Friday, July 17, 2015

Week 8: The Final Week

Hello!
Sadly, this is my last post! I'm finishing up little projects here and there and I've been thinking about how much I've done this summer. Over the past 8 weeks I've worked on the following projects:

-C Spire
-ServisFirst Bank
-PMOA
-Morgan Van Lines
-REEL
-Stephen L Klimjack Law Office
-Dean Waite Law Office
-Bishop State 
-911 Emergency Center
-Eglin Airforce base
-Fort Detrick Dental Clinic
-Dr. Trey's Children's Dental Clinic
-City of Mobile Conference Room 
-iSpice
-Mobile Airport Authority 
-Palmer's Hyundai 

All of these projects were so eyeopening! I was talking to Josh this morning and he asked me if the internship was anything like I expected...Well, yes and no. I did not know I would attend soooo many client meetings. I realize working with the end user is important, but since I have no one other than my professor to consult in the classroom, it's just something I've never had to account a lot of time for. Here I went to meetings every week with multiple clients--which I LOVED doing. The people are the best (occasionally the worst) part of the job! I loved meeting new people, learning about their profession, and figuring what they needed in their space based on their individual  needs. 

Another thing I didn't realize about this job is how much time I would actually spend alone. When I'm working on AutoCAD I spend hours and hours alone at my desk, and that's hard for me sometimes! I'm an extreme extrovert and the thought of spending an entire day alone on the computer makes me squirm. But, I do work with other people here so I'm never just stuck in an office alone. 

It's definitely something to consider when the real world comes my way. But I do love the industry. I love all the options and decisions I get to make every day that impact someone else's life every day for a long time! 

It's been a great experience and I'm thankful for my Innerspaice Crew!

Haworth love and mine, 

Emily the (no longer) Intern 

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Week 8: The Final Week

Hello, hello!

     My instruction is to summarize my intern experience. Wow. Tall order. Being an intern has been a learning curve to say the least. It's been stretching, exciting, eye-opening, rewarding, discouraging at times, but a very good experience overall. I've learned soooo much about the furniture industry that I couldn't possibly learn in the classroom. I basically re-learned AutoCAD, became acquainted with Project Spec, which is a finish and pricing software, and used Excel and Photoshop occasionally.

     My experience at Innerspaice has been really crucial in helping hone my professionalism skills. Because I've worked so much with the clients on the projects I've been involved in, it has pushed me to be professional from my attire to my handshake to email correspondence, phone manners, and more! Being in the workplace, rather than the classroom, has affected me more than I originally thought. I've had to be professional in all my communication and learn to double check everything before giving it to the client. Being thorough in my work is something I've always taken pride in, but Bonnie (one of the designers here) has taken it to a whole new level. She checks and triple checks everything and even gets someone else to check it for her if needed.

Teamwork and communication are two other skills I've been able to develop this summer. In the classroom, for the most part, I work as an individual entity. Here, I always work with a partner and have to be really intentional about communicating with them about what I'm working on and the same for them.

Below are some projects I've helped with! (most of which I won't be able to see completed, unfortunately..they are only in phase 1)

The first one is for an engineering company called REEL and the bottom two are for Stephen L Klimjack's law firm.



Haworth love and mine, 
Emily the Intern