Bambi’s intern - My year in The Den

Hey everyone, if you don’t know me already I’m Kathryn and I’ve been working here at Bambi’s Den for around a year now! Before I get started talking about all the amazing experiences of this past year, I’d first like to take you back to the very beginning as I guess you could say I really am a day 1 fan.

It was September 2017, when I first had the pleasure of meeting and modelling for Leren. I was a 16 year old, just about to start college and I was passionate about photography and fashion. Myself and Leren were introduced through a mutual friend, Leren invited me to model for her new brand…Bambi’s Den. I had so much fun modelling the funky clothes and having glitter on my face and having a laugh with the girls, something sparked in me that day that I thought one day I would love to do that with my career. Over the years following that initial shoot, I was so grateful to be asked back to model for Leren again as she released new items and expanded Bambi’s Den even further.

Then in July 2021, I walked into Friargate Alterations on possibly one of the hottest days that year, and was met with two lovely smiling faces hidden behind sewing machines – Elise and Leren. I had made the decision that I wanted to take a year out of studying Fashion Marketing at University in Leeds, and take on the challenge of a year in industry on placement. I wanted to push myself, gain experience but most importantly, learn from someone who’s work ethic and morals I genuinely admired, so who better and where better to do a year of work than at Bambi’s Den?!

My journey as an intern officially began in September, but my first real day was Friar Fest on 1st August 2021. Talk about jumping in at the deep end, what a way to see Bambi’s Den in all its glory! Getting to meet all the amazing people who support Leren & Elise as well as taking pictures and videos for social media. We had tote bag painting, yoga and meditation and so much more. That day was so special to me and made me even more excited to begin my journey with Bambi’s Den.

In September I was able to begin my role working 2 days a week as Bambi’s Den’s intern. When I first started I was scheduling social media posts and slowly getting to grips with the world of website design. Within a month or two I was assisting with website updates, blog posts and email marketing as well as helping to design seasonal branding for social media and the website. By December I was finally feeling confident in my work for The Den, I enjoyed having access to the social media platforms which meant I was interacting with followers and helping to enhance our engagement. Commenting on posts and seeing what others were doing helped to inspire my own ideas that I wanted to bring to The Den. I also was pattern cutting and prepping various items such as bucket hats, dungarees and co-ords.

It would be wrong to write an entire blog post without including a whole paragraph dedicated solely to TikTok. I said to Leren right at the beginning of my placement that Bambi’s Den NEEDED (!) to get onto TikTok, that it was a growing platform, super easy and fun to use and would really benefit the business. Leren was entirely behind me creating an account and starting to make videos on there, but initially, as it was something entirely new, she did not want to be on camera and we had to do multiple rehearsals and takes before filming anything. Fast forward to July 2022, Leren and her sass are all over the TikTok page, she’s solo dancing to trending sounds and absolutely killing it.

In January 2022 the business went through a bit of a change which resulted in me being given a lot more responsibility and I went from assisting, to doing the things I’d mainly observed on my own and having to learn as I went along. Of course, I was never actually alone as I had Leren and Elise to support me the whole time. This time really tested my skills and my ability to problem solve. Between the two of us, Leren and I designed and published a whole new website for Bambi’s Den in just under 2 weeks. We learned so much in such a short space of time but the skills gained helped us to progress further and add more to the website as we went along.

One of my new roles also included becoming a photographer for The Den, I had previous experience with photography as I studied it at A-Level and had done multiple shoots in the past. I went from being in front of the camera for The Den, to being behind it.  I was not ready for the fun of photographing a Bambi’s Den shoot, we did 3 shoots over two weekends and a weekday in March and I loved every minute. It was terrifying, initially, but once we got into the swing of things I really enjoyed getting all the angles and taking pictures of the beautiful clothes and accessories. I then edited all of the images from both of these shoots which allowed me to learn so much more about Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

I always looked forward to Mondays and Tuesdays when I knew I’d be at work. Being in the shop at Friargate Alterations was so much fun, meeting and chatting to customers, explaining what we do at Bambi’s Den when they see the sign, dancing around and listening to music and of course drinking copious amounts of coffee. As my time to leave drew closer I began to really take time to sit back and appreciate the small things that we achieved as a group.

A massive thank you to Elise who was always on hand for advice, help with the unpicking or fabric cutting and general life advice also. Thank you to Julie also for allowing me to be a part of Friargate Alterations and for making me feel so welcome always.

It’s been the wildest, funniest, most challenging and best 11 months of my life so far.

I’m so grateful for all the things I’ve learned and skills that I’ve gained not just about fashion, social media and marketing, but about life itself. My time at Bambi’s Den has changed my perspective of my own life, enhanced my self worth by making me feel so valued and appreciated. It has shown me that love, laughter and friendship is truly all you need no matter how hard things may get.

I’d like to finish this post by saying the biggest thank you to Leren for allowing me to become part of The Den this year, it’s been a pleasure and it’s not the end! I’ll still be working remotely for Bambi’s Den as I return to living at university and entering my final year. I can’t wait for the future and all it holds in store for us.