Julianne Hilmes

Life as the Trad Home Intern Continued… The final Installment

Written on July 29, 2011 at 1:30 pm
By Julianne Hilmes

Today is my last day as the TradHome intern and this is my last blog post. It’s kind of sad! It still feels like I just started but I have to keep reminding myself that I’ve been here since May. Before I start summing up the summer however, I can’t forget I made it to two final product previews this week – one for Mohawk flooring and the other for Loctite adhesives.

At the Mohawk preview, they discussed how one of their objectives with their carpet was health and wellness. Apparently “healthy carpet” is googled more than “stain-resistant carpet,” so they are working to make more healthy and natural carpets. They even use recycled plastic bottles in the creation of some of their “greener” material. Way to go Mohawk! I also learned that in order to demonstrate the durability of their carpet they had rhinos and elephants live on them in zoos – and they stood up to the test!

At the Loctite product preview I learned about their new super-strong construction quality adhesive and their three categories of super glues. I proceeded to experiment with the glue samples they’d given us and squeeze the container too much before taking the lid off, only to have it ooze out suddenly and glue my fingers together. Good thing they also happened to share tips for getting your fingers un-stuck.

I really can’t believe how fast this summer has gone. I learned a lot. Not only about Traditional home, but also interior design, the magazine world, the corporate world, and the 9-5 world. Given that all my past gigs have been flexible hours waiting tables or babysitting, that last one took the most adjustment.

It’s been such a great experience to work here. I sat in on staff meetings and the Meredith All-Employee Meeting. I got to go to taste panels, photo shoots, and a lot of product previews. (Not to mention I learned a fair amount about those products!) I was in contact with people all over the country. On any given day I could have been in communication with people from L.A., Atlanta, and New York. I called, I emailed, I ordered, I tracked down tracking numbers! I got product donations for the gift bags for our Classic Women and worked on the tablescape for the Holiday Entertaining shoot. I wrote some video scripts and filled out my fair share of slideshow request forms.

I will say, I’ve finished up many of those slideshow request forms in the past few days, and I think I’ll be happy to not see one again for a while. My brain needs a little vacation – a girl can only think of so many ways to describe a room. It is kind of fun though, to write descriptions for images in a way that doesn’t sound repetitious. It’s kind of like solving a puzzle, and I really like puzzles. Nevertheless, there are some words that no matter what I am describing, just seem to follow me.

Julianne’s Top Slideshow Words:

Charm, rustic, warm, elegant, glamorous, cozy, perfect, palette, lovely, nook. Example:

“The cozy corner banquette”

“A cozy place to eat breakfast”

“Make the master bedroom cozy”

“A warm tropical feel”

“Shades of warm browns and pale blues”

“An elegant evening”

“Elegant domed ceiling”

“The elegant appeal”

“The elegant chandelier”

“An antique daybed and elegant linen sofa”

“The neutral palette”

“A blue-themed palette”

“Brown and blue palette”

“Demonstrates country charm”

“The chandelier dangles rustic charm” (double whammy)

“This dainty breakfast nook is the perfect complement to the sunny yellow walls” (double whammy)

“Curtains draw to create a cozy little nook” (double whammy)

“The master bedroom is cozy with a warm caramel palette and a nook for the bed” (The most incriminating of them all)

I certainly can’t forget that I was given the opportunity to blog! This has definitely been one of my favorite things. I have always loved writing (hence the journalism major), and being able to write about things in my own voice is always fun. And of course, thank YOU for reading!

Lastly, if you want to pick up a copy of the September issue, (and why wouldn’t you want to?), you should  check out the masthead – I was giddy with excitement when I saw it. Someone’s name appears last under the “editorial” section.

Well, thus ends my first foray into the 9-5 world. Adios!

P.S. If you want to keep up with me, you can follow my tumblr: juliannehilmes.tumblr.com

Life as the Trad Home Intern Continued…

Written on July 19, 2011 at 10:01 am
By Julianne Hilmes

It is sweltering out right now. I liken walking through the heat and humidity outside to walking through soup… or a sauna… or a steam room! It is seriously impossible to go outside for more than a minute without breaking a sweat. Luckily, I can keep cool with my new Copco Tumbler. Copco, I remembered as I made my purchase, is a member of the Wilton product family! (Learned that little nugget at their product preview).

I just got my tumbler yesterday as a Greener way to get my iced soy lattés to go. After two or three a week I start to feel guilty using all the plastic. It certainly took me long enough to get on of these, but finally, a solution!

On a different note, my internship is winding down for the summer. I only have two weeks left here! But that doesn’t mean I’m not keeping busy. I went to my second tasting and have one more scheduled before I leave. I spent two days last week on another photo shoot, (just as unglamorous as the first, but still just as fun). I’ve been to more product previews: Home Depot and Sleep Number, and have Sealy, Loctite and Mohawk Flooring still to come.

At the home depot preview, I learned that they will be carrying an even larger number of Martha Stewart products for the holiday season! It was a little strange seeing lighted Christmas trees and shiny red ornaments on a hot day in July, but that’s just how it all works in this industry.

The Sleep Number preview was really interesting. I learned about a lot of their products but one thing in particular caught my eye. They have a line of linens that works with your body throughout the night to keep you at the right temperature while you sleep. This way you don’t wake up from temperature changes, dripping in sweat or shivering. I loved this. Mostly because if I had sheets that kept me just cool enough all night, I could have my down comforter on my bed every night! And I really do sleep better if I have my comforter. I like to burrow down underneath it, what can I say.

I’ve also been working on getting items in for our Holiday Entertaining photo shoot. I’ve ordered fabrics, ribbons and wrapping paper. Christmas in July – it’s real. As a slight aside, I really hope everyone picks up a copy of the Holiday issue, if only just for this entertaining story. Watching all the pieces come together has been very exciting, and I know, from looking at the tableware and the fabrics and wrapping paper and ornaments and ribbons, that this is going to be a gorgeous story. I can’t wait to see the photos!

Two weeks left and still plenty to do. Stay tuned…

Life as the Trad Home Intern Continued…

Written on July 1, 2011 at 11:09 am
By Julianne Hilmes

Monday, Scalamandré fabrics came to our office to show us their latest collection. They had some really beautiful fabric. AND the signature Zebra print is being put on umbrellas and they are so cute! They’re big umbrellas too, there’s no way the rain could get you underneath one of those bad boys. The only downside is they’re rather expensive for a college student like me, $95ish I believe. Looks like I won’t be investing in one of those for a while. Boo.

Wednesday I had two product previews! I was told it’s quite rare that they schedule two not only on the same day but back-to-back. Nevertheless we made it to both.

The first one was for EK Success Brands. The crafting company that is home to brands like American Girl (crafts), Martha Stewart, K & Company and many others. They had little stations set up around the room where they had made various crafts for various occasions. I loved it! My favorite craft was the Advent calendar. I would love to make something like that.  (I’ve always been a sucker for Christmas). As a take-away they gave us wonderful gift bags chocked FULL of craft stuff. All afternoon I wanted to open the bag but was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get everything back in once I took it out! So I had to restrain myself and wait until I took it home. It was literally like Christmas morning as I emptied that thing. I would pull one item out and announce it to my best friend (who I made bear witness to the event), look inside the bag, see an exciting item, say something like “ohmygosh! Look! Stamps!”, and then pull the next item out of the bag.  The only downside to this is that I’m not the craftiest person around. I love crafty things, I like to look at them or play around with them, but when it comes to actually making something worthy or substantial? That is where it becomes a little challenging for me. I always start with the best intentions but 95% of the time it doesn’t pan out. Maybe all I needed was some fun supplies to give me the creative boost I need.

The second product preview we attended was for Guardsman. Guardsman makes products that clean and protect furniture and upholstery. Their new campaign is “Stop cleaning. Start Caring,” and the idea is that we need to care for our furniture like we care for our bodies. We need to use the correct material to apply the correct product in the correct order. All of the products were demonstrated for us, and while I felt like I was in a real-live infomercial, I was totally sold. I really believe it works. The best part? The fabric first-aid kit that is sure to get out stains. I got a sample of it and am taking it home to try and get tomato sauce out of a white dress. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Here was my favorite part about the whole Guardsman thing. Get this:

A furniture care company is advertising their new line like a beauty regimen. (Good. Interesting. That’s a different way to think about how you care for your furniture.)

Then the product presentation is followed by mini-spa treatments. (Ooo fun! Spa treatments at work! What does this have to do with stain repellant?)

Finally, you receive a take-away bag that is filled with furniture and beauty products, but each furniture product is tied together with a beauty product. (What? What is this? A sugar lemon scrub for your dining room table? This doesn’t make sense………….. OH! Wait! I get it! How clever!)

What a brilliant little marketing technique! I couldn’t stop gushing about this the other night. I called my sister to tell her, told my parents and told my friends.

And now everyone knows I’m a geek for great marketing.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend! I’m certainly looking forward to mine.

There’s more to come. Stay tuned…

Duh, Pinning

Written on June 27, 2011 at 10:58 am
By Julianne Hilmes

Have you heard of the website Pintrest.com yet? If not, you should check it out!

It’s a relatively new website to which you either have to request an invitation or be invited. Once you’re a member, you can peruse all the images on the homepage, or you can filter them out by category: home & furniture, gifts, food & drink, travel, art & architecture, design, DIY, prints, products, fashion and a slew of other categories. It’s like tearing great ideas out of a magazine and putting them in a folder to remember them, only it’s online and much easier to see all at once.

The idea is that you have your own “boards” on your Pintrest profile. When you see an image you like you can “re-pin” it to the board you deem fitting. You can create your own fashion inspiration board, home ideas board, inspirational quotes board or beautiful photos board. You can have as many or as few boards as you like.

On the homepage, you can see the things that have been pinned and re-pinned by all Pintrest users, or you can simplify to just the pinboards that you follow (this could be your friends or favorite trendsetters), and draw inspiration from them!

There’s even a nifty application that can go in your web browser toolbar. With the “pin it” application, no matter what website you are on, if you see something you like, you simply click “pin it” on the toolbar. The application will ask which board you would like the image to be pinned to and then pin it there.

Another great thing about Pintrest, is that you can see the origin of the pin. By just clicking through on an image you will be taken to the original website where, perhaps, you just may find a number of other items to suit your fancy.

www.pintrest.com

Follow my pin boards on Pintrest @ Julianne Hilmes

Life as the Trad Home Intern Continued…

Written on June 21, 2011 at 2:59 pm
By Julianne Hilmes

I have been one busy little bee! I’ve been calling, e-mailing, making contact sheets, searching through old issues, and working on slideshows. Not to mention the occasional fun little events I get to attend.

Product previews I’ve been to recently:

Behr Paint: Fun! I’ve always liked color combinations. Plus we got these adorable little cake pops!

Duravit: I had never heard of this company until I went to the product preview, but they had some very cool products. It’s a European-based company and that shows in the designs, but I like the minimalist style very much.  I learned a lot about the new trend in bathrooms – bidets. (Admit it, you’re curious).

HGTV Home Sherwin Williams & Flooring by Shaw: HGTV has teamed up with these two brands to make product lines that work together. It’s a very cool concept. Somebody who might not know much about color or decorating, or maybe someone who does know a lot but just needs a little guidance, can pick from a Sherwin Williams palette of 20 colors and mix and match any of those 20 colors to work in their home AND use the brochure with the color swatches as a guide when out buying other products to furnish the room, including floor cover by Shaw.

Wilton Cake Decorating: Such a fun preview! It was held in the test kitchen, so I automatically loved it. (I love to cook and to bake and may or may not be in love with our beautiful test kitchen). We were all shown new, cute little decorating pieces. Now all I can think about is when I can next bake some cupcakes!

There have been a few more firsts since my last post.

I went to my first Meredith Fitness class. It was a yoga class two weeks ago and I’m going again this evening!

I went to my first over-the-lunch-hour fitness class. It was HardCORE Bootcamp, and it was definitely hardcore. Think giant tires and ropes. It was an awesome class. It kicked my butt. And while I’m still not sure how I feel about the mid-day workout and rinse off and then return to work thing, I’m definitely going again this week.

I went to my first tasting. Oh my gosh was it delicious: trout, shrimp, cream puffs, salad, and cheesecake. All of these menu items were made around a rosemary theme (yum!) and will be featured in our September issue. I highly recommend you make the shrimp (and I’m generally not a shrimp gal).

Nothing too serious on the schedule for the rest of the week, but I’m in the midst of working on four slideshows so that’s probably a good thing. More product previews next week! Stay tuned…

Life as the Trad Home Intern Continued…

Written on June 8, 2011 at 3:49 pm
By Julianne Hilmes

I’m slowly turning my cubicle into my own space. I’ve created a footrest out of the extra recycling bin, (why there were two in my office to begin with I don’t know). I brought in my box of tissues and of course my hand sanitizer – a must for any space I inhabit. And I’ve found a handful of pens that I have deemed my favorites and use on a daily basis.

Assigned tasks are becoming more real. I’ve been given the opportunity to blog (thanks for reading!) as well make slide shows for the website. Last week I was also able to spend time on my first photo shoot. The term “photo shoot” might be a little misleading though; it wasn’t as glamorous as it sounds. There were no models or racks of clothes, but there were racks of fabric, and I certainly enjoyed myself. We photographed fabrics, pillows, dishes, and wine glasses. The most exciting? Infused bourbons for the September issue.

Most of the photo shooting that goes on here happens in a part of the Lower Level: a huge space with concrete floors and really high ceilings, also home to the construction area (for sets), the prop room, and a test kitchen. One day, we were even lucky enough to discover some delicious brie samples in said kitchen. They were reallllly good.

I think the most important part of any internship is the learning experience it provides. So, like any good intern, I will make note of what my experiences have taught me and chronicle it here.

Things I learned on the photo shoot:

· The lower level is a happening place. Who knows what, or who, you will find down there.

· Comfortable shoes are a must. You’re on your feet all day.

· Comfortable clothes are also a must. You never know what you might be lifting, moving, cutting, cleaning, opening, or ironing.

· Speaking of ironing… did you know that all of the fabric samples that get photographed are ironed to perfection? In this case, I was the one doing all of the ironing. I guess those childhood chores paid off. Thanks Mom. (Check out my handiwork in “swatch watch” of the New + Next section of the September issue).

· There are at least 20 different ways to shoot wine glasses.

I still love coming to work every day. I feel especially lucky to have been able to attend both a product preview (five more this month!) and a photo shoot, and I still haven’t had to fetch any coffee! Stay tuned…

The Open Days Directory

Written on June 6, 2011 at 10:59 am
By Julianne Hilmes

There are so many beautiful gardens all across the country, and most of them private spaces. The good news is that some of them are open to the public a few days out of the year thanks to The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program. According to The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Directory, “Since 1995, nearly 3,000 private gardens have participated in Open Days, welcoming close to 1 million visitors.”  How cool!

The Directory, which is put out every year, has a complete listing of the Open Days gardens with descriptions, hours, and directions, categorized by state. The book also includes public gardens.

Unfortunately, there are no Open Days gardens here in Iowa, where I am located. But one garden listing that did catch my eye, and that I could feasibly visit, is Greta’s Cotswold Cottage Garden in Evanston, Illinois. The garden is poetically described in the book as home to a number of plants including roses, hydrangeas, hollyhocks, sweetbay magnolia, and Chinese tree lilacs. Combine all of this with the beautiful backdrop of Evanston neighborhoods, and it’s sure to be a splendid sight to see.

So, if you’re interested in touring any of these beautiful private gardens, pick up a copy! In the meantime, here are the dates for just a few of the Open Days gardens across the country.

1.  Red Mill Farm in Washington, Connecticut, will be open on Saturday, June 11 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

2. The Oakenstone Gardens in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, will be open on Sunday, June 18 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

3. The Cliffmoor Garden in Nantucket, Massachusetts, will be open on Thursday, June 23 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

4. The Gardens at Wandering Tree, “The Glorée & Tryumfant” Garden Railway, in North Barrington, Illinois, will be open on Saturday, June 25 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

5. The Betsey Battistoni Garden in Millbrook, New York, will be open on Saturday, July 16 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

6.  Turkey Hill Farm in Manchester, Vermont, will be open on Saturday, July 23 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

7. The Townsend Cottage Garden in Springfield Center, New York, will be open on Tuesday, July 26 from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.

8. Gordon & Mary Hayward’s Garden in Westminster West, Vermont, will be open on Saturday, August 6 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

9. The Freeman/Byrd Garden in Raleigh, North Carolina, will be open on Saturday, September 17 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Sunday, September 18 from 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.

10. The Camilleri Garden in Fort Worth, Texas, will be open on Sunday, October 9 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

For more information on these, or any other of the Open Days gardens, please go to gardenconservancy.org/opendays or pick up a copy of the 2011 Open Days Directory.

Life as the Trad Home Intern

Written on May 31, 2011 at 11:15 am
By Julianne Hilmes

Since I decided to go into journalism back in high school, it has been a goal of mine to intern at the Meredith Corporation for a summer. When I found out I had been hired to be the summer intern at Traditional Home I was so excited I started crying. Granted, I found out while a tad delirious midway through a 12-page term paper, but I was thrilled nonetheless.

I have only been here for five days, but so far life as an intern has been great! I haven’t even had to get coffee for anyone yet, although honestly, I wouldn’t mind, I’m just thankful for the job. So far I’ve handled a variety of miscellaneous tasks. I’ve made copies and contact sheets and fetched papers from the colored printer. This involves going up and down a flight of stairs quite a few times a day. It’s hardly a big deal, if nothing else it’s a break from sitting at my desk. But I’ll still consider it exercise – especially if I’m wearing heels. I’ve cut, taped and three-hole-punched papers of all sizes – work which I ace thanks to my Montessori training. In addition to these task I have also perused fabrics online, sorted through leather samples, filled out FedEx forms, and even attended my very first product preview!

When I got the job, I knew I would be calling all sorts of people and companies regarding products (which I have done), but other than that I wasn’t sure what to expect. And I still never know what to expect. So far there has been something a little different to do each day and it keeps me busy. I have yet to find myself glancing at the clock wondering how long I have been folding papers or how much longer I have to be here. Certainly that is a good sign. Stay Tuned…