05 Apr 2016

Taylor-Jane is a Visual Merchandiser we’ve been following on Instagram for a while. We knew we had to know how the heck she got into the industry because her shots looked fire. Visual Merch is all about floor plans and displays that ultimately encourage the consumer to buy something, or to spark a particular emotion in an attendee. In other words, she make things look bloody amazing! Let’s find out how to get there…

What does an average day in the office/on the field look like?

An average day in the office is pretty casual, we all dress how we would if we were going out to lunch with friends on a weekend. We usually listen to Triple J however somedays we put on old school salt ‘n’ pepa and some Madonna vibes.

If you ask the person next to you a question you will generally get two or three responses. We all sit with one ear open and love to put our two cents in whether it be work related or personal. There’s only 10 of us so it’s hard not to get along and overhear one another.

What did you do to get where you are?

I was sitting at my office desk in Sydney–(straight out of Year 12) and I hated my job. On my way to work the following day I walked past Sportsgirl and a chick was VM’ing in the window. I asked what she’s doing, she told me, I Googled, I found a course and its last day for enrolment was that day. I did all of the paperwork that afternoon, left work at 5pm on the dot and ran to the closest post office by 5.30pm to hand in my enrolment forms (It was the last day, I finished at 5, they closed at 5.30.. so I took it all as a sign, as you do). The following day put my resignation letter in and gave my four weeks notice.

Then began my two years of a Diploma Visual merchandising course at TAFE, and that’s where it actually started. Since then I’ve worked my ass off and this year was offered a Full Time position as an Art Director at Team Event.

What do you love about your job?

The main thing I hated about my corporate job was being stuck in a glass box overlooking amazing views of the Harbour from Jones Bay Wharf.. Haha, no but really, that was my situation, but it wasn’t as great as it sounds. I was on a level of the building by myself at a big lonely desk with no friends to play with and hardly no work to do and I was bored out of my brain.

Team Event is literally the opposite of this scenario.

I have people around me all day every day and we all engage and work as a team to produce amazing events. Like, I design events! The exposure is great–I go to venues I would have never otherwise been to and I’m able to produce extraordinary displays with budgets I could only dream of having.I love being able to be proud of what I’m doing and what I’ve done thus far, and seeing my family be so proud of me as well.

What is the most challenging component of your job?

It’s pretty hard work at times. I think the most challenging can be working to a budget, some of the events have a rather ‘healthy’ budget to work with, others, well, not so healthy… and it can be difficult trying to find that balance of making it look amazing for such a small budget. My colleague Erin is really gun at nailing any budget you give her. I’m still learning how to go from an large budget one event to a small budget the next.

And I think the workload, it can be demanding during particular months as a lot of work can happen to fall over a bundle of four weeks in a row as an example, so it’s hard to find time for myself during the busy periods. I really want to get myself into a routine of going to the gym three days out of the week but I find it difficult to stick to routine while not working the regular 9–5 job (which I prefer not to be working a standard 9–5 anyhow, as mentioned in previous answers, I was bored of that environment!)

It’s great to know no matter how challenging or demanding it may get we all have one another’s back. You’re never alone working an event so there’s never any sourness from me working a weekend or working back late and so on.

Is the industry competitive, if so why and how did you navigate it?

Super competitive, we recently had one of our Event Managers resign (she’s getting married and wants to pursue freelance options), and have had an epic amount of applicants–even overseas students asking for unpaid work! I think that alone is a good indication of its competitiveness!

What are some common misconceptions about your job?

I think that a lot of people don’t ‘get’ it, some friends think I work too hard. Or sometimes it’s the opposite and people think I just sit on Pinterest all day making a few mood boards and then go put a pretty event together.

The job is a lot more than that, a few things I will ‘manage’ per job includes schedules, booking crew, client meetings, quotes from suppliers, floorplans, liasing with the venue, being onsite for multiple days in the temperamental weather, and just generally trying to have all of the knowledge in your head of what is going on. Thankfully we have things such as the production schedule to rely on!

It’s fun and I love it, but that’s the secret.. If you don’t love it and don’t enjoy it, you’ll probably drown in it, I think I’ve been lucky so far to find myself in my role at my age when I’m still ‘hungry’ and eager to prove myself!

Final thoughts? Where do you see yourself in ten years?

I hope to still be in industry, I do know that for certain. However, it could go either way. I could decide I’m obsessed with moving overseas and doing events there or something alike, or I could be set on teaching VM or something at Tafe because in all honesty I couldn’t see myself with this job and a family, it’s too demanding. Otherwise, the support and the community that comes with VM is invaluable and I fully encourage entering the industry if you’re creative and love working as a part of a team!