INTERNSHIP STORIES

Design and Marketing Internship for an Independent Bookstore Wonderland Books is an independent Bookstore and community space in Bethesda, Maryland which will be opening in early December. I had the opportunity to work together with the Wonderland Books team this semester to help them prepare for opening – learning about how an independent bookstore comes together and how to work to solidify and market a new brand in the process.  I discovered this opportunity through mutual contacts — one of the two  co-owners of Wonderland Books is a family friend who reached out looking for a bit of help with some of the design work over the summer, and from there I was able to start working with them and their brand designer, who had already created a strong brand identity for the bookstore. I was able to use those brand identity guidelines to help create a wide variety of both print and digital design material for use in-store and online. Throughout this internship, I was able to create a...

Design Internship at La Loupe Design I learned about this internship program from a friend's referral. While visiting several internship sites, I selected La Loupe Design as most appropriate for my academic endeavors and personal interests. I acquired the internship by emphasizing my professional skills and design capabilities throughout the application process, ultimately getting the opportunity to work with them.  La Loupe Design is a husband-and-wife studio based in Baltimore. They produce handmade home decor and interior lighting products combining artistic craftsmanship with useful design. They're offering for customers who want personal and thoughtful home decor.  During my internship, I was primarily assigned to design the studio's brand identity. This involved updating their website design, producing a catalog book, and producing product photography and videos. These projects aimed to elevate their visual communication and strengthen their market presence. And among...

Over the past few months I was keeping a personal log of all the available internship and job opportunities within my area of interest. However, none of the internships I found caught my eye. I took inspiration from my friends who were applying for more extravagant internships to finally start applying to places. Through my search my love for printmaking had resurfaced and I stumbled upon Flatbed's internship. I applied through their website and had a brief interview with the head of lithography printing/education supervisor. Flatbed Press is a community and professional print shop with a gallery component. The press was started and is currently run by an intaglio printmaker. The owner and my supervisor work as the shop's professional collaborative printers working in monotype, relief, intaglio, and lithography. Flatbed also hosts regular workshops and classes taught by local printmakers and artists I reported to both the owner and my supervisor although I believe I was technic...

I was following shoestring press on social media, they specialized in social activism which really stuck out to me. I emailed them early in December to lock down a summer internship. Shoestring Press is a community print studio in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. They work as a shop for experienced and new artists, providing space for 40+ printmakers and creatives to engage with both each other and their own work. It creates a space to do the rather technical sides of printmaking that require specific equipment, all at a relatively low cost and with quite a bit included. The team handles a lot of the prep for printing for members, mostly in regards to screen printing, trying to make it as accessible as possible for members. The press also has a master printing and commercial printing side, doing official work for larger artists and taking spare print jobs on their large LaserJet printer for banners and posters. My direct supervisor while I was on the job was the master printer and owner at Sho...

I was made aware of the opportunity via my professor, who directed me to somebody who was willing to provide an internship opportunity involving the freelance comic industry. After a few email exchanges, I went inside the studio and had a brief chat. It took about one semester after, before I was able to actually get the internship, when I showed him a mini comic I completed. My supervisor is a freelance pre-press technician, who formats comics, books, posters which aren’t print ready. He cleans up formatting issues, or lettering issues and adjusts space in between. During my internship, I had other small jobs, but mainly to scan various files in his inventory, which he plans to use for an archival project. Later, I was assigned to be a flatter for a middle grade DC graphic novel at a base pay rate, which I’m most proud of.  I learned many things such as the inner workings of freelancers in the industry, a new perspective on the lives of such people, their financial experiences, th...

I found this opportunity when I reached out last year to a MICA Alum whose most recent position was at MacMillan, but completed the Barefoot Books internship in the past. I wanted more insight into the publishing industry and she had indicated that the program was a valuable experience. I submitted my website portfolio, made it through the final interview rounds where I highlighted my improvement over the year within my work, how I have researched the company and what I could contribute to them all while highlighting my passion to make a difference in the publishing industry. I got my offer letter about a week later. Barefoot Books is an independent children's book publisher based in Concord MA whose mission is to publish books that open kids' hearts, minds and worlds. There is a strong encouragement and advocacy for more representational diversity and educational concepts within the books they publish. My responsibilities included designing graphics for marketing and promotio...

I found out about this opportunity through an info session and through one of my professors at MICA. I sent in my resume and cover letter through their application form and a couple weeks later I was contacted by them for an interview, where we discussed the required roles and responsibilities of the intern in more detail, as well as confirming eligibility requirements and scheduling. About a week later I got an email confirming that they would like to hire me and my schedule. The Highlights Foundation is an organization under the Highlights children’s magazine, which runs a retreat and workshop center in Boyds Mills, PA. At this center and virtually, they organize workshops, talks, and retreats for both newcomers and professionals in the field of children’s literature, particularly writers and illustrators. There was another intern along with myself and our major responsibility was to oversee the day to day running of the workshops on campus. As part of this, we would assist guests wi...

During the spring semester, my illustration professor had our class attend an artist presentation of an artist who mentioned that she runs a small publishing press called Anchovy Press. I followed Anchovy Press’s page on Instagram that day and eventually when I was looking for internships, I reached out and luckily for me they were able to take me on. That artist (and my supervisor) is the founder of Anchovy Press and runs it with their co-founder. In their words, Anchovy Press is “ an independent publishing company based in Baltimore, Maryland, dedicated to storytelling that centers BIPOC experiences.” They publish children's books and family friendly zines.  One product they offer is the Zine Subscription Box for children. I was tasked with creating the activity for one of these boxes. I created a paper doll which was in some way related to food. Throughout the internship, this grew into two paper doll projects which specifically focus on wild harvestables from Maryland. Inside ...

This summer, I had the privilege of interning at the Small Editions Bindery (SE) in Brooklyn, a shop that, as stated by their website, “ offers services in book and print design, bookbinding, fine printing, and box making,” as well as publishing. To secure this internship, I emailed SE and after a brief email exchange and a more extensive phone interview, they agreed to take me on for the summer. During my time in this internship, I was given a wide range of tasks. I worked on every aspect of assembly throughout my internship; cutting bookboard, gluing boards down to the case material, assembling pockets & straps for the books, assembling the cases themselves, as well as the cleaning/packing process for this hefty undertaking.  Looking back on this internship, the thing that I am most proud of is the personal project that I took on to restore a very important book for my mother. My supervisor made it clear that she wanted me to have a personal project to be able to walk away f...

My name is Sophie Fisher, I am a Senior Illustration major with a Book Arts concentration. This summer I had the amazing opportunity to intern with the Newark Print Shop , a grass roots non-profit printmaking studio based in Newark, NJ, a vibrant urban city close to Manhattan. Its facilities are open to an entire community of artists, and according to their mission statement, has “the focus on supporting the fine art of printmaking by providing an affordable and accessible workspace for everyone, as well educational programming through classes and workshops.” As the summer approached and I was searching for internship opportunities, I recalled my connection to Lisa Conrad, the Executive Director and founder. She had previously worked as a teacher when I was a senior in high school. I attended Print Club back in 2015, a weekly Wednesday night gathering, where artists of all levels pay a small admission to access to the screen-printing facilities and equipment for...