Let’s be honest, it isn’t everyday a person hears about a college kid casually headed to China for the summer, let alone a twenty-year-old blonde. So naturally, It’s the first question I am always asked when I talk about my summer in Shanghai.
Answering the question Why China is easy. With so much media buzz about the “New Rise of China”, its 3,000 year old history, and reputation for good frozen yogurt, what’s not to love? As a college kid concerned about the U.S jobs market, China was also a huge point of curiosity. It started in November, when midterms began to bear down on my schedule and my mind began to wander back to summer. I told my mom that I wanted to go to China, and I was met with my first obstacle. “You can go to China when you figure out a way to finance it.”
At first I couldn’t imagine how I could possibly raise enough money, but after applying for a grant and landing a less than minimum wage internship, all that was left was a plane ticket. Six months later, I tried to contain my nerves as I flew across the ocean to China, completely alone.
I really had no idea what to expect in my internship. I was hired as the international intern for a design firm in Shanghai called China Bridge, and about as confused as the next person as to what on earth a history major could offer a design firm in China. That is, until the president of the company asked me to help develop a strategy for marketing their design awards on western social media. My first task was to create accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn as well as design a company blog. My second task was to generate new and different content to tweet and blog about each day. At first, I found myself completely out of my element. Not only was I a newbie to the China scene, but targeting the Shanghai creative community seemed an insurmountable task.
I began to email and contact designers who would be willing to talk about the design industry in Shanghai as well as their own design philosophy. Slowly but surely, a blank webpage and twitter feed burst into a lively platform of designer discussion and insight into the Shanghai creative scene.
I began to settle into my life in Shanghai. In the afternoons I rode my bike through the French concession visiting concept design stores and boutiques, always working to keep myself plugged into the community. I was more than happy to offer my insight to Noblivity®.
Together we worked to connect Noblivity with cutting edge emerging designers in Shanghai, a city rapidly becoming a hub for international fashion.
As a Downtown Chicago native, I never thought I would find myself running a social media campaign in China, in frequent contact with fashion designers, but I learned that life can take you to crazy places, and its up to you to find the opportunities in each experience.
