My first week at Martin- Hudson and Gibson came unexpectedly but was a lifesaver for my academic record. I am a student of Product Design at NUI Maynooth and as part of my degree I am required to undertake a 6-month work placement. I had already secured a placement with an interior and exhibition design company in Dublin city centre but was told after a month working with them that they would be working from home. I saw the advertisement for the internship with Martin-Hudson and Gibson and sent an email straight away. I had always thought I had an interest in interior design, particularly since I was currently re-designing my bedroom in Co. Meath and was really enjoying the process. After my interview I was informed I would start a week's trial the next Monday.
Monday:
The first activity I would undertake as an intern was to accompany John on a visit to one of the customers. We drove to the residence at Clarinda Park and I got to see the interior of the house. The client wanted a whole host of jobs done, including re-upholstering sofas, having bookcases made and wallpaper-filled panels fitted on her walls. I enjoyed listening to John talk about his ideas, suggesting fabrics, patterns and colours I would never have thought of using. My first morning really gave me an idea of what the business does.
After lunch I was given the task of rearranging the shop window display. I was surprised I was given such responsibility since this display is what draws potential customers into the shop. After dismantling what was already being displayed, I had a look around the shop and back rooms and tried to decide on a theme. I decided to go with a simple black, white, and silver colour scheme. I used luxurious looking quilted wallpaper and shimmery cushion covers. I was happy with the overall look of the display.
Tuesday:
Myself and my fellow intern, Cecile, were to complete a painting job today. Cecile mixed paints together to create the neutral teal colour that we were to use. We used this on 10 chairs, 40 chair legs. Then Cecile told me about the technique of dragging, something I had never done before. I watched her doing it and then attempted it myself, although I was much slower at getting it done. We used a darker bluey-grey colour for this layer.
Wednesday:
For the majority of today I was left supervising the shop on my own. I completed tasks such as taking records of the library, lending wallpaper books to customers and answering phonecalls. There were no major stressful moments, apart from using the credit card machine. I spent the majority of the morning checking if all the books upstairs were recorded in the excel file for the library.
Thursday:
I continued painting today, this time I finished a headboard, some more chair legs and started a wardrobe. I was happy to paint since art is one of my favourite hobbies and I find it relaxing and therapeutic. I found the day going by quickly when painting and I really enjoyed it. I was finding the technique of dragging easier by now.
Friday:
Myself and Cecile spent the morning completing the painting on the wardrobe. I was very happy with the finished result and I was impressed that we were allowed to paint items that were to be used in customers' houses. I really liked the way we got to leave the shop for a while when we were painting, and we got to see other people at work. I saw pieces of furniture being made and upholstered.
