Friday, February 1, 2008

The Best Assistants

Yesterday, was the last day for my assistant D. She's moving on to enrich her fashion career. I think this is a good move and I fully support her in this. She's been with me for 3 years. Like my previous assistant Karen, she came over from the Kris + Cris Shoes store when we opened Tru Drama. I've had 2 assistants since my second store and both of them have been invaluable.

The assistant position isn't the same as a store assistant manager. Although at times they've been both. They're really a rare blend of "can do" attitude, brains, maturity and of course fashion ability. My first assistant Karen has moved to Toronto to work in finance. In my last visit to Toronto we had gotten together for drinks and lunch. I'm glad to say she's on the path to mega bucks even though her career is sucking her soul dry. She misses fashion!

D is embarking on a similar one I had made at her age. Trying to make it in fashion. She's got all the right tools to be successful. I hope she finds herself in the right companies that will recognize and nurture her star talents. I'm certain one day I'm going to be talking to a young fresh faced assistant about D, "Yeah I knew her when..."

My assistants are my in-store confidantes, travel mates and fashion buyers. The first time me and D attended our first Vegas show was a great experience. We came back home with our bags packed to the brim with free giveaways from suppliers. Not much can beat free things! The very best times have been sharing meals with them. I've had the pleasure of introducing two "must haves" in LA to them. Homemade Tiramisu at Al Gelato on Robertson and Shin-Sen-Gumi Yakitori in Torrance. The "O" faces we would make while eating would be near pornographic.

It's been an honour to share fashion and food with these two great girls!