biography This young inspired-by-culture twenty-something year old started developing her own personal style after her six years of a uniform based private school. She is detail oriented, and is a bit obsessed with perfection. She went to study fashion and retail management at a new local art college in Downtown Charleston where she learned branding and marketing. In the few years she was at the Art Institute she excelled in her studies and opened herself up to any opportunity in the community. Only capable of basic sewing techniques, she created a burlap entry for a design competition noticed by The Humane Society that placed third nationally. Her design aesthetic is a resourceful and enterprising. The culturally inspired textiles spotlight print innovation and industrialization. During a Parisian expedition, she was charged with a fixation that gave her an intriguing outlook on Parisian street style. Stimulated by life, Monique Araujo continues to adventure around the world and design for the people that roam it.
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table of contents resumĂŠ
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schoolwork: the art institute of charleston business plan apparel construction public relations tech pack sales promotion fashion illustration aiq event promotion
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study
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abroad: citĂŠ universitaire the guide trends & concepts the blog
internships escapada living rw+ss
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freelance vent magazine mew designs
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design competitions hsus competition 2010 hsus competition 2011
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Education
The Art Institute of Charleston, Charleston, SC Cumulative Grade Point Average 3.85 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion and Retail Management, expected Spring 2012 + President’s List, 4.0 Grade Point Average, Fall 2010 + Art Institute Best of the Quarter, Summer 2010 + Tutor at The Academic Achievement Center, Winter 2009- Winter 2010
Work Experience
Rogue Wave Surf Shop
Digital Media Intern Charleston, SC
August 2011- Present + Design promotional flyers for events and link them to all forms of social medias + Photographing new pieces and store alterations to blog and update website + Conceptualizing visual displays for sales floor to increase consumer activity
Francesca’s Collections
Sales Associate
Escapada Living
Design Intern
Mt. Pleasant, SC November 2011- Present + Prepare new shipment for the floor & introduce the latest trends to customers + Interact and build customer relationships to create increases in sales + Organize and complete assigned tasks for the day
Isle of Palms, SC January 2011- March 2011 + Created trend boards for Spring & PreFall 2011 to influence new season’s line + Organized the shipment by keeping Inventory Information up to date + Completed orders by packing items for buyers based off of cut sheets
Target
Dressing Room Associate & Cashier Mt. Pleasant, SC 2008-2009 + Organized and kept sales floor looking fresh and accessible for the customers + Managed the dressing room to keep shortage minimal + Switched roles to cashier when customers flooded the store
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Joe’s Garage Customer Service Personnel Mt. Pleasant, SC + Added new customers & vehicle information into database to increase client list + Communicated with head technician and placed part orders for car repairs + Performed secretariat duties in the office
Fashion
Art Institute of Charleston Student Ambassador Art Institute Quarterly, Stylist, Writer and Model MODE Fashion Club, Public Relations VENT Magazine, Production Director & Founder MEW Designs, Freelance Spec Designs SC Style Workshop, Backstage Volunteer Sale Soiree, Backstage Volunteer
2005-2008
August 2010- June 2012 January 2010-June 2010 October 2009-February 2010 June 2010-December 2010 August 2011 January 2010 January 2010
Skills
Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Apple Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Issuu, Tumblr, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, In Design, public speaking, basic sewing, proficient on Mac and PC platforms for both desktop and handheld devices, and access to multiple fashion resources, various social media outlets and third party applications
Honors and Awards
The Humane Society’s Cool vs. Cruel Design Competition, Local Winner, Fall 2011 The HSUS Cool vs. Cruel Design Competition, Third Place Winner, Fall 2010 The Art Institute Summer Workshop Scholarship, Summer 2008
References
Available Upon Request
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business plan In my business plan I have attached seperately is a thorough: +executive summary +market analysis +competitive & SWOT analysis +goals and objectives +specific activities +implementation & control
+situational analysis +mission statement +marketing strategy +product & brand positioning +budget summary +budget & store layout
The store that was created for this business ownership course was inspired by the emerging designers and reside locally, yet struggle to make it. The store Mona is an outlet for the southeast’s emerging designers and encourages them to exhibit their creations in Mona . By being showcased in Mona , the designer would benefit from not only exposure to the high end King Street location, but also an online presence including an inspirational look book, and promotional strategy to develop the designer’s clientele.
Mona is a small boutique located on King Street that offers Charleston a taste of new and fashionable garments created by fresh emerging designers trying to make thier mark in the fashion world. Mona loves all different styles and welcomes all to join us at our Grand Opening and Trunk Show on
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010. Come and recieve a
complementary gift bag and 10% discount on first purchases. To learn more about Mona, visit our website at
shopmona.com
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apparel construction The course, Apparel Construction and Evaluation , consisted of learning what it takes to be a creative director, designer, and work on a design team. In this class, we were grouped into three, and each chose a theme or inspiration for a collection. We collaborated within the group to develop a mood board, line and specs. The theme a fellow classmate chose was inspired by a gothic, almost steam-punk girl, who’s materials of choice would be tulle, chain, leather and tassels. I went with a color scheme of a dark burgundy with hints of metallic. The mood board and the specs are combined onto one board on this project for a eye-appealing visual that tells the story and animates the line.
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public relations Press Release
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The Mechanic’s Daughter Charleston, SC Monique Araujo, Owner and Designer themechanicsdaughter@gmail.com TMD + IOU Monique Araujo It’s happening! The Mechanic’s Daughter has recently spoken with the founders of The IOU Project to collaborate on a new project that will benefit weavers in India, artisans across the globe, and you. The Mechanic’s Daughter is a womens RTW and accessory line launched in the Lowcountry in June of 2012. Monique Araujo, head designer and local, has researched The IOU Project and made contact to do a future collaboration and design for their artisan-friendly cause. The launch of this new collection will be on March 30th, 2011, the last Friday of the month. It’s purpose is to bring awareness to the Charleston region about the IOU Project, and support the local designer, Monique Araujo. The party will be hosted at TIvoli Studios on King St. in Downtown Charleston, food and drink will be supplied by Bull Street Gourmet, and music provided by JeffET and Stumble. Come out, support this emerging designer, and learn a about the future of the fashion industry. For more information go on themechanicsdaughter.net. ###
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The Budget Outline Location Tivoli Studios Catering/Drink Bull Street Gourmet Live Music JeffET+Stumble Advertising City Paper CFW Takeaways Promotion Facebook Twitter Informative Film Lookbook
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$1000 $900 $300 $0 $500 $0 $0 $250 $2950
tech pack This Tech pack was made for Apparel Construction and Evaluation . The purpose of the course was to create a packet of mood boards, designs, fabric swatches, ID numbers, specs and a budget for a manufacturer to produce the proposed plan. The group decided on ALDO as the client, and based off of the trends presented in our research for Autumn Winter 2012, our theme was influenced by Fairytales. The storyboard is best described as a contemporary Grimm story recreation. With the inspiration from the infamous Grimm stories, fabric swatches were chosen based on animal like qualities and expensive taste. From suedes to faux alligator skin, the fabric mood-board ranges in prices and textures to best fit the many diverse clients that shop at ALDO .
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From throwing ideas around to putting final sketches together with the help of Illustrator and InDesign, working with a team was adventurous and I learned a lot about my teammates. A lot of work was involved in the making of this entire publication. Starting with a cohesive typography based layout and adding scanned fabric samples as final touches, this took well over 20 hours to complete.
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To wrap the entire presentation together and make it available for future access, I uploaded the document to issuu.com, a free digital publishing website. You can check out the full publication at:http://issuu.com/ themechanicsdaughter/docs/productdevelopmentfinal
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sales promotion In Sales Event & Promotion we were required to pick a brand or designer, analyze their strategy and market them to their targeted audience by creating an event for them. The designer I chose was the ever-inspiring Jamie Lin Snider. Upon researching her foundation, I learned her story, and cyber-stalked her for quite a while. Her uncommon designs and egyptian influence on the S/S 2011 collection inspired a new logo I created for her, following a proposal for marketing her brand. Her previous ways of marketing herself included online resources like her website, tumblr, lookbook.nu, and ModelMayhem. For this particular assignment I created a few advertising proposals for her, and an event. Today, Jamie Lin has her own shop featuring the best vintage, her own collections and is located on 539 King St, Downtown Charleston. She has events every month at her shop to roll in the customers with the help of live music, vintage sales, and good times. She calls this series First Fridays .
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fashion illustration The following illustration was a piece done for the milliner of the South, Leigh Magar. Her incredible craftsmanship and dedication to these whimsical hats has really shown through her timeless pieces of art. In fashion illustration, I learned how to use many mediums and how to use them properly to illustrate and design a mood . The texture of Magar’s cocktail hat was feathery and full. After applying a thin coat of pink watercolor on the paper, I chose to coat ripped pieces of cardstock with acrylic and thickly coat the paint over the entire piece.
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ai quarterly Upon starting at the Art Institute of Charleston, I started working on the school magazine staff. The quarterly issued AIQ was a magazine made by students for the students. The first contribution I made to AIQ was modeling in a Sarah Maxwell photo shoot taken by Cyle Suesz. After which I wrote for the Quarterly and eventually became the Style Editor where I began writing, creating photo-shoots and attending Charleston Fashion Week to report on trends. It was a great year with the Quarterly , but with the Editor-in-Chief graduating, the magazine came to an end.
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event production The TROUBADOUR collection is a reflection of Lindsey Carter’s own Southern upbringing and her ability to fuse her life experiences into an iconic brand. Gaining inspiration from the three major influences in her life; the South, the City, and the Sea, Troubadour represents the girl who has come into her own effortless style; a reckless preppy with a twist of edge. Her style projects inspired femininity and confidence, equally at home on the Bowery as she is on a porch in the South.
Troubadour is best defined as effortless style mixed with reckless prep. Charleston Fashion Week featured Troubadour in 2011, and I had the opportunity to work along side Lindsey Carter, and stylist, Mike Grady, to get ready backstage for the presentation on the runway. There were garments to steam, shorts to pin, hems to finish, bows to starch and models to order in line of appearance. It was a lot of running, prepping, dressing and fun. The result was magnificent and I am very proud to have aided Lindsey in the production of this show.
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the guide Upon Studying abroad at the Cite Universitaire in Paris, France, I took a course called Special Topics , in which we were assigned as a group to scout out the ‘best of’ places in Paris. Shopping, eating and touring were the major features in this Travel Guide for anyone who desires to see the best places in just a few days trip. Being the most skilled in InDesign out of the bunch, I took it upon myself to create the layout of the entire guide and publish it on issuu.com once it was completed. you can visit THE GUIDE +PARIS EDITION at: issuu.com/themechanicsdaughter/docs/theguide
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trends & concepts Studying abroad in France’s fashion capital was such an enriching experience. Touring manufacturing plants in Milan, tradeshows across the city and the house of Rabih Kayrouz was all so inspiring. My professor asked for us to study the underground culture, explore the street, and find a trickling-up trend that will lead fashion into Fall/Winter 2011. I chose the letterman jacket. With my research I was asked to create a presentation of the trends history and predict the future of it.
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Studying abroad in France’s fashion capital was such an enriching experience. Touring manufacturing plants in Milan, tradeshows across the city and a designer’s house was all so inspiring. My proffessor asked for us to study the underground culture, explore the street, and find a trickling-up trend that will lead fashion into Fall/Winter 2011. I chose the letterman jacket. With my research I was also asked to create a presentation of the trends history and predict the future of it.
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One of our many excursions included a trip to Milan, Italy where we saw the ‘touristy’ scene including the D’uomo and Michaelangelo’s Last Supper. Around all of this I street styled my colleagues and took the color story that arose to a mood and color board.
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the blog In between classes and tours, my favorite thing about studying abroad was exploring the hidden treasures of Paris. Stuff you don’t find on a postcard, and places you didn’t think existed. Belleville, the new Paris, picnics in parks, café side adventures and contemporary museums. Through the lens of my Canon Rebel I took on Paris with an open eye and a love for Parisians and the culture they’ve made. www.themechanicsdaughter.tumblr.com
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escapada living Escapada is a Charleston, South Carolina based lifestyle brand created in 2009 by its Founder and Creative Director, Natalia Castillo, embracing her own passion for global travel through visionary designs for the modern woman. Escapada considers themselves a must-have in beach and resortwear- relaxed, yet vibrant and.a true lifestyle brand that includes both clothing and accessories. Escapada Resort and Beachwear is carried in over 900 boutiques and resorts throughout the US and many luxury resorts throughout the Caribbean, Mexico, and Tahiti. At Escapada , it was my responsibility as an intern to provide sales support doing cold calls, organizing and maintaining inventory for back stock, packaging and shipping both individual and wholesale orders . This was a unique and fast-paced environment due to the nature of the line being resort which services clientele year round with approximately 5 collections per year. I was asked to create a trend forecast for the Pre-Fall 2011 Collection which is featured to the right. It was interesting to learn that learn that the Resort Industry’s traditional clientele and lifestyle does not cater to trends.
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rw+ss Rogue Wave Surf Shop is a gathering of friends celebrating life and style on land and sea. RW+SS specializes in new and vintage surfboards, skateboards, clothing and accessories, creating the region’s most unique surf shop with high quality and hard to find fashions and equipment. Rogue Wave stocks limited production and one-of -a-kind clothing and handmade goods from folks like Imogene + Willie, W Durable Goods, Apolis Denim, and many more. Simply, Rogue Wave ‘Gentleman’s Surf Shop’.
Surf
Shop
is
the
In August of 2011, I began a 10 month media/ merchandising internship on 69 Spring Street. Collaborating with owner, Rhett Boyd, during my time at RW+SS both myself and the company experienced a great amount of growth. Leaving the internship, I was asked to make some adjustments on old work shirts making them unique and completely encompassing the RW+SS vibe. You can now purchase RWSS+TMD Reinvented Vintage at Rogue Wave Surf Shop , while supplies last.
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vent magazine After working at AI Quarterly , the magazine dissolved and, a few colleagues and myself created a new progressive magazine that was targeted to the South East, and the first city we uncovered was Charleston. With the help of friend, Cyle Suesz, we brainstormed a foundation of the magazine over a late Spring Break night. Our goal was to show readers the happenings of Charleston and the new whos-who of the south east. VENT magazine covered music, art, photography, culture, fashion and other progressive movements of the South. As the co-founder of this magazine I also served as the Fashion Editor and Production Director. After one issue, several contributors went their separate ways, and so did I. This magazine only produced two issues, but with the support from our local community, VENT made an impact on the Charleston fashion scene. Some of the featured artists that were shown in VENT include Electric Friends, Jahn Hall, Mary Norton, Sarah Maxwell, Jamie Lin Snider, Anna Lassiter, Timothy Pakron and Des’ole Gunter. The entire premier issue is available at: http://issuu.com/ventmagazine/docs/ventissuuforreal
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mew designs A lover of classic Rock ‘n Roll T-shirts, Megan Waldrep launched her first collection, Mew Design , during her Junior year at the great University of South Carolina. The women’s collection featured reworked vintage T-shirts and became a hit, selling out in boutiques around the country. With an established business and reputation for badass style, Megan was ready for her foray into developing a full collection to express her new found maturity and outlook on fashion with, Mew . She has since launched a children’s line, Little Rocker Threads by Mew to continue to spread her love of vintage T’s. Adding published author to her list of accomplishments, Megan is co-author of the children’s book, Spice and Little Sugar , with Melissa Nelson, further expanding herself and Mew into a lifestyle brand. Upon finishing her collection and presenting it at Charlotte Fashion Week 2011, Meghan Waldrep asked if I could complete spec illustrations for her line. With in a short amount of time, I was able to complete hand sketches along with illustrator traces resulting in detailed illustrations.
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hsus competition 2010 The Humane Society of the United States organized the Cool vs. Cruel Competition to challenge students of The Art Institutes to reinterpret and improve a runway look that uses animal fur by creatively replacing it with cruelty-free alternatives. For inspiration in the 2010 competition, I looked upon Thakoon‘s Fall 2010 draped mixed fur ensemble. I found the multiple textures quite intriguing, and it led me to go out and buy fabrics to manipulate myself. Some of these fabrics I used were many shades of burlap and a dense cotton rope. Pulling threads out, and tearing fibers apart, was a messy and long process. But, I noticed that I chose a theme of organic materials and continued with it. I later bought jute rope, which is similar to hemp and is what I used mostly for the applique on the cape. I made easy-to-sew tufts out of the jute, shredded strips of burlap to add to the back, and bundled sections of cotton along the seam of the shoulder. The draped collar on the front was designed to give an illusion of draping similar to Thakoon’s coat. The dress was simply to add a shape to the textured cape. Reinforced by tulle, the dress widens at the bottom to incorporate a whimsical sense to the entire look. After winning in the local competition, my burlap piece placed third nationally, and I was flown up to NY with Lynne Riding, the Department Chair of Fashion and Retail Management at the Art Institute of Charleston for the Award Ceremony at the Bowery Hotel.
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hsus competition 2011 My design for Cool Versus Cruel 2011 was inspired by the late Alexander McQueen ’s baby blue piece with fur trimmings on the skirt and a detailed neckline to pair with it. The blue inspired me this go around to dare into the world of dyes. For my recreation of this garment I decided to mix the texture of different eco-textiles such as raw cotton and bamboo jersey with an ombre blue hue. Finding the fabric was a challenge for me, driving up the south east, to Gastonia, NC, I found a warehouse of a fabric store containing a beautiful, soft, bamboo jersey, that I automatically fell in love with. The sketching process was a long one, but I was inspired mostly by a recent DIY I did this past Spring and the draping it gave. The DIY consisted on shredding fabrics until it was just hanging together by threads. The shredding was a long process, but the most important part of it was getting the ombre dye just right before moving on to that process. I enjoyed the dye process so much I started to dye the cotton rope to see how the fibers would grab to the color. It’s grainy consistency made for an interesting texture in addition to the garment. I am very inspired by the process and development of textiles. And together, I think that the garment has a very earth bound variable with a modern textile influence. This design is now touring in an Art Institute Exhibition across the nation for its local win.
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