emmy goes stateside

Back in the U.K.

2010-03-30T16:46:00.001-07:00

So I'm back in the UK and just finished my first term being back at Chelsea. Work is hard and I did have some catching up to do, but this term has been excellent. I have new blog, more professional showing all aspects of my work which is updated regularly http://emmaoneil.tumblr.com/

At Chelsea I finally feel I'm really in the right place now, I've settled back well and my work is showing that. I've had to defend the New York exchange quite a lot with people seeing it as a "holiday" but I think for me, I really needed the experience. I learnt an incredible amount in such a short space of time and my design skill and knowledge base is wider than ever. F.I.T gave me a great technical understanding of design, something which I never really had and going back to Chelsea with it and with fresh eyes has made me more confident and eager.

New York was incredible, there are no words to describe how much I love that place. The entire experience was nothing I ever imagined. I literally went knowing no one (I knew Jed and Katie a little) and nothing and looking back at how much I achieved and how many amazing friends I made makes me so happy. It was a turning point in my life, and undoubtedly the best experience I've ever had, I know it will be hard to top, but I'm going to try damn hard.

Week 15, 16 & 17

2010-03-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

I'm back in the U.K now, back at Chelsea and I thought it was about time to finally finish off telling the story of my journey...

Week 15

The finish line was in sight and week 15 was spent finishing up work, here's some advertising work, the first image is of a poster for National Portfolio day, a poster encouraging high school student across North America to visit art schools.

This next image is a mock up of an invitation for the final showcase of FIT Graduates, entitled "Meet the Glitterati"

I finished off Screen Printing, by far my most favourable subject in New York,

this project was a brief set by myself, the only restraints being I had to come up with a product at the end of it. i developed a code named "Circabet" 26 identical circles each one to represent a letter of the alphabet. The below image spells out New York.

I then developed my idea into products, t shirts and tote bags, with a key to Circabet and labels all screen printed. Screen Printing was incredibly hard, I must of got through about 10 T shirts to get one perfect. Overall Circabet is one my most successful projects to date, they also really like it back at Chelsea in London and I am now developing and expanding the idea.

Week 15 got me really into the Christmas spirit and another wild tale happened, with s managing to get almost to the front of the Rockafeller tree lighting ceremony which is broadcast on American TV. We got to see lots of acts play like Aretha Franklin and Barry Manilow, but the highlight of the night was definitely seeing Alicia Keys play her version of "Empire State of Mind" such a major good song and I know everyone loves it, but it will forever remind me of when I visited New York.

There was an obligatory trip to Chito's that week too, again in theme with Christmas Spirit, we bribed the Christmas tree man outside the liquor store to give us some free trees. Nigel actually bought one though, a 6 footer, and watching him trying to get into his dorm room past security is possibly one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Here's mine and Holly's mini Tree...

Friday me and Katie went to Webster Hall again to see Ladytron and the guy from New Order perform a DJ set. Another incredible night, wild some might say! We had a wicked night and they played so much British music it was awesome, they even played Le Tigre - decaptacon!

Sunday I helped Katie with a Photo shoot for her FIT invite, and Americanised version of the Abbey Road cover, the photos came out brilliant however the irony was totally wasted on our American classmates!

Week 16

This week was mainly spent in my room, working and trying to figure out how I ended up with so much stuff in New York and how the hell I was going to get it home!

I also finished off Color Workshop, by far the most pointless and annoying subject I have ever taken. I ended up with piles and piles of geometric patterns painted in gouache that I had no use for what so ever, however I can now tell you all you need to know about the colour wheel. It was probably the most frustrating subject as well because it got me into the terrible habit of spelling it "color" "NO IT'S COLOUR", is what I wrote on my final piece of work!

Another trip to Chito's and another astronomical bill, but another hilarious night none the less, we ended up playing surades of funny events that had happened in the semester. So fun yet so sad at the same time, I really didn't want to leave :(

Week 17

Was possibly one of the most stressful weeks I've ever had, British Airways were planning a strike and snow was on its way both in the US and the UK so flight plans were a mess! My flight ended up being pushed forward for Thursday, so the week was a rush of lists, last minute trips I wanted to do and many many teary goodbyes! Also a ridiculous amount of packing and sorting, Look what I found in my closet, "FIT is a dry campus"...yeah right...

The famous 1007, the Nags 10 Head quarters ( my room)

Wednesday was my last official night on American soil so obviously I was going to go out in style. We began in Chito's (obviously) and things spiralled quickly....

We ended up hailing a cab downtown to a bar that appeared to be closed, however that didn't stop us, we managed to get in there and some members of the group played bar tender! After very quick exit we ended up in a bar across the street, which by complete coincidence is the very bar I had my first American drink in! Me an Katie sat in the exact seats we had sat 4 months previous and ordered the same cosmopolitan and took the exact same picture! It was an incredible night after that including models, greygoose vodka and not much memory the next morning! It was the perfect last night, it felt like the trip was complete going back to that bar, I had completed the cycle.

The next day, I ran a few errands and ended up being able to see the Rockafeller tree for one last time, so beautiful...

My last day was so sad it was unreal, a surprise gift from Holly and Chloe left me in absolute tears, they gave me a small necklace with pieces of vintage watches inside a little pendant, the note attached read "no matter how far away you are, no matter what time, you'll always be in our hearts" sounds incredibly over emotional and smushy but it meant so much to me. They aredefinitely friends for life and I could not thank them enough.

I visited every ones dorms on campus, including my BFF Ian who almost cried, which made me cry but he manned it up "Come off it, you're the Brit, you'll be back" and I knew I would be!

Everyone walked me out and helped me with my bags to hail a cab from the sidewalk, I got handed lots of letters, which I read in the cab, and I can honestly say I have never cried so much in a public place, the cab driver didn't know what to do!

This is the last look I had of the skyline from the cab...

I flew to Heathrow from Newark, with Gordon Ramsay on flight, (who I might add gave me a cheeky wink in the line for the plane.) We flew right over and circled Manhattan and I got to see it in all its glory for one last time, all the lights and sights, truly beautiful.

Week 13 & 14

2009-12-13T18:14:00.000-08:00

Week 13

A lot of work happened this week,

knuckling down after my week of fun...

Although Thursday night came around and I was

probably the most excited Ive ever been in my

entire life as New Moon was out! (twilight sequel)

Me and some of the Nags bought tickets for the

midnight showing, It was incredible, the moviea

theatre was totally packed out and everyone was

chanting and screaming, it was so much fun!

At the weekend me and my nag girls

went shopping on 5th avenue, we had a really

nice day, we even picked out our engagement ring

in Tiffany's! We had a great dinner at a little

Italian Place and then I had a very strange experience...

I bumped into a girl who turned out was from

Wavertree (Liverpool) and went to the same college as me!

I think it really is a small world after all!

On Sunday I went to the MOMA where they are

having a Tim Burton exhibition and also showing

one of films every day, we went to see nightmare

before Christmas, a Burton Classic!

week 14

The week began slow as a lot of people where

leaving for home early as thanksgiving was on

Thursday. The amount of Americans that asked me

how I normally celebrate Thanksgiving in England

was incredible, and the sheer shock on their faces

when i told them we didn't was ridiculous, by

Wednesday I just started answering

"my family dresses as Pilgrims and Indians"

Thursday came and we headed to the Macy's day Parade

in the morning, it really is just like it is on TV!

Later we where invited to Katie's family friends

house in Brooklyn to have a traditional

Thanksgiving meal. It was lovely for them to

invite us over, there was a big mix of people there,

from all over the world in fact, a fantastic

experience and a delicious meal, although

Pumpkin Pie is NOT NICE!

Later we headed to a small party in Brooklyn

for thanksgiving drinks, but an early night as it

was an early start the next day

to catch a train out the city to Connecticut.

My friend Christine had offered for us to come

stay over the weekend at her family home,

a very nice gesture.

Me and Katie arrived gobsmacked, it couldn't

of been more American! It seriously looked like

something from a film, I was expecting

Macaulay Culkin to run into the street at any moment!

She took us shopping to Westport, a beautiful

little town,where I fell in love with Pottery Barn,

it is the mecca of dining room decoration.

Later we had a family dinner at Christine's

which was amazing,so good to have some

home cooking! A trip to the liquor store continued

which resulted in me pretending

to be American, and living in Connecticut!!!

The weekend ended with us taking a stroll into

nature, somethingI had completely forgotten after

being in the city for so long! We had a trip to

"The Mall" and went to the infamous "TARGET"

a store that holds everything you could possibly

think of for under $10. The evening ended with us

helping out with Christmas decorating,

well not really helping....

We then played some American board games,

and raided Christine's cupboards of American Food

we had never tried before! A word of warning,

sweet potato with marshmallows is NOT GOOD.

Sunday was back to the City, I felt like a real

New Yorker arriving at Grand Central and hailing

a cab back to school. I had another fantastic

American experience, but it felt really good coming back,

I later went for a run on the Hudson at sunset,

which was beyond words, I couldn't love this city

any more if I tried.

Week 11 & 12

2009-12-01T21:26:00.000-08:00

Week 11 beagn with a very anticapated arrival of my friends

from England, Ashley, Claire, Paul, Ste & Daniel.

I was exstatic upon their arrival and broke a few US laws

running to meet them at the airport, but I was just so happy

to see familiar faces.

The fun began the minute they landed with a limo coming

to pick us up to take us into Manhattan as a treat for Paul on

his 21st! The night was a haze of jet lag, laughs, and reminiscing!

I took them for chinese food, to see Times Square and of course

a trip to the infamous Chito's where all my friends, old and new

chatted and laughed over $4 margaritas, I couldnt of been

happier!

The next day was operation sight seeing, we began with a hearty

american breakfast at the Empire Diner, followed with a trip

on the Staten Island Ferry (not a good idea on a hangover!)

a walk down Wall Street, discount designer shopping in

Century 21, & some snap shots in Central Park!

Later we headed to St.marks for Sake and beer and partied the night away!

Thursday was a trip to The museum of sex, a legitimate

museum, (not a seedy adult video store as some presume)

which was errrr.....interesting? Very graphic but educational

none the less!

That night I managed to get us into the Empire hotel

rooftop party where comedy Central where having an after

party, a very good night!!!

Friday was designated girls day, full of cupcakes, homemade

lemondae, Marc Jacobs, and lots of shopping.....

We also went for a psychic reading.

I must admit I was rather apprehensive to the visit, but it

actually turned out rather well, some of her insights

were general but a lot was legitimate, somethings she just

couldnt of known! But Im not sure how I feel about what

she told me, I almost feel like im playing with fate if I

take it too seriously, but none the less it gave me

something to think about thats for sure!

Friday night we headed to webster hall, with me landing

$1 tickets to see DJ jazzy Jeff and Carlton from the

Fresh Prince of Bel Air performing a set, which was

incredible! Some classics where played downstairs, taking us

back home, like the Smiths and Oasis, we threw some shapes

thats for sure!

The next morning was perfect weather so we had a rooftop

breakfast on 5th ave. Later we walked over Brooklyn Bridge

and ate ice cream and watched the sunset over the city.

I was so glad to show them how beautiful New York is,

hopefully they love it as much as I do!

Londons finest Basement Jaxx where playing in town,

so we headed down to Santos Party house to pay them a visit,

possibly one of the best live sets Ive seen in a long time,

definatley the best Ive seen in New York. The crowd where

going insane for them!

Im under the impression the music scene

isnt up to standard with London, a lot of electro and indie is

still big here, with Drum and Bass and Dub step nonexistent

in New York. I think thats the first negative thing Ive said

about NY to be honest!

Sunday was designated shopping, however a chill in the park

was in order, which soon led to Ice skating in central park!

It was truly magical, I felt like a child again, we had so much

fun it was unreal, it felt like a real NY moment,

and I wouldnt of wanted to spend it with anyone else!

Sunday night was the last supper with Claire and Ash leaving

early the next morning, but we celebrated in style with a slap

up meal in little Italy!

Week 12

The week began with showing the boys some NY shopping and

a final big night out to send them off in style!

Tuesday was another sad farewell, back to reality and back to

work! I think after my mum being here and then my friends,

it really hit me how far away I am from home, and homesickness

creeped up on me a little bit!

But I had one of the best weeks in NY with them, I miss them

already...

Thursday was a very exciting american experience, it was the FIT

homecoming basketball game! Homecoming (for all you Brits) is

a big game thats played to invite alumni of the school to come watch

and support the team. Me and Katie ended up being courtside seats for

the game, to be honest Ive never watched a full basketball game

and dont really understand it, but it was VERY american complete

with cheerleaders and all! Later they had the FIT homecoming dance

at school, which again was very american, and quite a weird experience,

some funny stories told be told about that night!!!

Friday I had a date with Katie, we went to the MOMA

(museum of modern Art) and spent the afternoon there...

They had an exhibition on the relationship between design

and music in particular in the 70s and how the era was

in NYC, a topic I am very keen on...

And they had Monet....

later we went for dinner and a movie,

we saw New York I Love You at a HUGE movie theatre in Times Square,

where they even had a roof terrace...

The weekend was spent making more American friends

with nags having friends over and showing them around town!

Sunday I hung out with my Brits, Katie and Jed and went

to Hells Kitchen a flea market, where they had some really cheap

stuff, some $5 or less!!! Then topped it off with a curry :)

week 9 & 10

2009-11-29T21:08:00.000-08:00

Week 9 was spent mostly in anticipation of my mum

coming to visit!

Thursday night=the weekend so we headed on down to

Chito's where the night ended up spiralling into

going to a rooftop party at the Empire Hotel looking

over Central Park and Manhattan, which was incredible!

But Friday Jools (my mum) arrived and I couldn't of been

happier to see a familiar face :)

The weekend was a haze of sights, shopping and good

food and drink!

We went on the Staten Island Ferry, went to the top

of the Rockefeller centre, went the Hard Rock Cafe...

too many too mention, here are some photos...

We managed to get to the top of the rock at sunset

which was truly amazing! I am most definitely in love

with this city...

On Sunday I took mum to Central Park, my favourite

on a Sunday and she loved it just as much as I do :)

Monday we went shopping on 5th avenue and i was very spoilt,

(thanks Jools!) then we went up the Empire State building...

That night we went to Cafeteria had a fabulous meal and of

course cosmopolitans! Later I took Jools to my second home

that it Chitos and we hung out with all my friends. It was so nice

for Jools to meet everyone and I realised how much I love my life

out here, I'm so lucky!

Tuesday we headed to the Boathouse in Central Park overlooking

the lake and had another fantastic meal, it was the perfect way to say

goodbye, sadly Jools left that afternoon, it broke my heart to see her leave

and made me miss home more than you can imagine but I had a fantastic

time with her, it was Perfect!

That night Katie and Jed cheered me up by taking me

to see Florence and the machine at Bowery Ballroom,

Jed had a Photo pass and took some amazing photos!

Alas, me and Katie weren't so lucky we had to queue for

two hours in the rain to get a ticket, and we'd missed a

few songs but I landed on my feet again and got in for FREE!

The set was amazing and the American crowd loved her,

I think shell be a big hit here,

here's a video of my favourite song

a cover of You Got the Love by The Source....

The rest of the week was spent frantically Halloween costume

shopping, the city was insane every costume store had

lines wrapped round the block and it didn't help that

I couldn't decide on a costume! But I settled on Cruella Devil,

went all out and even sprayed half my hair white...

Lets just say I didn't look too pretty the next day!

The night was actually the best and weirdest night of life,

we had tickets to "Halloween on the green" at the infamous

Tavern on the Green venue in Central Park, we arrive and there

are thousands of people everywhere outside the venue

with police telling everyone there's no party, everyone was so

confused, in particular with who to talk to as there where a LOT

of people dressed in police and firemen costumes, which proved

very funny, after a long very funny story, which included

breaking into the wrong party, we finally got in and it was amazing!

The venue itself is fantastic but every single person had a

full costume on, the Americans really know how to celebrate Halloween!...

Sunday we recovered and I got to meet my roommate Holly's

grandparents, they invited us over to there hotel for pizza, beer

and Sunday football, a relaxing end to a hectic week!

Week 7 & 8

2009-11-20T14:58:00.000-08:00

Week 7 & 8

I had officially had it with bland american cafeteria food so

Tuesday me and Katie went for a slap up curry,

which oddly I really miss and isn't such a big thing over here!

Wednesday I had a "field trip" (translation day out)

with my advertising class to the Guggenheim to see the

Kandinsky exhibition, as we producing work for the national

colo(u)r test in Japan.

I know i mentioned the Guggenheim in an earlier post,

but the inside structure is phenomenal...

I really enjoyed the exhibition, it helped a lot with my project,

We have to express the sensations of sweet and savoury

only through colo(u)r and shape, which is rather difficult!

None the less very interesting.

Friday was John Lennon's birthday, and the city was full

of Beatlemania, I felt like i was at home!

In the evening we went to strawberry fields in Central Park

where they were holding a memorial concert for him,

with a tribute band. There where hundreds of people there

all singing Beatles and Lennon songs, it was incredible!

I didn't realise how influential he was to America.

I had a brilliant night, a great way to start the weekend...

Saturday was definitely a turning point for me in America,

as i went to my first official Red Cup college Party!

It was AMAZING a very strange party in this massive

New York brownstone town house, a very good night

resulting in a very funny story about a pumpkin!

Sunday was fantastic weather so we headed to the park

to catch some rays while we still can as it is starting to

get chillier. I love the park on Sundays its filled with such

a wide variety of people, families, friends, young, old,

tourists...

We stumbled upon a part of the park they close off on Sundays

for a Roller disco which was fascinating to watch...

Week 8 began with me receiving some excellent news,

Nathalie who I had spoke to at W magazine had passed my

details onto a graphic designer at W magazine who was

interested in meeting with me about a possible intern

role at the magazine, which I was ecstatic about!

So the week went pretty slow with me waiting for Fridays

interview but I had work to do in the mean time!

I completed my design for Advertising, its a piece to

advertise a colo(u)r test in Japan, representing sweet and savoury.

I also got more good marks from my book binding class,

and three more books to show for it....

This ones my favourite, its called a flower book...

Ive also been learning a lot from Dark room Photography,

we covered a lot in such a short space of time

my photography has definitely improved, even digital

I actually know what I'm doing now instead of just twiddling knobs

and crossing my fingers.

I'm going to scan in some images Ive been taking on 35mm

and ones Ive processed myself, so watch this space!!!

Friday came and i was in bits the morning of my interview!

Nothing ever goes right when it needs to! I was running all over

trying to get last min things printed then I finally hailed a cab

in a frantic hurry as it was raining (perfect!) only to rip the bottom

of my dress when I got in the cab!!!

Alas i turned up at Conde Nast on the upper east side in one piece

and walked in with my portfolio tucked under my arm,

I gave my name in at reception and they said

"good morning miss O'Neil we've been expecting you"

which was literally the coolest thing in the world, but i kept

my excitement under wraps was given a pass to the building

and was taken up to the W offices in the elevator.

I was greeted by Gina, who showed me into the W board room

where there were racks and racks and racks of designer clothes for the shoot

they were doing that day, I couldn't keep my eyes of them!

The interview went really well, she particularly liked my

typography work but sadly I wasn't able to take the opportunity!

Due to a million reasons mainly to do with the Visa I have to

live in America I cant earn money or work unpaid or earn

college credit blah blah blah BUT I had a fantastic experience

and have gained some contacts and I was told I am very welcome

to come back at another time!!!

To be honest i think its a little early for my dreams to come true,

but its defiantly a reason to come back to New York!

xxx

Week 6

2009-11-15T20:33:00.000-08:00

I've been incredibly bad at keeping up with this...

so here goes on the the last few weeks!

Week 6 began with me going to the "movie theatre"

to see The September issue, a documentary film

about Anna Wintour (who i seen at NY Fashion

Night out!) The film showed the process of how the

September issue of a magazine is the most important

and how the begin to put things together, it was a really

good time for me to see this film as well, what with

the SPD tour i had participated in the week previous.

I feel like I am actually working my way towards

something these days!

A lot of work was done this week handing in numerous

projects, including me getting 4 As in my first 4 books

in book binding! Its quite an annoying subject, Ive

nearly stabbed my tutor a few times with my "pin tool"

as I don't have much patience after three hours with my

fingers bleeding but you a do get satisfaction from it

in the end.

I also finished of a woodcarving of a skyline drawing

of NY in printmaking and got some really good prints

from it...

Friday meant out on the town again in NY and

we headed down to Tribeca to the basement of

the Tribeca Grand Hotel where Britain's finest

Annie Mac was putting on a set, she was very

flattered that fellow Brits had come to support her,

A lovely lady!

We also met lots of other Brits out that night,

friends through friends that are living out here

bit like ex pats night to be honest, but a wicked

night none the less!

A little homesickness overcame me this week

with a teary eyed call home to mum on her birthday :(

I was so sad I wasn't there, but I know I'm not forgotten

as I received a lovely parcel from Jess who sent me

a lovely pocket watch that was set to English time

so I can carry a little piece of England round with me!

Whats even nicer is she has a matching one set to

American time so Im not so alone :)

Later that day I cheered myself up with a visit

to Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, probably my

favourite place outside the city, its a really cool

street lined with vintage shops, cafes and bars

a lot like my beloved Brick Lane in London!

I took some wicked pictures too, some for a

publication I'm working on

TRENDnY in my indesign class, about street style.

I made a fantastic purchase at a store called Beacons Closet

(a must for anyone who enjoys vintage shopping)

a Michael Kors coat for $40!!!!

Amazing!

Then we had lunch & beers on a rooftop in the

sunshine, things couldn't really get any sweeter :)

Week 5

2009-10-22T13:54:00.001-07:00

This week I really got into screen printing and realised

all the stuff i could do with it,

I was a screen printing machine...

On Thursday I literally had the most amazing day of my

life so far! I went on a PUB Crawl! Not what you may think,

Its a publication crawl organised by the society of

publication Designers (SPD)

(which i am now a member of!)

We met in the morning in Union Square, then headed

downtown to the World Trade Centre to tour our

first magazine INC. It was the most amazing office

I have ever been in, Just the elevators where incredible,

my ears popped they went that quick! The office was

uber cool, with all the cubicles facing out the windows,

with the most amazing panoramic views of New York.

I was desperate to take photos but i wanted to be

"proffessional" We met with the Creative Director,

and Photo Editors and they spoke to us about how the

magazine comes together through the different departments

and the processes the magazine goes through.

I think i would probably give my right arm to work in that office!

The afternoon was then spent at my Grace land, Conde Nast.

We met with the Creative Director of W magazine, one

of the biggest american fashion magazines and sat in the

W board room where she spoke to us about the cycle of

their issues, how things work in the Graphics Dept

and what its like working with designers and celebrities!

I then got chatting to Nathalie, the Creative Director,

(who coincidently also went to FIT and also done the same

exchange that I am on), and we exchanged emails.

A VERY productive day, meeting a lot of influential people,

gaining many contacts and learning a lot about the

publication industry, but most of all it confirmed my

passion for a career in publication design!

Friday was another amazing day in NY,

Passion Pit where supporting Phoenix in Central Park,

tickets where sold out, but me and Katie decided

to see if we could tout some. We arrived to find the

ticket prices where astronomical, and the people that

were selling them seemed pretty dodgy! So we admitted

defeat and went to sit in the field behind the stage

where the sound was actually pretty good. Passion Pit

where 1 song into their set when a security guard comes over

and asks if we want to get in for $25 each.

Bearing in mind tickets face value where $30, we thought

it was a pretty sweet deal! We walked round to a side entrance,

where I done a sly money handshake and we walked

straight in the gig at the back!

Only in NY!

We then met up with the FIT crew on Avenue A and St Marks

and spent the night drinking beer and sake.

A perfect end to a perfect night!

The weekend continued with visiting the Paris theatre

to see Coco before Chanel, in the rain, i felt like a real

life Carrie Bradshaw!

Week 4

2009-09-29T22:30:00.000-07:00

Week 4 = WORK WORK WORK

I spent most time here this week,

My Room!

I have been busy busy busy, wood carving for Printmaking,

color mixing for workshop, and I'm also designing a poster

for an off Broadway Play for Advertising,

Which I will post a copy of when I'm done!

I also bought a new camera this week :)

It was my treat because I got my loan in!

Its a manual camera taking 35mm film,

so I'm going right back to basics learning everything from scratch!

I'm definitely going back to basics with my design skills also,

I'm learning a lot, and getting very creative in Screen Printing,

The facilities here at FIT are amazing!

I'm producing a book at the minute,

I will post the final but here are some sketchbook prints,

Friday I headed to Union Square,

A very Chilled Day, nice atmosphere with street entertainers

an excellent place to people watch!

Later we headed to the local, Chitos, for $4 margarita's,

then Katie's friends from London arrived and we took them

to an 24 hour diner "Tick Tock" just around the corner,

this really is the city that never sleeps!

Saturday we headed back to Governors Island

the dutch festival was happening again, with many more crazy additions

along with a silent disco! So much Fun!

Later we headed to a Party and met more new people!

Everyone is so genuine here, I think Ive definitely met some friends for life!

xxx

Week 3

2009-09-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

The week started with a day off!

Now that's what I like to hear, it was labor day,

the empire state was red, white and blue, so we thought we'd

do something American! Me and Katie decided to take a trip to Coney Island,

which is a an amusement/sea side town about an hour from the city.

The first thing we saw on our arrival was a gang of cops,

who later went into Dunkin' Donoughts for Coffee and Donoghts,

a living stereotype if ive ever seen one!

It was literally the strangest place I have ever been.

It was like Blackpool but Americanised, very weird but an experience none the less!

We had candy floss, sunbathed, paddled in the sea and got whiplash from a roller coaster that was built in 1927!!!

The typography there was tacky as hell, I loved it...

So the weidest part was "Shoot the Freak"

People were qeuing and willing to pay money to shoot a real

person with a Paint Gun.There was one one guy running

round in what looked like a building site

holding a bin lid as a sheild!

We headed back to the city with sandy shoes, ready to start another week of work!

Week 3 was productive in work, I completed my first book in Book Binding!

It doesn't look very impressive but it took my about 3 hours!

Hopefully I'll be a whizz by the time I come back!

Below is also the view from our studio...

Thursday meant the beginning of Fashion Week in New York

and to kick it off there was "fashion night out", me and the nags

got dolled up and headed into Soho where all the stores where open late

with free champers and cupcakes!

We took rickshaws, which was hilarious, one man cycling three girls

trying to keep up with Manhattan traffic!

The atmosphere was brilliant, street performers

everyone piling into the streets, celeb hot spot also,

I saw Pharrell Williams, Sienna Miller, and the Legend that is

Anna Wintour (Editor in chief of American Vogue)

A great night all in all, this is city is so exciting, so much happening!

Friday was September 11th, a sombre day in New York,

we visited The World Trade Centre which was flooded with people,

and watched Obama's speech live on CNN, very inspirational man.

Later me and Katie went out and about, going to Grand Central,

where I have been highly excited to visit, And I want disappointed!

An incredible Place, very Old New York, I loved it,

definitely one of my favourite places here!

We also went for lunch in Rockafella centre,

Another very impressive place, I cant wait to go ice skating there!

Saturday was spent on Governers Island, we took a boat ride,

(view above) where a Dutch festival was happening.

It was to celebrate "New Amsterdam" and they had music, food, dancing,

beer, all Dutch of course! A very strange place, It didn't feel like I was in New York,

more like Holland but yet another great Night.

Sunday was designated to shopping on 5th, and on the way back

I stumbled upon the VMA's!!!

Totally unintentional, that's why i love this place,

You don't know what's round the corner!

xxx

Week 2

2009-09-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

Week 2 meant actually getting down to some work,

but i "hung out" with my dorm mates a lot more

which was cool. A lot more "Emma say this"

and "What do you call it?"

I still managed to get out and about around

NY as well, Me and Katie explored central park,

going to the lake and the castle which you

walk up and get a great view of Uptown.

We also went to the guggenhiem but it was

closed! So i just bought a postcard from the shop!

But an amazing building, It stands out like a

sore thumb, Ive seen thousands of pictures,

but it really is inspiring architecture.

A must for anyone in NY.

Sunday Me, Jed and Katie went to a flea

market in Dumbo, Brooklyn.

Brooklyn is great, its a real break from the city,

I can see why people move out of manhattan,

Theres nice sense of community out there.

And on the way back walked over the Bridge,

Then past city hall, into

China town, into little Italy

(where we ate the nicest carbonara known to man)

Later that evening we went out to the lower east side

to see The shivers at mercury lounge, other NY

bands played and it was really interesting.

Later we went to an "american" bar

drinking $4 beers and listening to country music!

Starting not to feel like a tourist so much now,

definitely settled!

xxx

week 1

2009-09-14T06:59:00.000-07:00

I left Manchester teary eyed early sunday morning, the flight was spent mostly

in anticipation, for what I would find when I arrived.

We landed and I hailed a cab into the city, I arrived at FIT jet lagged and sweaty

as the heat here was incredible! But I got stuck right in meeting everyone, and I

was amazed at how nice people were. When I first moved to London people were

not very friendly and you had to get on with everything yourself, but here everyone

wants to help, which got me settled in straight away.

That night me, my roommate Holly

and my floor mate Chloe went out for "frozen yogurt" (its just soft ice cream)!

The next morning I wake to this view, and the madness that is classes

began and it was a haze of form filling and

"oh my god, your British! Thats soooo cute!"

I also got to experience the cafeteria for the first time, which is an

experience in itself! Its ridiculous the amount of food you get! Pretty

much a 3 course meal 3 times a day and they have everything,

mexican, sushi, deli. pizzeria, grill, salad bar, bagel stand!

The dorms, college studios and cafteria are all on one block,

so life is pretty sweet!!!

The next few days in between classes I managed to get some sight seeing done,

Times Square, and we took a trip on the Staten Island Ferry,

On Thursday, I had an amazing day, I walked from FIT to the highline, which is

an abondoned railway track which looks over the city, Me, Katie and Becca loved it,

heres the view,

We then walked all the way down town into the meat packing disrict, and down Bleeker

to the infamous Magnolia Bakery were we had cupcakes and home made lemonade!

The most amazing thing I have ever had! We Then walked through Washington Square

Park, through Soho, and had dinner in Little Italy! A great day!

The weekend was mission fake id and we got away with it!

My first order was of course a Cosmopolitan!

Me and Katie went out with all the girls from my floor and we partied

on the lower east side, ended up getting invited to a VIP club

with some rapper dude who was buying $300 Vodka for the table!

Only in NY!

And finally just a little something to keep me to reality in my room!

Thats it for week 1 but week 2 will soon follow!

XXX

2009-09-14T06:47:00.000-07:00

Hello from NYC!

I do have to apologise I have been extremely bad at keeping up with this,

Ive been putting it off quoting "I'm going to live my blog not stay in and write it"!

So, here in New York for 4 months on an exchange from Chelsea College of

Art and Design in London to FIT, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York.

I study BA Graphic Design Communication in London, but here I'm pretty much

doing what I want! I'm taking 7 classes, Advanced Advertising, Indesign,

Screenprinting, Color Workshop (spelt the American way)

Bookbinding, Printmaking and Dark room Photography.

I now vow to keep up to date with my blog every week, there,

you have my word for it!