Pop Up Student Challenge (cont'd)

(left to right) Angela Saladino (RDI Treasurer), VJ Rodriguez (Judge),  Angela Lindsay (WATG), Mimi Yacobucci (RDI Event Coordinator)

Model building

Model building

Judges VJ Rodriguez (left) and Stephen B. Heckman (far right)

CSLB students supporting their fellow students competing

Finalist Kandy Chang showing off her finished model

Ashlee Harper, IDI, giving her final presentation of the evening

Kandy Chang, CSLB, giving her final presentation of the evening

Ann Taylor concept model (Ashlee Harper IDI)

Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker concept model (Kandy Chang CSLB)

Ashlee Harper and Kandy Chang

(left to right) Judges Stephen B. Heckman, Nichole A. Fowler, and VJ Rodriguez

Competition winner Kandy Chang (CSLB)

Ashlee Harper and Jenny Diaz (nextGEN President)

James Farnell (RDI President) congratulating competition winner Kandy Chang for a job well done

(left to right) James Farnell (RDI President), Ashlee Harper (IDI), Jenny Diaz (nextGEN President), & Kandy Chang (CSLB)

(left to right) Jenny Diaz, Ashlee Harper, James Farnell, James Schauer, Nichole A. Fowler, Kandy Chang, Paul Dove, Stephen B. Heckman, & VJ Rodriguez

Thank you for coming to support the first annual student competition!

Pop Up Student Challenge (cont'd)

Lunch time for the mentors!

(left to right) Paul Dove, Tracy Woods, Angela Lindsay, Matt Welsh, James Schnauer, Chris Love, & Susanne Andrey (RDI Event Coordinator)

nextGEN Student Member Stephanie Loose

Judge VJ Rodriguez & RDI President James Farnell

Waiting patiently for the taco man 

Student and their mentors pose of a picture after the presentations

(left to right) nextGEN Events Coordinator Kelly Nguyen, RDI President James Farnell, & nextGEN President Jenny Diaz

(left to right) Stephanie Loose, John Geyer, Jenny Diaz (nextGEN President), James Farnell (RDI President). Kelly Nguyen (nextGEN Events Coordinator), & Michelle Curry (nextGEN Communications Chair)

Ashlee Harper (left) further discussing her design concept with Judge Stephen B. Heckman (left)

Time for the second round! The two finalists built a model to show off their design concept. Their mentors James Schnauer and  Paul Dove could not stand on the sidelines cheering. They jumped in to help the students build their models.

James Schnauer (left) helping finalist Ashlee Harper (right: white shirt) build model 

James Schnauer (left) helping finalist Ashlee Harper (right: white shirt) build model 

Paul Dove (right) helping finalist Kandy Chang (right) build model

Pop Up Student Challenge

The long awaited pictures from the Pop Up Student Challenge are here!

nextGEN President, Jenny Diaz  explaining the guidelines of the competition

After the students were given their supplies, they were off and running! Each student was assigned to a student.

 Tracy Woods (left), Callison, discussing the brand Bed Bath and Beyond with Amy Houtenville, IDI

Chris Love (left), BCBG, discussing the brand Gymboree with CSLB student

James Schnauer (left), Glow, discussing the brand Ann Taylor with Ashlee Harper, IDI

Paul Dove (right), Pixesky, discussing the brand Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker with Kandy Chnag, CSLB

 Angela Lindsey (right), WATG, discussing Ben Sherman brand with CSLB student

Matt Walsh (left), IDA, discussing Dooney & Burke brand with CSLB student

Time's up!

The students gathered their sketches, floor plans, and renderings preparing to present their design... 

Recap of the First Annual nextGEN Student Competition

nextGEN hosted the first annual local student competition Thursday, October 29th. The competition was a great success. Students from the Interior Designers Institute, in Newport Beach, and Cal State Long Beach came to support their fellow students. There were 6 students that competed, 2 were from the Interior Designers Institute and the remaining 4 were from Cal State Long Beach. They chose the brand they were to design for, met with their mentor, and off they went!

It was exciting to watch the students develop their design! The students worked for two and a half hours sketching, space planning, rendering, and developing their design concept. Then it was time for the students to present their designs to the judges. Two finalists were then selected to build a model of their design. Instead of  the finalists designing their models solo, the other competitors agreed to help the finalist with the construction of their models. The finalists were given building materials and a box filled with unusual objects. And off they went!

When the model building began, everyone gravitated toward the finalists. You could feel the excitement in the air. Everyone was cheering the students on. Their mentors couldn't just stay on the sidelines cheering, they jumped in to help the finalists build! Even some of the nextGEN members were eager to help.

Then two finalist then presented their models to the judges and a winner was chosen. All the students were winners. They were able to showcase their ability to space plan, sketch, and develop a concept in a few short hours. The industry professionals that were at the event were impressed by the students. The competition gave the students a great opportunity to network as well.

If you did not compete in this year there will be more opportunities to compete. nextGEN will be planing more local student competitions, so keep checking back!

Pictures soon to follow!

First Annual nextGEN Student Competition Presented by the Retail Design Institute

 

This one day, day of competition will be too exciting to miss out on. When you show up @ 2:30PM, you will be assigned a mentor from the industry and a department! You then have 3 hours too complete the first deliverable of 2 loose renderings a floor plan and a reflected ceiling plan. But while creating your design concept, keep in mind to design the best pop-up store feature so that if you are amongst the top 3, then you get to build this feature out of materials provided!!! So much excitement and it is such a great opportunity to meet professionals in the retail design industry.

Please contact us if you need anymore information! Spots are still available so join in!!!!

Interior Designer at Four IV

Dezeen Jobs strikes again! Dezeen has posted another job opening. It seems that London is becoming a hot spot for new career opportunities. Four IV is looking for an Interior Designer.

Here is the job description:

This is a great opportunity to join our busy and thriving interiors team on a 6-12 month contract, to lead and drive some key international projects both internally and externally with the project team, consultants and suppliers.

As senior designer you will have strong verbal and written communication and client liaison skills, with both on site and roll out experience.

You will have a thorough knowledge of construction detailing and proficiency in preparing drawing packages and specifications, as well as experience in project scoping and management of project budgets and deadlines.

To read more about the job click here.

Landing Your Next Job, Courtesy of LinkedIn

In today's economy many students are concerned about landing a job after they have graduated. Hopefully, you have created a LinkedIn profile, after reading previous posts about the benefits of having a profile. Have you ever thought that LinkedIn could be a potential place to land your next job? LinkedIn is becoming a more popular place to find a job. It is also a place to connect with top business professionals.

Mashable has published an article about some essentials to landing a job on LinkedIn. There are 13 essential tips you should consider when it comes to your profile.

Complete your profile 100%. It is not unusual for an potential employer r headline to run a Google search for your first and last name. More often then not, a LinkedIn profile with be one of the top five results. Make sure your profile is complete and accurate.

Add a compelling headline. You want your profile to stand out from the other possible candidates. Your headline is the first thing that will be seen by a hiring manager, therefore, create a compelling headline that will set you apart. Make sure your headline is clear and concise. You are telling people who you are and what you do.

Add all past and current work positions. It's important to include your past and current work experience.  The hiring manager could have hired another individual from the same company you have listed in your work experience. 

Give and receive recommendations. The more people that can vouch for you, the better. The best way to receive recommendations is to give them first. Take the time to right recommendations for people you know, trust, and like. The more you give, the more you receive. 

Connect with everyone. Some say that you should only connect with others you know. Then what become of networking? The point of networking is to connect with others and then those connections grow into new connections. Therefore, connect, connect, connect!

Be concise in your message. Provide a preview for people so they know what is coming next. Get them facts about yourself, like the skills you possess and inject your personality into your profile. Make sure to add honors or awards that you have received. Provide information so other can connect with you.

Stay active. Nothing is worse than letting a potential employer see your profile stagnant. Each time you take action on your profile, it shows up on the home page of everyone you are connected to. This creates a chain reaction by allowing your picture and name to be seen by all your connections, possibly causing them to keep you in mind if a job opening becomes available.

Join niche groups. Groups are a great way to find a job boards with new jobs being added on a regular basis. As a member you are given an advantage because you are able to send messages to almost everyone without upgrading your account.

Create a group. Why not create a group instead of just being a member? Being a creator of a group has its perks. You are able to send messages once a week to all your members, and you're perceived as a leader or decision maker.

Add your honors and awards. Adding your honors and awards is just another way to add to your profile. Employers want to hire winners and those who like to excel.

Answer questions. You an add an 'Answers' widget on the right-hand side of your LinkedIn home page with the industry topic you know most about. When a question pops up answer it! Provide as much information as possible. Really give your two cents when answering the question.

Import your blog and Twitter feeds. There are many ways to add to your profile. Social networking is becoming more popular, why not link your Twitter account or blog?

Connect with others. When you help two people without asking for anything in return, you leave a lasting impression on all involved. This will help amplify your own job prospects, as people will be more likely to help you achieve your goals in the future.

To read the complete article click here.