An internship in London with designer Neishaa Gharat. How my unexpected experience-driven journey started

Will she make it or not? Let’s see about that.

Let me start somewhere. Denmark, weather as usual: rain, heavy wind and you are sitting at your room thinking about the future. Your school is pushing you to finish findings regarding internship, but you are not happy. Why? It is simple. I am the person with high expectations, a person with a personality to go for what she believes in and what she really want. Since the beginning of searching for my dream internship, I knew what I really wanted. I knew that the best place that I could picture myself live in and gain experience will be London. It is an amazing city with a lot of opportunities and different cultures which is something that I am interested in. Moreover, I am passionate about traveling, exploring new places, meeting new people, learning about new cultures and facing new challenges, hand in hand with my beliefs, it will lead me to fight for my destiny. My close friends, family, and people around me tried to talk to me and convince me that London will be bad and complicated choice. I did not listen to anyone and I stuck with my dream.

There was a time when I lost my will and I could feel that the lack of responses from companies and huge competition in the city was hitting me hard. London is a place where you can basically find everything, everywhere is filled up with so many people. That affected me for some time while looking for my dream internship because I was aware of great, talented and more experienced people in London fighting for the same position as I am. My biggest disadvantage was the fact that I am a student from Denmark, not in the UK.

New Hope

After not hearing any responses from internships in London, I began plan B which was to look for internships in another country. Suddenly, I received a response from a company in Germany and time was ticking. I had to make an important decision, should I sign a contract in Germany to be secure and focus on education more, or should I go for what I really want in my life? I am a person with a tendency to fight for what I believe in and I do not give up, so I sent the very last application to a company in London, called House of Gharats. It is a company where I could see a clear and interesting message to the world. I could also see a connection between an extraordinary designer, nature, sustainable fashion and the products being created. I do not know how to explain this, but I felt this is the right place to be. I decided to send my last application here and I was ready to wait and risk my “secure option”.

Two days to the deadline and I am still waiting for the response from House of Gharats, I am checking my phone every minute and not focusing on anything else, I am just waiting. (I hate waiting :D) Nothing…..Okay, I said. I must go with what I have, time is up. This whole situation reminded me of a cliché in a Hollywood movie, It was like I am holding a pen and almost signing the contract with the German company. However, out of nowhere, I received an email from Neishaa Gharat, that name was in my head for a very long time. Neishaa said in the email “I would love to have an interview with you”. I can not explain how I felt, but it was an amazing feeling and I was ready to fight for this position in House of Gharats. We set up the date & time for the interview and I was looking forward to talking about everything that I want to bring to the company.

An Unexpected Close Friendship with my Boss

Before the interview, I was a little bit stressed because my future was hanging on presenting myself well to the interviewer. After a few seconds of talking with her, I felt the connection and a very very good energy between us; I could talk freely and without any stress. The interview was very open and friendly, I felt like I was talking to a close friend, I loved it. When we finished, I was excited and ready to see what will happen next. However, I knew it will not be easy to get this position. A few minutes after the interview ended, I received an email with a task, Neishaa wanted to see how I can handle work under pressure. It was an amazing moment when I realised that it is all in my hands now, I can get this position and in the city of my dreams. A few days later it was real, the contract was signed, my internship experience at House of Gharats started and both sides were ready and happy to collaborate. My school approved everything, and I can start with serious plans to move to the UK.

Escape from the reality

After a long semester, a stressful period where I was alone and thinking about what I really want to do with my life, I needed a break. My best friend Agnes (a beautiful Kenyan woman) asked me to go with her back home in December (Christmas/New Year) to see her home and find out more about her culture. I was grateful, and I could not believe that it is all happening. Having an internship experience in House of Gharats London as well as going to Africa for the first time in my life and with my best friend. Both destinations really mean something to me and they are close to my heart. As I said before travelling and exploring new places is something that you have to do to become a more open-minded person and it makes you understand the world much more. This was the reason why I was not thinking about money; I was not thinking about practical issues, such as the stressful period when I will be coming home and going straight away to London. I just closed my eyes, forgot about reality, tried to enjoy the moment there in Kenya, go back home with a fresh mind and be ready to change my future.

It was maybe 3 days before Christmas and I found a missed call from my boss, Neishaa. When I first saw the missed call, I felt stressed. I didn’t know what was going on, I had a lot of pessimistic thoughts and questions in my head like “What if she doesn’t want me anymore, what if something bad happened, what if…”, the only way to find out was to call her. To my surprise, it was just a friendly call, it was really nice to hear that someone who I have never met before in person was calling just to make sure I am okay. While I was in Kenya, we were in touch and I was very happy that I could share my moments there with my amazing boss.

Bye bye student life. Welcome to the adult world.

My journey in Kenya had to come to an end, it was time to say bye to my friends and go ahead with my next journey in life. On the 11^th of January, I arrived at the airport in Denmark. On the 12^th of January, I was at Stansted Airport (in London) with the future in my hands. How fast can everything change right? Time is unstoppable and it is just up to you on how you will spend it. I decided to go through a new direction and start something special, thanks to House of Gharats I am here and I am living my dream.

My life working in House of Gharats

Time flies. It has already been one month after I started working with the best creative designer who is beautiful, talented, empathic, carrying and an open-minded soul. Since our first meeting, I feel like Neishaa is my friend, not only my boss. I feel like anytime I have a problem, I can talk to her and we can find a solution, no matter what. Being here without my family and friends is sometimes hard, but as the first thing that Neishaa told me “We are here, we are like your family, remember that so that no matter what happens we will always help”. These words touched my heart and opened a new chapter in my journey.

My first priority when working somewhere new is to be familiar and comfortable with the work environment, that was not difficult at all, seeing that House Of Gharats’ office is a small and cosy studio in a quiet area in the often loud and busy London.

The second important thing was getting in touch with the real and luxury silk scarves because seeing them on the website I thought they were beautiful but having them in my hands and seeing them in a real life was awesome; the details, quality and the designs are just amazing, they are something that scarfs lovers will always cherish. Finally, the third priorities were to familiarise myself with how the company works, what will be my main responsibilities, what is mine and Neishaa’s expectations and how can we deliver the best results together. As a Marketing & Communication intern, I started to understand what our main strategy is; how we will use social media to promote our products and how we can grow our audience. Furthermore, I have tried to do my best with delivering my observations, new ideas and strategies. Honestly, sometimes I do not feel like I am working because I enjoy every part of my work, every day is different, I am constantly facing new and exciting challenges. One of the biggest challenges I faced was Valentine’s Day, we decided to do a campaign which was one great experience for me. Moreover, this is just the beginning, I can not wait for what is waiting for me in the next upcoming 5 months. One thing that I am afraid of is that my internship experience at House of Gharats will go very fast and saying goodbye to these wonderful people will be heart-breaking, this is because I already feel like I belong here and I am a part of this small family.

End of Chapter one

In the near future, this beautiful, rich and environmentally-friendly brand will get back more than they put in: LOVE, EFFORT, CREATIVITY, POSITIVITY, WILL, OPTIMISM and much more.