From the newsletter...

In the Spotlight: Lane Fragomeli, Costume Designer

PS: How'd you get your start in costume design?
Lane: Actually, that's a funny story. I went into costume design out of spite!
Yes, sheer spite!  As a theatre student, I was in a production of Romeo and Juliet where the costume designer put us in these God awful Renaissance doublets, jerkins and codpieces made out of the most hideous of upholstery fabrics! Herculons, upholstery weight corduroys, damask curtains...I could barely move! It's very hard to have a sword fight when you're dressed as an ottoman. I mean Romeo and Juliet is supposed to be sexy! "Young love in 15th century Verona", not "Half-off at Carpet World"! I complained about it and finally someone said to me, "Y'know Lane, if you think you can do so much better, why don't you?"  That was one of those comments that was said to shut me up, but actually it became one of those "light bulb" moments. By the time I had graduated I had
designed four productions and took an internship working in summer
stock designing costumes. That fall I went on to get my MFA in costume
design out in California where I had much more intensive instruction in
entertainment design. It was a three year intensive program. I also worked at South Coast Repertory theatre and started doing independent film work up in LA. After grad school, I took a position as a resident costume designer for a regional theatre and designed 11 full productions a year, everything from Shakespeare to musicals. I also had to freelance at other professional theatres and teach college to pay the bills.

PS: When you were a kid, did you have the best Halloween costumes?
Lane: Being the youngest of six, my Mom would buy us kids store bought Halloween costumes. I was the Bionic Man one year and my sister got to be Wonder Woman. I really wanted to be Wonder Woman.
Go figure.

PS: How is costume design different than apparel design?
Lane: It’s not. What is costume design? Costumes were the fashion of the
day! It's funny because when I was looking for work, some companies would wrinkle their noses at me because they would see "costume design" all over my resume and think that I had no qualifications to design "men's woven shirts" or some other very specific area. So much for being a "renaissance man" in a culture of specialization!  If I was pressed, I could make an argument that costume design needs to inform an audience about a character by what he or she wears and how he or she wears it whereas apparel is about the garment itself. But here again, the lines blur because the apparel industry is very good about creating a "lifestyle brand" which is putting forth an image that hopefully the consumer will respond to.  People buy for several reasons, but one of the most important reasons is how the clothes make them feel. Several designers design collections around an idea of who their consumers are and what that consumer wants to look like. Costume designers do the same thing only most of them start with the script or the text. Apparel designers are lucky because they can invent their own scripts.  I think there are more similarities than there are differences.

PS: Who is the one person you'd love to create a costume for?
Lane: Wow, tough question! There are so many incredible designers out there that inspire me like Isaac Mizrahi, William Ivey Long, Nanette Lapore, Helmut Lang, and Issey Miyake but at the moment I wish Oscar De La Hoya would call me. I think he could needs a more complete drag look than just some fishnets and heels. Oscar, if you're reading this, I have an amazingly intricate beaded Merry Widow that has your name on it! 
           
PS: What's your best advice to people considering design as a career?
Lane: My dad had a sign in his office written in Latin that translated to "Dont let the bastards run you down". I always thought that was a good piece of advice.
 
PS: If you weren’t a designer, what would you be?
Lane: A Historian.

Five Ways to Make Starting a
New Career Less Scary

Lots of people successfully switch careers every day. Here are five ways to make starting your new career less scary and more rewarding.

1. Planning and Clarity Make The Unknown Known...And Less Scary
What type of career change will meet your needs? Slow down and explore as many options as possible. Marci Taub, co-author of ³Work Smart: 250 Smart Moves Your Boss Already Knows,² notes that it is important to ³clarify whether you need a full career change, a career shift, or an industry or sector change before you leap.²
The more specific your plans, the less scary they are. Find out as much as you can about your prospective career. This could include the number of working hours typical of that career, any specialized training you'll need and if there's a lot of burnout in that field. Another reason to plan ahead…the higher the risk of your new venture, the more planning you need to do to increase your chances for success.
2. Talk To Others Who Have Changed Careers Lately
If you are working in a secure job for a large company, you are probably surrounded by others working in secure jobs for a large company. These are not the people who can give you advice about changing careers. Even worse is hanging around with disgruntled types because they support your ideas about leaving. Their unhappiness can be contagious. The fact that they are miserable but not willing to do anything about it but complain confirms that they have nothing to teach you.
On the other hand, if you talk to people who have just made the change to a career that is meaningful and satisfying to them, they have a wealth of information that will be useful and motivating. Find out what their concerns were, and how they've handled them. What would they do differently? What do they recommend for your situation? Talk to enough people that you get an overview of what it takes to make it in a new career.
3. Talk To Others Who Have Long-Since Changed Careers
Temper the enthusiasm and optimism of those who have just made the change, with the wisdom and depth of experience of those who see the big picture. When you talk to people who made a significant career change quite a while ago, you learn what works over the long-run, and what to do when the excitement wears off. Do they still like what they do? What challenges took them by surprise, and how did they respond? How much of their success was due to their own efforts as opposed to being in the right place at the right time? Keep asking different people until you notice patterns of how the process unfolds for most people.
4. Soul-Searching Prevents Making The Same Mistakes In New Career
Don't just use your intellect; use your intuition. To soul-search means to contemplate your situation based on what your SOUL cares about. That might include:

• your quality of life
• the meaning behind what you do
• spending time on what you care about
• understanding that your life has a deeper purpose than just making a living

Depending on your personality, you may need to do more or less soul-searching. If you tend to act impulsively, and seem to continually end up in similar problematic situations, you need to do MORE. Therapy or career coaching can help you better understand why you want to make a change, and can help you ensure that you aren¹t just running from one bad situation to one that¹s even worse.
But if you tend to agonize over every decision, large or small, and would much prefer to think through every detail until the opportunity is no longer available, you may need to do LESS contemplating and more doing.
True insight and curiosity about what makes you tick doesn't lead to endless procrastination. In fact, the better you know yourself, the less likely it is that you'll allow yourself to be tripped up with insecurities or needing to prove yourself to others.
5. Put Your Career In A Larger Context
If you define yourself by your job title, salary level, or other aspect of your career, making a change will feel like changing your identity. However, if you see your place in the universe defined by more than your job, you'll have a sense of simply taking a new step down your unique path.
Source: Leslie Godwin, author of, "From Burned Out to Fired Up: A Woman's Guide to Rekindling the Passion and Meaning in Work and Life". www.LeslieGodwin.com.

Health Insurance and other benefits:

Project Solvers is happy be associated with Resolve Staffing. Freelancers who work more than 19 hours a week for a month become eligible for health insurance, with optional dental and vision! Please call us for more information, and forms: 212-226-2432. And don't forget about:

• Direct deposit
• 401K
• Weekly pay when on assignments
• Flexspending accounts
• TransitCheks

To download a W-4 or I-9 use the following links:

• W-4 Form
• I-9 Form

For further information on health insurance, see below. If you have any questions please call us at 212-226-2432 or e-mail recruiter@projectsolvers.com.

TOP TEN MARKETING TIPS

From Anne Maxfield's appearances on NY1 & Fox, here's our top 10 quick marketing hints:

1. Research the companies you want to target, find out who to contact and know what their product is. Google yourself, make sure there's nothing damaging about you on the Web.
    
2. Make your resume clear and concise. Be sure type face and paper are legible when it's faxed. Check spelling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cover letters should be addressed to a specific person, and refer to the job you are applying for. End with a day and time you will call to follow-up.
    
3. Keep your portfolio neat and well organized. Target it to the company you'll be seeing. Sketches should all go in one direction. Keep photos to a minimum.
    
4. Interviewing: never turn down an interview. Be on time, dress appropriately, remove visible body piercings. Turn off cell phones and beepers. No text messaging!
    
5. After an interview: follow up. Write a thank you note. Check spelling!!!
    
6. Have business cards printed with your name, phone, and e-mail address. Answering machine messages should be short and professional. E-mail address should be professional.
    
7. Know your salary. Have a definite number in mind.
    
8. If you want the job ask for it.
    
9. Get a business card, and keep records of whom you've seen.
    
10. Don't burn bridges. It's a very small industry.