Ruth George has always had a passion for fashion and since owning her own Boutique she has been offering like-minded students the opportunity to put theory to practice by giving them an insight into her workplace.
Ruth, who owns a fashion boutique in Edinburgh called Eden, has now had six students from Robert Gordon University (RGU) undertake working placements in her store.
Having previously studied Fashion Design and Manufacture, Ruth did a short placement as part of her course which was something she really enjoyed and she wants to be able to give fashion students an insight into working in the industry.
She said: “From a personal point of view I think it is important to be able for the students to have an opportunity like this, so they are able to put their theory learned through their studies into practice within a working environment.
“As Eden is a small independent business, it is able to offer practical experience in a wide range of areas within the business in tasks such as managing our social media presence, website, sales and marketing projects and buying trips to suppliers.
“Over the years I have had students from RGU’s Fashion Management course plus international students from Holland and France too.
“It’s a beneficial experience to both parties, bringing a fresh pair of eyes into the business looking at practises in different ways.”
Karen Morgan, a third year Fashion Management student at RGU’s Aberdeen Business School, is currently on placement at Eden.
She said: “I am enjoying my placement, learning lots of new things and gaining new experiences.”
Her role involves marketing, social media, customer service, assisting with buying appointments, window displays, uploading new products to the Eden website, exploring new social media platforms and steaming new products. She is also working on a blog once a week and a monthly newsletter called the Eden Edit.
Karen, who is from Aberdeen, has enjoyed living in a new city as part of her placement and has been trying to experience as much as possible.
She said: “I attended a number of events during Edinburgh Fashion Week. I went to two fashion shows and two styling shows. I attended the St Andrews fashion show when Eden provided eight outfits for the show, I then provided transport for taking the clothes back to Edinburgh.
“We donated clothes from the shop to Smart Works Edinburgh, this charity offers clothes for interviews for people who are starting their career. We have hosted two late night shopping events with drinks, snacks and special offers. I was included in a PR meeting with Business Gateway about ideas for the future of Eden. I wrote a press release about a new innovative product for the Stockbridge Edinburgh website and I wrote a new business page about Eden for the directory.
“We launched the Eden Edit which is a monthly newsletter and the social media platforms are ongoing.
“I would recommend doing a placement because I can use the knowledge that I have learnt from university and use them in the real working world.
“It is also a good experience to have on my CV and it is a good chance to visit new places and meet new people.”
More information about Eden can be found at https://www.edenretail.co.uk/