Yes, you got that right, I did look pretty when that happened!! I couldn't believe my ears but two weeks ago it seemed that the company I was working for no longer had any space for me in their organisation. It felt as though my whole world collapsed, this was my everything! For the past three years I had an amazing job as a trendwatcher/stylist where I traveled the world and made fashion accessory collections for big chains such as Forever 21 and WetSeal and now this was all over? "By the way, it's effective immediately, so don't bother showing up tomorrow". Are you trying to kill me slowly?!...At that point all I wanted to do was cry.
And I did, for days to come. Had I miscalculated all my steps over the past year? Was I really replacable? That couldn't be...It was as though a dagger flew into my fashion-filled heart and instead of the usual glitter confetti, only pins and needles came out. The oxidized kinds that you should have thrown out months ago but hadn't gotten around to it yet.
Now what was I going to do with my life? I didn't have a plan B. Heck, I didn't even have a plan A, things have always just sort of "happened" for me in the past. I'd never given it too much thought before...And in all honesty, I'd always half-expected to be famous at this point and then leave my job on my own terms. FML-and-a-half! No fame, no fortune, no job and no perspective...What the h-e-double hockeysticks was I gonna do?
I had only saved up enough money to live off of for the next few months and I could gather unemployment, but it's not like that'd keep on giving. Eventually the well will dry up and then I'll either need a new job where I'm underappreciated or a winning lottery ticket, whichever comes first. I am, however, in no mood to get back on the working horse with my portfolio in hand praising myself to every possible new teacher in the fashion field. After the slap in the face I got, that's probably no surprise.
For days I fought with my thoughts and tried to shove the one sensible idea I had away: to start my own design/trend consultant company. Too risky, too difficult, too much bother...or is it? As time passed (two weeks) the idea of me being my own boss lured me into looking at the pros instead of the cons of starting something of my own and since I had fantasized about it for years it didn't take much to win me over. So that's where I am today: I launched my design studio & trend consultant company Alice in Zonderland.
Now meet the creative director. She means business.
