Hi! My name is Ella – a very close to graduating Senior at Pratt Institute. I am coming to my three-month mark with the Garnish team this April, and to say, working as an Intern at Garnish Studios has been quite the ride (a fun one at that!)
When Thi and I first met, it was unlike any other job interview I had previously experienced. In fact, it wasn’t really a job interview at all. Instead we chatted over some chai lattes (something the Garnish team is obsessed with) about Thi’s own career start and the process of how he came about creating a food and beverage content studio.
A few weeks later, Thi invited me to Garnish's 2021 Holiday Party. This was the start of it all, all the chaos🥸. During a long night of karaoke, I kept thinking this was quite the way to meet people that I'd be working with/for in the future. I usually love karaoke but being a classic INFP, my shyness made me hesitant to sing in front of a big group of people – especially since we all just met. But because of the vibes, (definitely not because they screamed “let’s hear the new intern!!!”), I took the mic to sing Umbrella by Rihanna – I had to make people remember my name somehow right?!
There is no typical, we sit down on computers, working, 9-5 kind of day here. It’s always vibing in the studio – with the team, on shoots, and chatting about life. As an Asian American-owned and operated content studio, it already felt like home here. What can be more comforting than sharing a cultural experience with the people you work with?
On my second day in the studio, Thi and Taylor wanted to do a photoshoot of the new Spam T-Shirts (link here to purchase and support). Standing in on a Garnish-branded shoot already on my second day?! Nervous and excited, the shoot went very well, and it felt like an official welcome to the Garnish family.
Sweet Nothings
My very first on-set client work was with Sweet Nothings. I was super stoked, finally seeing all the art decks and pre-production docs coming to life for the first time. Sweet Nothings is a spoonable smoothie-cup brand (looks like ice cream, but it is not!) with fruits, veggies, and all the goodies packed right into a cup. They value simplicity, convenience, and nutrition when it comes to snacking on little treats. Sweet Nothings came to us for new photo content needed with their rebrand that had a variety of bold, vibrant color palettes to work with. We had a prop stylist and a food stylist on set, accentuating the already-beautiful packaging of frozen yogurt cups with momochromatic props and tons of assembled fresh fruit. Also worthy of mention, I debuted my first ever hand-modeling with the Sweet Nothings shoot. Funny enough, Thi and Taylor thought my hands were small enough to look like kids hands (LOL). My hands, it turns out, fit perfectly with their Squeezable Smoothie line. If you scroll through their website and see photos with bright blue nails, that’s me!
Overall, the Sweet Nothings shoot was a perfect example of how a product photoshoot would go, working with a wide range of ingredient props, color palettes/concepts, and a smooth ride through the whole process. This shoot was nothing but sweet!
Thesis
Working on set for Thesis was my personal favorite (I was in love with the the creative direction and propping). Thesis is a nootropics brand that helps to enhance mental performances - for logic, creativity, motivation, energy, clarity, and confidence. Honestly, everything I need for my own mental functioning (🥲). We created clean, cutting-edge photo content for them along with GIFS. Because their branding and packaging is on the more minimal side, there was a lot of flexibility with the creative direction and prop styling. A great range of ingredients to work with as well! The lighting was absolutely *chef’s kiss*, the blend of sterile lab and natural ingredients harmonized beautifully.
The Garnish team has shown me the value of people – the crew, the clients, or whoever you are building a working relationship with. And that work isn’t only about professionalism! Be true to yourself and others, and they will accept that. If there is anything I am taking away from this internship, it would be that.
From the very beginning of when I first grabbed chai lattes with Thi, he welcomed me into his Williamsburg studio with open arms. As a timid, now getting out into the real world college student, I felt grateful for this opportunity and still am (happy, sappy tears).
Thi and Taylor gave me the opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes of Garnish Studios. One could say, I have learned more from them than I have from my own school. They have been mentors, big brother/sister figures, and friends that I will keep close to my heart as I throw myself into the very scary, very real adult world. Enough of the sappy, cheesy ending, thank you Garnish Studios for an unforgettable internship experience! :’)
And to be continued!!!
