No Culture Icons VOF is a company that includes both Small Bobbins and Studio Dénoue lingerie under its umbrella, and we are seeking interns!
(And by “we”, I mean me: Kirstin)
It is important to me that these internships are valuable learning experiences for the participant, and I would ideally like to tailor the program according to your strengths and interests, while also helping to grow Small Bobbins and/or Studio Dénoue.
First: who am I?
Kirstin is a 35-year-old American woman who has been living in Belgium for 10 years. Four years ago, she started Small Bobbins, an online boutique for high-quality lingerie sewing supplies. Small Bobbins strives to offer everything you need to create your own gorgeous lingerie, and specializes in reclaiming deadstock materials that are both stylish and functional. Earlier this year, she launched Studio Dénoue, an experimental lingerie brand focusing on modern, strappy harnesses.
Second: who are you?
I’m looking for motivated interns who are currently enrolled in a program that requires an internship. The internship would be based in Sint Amandsberg, Belgium (where my studio is located, it’s close to Dampoort Station) and, because we will be working together closely, interns need to be fluent in English. Fluent Dutch is needed for some projects, but does not disqualify you from a possible internship opportunity.
Everything else is flexible! A passion for fashion (lingerie, specifically), business, e-commerce, marketing, communications, sales, anything related… would make sense. The dates and the length of the internship can be tailored to your program’s requirements.
Possible internship projects:
(These are ideas based on projects that I’m already planning that I think would be interesting for interns to be included on, but, like I’ve mentioned, I’m very flexible! If you see something below that really lights a fire within you, but you are missing one of the mentioned skills, don’t hesitate to let me know anyway. Internship projects can be tailored to your strengths, interests, areas of study, etc.)
Product launches: start to finish with bringing new products to market (this could be a digital sewing pattern, a collection of coordinated fabrics and materials for lingerie sewing, or new lingerie styles for Studio Dénoue). This project would focus on sewing and project management, but could also include pattern drafting, social media campaigns, influencer marketing, and/or photography.
Digital marketing: helping to turn the brands’ marketing messages and voice into content reality (mainly using Instagram, Tiktok, and newsletters). This is not just “go make some Reels”; in addition to content creation, we’ll dig into strategizing and analyzing the results too!
B2B sales: This theme can take different routes, depending on your interest. For Small Bobbins, there is a goal to increase awareness among B2B customers (fabric and craft shops, sewing teachers, small-scale lingerie designers, etc.) of our products, while also making the registration and buying process more efficient. For Studio Dénoue, the goal is to find shops that would be a good fit with selling our lingerie and having a clear and thought-out offer to them. Both of these tracks would allow you to get a deeper look into the business side of the brands, pricing, buying terms, sales outreach, etc. Interns for these projects are expected to have fluent Dutch skills, as Flanders and the Netherlands are the brands’ biggest priorities at the moment.
Exhibition/Retail Marketing: Studio Dénoue debuted in March 2023 at Eroticabeurs, and it was a great success for connecting directly with buyers, but my stand was abysmally amateur. We’ll be exhibiting at Eroticabeurs again in March 2024 and tentatively planning a pop-up shop in Gent in March/April 2024. This internship project is about designing a show-stopping display for exhibitions and retail that adheres to our brand and sparks our ideal client’s interest.
Other ideas:
- Advertising
- Influencer marketing
- Branding
- or pitch me your own idea!
If you’re thinking, “Yes! Let’s make this happen!”, then please send me an email to hello [at] smallbobbins.com with a brief introduction about yourself and your current program, plus any other information that you think is useful to convince me that you would make a great fit for an internship with me! Does one of these projects sound interesting to you, or do you have your own idea? Do you have specific needs for your internship (length of time, dates, etc.)? If I think we could make it work, we’ll have an interview and go from there!