My final day of interning at Clairemont Communications has sadly arrived. I definitely wasn’t here long enough, but there was still enough time to learn quite a few things from the rest of the team!

Dana, the best boss ever, is clearly successful and definitely has lots of knowledge to share. With her help I have a better understanding of the PR world in general, which I hadn’t been exposed to before. Prior to interning here I didn’t quite understand just how much goes on at once – phone meetings with clients, social media updates and events and researching some of the weirdest topics, like ice cream carts for example.

Another especially important part of this industry is writing. Copy, blogs, Facebook posts, press releases, you name it. I would not necessarily say writing is one of my strong points so thankfully Josie, the journalism queen, has been able to help me along in this area. She gave me some very helpful tips about writing structure, tone and the average amount of an article that a person actually reads (they usually don’t get too far).

For Hope, my intern partner, I’ve admired her great sense of style and positive outlook since day one. At the office, we’ve been trying to learn her makeup techniques and occasionally mimic her outfits and accessory usage. And I have loved being able to work with her everyday and feed off of her fun spirit and eagerness to learn.

Our intern Whitney made her first trip to Market this month. We asked her to write up a short blog about her experience there, and judging by what she wrote, it’s safe to say she loved it!

From everything I heard the week leading up to High Point Furniture Market, I expected it to be fast-paced, exciting, busy and fun. Well…I was right! From the very beginning I realized the scale of this six-day event when I ended up having to park my car several miles away at a shopping mall (along with probably hundreds of others)!

After my long bus ride in, I met up with Dana and Josie at the International Home Furnishings Center, and we began our journey up to the showrooms of Clairemont’s clients, Thomasville and Drexel Heritage. At first I thought the showrooms on the ground floor were big….But that was before I saw the size of the showrooms on the eighth floor – those of Thomasville and Drexel! This year’s Market had an unbelievable 2,000 exhibitors. Judging by the size of some of the showrooms, that’s a whole lot of furniture to see!

Throughout the day I was fortunate enough to spend time interacting with film crews, magazine editors and Thomasville and Drexel Heritage representatives. I even “starred” in a clip about my favorite furniture piece, a funky yellow sofa (not to be confused with a “couch”). Receiving the grand tour by our very own Josie Butler, I had a better understanding of how everything comes together for Market and all of the different people that visit during the day.

I also took time to take notes of the several new trends I spotted in the showrooms. From upholstered tables to retro designs to eye-catching colors, I had a hard time picking out my favorites, but there was one specific room that I just loved. I don’t know if it was the bright pink and deep purple paints or the large-print floral fabrics, but this room had such a unique vibe – definitely an inspiration for my next design project!

Overall, I had a great time learning the ins and outs of Market and am so thankful I was able to witness the excitement first-hand.

It has been awhile since we’ve gone on and on about how much we love our dogs at Clairemont, and since we deemed today as Good Dog Friday, we figured now is the time. Here are Billy and Charley, both adopted from the SPCA of Wake County.

Just a few weeks ago, we had a chance to sit down and chat with one of our spring interns, Hope Hemby. Now get ready for round two of spring intern Q&As. Without further ado, here’s the latest and greatest from Whitney Medlin, yet another Clairemont intern superstar!

So Whitney, you’re a Raleigh native, born and raised, and now you’re a student at N.C. State. You must really love Raleigh!

[Laughs] I’ve been here forever.

So what is it about this place that keeps you hanging around? Have any favorite spots?

I think I’d have to say that my favorite part of Raleigh is the downtown area because it’s grown so much. I love all of the fun festivals and restaurants and bars.

What about when you were younger? Chuck E. Cheese’s?

Yes! I mean no….I’d say the art museum – my brother helped designed the outdoor classroom, just a fun fact.

Very cool! So how do you like being a student at State?

I loved being a student at State so much in undergrad that I decided to continue with grad school. And I mainly love it because I am in the College of Textiles, and it’s like my own little home where I know all of the teachers and students and just enjoy the atmosphere.

Glad to hear you love it! So how did you decide on textiles?

I went to a textile camp when I was in high school at State and didn’t really know what else to do at school, so it kind of gave me a good place to start. And then I fell in love with it.

I think that’s the best way to do it – to just fall into it, naturally. And where do you see yourself going in the field?

Ideally, I would like to do something with branding and marketing for an apparel company with the opportunity to travel.

I know that you’ve had quite a few travel opportunities already. Tell me about them.

In undergrad I studied for a month in Florence where I took an Italian cooking class, and I got to practice my two semesters of Italian language…

How did that go?

Well, I was able to translate costs of baked goods for my friends. That’s about all. [Laughs]

And where else have you been?

Most recently I traveled to Hong Kong as part of my master’s program and was able to explore the culture and the industry and meets lots of exciting and wonderful people. People were just so, so kind. Even top industry execs would do just about anything to give us information or even to bring us tea. I was really impressed.

Speaking of textiles, what’s your favorite fabric in our office?

Ohhh. I kind of like all of them, but I am going to have to say the lamps…or the chairs. They’re kind of like old school retro.

And how do you like interning at Clairemont? What do you feel like you’ve learned so far?

I love being here! It’s such a fun environment. As far as learning goes, I feel like I’m getting a better understanding of what it is, exactly, that agencies do. There’s literally so much going on all of the time, and I am getting a better idea of what those things are.

What else do you like to do?

Does traveling count? I have the travel bug, which is interesting because I didn’t really travel a lot growing up, but in the past few years I have been fortunate to go quite a few places in Europe. It just makes me keep wanting to go back!

Anything else you would like to share with the public?

I have a dog named Fredward. Actually, it’s just Fred, but I call him Fredward. Does that count?

It certainly does, Whitney! And for those of you who think you have the potential to be our next great Clairemont intern superstars, be sure check out our internship program here.