My name is Grace Gardiner, and I am currently studying art, geography and biology A-level at a local school where I was tasked to carry out a week of work experience that related to what I want to study in the future. I wanted to work at Gemini Woman because they are an independent and sustainable fashion business which interests me since I learn about the importance of caring for our planet in my subjects, and luckily the Gemini team was kind enough to take me in for a week. My goals for the placement were to get a better understanding of the roles that a fashion business entails, and therefore which job I might like to do after university.  

Day 1 

On the first day, I was introduced to Gemini’s online team who were so lovely and welcoming. In the morning, I learnt about the weekly trade report, which involved analysing sales performance for the business as well as their different brands and departments. Donna kindly guided me through how to update the figures so that they are documented and analysed properly. In the afternoon, I was introduced to dispatch and customer service with Poppy and Laura showing me the different processes. Since Gemini had many orders from the past weekend, I got straight to packing orders so they were delivered in time which is an important aspect of maintaining good customer service.

Day 3 

On Wednesday, I went more in-depth in the dispatch department and learnt about how to process an order and a return, picking and packing various items and the importance of maintaining a tidy stockroom. I spent the afternoon in the office reviewing Gemini’s social media and site by completing a competitor review across the social media channels. 

Day 4  

I went on another interesting photoshoot by the Avon River in the morning where I helped carry the outfits and take some more pictures. In the afternoon I was on the shop floor, and I learned how to operate the till, the value of face-to-face customer service and styling. Afterwards, I had a look at the acquisition channels that Gemini use to increase revenue with Becky, and I learned that email marketing makes up for 50% of the company’s revenue which I found interesting.  

Day 5  

I worked with Lauren in marketing to create a lookbook-style Instagram carousel to promote the Masai sale. She helped me develop my skills in Photoshop and I was super pleased with the result. Then, Amber introduced me to the online merchandising aspect of the company where I refreshed the website to ensure the products on the latest emails are easily findable for the customer. I found it interesting that the placements of products on the website Is quite intentional. We finished the week with this blog post, and I learned that blogs are also a good way to generate visitors to the website! 

My favourite part of the week was the product photoshoot where Jess and I shot outfit laydowns. I loved the freedom I was given to experiment with props, backdrops and product arrangements and it was so interesting to learn about how they make GIFs using the tripod and Photoshop. I learnt that you must be organised when preparing for a shoot, making sure that you have all the garments and equipment beforehand, but also you need to think creatively about what would look good on the website, trying to think of shots that the customers haven’t seen before.