Thursday, April 25, 2013

Flyknit Technology @ Nike



Ben Shaffer, Studio Director at Nike's Innovation Kitchen, introduces the core principles of Nike Flyknit technology: Lightness, Performance, Formfitting and Sustainability.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Handcrafted bags made by women in India that empower a community and give new meaning to the socially conscious shopper.


Our Project

In early 2012, Profugo started a Tailoring Training Program for 6 women in rural India. The program was designed to teach women about basic tailoring. However, what developed from this program went far beyond technical skills. The women learned about business training and empowerment. They became motivated, confident, and inspired to become leaders in their community, changing their lives in ways that we could never have predicted. 
We want to take a chance with Kickstarter to help transition our tailoring training program into a cooperative that is fully owned by the women. The women will provide tailoring to the local area in addition to the merchandise that will be sold in our Profugo Store. Your support not only gives these women the opportunity to provide for their families, but empowers them to become entrepreneurs. And as a testament to the people in Wayanad, India, they decided that all profits from their cooperative will go back into projects that support their community. These women don’t want a free hand out, they just want the opportunity to become entrepreneurs, expand their products, and make a difference in their communities…all they need is a little help from you to get started.

Profugo is a nonprofit in Ardmore that focuses on international development in Wayanad, India. These women handcraft all of the bags that we sell at our Profugo store. These bags are perfect for the college student going to class, the gym or even a night out and are perfect for the socially conscious shopper.

Here's the link if you want to check it out!! 




Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Students take Study Trip to Italy over Spring Break



This spring, Textile Design students spent a week in Lombardia, Italy exploring textile printing facilities, photographing Milanese street style, and sketching the gorgeous surroundings of Lake Como.
This exceptional study abroad course began with a presentation by trend forecaster, Matteo Bardi and an inspiring afternoon of ‘cool hunting’ on the streets of Milan. 

Next, they toured a variety of factories to see first hand the preparation, printing, and finishing processes involved in textile production.


The factories print textiles for high fashion and home furnishing from top designers such as Prada, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, and more. Machine manufacturers presented information about digital inkjet technologies and new printing systems that are being developed.
 
Aside from gathering information about printing technologies, there was design inspiration everywhere. They visited the Fornasetti showroom.


Piero Fornasetti was known for transforming ordinary objects through extraordinary surface design. Today, his son continues to reinvent his past work. 
Another highlight was Vintage Delirium, a shop and collection of vintage fabrics, garments, accessories, and textile designs. The last day was a boat trip on Lake Como to the town of Bellagio for more exploring, taking photographs and sketching. 
The lake, architecture, scenic views, Italian style, and other inspirations will be translated into design work as the semester continues.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Textile Design Students take top Alpaca Awards.

Over 140 students submitted entries into the Textile Design competition hosted by the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association this year.

The finalists, including Kitt Fraser (a graduate student studying knit design) and Meiling Yin (an exchange student from DongHua, China, studying textile design) were invited to Nashville for the annual AOBA Student Design Retreat - see Kitts blog post from March 19th.

Once all the results were announced - Philadelphia University won four of the top six awards.


Congratulations to Kitt Fraser, Meiling Yin, Jaqueline Mohen and Erin Stevens.