Victoria Smedley

I run an online shop, participate in events and take commissions for my illustration freelance project, Gearsillustraion. I work primarily in traditional mediums, pen, ink and paints to create my work. My focus is on narrative illustration and story telling when it comes to my own practice and I used these pieces to make a variety of products for Gearsillustration. I have a BA in Illustration where I was able to hone in my drawing skills and I can work to a variety of briefs and subject matter. My largest project was a graphic novel, "Submerged", which I self published and sold through my online shop. My commission work is primarily gathered through one-offs on my online store but I have had the opportunity to work with some external brands and creators, such as my shop branding project for Stay Sharp MCR and my woodwork collaboration with Vile Eight. I am proficient in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, and use Photoshop primarily to process my hand-drawn work.

My supervisory role at the hotel also extended to manning reception and duty managing the hotel, including opening/closing responsibilities. This involved checking in guests, handing over of keys, assisting the guests and helping with queries. The hotel is a boutique listed property, so professionalism and attentiveness are key to working front of house. We take pride in our personable and intimate setting and offer assistance to the guests from check-in to check-out. Making/receiving phone calls and responding to emails are key to the role and I take pride in my written and verbal communication skills. I create daily reports, mostly recorded on Tokeet, Stripe and Microsoft Excel, as well as creating VAT invoices for the guests. I am fully proficient in Tokeet and Bookingcom booking systems. The role also extends to duty management of the team on shift, namely housekeeping, so liaising with them on their schedules and tasks throughout the day, as well as checking rooms is essential.

My primary duty is management of the housekeeping team, creating training initiatives where needed and making sure my team are compliant with relevant health and safety practices at the hotel. I liaise between the front of house, reception and the Hotel Manager to identify issues and strengths, to listen to customer and management feedback so that housekeeping can run as effectively as it can when it comes to the needs to the hotel. I complete daily/weekly/monthly reporting on my staff and the hotel. This includes Maintenance reports and Health and Safety documentation for the hotel, as well as being in charge of the weekly fire safety tests. I create logs to document the performance of the team and provide feedback to them and to my manager to create solutions where training to required. I am in charge of stock ordering and rotation for the hotel, as well as updating COSHH paperwork and providing training on products where appropriate. This includes linen ordering and deliveries, where we are contracted with an external provider. A large part of my role also extends to developing solutions at the hotel along side the manager. This may be event planning for the hotel, room renovations, outdoor renovations and solutions. We pride ourselves as a team that we are responsive to the changing needs of the space as well as guest feedback.

Working in a boutique hotel setting, standards are kept high and the quality of housekeeping aligned with the values of the hotel. My role included attending rooms, making beds, cleaning bathrooms, cleaning kitchen areas and attending to communal areas. Housekeeping are responsible for their own time management according to their daily rota. Deep clean tasks would also be carried out, including carpet and upholstery shampooing and grounds management. Housekeeping are responsible for baking and delivering the continental breakfast to the guests, so involves awareness of kitchen Health and Safety procedures. Housekeeping are also responsible for guest assistance during the AM shift prior to reception opening, so answering guest queries and assisting with departure are also key to the role.

Commercial cleaning of offices and surrounding buildings. Included communal space cleaning, bathrooms/toilets and meeting spaces. The role required independent work and time management skills. Understanding of commercial cleaning practices and chemicals, high spec of cleaning due to Covid19 restrictions in the building. Cleaning was regularly tested for bacteria and passed inspections. Some understanding of antique furnishing and wooden floors required as primary work took place in the County Council offices.

The role was to attend domestic cleans for properties being let out by AirBnb (or similar). This would involve managing my own daily schedule to book in jobs. I would attend the full property, including bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen and communal spaces. This may also involve stock replenishment at a property as well as receiving a linen delivery and to manage dirty linen going out. One would liaise with the management, the guests and the hosts to optimise the needs of the property and to ensure a job done well. Access to the job booking system relied on guest ratings of cleaning jobs. I was able to attain a high level of performance throughout my work and keep a large client base of hosts, whose homes I would frequently re-attend.

My BA was focused on both the commercial viability of artwork and expanding our own practice. I was able to experience a vast array of artworking practices including print making (screen, lino-cut, etching, risograph), animation, graphic design and some 3D practical workshop skills. My primary focus was on narrative illustration, story telling, graphic novels and children's books. The bulk of my practice is story telling through traditional media. I mostly work in pen and ink, but I have excellent proficiency in other forms of traditional media and observational work. I received a First for my dissertation and take great pride in my written communication skills as well as my ability to analyse media and produce academic work.