Taking the L

Katerina Demetriou-Jones BA Illustration & Visual Media

Since August I’ve been applying for placements and I finally got one in December! HOWEVER I just want to relay my experiences thus far because some of it has been such a shambles! Back in October I got a reply to do some freelance work for a textiles company and they asked me to attend an interview at their studio in South Kensington. Being the Watty gal that I am, I hopped on the train at Watford Junction with my portfolio in tow. Arriving outside the studio I was told that they had had a flood and couldn’t interview me. So I was there, all dressed up and interviewable with nowhere to go! But I just had to take the L! And it’s okay we carry on.
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An application I sent to Noodoll (who create these lovely toys) got a reply and they asked me to create a GIF of one of their toy characters or create my own, and I had so much fun doing this! I spent the whole day on it (see below!) They replied and said they liked it but they had found a more suitable candidate for the position. Is ok another L what can you do!

Another application I sent to a lady for painting a mural in a new sausage restaurant resulted in her asking me to send her some ideas of what I would do! This was a particularly busy time for me so I spent three mornings preparing my ideas and mock-ups when I had the time and sent them off, sent follow-up emails and never heard back. So many L’s so little time!!!
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Then the DPS pop-up shop opportunity came up and it was a lovely experience. I made 12 pendants to sell (see below) - one for each month of the year, all including little paintings of that particular month’s birth flower and all attached to string so they could be hanging decorations or even swapped for a chain to wear as a necklace. I had some wonderful chats with people and they seemed to be very popular with mums <3 I like that people felt a connection to them as they were able to look for their own birth month and/or just find a flower they liked. My friend Sun bought April – the birth flower is a daisy and the meaning is sun rise - it was perfect for her! This made me so happy. It is safe to say my spirits were lifted by this and I started to feel better about all of the L’s because this pop-up experience turned out to be a very positive one.

I was doing around four applications a day after that, and eventually got a reply and have been interning for a jewellery designer – Melissa McArthur – helping out with her website and doing little illustrations for it too. I’m really grateful for this opportunity and will be continuing to apply for placements so I can see what else is out there.
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An important thing to remember is that I was applying for four months, and I’m still planning to apply for things now I have this placement, but the experience of creating and designing a variety of art from toys to sausage murals to the DPS pop-up shop wouldn’t have come about had I not been applying for so long without many replies and many rejections. It also gave me time to develop my own artwork without the pressure of it being a uni project. It can be really disheartening and I had so many days where I was just crying in ma bed (pls) but sometimes you need that break and to have a Netflix day, and just try again tomorrow if you can.

All artwork by me :)