Field Experience PP

FIELD EXPERIENCE
The Apparel Industry Board, Inc. Internship
Javon Jackson

WHERE I INTERNED
o From June 16th to July 16th I
interned at the Apparel
Industry Board, Inc. in
Chicago, IL.
o Nestled between two Loyola
University Buildings, you will
find the AIBI offices inside their
retail pop up store ‘ Made in
Chicago’
o AIBI is just blocks away from
the Magnificent Mile

WHAT IS AIBI?
 AIBI is an apparel industry that
was designed to help local
designers by developing
programs to better serve the
community as a whole.
 The AIBI offices are located in
their retail clothing store, Made
in Chicago. The store consists
of 13 designers all from
Chicago and all their clothes
are made and manufactured in
Chicago as well.

MISSION STATEMENT
 “The Apparel Industry Board, Inc.
(AIBI), is a delegate agency of the City
of Chicago, Department of Planning
and Development and is the only
official organization in Illinois
specifically dedicated to the needs of
the sewn products industry. AIBI is
comprised of the major players in
Greater Chicago whose careers and
business expertise span all facets of
the industry including design,
manufacturing, merchandising, sales,
retail, marketing and finance. AIBI is
here to nurture and support designers
based in Chicago and are constantly
developing new programs to better
serve and promote the industry as a
whole.”

THE AIBI TEAM
 Marsha Brenner
• Executive Director
 Kevin Sullivan
• Assistant to the Executive
Director
 Ambar Campos
• Project Manager and the
intern supervisor.
 Francisco Perez
• Operations Manager.
 Katie Macht
• Intern from NDSU!

INTERN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
 As an intern my responsibilities
included:
 Social media marketing:
I had to create a Facebook events for a
number things such as a sample sale for
designer Elda de la Rosa, as well as the
Speed Networking event and the annual
SideWalk sale. I also took photos of
different garments to post online in order to
highlight designs and get people aware of
what is currently in store to purchase.

 As an intern my
responsibilities included:
 Customer Service:
When customers came in I
greeted them and if it was their
first time in the store, it was my
responsibility to explain what
designers where in the store, how
long the store has been at this
particular location, and the great
benefits they have if they
purchase items in the store.

included:
 List Management
I worked on managing a lot of social lists
that the company has. It was important
to do it because its how they keep track
of who to invite for different events. Lists
I managed included the annual
Leadership Awards that is put on every
year in October. I also managed the list
for the annual Fabric and Trim show. I
had to check the excel sheet that were
created a couple of months ago and
make sure all the addresses and titles
were correct for each guest.

included:
 Visual Displays and
Merchandising
Every day I would go through the
store and “spot check”. That’s
where I had to make sure ever
designer’s garments had the
correct hangers on the racks and
that the garments were facing the
correct way and arranged in order
from color, style, size and make
sure each garment was priced
correctly. I also had to switch out
outfits on mannequins and make
sure they were cohesive with the
current theme whether that be
Fourth of July theme or a floral
print theme.

included:
 Event Planning
I assisted in helping get ready for events
that would take place after my internship
ended. For the SideWalk Sale my
responsibilities included gathering over
300 shopping bags, along with store
brochures, and marking down hundreds of
items that would be sold at the event. I
also had to keep track of which designers
would be selling at the event and organize
all their merchandise they brought in that
would be moved to the SideWalk Sale.
For the Leadership Award event I assisted
with sending out hundreds of invitations
and keeping track of the RSVPs.

 As an intern my
responsibilities included:
 Filing Paper Work
I filed A LOT of paper work
at AIBI. Whether it be
meeting minutes from
years ago, going through
sales slips, or shredding
checks there was always
tasks to do regarding paper
work.

SPECIAL PROJECT
 I had the task of rearranging the floor layout
since the company She Beads moved out.
With them being out of the store, we had a
lot of extra space and it allowed me to give
other designers who were clumped together,
more space so customers were able to walk
around the racks easier.
BEFORE PHOTOS

LEARNING EXPERIENCES
 I learned more ways how to use Microsoft Office.
- Mail Merging, Creating Labels
 Being a Fit Model for the designer Luz
 Being able to sit in on designer mentoring
sessions with the Executive Director taught me a
lot about how to price garments and target
markets for lines.
 Knowing and understanding what can happen to a
company when they don’t know the direction of
their designs, when they don’t make sure their
products are manufactured correctly and when
they don’t understand who their customer is.
- For example Crescendo

PROS & CONS OF THE INTERNSHIP
Pros
o Living in a different city
o Having an internship where I
felt appreciated as an
internship
o Being able to apply what I’ve
learned in college to the
internship
o Working with a team with big
personalities
o Getting to do visual displays
o Seeing different careers
available in the industry
o Dressing up for work!
The list goes on and on…
Cons
o Not being able to stay longer
to see events executed
o Having the Speed
Networking event cancelled

FUN EXPERIENCES
IN A NEW CITY
 Living with random
roommates from
around the US!
 Visiting Lincoln Park
Zoo
 Visiting the Bean
 Taking the Train
everyday to work

FUN EXPERIENCES
IN A NEW CITY
• Living at the University
Center downtown
Chicago
• Going to Navy Pier and
Millennium Park

Field Experience PP

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