My name is Cassandra O’Hara an I am a Graphic Design major with a focus in Printmaking and Book Arts. During the summer of 2017, I Interned at Green Pea Press Studio in Huntsville Alabama. I process of looking for an internship in Alabama when I found out that Andrew and I would be moving there over the summer after he graduated. I began the process by first looking up printmaking and design studio’s in both Huntsville, Nashville, and Birmingham. I found studio’s that focused in both printmaking, graphic design, and letter press, by looking through Linked-in, Instagram and just doing general google searching. After looking at many websites, and post I created a spread sheet with the address, emails, web pages, and a general rating of how much I liked the studio. I then prepared and send out over 13 cold call emails with a resume and portfolio doc, or whatever else had been asked of me to send.
A few weeks later I received a response from Green Pea Press. From there we set up a Skype interview, and the next day they let me know I had been chosen to be their new intern. I had known about Green Pea though Andrew’s family, and because they are a big part of the local art seance in Huntsville. I had visited their shop during Christmas, and love the work they created for their own Green Pea Brand.
However, I had no idea how much work, planning, and effort when into not only running your own small business but also hosting an artist collective, teaching community classes, and running a store front. Green Pea was originally created because the founder, Rachel Lackey had just graduated with a fine arts and printmaking degree and realized that that was nowhere other than school to print. So she started with a small artist space in Lowell Mill, a local artist space, made from a refurbished mill. She sold work, created a shop, and got other printers in the community to sell work on consistent with her. The bossiness grew and expanded into not only a store front and shop be also a Tee’s shirt press where other bossiness in the community could have things printed. Green Pea Press has recently explained to have a second shop a little up the road from Lowel Mill where I did more of my internship.
Some of the responsibilities I had during my internship were to print shirts, totes, cozies, tanks, and posters. From day one they treated me like a new employee rather than an intern. They thought me how to do everything from taking to clients, to set up appointments, to mixing colors for shirts. I think one of the biggest responsibility and one of the things that I am most proud of doing For Green Pea was setting up the there Campaign page on their website. Together, Martin, Kiely, and I worked from square one to set up the user flow, the look which keeps with the voice and looks of the company but enhanced it with a fresh new graphic that I got to create. During the end of my internship, I got to see it in full swing, as emails and campaign forms actually started coming in.
I believe the most important thing that I learned this summer at Green Press Press is when it comes to your career path everything you do is important. I learn to never under estimate any experience that you have in life and that everything you learn you can use in your career path.
