What else did I get up to while in New York? Well a lot actually. In this post I will talk about all the places I visited. You forget how many iconic places Manhattan has to offer.  

Ellis Island:
To actually go on Ellis Island and up the statue of Liberty there is a three month waiting list, so yeah I didn't actually get to go on Ellis Island, however you can still go on a boat trip by the Island  which is what I did. And was totally worth it. It was an exceptionally hot day and we were on the top deck of the boat catching a breeze finally. The tour guide tells you all about the Island and its history. And there is not only photo opportunity's of the Island but of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. We got our tickets through the Hop on Hop off bus. When I go back to New York with hopefully a bit more time to plan it I would like to actually go up the Statue of Liberty. Definitely a bucket list item.

​ Empire State Building:
On the one day where we had bad weather, where it was overcast and drizzly but not cold we went up the Empire State building. Yeah I know of all the days and places but it really was the only time we could go up. And I still got some wicked photos. However I would love to go back up on a good day.  Not only is the view obviously amazing but the information on the tour as you go up is also really interesting. It tells you all about how they built the Empire State Building in the 1930's and the competition to have the tallest building. How the builders risked there lives everyday working on site. In a lot of ways although it was such an amazing feat to achieve in the 30's it is also very harrowing to read the stories and loss of life it involved to achieve. I think it demonstrates how badly people needed the work. I found the tour to be very captivating and the end view totally worth a visit.   

The 9/11 Memorial: 
Visiting the Memorial felt very surreal. I can remember watching the tv when it was happening, I was 7 and I haven't forgotten. And also being taught about it at school. We were lucky that we got to see the Memorial as while we were in New York they had the Memorial day.

There were a lot more police around and in the underground subway they had soldiers. Seeing the soldiers definitely drove home the fact that we were not just in any city. Its hard to explain, it wasn't that I suddenly felt unsafe, more like if something were to happen it was most likely then and I finally realized that. Seeing memorial day up-close and not from a safe distance in NZ gives you a very different perspective. 

I didn't see the Memorial on Memorial Day as it was packed which was just a lucky coincidence as I know I hadn't realized it was happening while we were there and I don't think my parents had either. Even though we didn't go on Memorial Day it was still packed and the line for the museum was outrageous. So we didn't go in the museum but again I would like to do that next time. 

I think the Memorial is breathtaking. Its very hard to put in to words how you feel standing before these giant water features with the names of the remembered bordering them. I think also because this event happened in 2001 it is more a part of my history then something that happened before I was alive if that makes sense, it has more meaning to me. 

I have a few more places I visited so I will talk about them in my next post, New York 3. 

I think most people are surprised when I tell them my parents came with me, and yes I guess that is unusual. But my parents have supported me and been there every step of the way and I know I'm extremely lucky to have such amazing parents who fully support me in the way that they do. I also needed there luggage allowance. I also have never traveled overseas by myself before. So this was a full on adventure for me with a lot of new experiences. So I definitely needed the extra support.

I only had a short time in New York, just nine days. And because I have never been there before I spent a lot of time sight seeing. Now you may ask why such a short time? Well I was lucky in the fact that it was in my uni's holidays and I had to get back to complete my major work. 

Our flights went fine, and surprisingly customs didn't give me any problems with the pasta dress(phew!). I was extremely worried that we would loose luggage, especially the over-sized box as it wasn't going through the conventional luggage system. And watching the luggage handlers throwing the bags on, well I was having mini heart attacks in my seat. But when we finally arrived in New York and pulled everything out it was all in one piece. We arrived really late in the evening so it was straight to bed basically. 

It was super exciting to have the empire state building as my view from my bedroom window. Out hotel "Holiday Inn" located on 6th Ave was perfect for our nine day trip and central to everything we could want including the fashion show. That day we went exploring, now at that time of year it is meant to be autumn, but of course there was a heat wave. It was so hot that my first purchase in New York was in a Kmart buying sandals and shorts because all I had bought with me was boots. If you know me personally then you will already know I love my boots and only wear sandals in the form of heels. So when I say it is too hot for boots that is saying something because I wear boots even in the Hawkes Bay summer.

It is so busy in New York, they don't lie when they say its the city that never sleeps! And getting use to walking on the opposite site of the side walk was a challenge. I can promise you I probably pissed off a few locales by being on the wrong side. During the first day we went to the meatpacking district. Which is not what you think, well not anymore. It houses a really cool market very similar to Melbourne's Victoria Markets  but smaller and has more then just food, but crafts, clothes etc. If you want to find unique gifts this is the place to go. 

Here is a tip especially if you have a traveling companion: There are a lot of different brands for the Hop on Hop off Buses (we don't have these in NZ but there common overseas) there is also a lot of people on commission trying to sell tickets for them. There are a range of tickets from the different districts you can see to night tours and you can combine your ferry for Ellis Island as well. They are really handy to get around so you're not having to walk everywhere. Now it pays to haggle, and trust me these guys are everywhere! So the advice is when one approaches you, listen, let him tell you "the deal he is going to do just for you today only". (they all say that) Then have your travel companion say that the guy on the other corner was a better deal. And trust me suddenly you now can have a night tour for free and and extra day to use the bus. Because they are on commission it pays to haggle! And this doesn't just apply to the Hop on Hop off bus but also some stores as well. You'll know which ones it obvious.

​I will continue this on another post In New York 2

I have finally got round to writing about my experience in New York. And what an experience it was.

Imagine getting contacted three weeks out before New York Fashion Week asking if you would present a collection in Oxford Fashion Studio's Show at the beautiful High Line Hotel. It was hard to believe, trust me. Going from thinking this must be an internet scam, to I thought no one actually looked at my website and oh my god I have three weeks to find a way to get my garments to New York. 

I was not at all prepared but somehow it all came together. My collection was made up of garments I had previously made and picked out by Oxford Fashion Studios(OFS). It soon became apparent that couriering my garments would cost the same as going myself.  ​

That is when one of my tutors from Toi Whakaari mentioned crowd funding. With the help from some awesome individuals I started a pledge me campaign. I managed to raise more then the $2000 I had campaigned for. This was donated by friends, family and people I have never met. It was extremely inspiring to see all these people support me in this opportunity. 

During this time I contacted competitions and previous places I had learned at. Again the support I received just blew me away. Edible Fashion Awards organizer Andrea Vernik-Taaffe got in contact with Hastings Pak'n"Save the major sponsor for Edible Fashion Awards. Hastings Pak'n'Save sponsored me $4000 towards my New York trip which made the difference and meant I could go. 

I often get asked what inspires me to design. I had never deeply thought about it until recently and its not an easy question to answer. 

My designs are very detail orientated, and I strive to learn new ways to manipulate materials. I often will not draw down my ideas because I feel like my ability to draw restricts me. I also need to be in a very calm and relaxed mood so often inspiration hits when I'm lying in bed, long car rides and, yes, in the shower! I have two ways to find inspiration that I always use. I will explain both below. 

I do wonder if I look at the world a little differently because it is often the most mundane items that makes my mind tick. Its curiosity on how I could use this item in another way. This is how I entered design at age 13, taking your average dried spaghetti noodle and turning it into an embellishment for a dress. Why? I don't know, it looked beautiful and created an unusual effect. This way of inspiration comes from the maker inside me. Using new or existing techniques and materials in ways they haven't been used before. 

The other way I find inspiration is much more traditional. I use a theme, which is either an era or imagery. Sometimes it's longs hours of researching on the internet. I once spent days researching about the cuttlefish, the name does not do them justice, they are extremely beautiful. 

Most importantly is once I have found that inspiration I have to get specific. I whittle it down until I know exactly what inspired me about it. It doesn't necessarily have to be one thing, its easier to work off three or less aspects that really get me designing. I know that I design better with the more restrictions I have because it forces me to be more creative. To push the boundary. For example: the cuttlefish. The color combinations, its shape and its camouflage ability are what inspire me most. I would then use these element to come up with a design. 

I have recently costume supervised the show "courage" also known as Mother Courage. It was such an exciting challenge to manage and I learnt so much from the experience. One of the things I love about costume is that there are so many different jobs that you can do that involve it. Costume supervising is one of them, I worked with the first year costume students and third year designer Jasper Powell. 

The set design was quite a challenge for costume as you can see in the photo below. It was literally a needle in a haystack situation. And to provide another challenge the cast never left the stage, so any costume changes were to be done in the theater. Before setting up in the theater I figured we would lose all the costumes in the pile. And we did lose some but they eventually turned up after some thorough searching. 

Eventually we had stored costumes in all sorts of ways and areas for the actors to be able to grab. It was such a great problem solving challenge which I loved. One of the best things about a brechtian play is that you aren't trying to hide that the actors are actors, which allowed us to have most of the costumes to be obviously stored on a rack. 

One of my favorite things about the pile was that you could actually crawl inside it. It had a hollow center where we also stored costumes. I really enjoyed this management roll, having some authority  and using my organisation skills to the max.