Q. Where do you live?
I moved to Dublin in March 2018, so coming up two years now. Dublin is a big city that still has the charm of a small town. You can walk into any pub and start up a chat with the bartender as if he was your neighbour.
Q. What do you do for a job?
I am the junior model booker for Not Another Agency, which is one of the biggest modelling agencies in Ireland. As a model booker, I manage a team of (just over) 70 models. This involves booking their jobs and transport, negotiating rates for jobs, and helping build their portfolio. Ultimately, I am preparing them for when we start looking to sign them with other agencies (a model can have multiple agencies for multiple territories).
Q. What is the appeal of your job?
I get to work with so many amazing creative people. From photographers, to designers, to make-up artists — my agency is working with the top clients in Ireland and around the world. We’ve had models in shows for Dolce & Gabbana, Jill Sander, and Vetements, to name a few, as well as models in publications such as VOGUE Paris, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, and i-D. Getting the first-hand experience of booking and assisting booking these jobs is priceless.
Q. Career or life highlight? Events that shaped your life?
Career/life highlight was when I started this job. Moving to Ireland (when I was 17) was a huge milestone in my life, but getting an amazing job in the industry I wanted was the highlight. It set in stone the fact that moving here was the right thing to do, and that hard work actually does pay off.
Q. Outside work, what do you like to do?
I travel as much as I can. The joys of being so close to everywhere in Europe means that I can take weekend trips to other countries, and when I want to take the time off work and do a full week away, I get to see so many places in that space of time (most recently, Barcelona and Naples). I love art, so spend a lot of time in the National Gallery and Hugh Lane Gallery. I’m also a total foodie so I regularly eat out with my friends.
Q. Favourite country visited?
France! Paris and Nice are two of my absolute favourite cities in the world. I love French culture, language, and cuisine — so it’s only fitting that France is my favourite. But balance is key, so Paris for one week and then unwinding by the coast in Nice for another week is the way to do it.
Q. Where are you from originally?
I am originally from Alexandra. I spent most of my adolescence there, graduating from Dunstan High School in 2017. I then spent the summer working three jobs and saving, so I could move to Dublin in March 2018. I then went to college in Dublin, where I studied fashion buying and merchandising.
Q. What are your favourite memories of growing up or studying/working here?
Alexandra is the epitome of a small town, and my family home was right in the centre of town. Growing up, we would have at least two visitors every day, whether it was my brother’s friends popping in to see who was home, my grandparents out for a walk, or the mechanic from next door checking in to make sure the repairs on my car were holding up. I loved the familiarity that our friends and family had with our home. It was a base for so many people. It was the kind of place where I would walk out of my room into the kitchen and find my brother’s friend drinking the chocolate milk out of our fridge — not a word of warning.
Q. Where will you be in five years?
Who knows? I think planning that far ahead can be problematic ... people have a tendency of making unachievable goals and setting themselves up for failure. In five years, I will be somewhere in Europe, working a job I love, surrounded by people I love. I will be happy, and that is as much as I know right now.
