the brand), tons of DIY Materials, and super affordable accessories to complete any look. My job as the Managing Editor and Style Director is to make sure that we are always up to date on all fashion trends, both on the runway or on the streets. I attend fashion shows in NY, read tons of blogs and fashion magazines from all over the world, and constantly observe what all the major and independent brands are doing. Then, we take what we learn from all of this research, and develop simple tutorials so that every girl can get her dream look at an affordable price!

2. What inspired the shop, & what do you think its main goal is?

- The shop was created for many reasons. As a DIY lover myself, I never found a one-stop shop for all of my fashion crafting needs. At the big craft stores you can find the supplies, at trim stores you can find the DIY materials and at shops like American Apparel you can find the blank apparel, but why go running all around if you can find it all in one place!
Our main goal is to create a community. We encourage all fans/customers to share their DIY designs with us! We also love receiving e-mails with requests for a certain design. If there is ever a look that you want to create but aren't quite sure how to do it...ask us and we'll help!

3. You do an amazing job in the DIY Videos! If you could pick, whats your
favorite DIY thats been featured on the shop's site?

-Thank You! Well that's a tough one. I'd have to say the Military Tee. When we first began designing DIY projects, we were working long hours to make sure that the site was populated with lots of ideas. I stayed late at work one day and a light bulb went off in my head! I created the Military Tee at my desk that evening and was so super excited about it that we featured it in our launch campaign. It's SO easy to make, and is extremely fashion forward.

4. Do you sit down & plan out what DIY tutorials to post up next, or do you get them from your own experiences and trials?

- Both. First we put together inspiration books. We fill journals and sketch books with cut outsfrom magazines, print outs from blogs and brainstorm how we can recreate something that is trendy, yet unique. Then we step into our design room, which has a HUGE closet FILLED with DIY materials. Then we play! We pull materials and begin creating. We usually tape a video/take photos of us trying out the project so that it?s more authentic for our customers. We put the time into the planning so that all they have to worry about is reading/watching directions and creating something they love.

5. To you, what?s the best thing about the store?

- I love the Alternative Apparel. Now usually when crafting, you can take a piece from your closet that you don?t wear any more, or you can buy one of those box shaped tees from the craft stores, but we like making really fashionable DIY projects. We put a lot of thought into the blank apparel, because we see it as a canvas. All of the pieces are SO SOFT and flowy and cozy, yet looks great on!
-My other favorite part is the handmade accessories. We feature designers from all over the country and in Canada. The pieces are all one of a kind and are extremely beautiful. As a buyer, that was really fun.

& Keep out for Part 2!

4 comments:

  1. great interview, looking forward to part 2!

    http://flowergirlfashion.blogspot.com/

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  2. this store sounds amazing with all its creative D.I.Y. Impressed, shame there's not one in the U.K!

    Look forward to the next installment.

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  3. cool interview. i hadn't heard of this before - thanks for sharing it! xx

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