martine abrahams: FREELANCE DESIGNER in sandton, GT

- Developing moodboards for various interiors includiing residential homes and business's - Researching interiors trends using magazines, interior blogs and store visits. - Putting together moodboards which detail all research specifically for the relevant area"s e.g. lounge, bedroom etc for residential home client. - Visiting various local design stores and local design tradeshows - Facilitating any work that needs to be done in realtion to the decorating business such as liazing with clients, filing all invoices , creating calender schedules for all different jobs and sourcing for specific design projests. - Liase with fabric houses on current trends - Administer orders and follow up on lead times - Liase with suppliers on items to fit the budgets of clients - Managing deliveries and making sure all products arrive on intended date in order for deadlines to be met - Maintaining a good relationship with suppliers in order to receive the best service and product is available at all times. - Keeping up to date with local as well as international trends in order to be competitive and offer clients the best and newest product - Attend local design fairs such as Design Indaba, Kamers vol geskenke etc in order to keep abreat with local design

- Negotiating with suppliers - Creating spreadsheets - Managing budgets - Sales and client meetings - Creating mood and concept boards - Liasing with operations for formal design work - Allocate resources and communicate strategic objectives to assigned resources - Liaise and communicate logistical needs with operations department. - Manage the supply chain and the assigned resources - Creating a customer base on social media - Manage and track any scope changes, communicating effects to necessary departments and resources - Track and ensure that events are running to timeline, scope and budget - Sourcing all trim - Event onsite work and executing of the event. - Always showcasing the company values and client engagement strategies. SOMETHING-DIFFERENT CONCEPT AND SHOWS

Concept design of beach culture range - Negotiating with suppliers - Creating spreadsheets - Managing budgets - Producing detailed proposals for Range concepts - Creating mood and concept boards - Building an e- commerce site - Photographing and editing range - Styling photo-shoots for social media - Creating a social media platform on Instagram and Facebook - Creating a customer base on social media - Working with various boutiques and supplying them - Personally making all products - Sourcing all trim - Designing logo and all design elements - Successfully delivering stock timeously BARTHOLOMUSE DESIGN AND STYLING (3 MONTH CONTRACT)

- Event styling - Event co-ordination - Liaising with clients to ascertain their precise event requirements - Producing detailed proposals for events (e.g. timelines, venues, suppliers, mood boards, staffing and budgets - securing and booking a suitable venue and location - Preparing and managing bidgets for events - Post event breakdowns - Coordinating venue management, caterers, stand designers, contractors and equipment hire - Planning room layout - Coordinating suppliers, handling client queries and troubleshooting on the day of the event to ensure that all runs smoothly - Overseeing the dismantling and removal of the event and clearing the venue efficiently - Building good client and supplier relationships - Managing social media account

- September 2108 - Photograph and Create catalogues for Ranges - Creating mood boards and look books to sent to Slick boutique and online clients (spree and zando) - Managae all social media including: twitter, facebook and instagram account - Create brand awareness - Creatng Static and video content - Analysing media engagement - Creating content calenders

- Developing and design clothing for Paige Smith range - Source trims and fabrics - Negotiate with suppliers - Develop moodboards for each season and look - Admistor orders and follow lead times - Managing day to day job aspects such as setting up meeting, sending out minutes and scheduling deliveries to clients - Develop business strategies, marketing plans and merchandise assortments to drive profitable sales - Sort and develop key looks for presentations - Using various fashion forecasting websites and magazines to research trends. - Manage social media and fulfil magazine briefs

- Develop assortments, and stay on top of current and emerging trends - Have immediate general management responsibility for fashion accessories business that could include, but not limited to jewellery - And accessories - Attract and bring in new clients in business - Work closely with our Product Design and Development team of clients gaining broad exposure to many aspects of Merchandising such as: product development, multicultural marketing, private label development, import and sourcing initiatives - Develop business strategies, marketing plans and merchandise assortments to drive profitable sales - Sort and develop key looks for presentations - Constant fashion forecasting and research into developing trends for an assortment of consumers - Keep up to date with comings and goings on of local consumer as well as overseas consumer - thus gaining insight into following seasons. - Putting together look boards for clients for product development and options on styles that have worked previously and need to be updated - Managing day to day job aspects such as setting up meeting, sending out minutes and scheduling deliveries to clients - Liasing with suppliers as to what is selling and not selling in order to give the best service to all clients - Continually assesing what is selling in the south African market so be on track with current sales as well as always pushing trendier styles in order to align styling with Europe and other leading fashionable nations - Managing day to day emails, follow-ups on sampling as well as catering to all needs of buyers needs

- Developing belt ranges for yde designers to use on their garments as well as on individual accessory ranges in store - Developing belt ranges for trim buyers and designers for larger retailers - Liasing with suppliers in china to develop good quality as well as well priced ranges - Liasing with suppliers as to what is selling and not selling in order to give the best service to all clients - Organise meetings linking design and buying so that everyone is on the same page as to where the look is going. - Liase with fabric buyer as to what fabrics will be used going forward - Send couriers should any offshore company's need technical drawings and fabric direction.

August 2009 - May 2011 - Assisting in fashion office where trend research for ladieswear, menswear, footwear, kidswear, accessories, beauty interiors are researched - Using various fashion forecasting websites and magazines to research trends. - Putting together trend books which detail all research specifically for the relevant departments e.g. accessory information to the accessories client. - Downloading catwalk collections each season in order to use for upcoming seasons research. - General office duties - Research and develop timetables to be inline with international tradeshows. - Researched and developing general trends to be loaded on the company's website for ladieswear, menswear, kidswear, accessories, footwear, beauty and interiors. - Designing and formatting a weekly newsletter highlighting important information relevant to all departments including tradeshow updates, comparitive item shopping, fashion week ramp round -ups etc - Designing and formatting a monthly newsletter highling whats in store in defferent cities relevant to departments and clients , these range from milan to tokyo. - Consulting with helping clients build ranges - Researching and developing trend boards

- Designed range or spring summer 08, summer 09 and winter 08 - Conduct research on wgsn to keep abreast of the seasons must haves and where to shop in each country visited. - Creating designs through cad as well as drawing sketches. - Upload designs on in-house bespoke style management system - Liase with in-house production to produce prototype of design. - Present prototype and designs o buyers and managers - Negotiating prices on trims with suppliers - Worked closely with buying team to ensure that rangers were in line with brand direction. - Facilitate and manage product development on a monthly basis in order to filter in most current trends in Europe into ranges in order to get a reading on the customers likes and dislikes for the upcoming season. - Liase with fashion office manager in ordering trend books so that there is always an abundance of information available. - Manage calendar for product development and make sure all diaries are clear for discussions on new styles. - Co - ordinate projects linking design and marketing such as product selection for local magazines

- Designed range or spring summer 07 and winter 07. - Conduct research on wgsn - Creating designs through cad as well as drawing sketches. - Upload designs on in-house bespoke style management system - Liase with in-house production to produce prototype of design. - Present prototype and designs o buyers and managers - Research and design look boards for each season. - Negotiating prices on trims with suppliers - Worked closely with buying team to ensure that rangers were in line with brand direction. - Worked in store to gain a better customer perspective of the customer. - Developed store window display skills like how to dress the window to reflect the look of the month - Enhanced skills of colour co - ordination for visual display by doing table displays in stores to reflect the styles that needed to be sold.

- Developed relationships with fabric suppliers - Acquiring knowledge about different types of fabrics, where they are appropriately used as well as being very price conscious in line with the company's product. - Negotiating prices with suppliers - Researching overseas fabric market, which included fabric trends as well as ensuring we remained competitive. - Approving lab dyes for colour approvals. - Updating fabric information on fabric systems such as fabric width, weight and design. - Communicated and updated buyers to make everyone aware of what stage in process we were. - Send couriers to fabric suppliers after correct colours have been chosen for all fabrications. - Manage fabric calendar in order to make sure fabric is delivered to warehouse in time for production.