fabrics & trims sourcing intern TOTEME. BLOG 1/3

My first two weeks as an intern at the fashion company Toteme have been a blast. It has been a mix of excitement and curiosity, but also some scary unknowns that comes with moving to a new city, entering a new environment, and meeting new people. I have a strong educational background in this field, but zero working experience, so I am constantly learning something new. Honestly, it has been really refreshing to switch environments for a while, from the classroom to the real world.

I started my first day in the product development department, but then moved into raw material sourcing, working with fabrics and trims. A lot of what I have been doing so far has been very hands on. I have been cutting fabrics into swatches, and preparing fabric cards with details such as material composition, supplier, and price per meter. These are later presented to the design team during meetings for future collections.

It has been interesting to see how the process works in practice. The designers present what kind of garments and materials they are looking for, and the sourcing team responds by finding and presenting suitable options. I really like how this creates a connection between different departments and shows how important collaboration is within the company.

I have also spent a lot of time going through the in-house fabric archive, organizing and sorting samples while getting more familiar with different materials, finishes, and suppliers. It has been a great way to better understand fabrics in terms of composition, texture, weight, and finish. One of the highlights so far has been helping with fabric research, especially searching for different options for fabrics, linings, and trims within the archive.

Alongside this, I have been helping with daily tasks such as collecting and sending packages, scanning and copying documents, moving boxes, and occasionally steaming garments. These tasks might not sound very exciting, but they are all part of how everything works day to day, and being involved in them has actually been really insightful.

The biggest highlight of these two weeks has been meeting all my new colleagues. Everyone has been very welcoming, and it has been interesting to see how a fashion company operates in practice. The office space is also super cool!

Overall, these first two weeks have been very rewarding in terms of practical learning, but also a great experience socially in a diverse and international workplace.

That’s it for now. Updating again in two weeks!

Peace out,

/ Noah