Textile Design @ Jefferson: February 2019

Sunday, February 10, 2019

Natural Dyes with Carol Ireland

World traveler, spinner, retired DuPont chemist, weaver and natural dye expert Carol Ireland shared her experiences with our Textile Design community on January 31st. Carol brought an amazing collection of fibers, yarns, dyestuffs and textiles to illustrate her travels and her work. The presentation lead to great discussions and excitement to further explore natural dyes (and to travel the globe!). The Textile Design programs thank Carol for her generosity. Please see the below images from the day.

Carol Ireland shares her knowledge and experience with natural dyeing.

Alumni Panel Series: Textile Designers working in Fashion

On January 20, the Textile Design programs hosted the first in our Spring series of alumni panels. Four fantastic alums working in the fashion apparel business returned to campus to share their experience and insights. Alums Courtney Chu, BSTD (knitting room assistant manager at URBN), Morgan Jefferson, BSTD (assistant designer at Free People), Brittany Kuhl, BSTD (print designer at PrintFresh) and Lauren Westenhiser, MSTD (entrepreneur/free lance print designer) spoke to a standing-room only crowd! They shared their career paths, thoughts on their education, tips to landing great jobs, etc. Please see the images below. Our thanks to Lauren, Brittany, Morgan and Courtney for being great Textile Design alums!

The assembled crowd for the alumni panel.

Students and guests discuss the creative process.

Brittany Kuhl shares her original print designs and process.

The Bachelors of Science in Textile Design and Masters of Science in Textile Design programs provide integration and balance between creative design and technology. In the undergraduate program, students explore weaving, knitting and printing, with the opportunity for advanced course work in the areas of their choice. Students in the graduate program are required to specialize in one area (knit, weave or print), but are encouraged to incorporate the other areas of textile design through their foundation courses, elective or design studio work.

Design research is stressed from the beginning of the programs. Being in the a major city is a great resource as is The Design Center at Jefferson with its textile collection from around the world.