Textile Design Symposium: The Path Forward

The Textile Design department is excited to host its 4th annual Textile Design Symposium. This year's title is "The Path Forward". As with most events this year, it will be held virtually. This gives us the chance to highlight speakers from across the globe. Join us for two days of interesting and informative talks by speakers such as esteemed alumni Sriranjini Raghurum, Rachel Snack, and Mary Armacost as well as longtime textile industry torchbearers, Wesley Mancini, Julie Baird Royce Epstein, Andrea Aranow, and many others. The full itinerary can be viewed below.

Register here for Day One.

Register here for Day Two.

Design Philadelphia 2020:

Textile Design: The Path Forward

Wednesday, October 7, 2020  

9 am—Crypton Team:  A Path to Performance - Many Roads Traveled.

10 am—Sriranjini Raghuram: Relevance of Design in the India Handloom and Craft Sector

11 am—Todd Bowles, De Leo Textiles: Putting It Together: Career Fundamentals for Textile Designers

1 pm—Rachel Snack, Weaver House: Creatively Pivoting in 2020

2 pm—The Current State of the Textile Industry: Panel Discussion

Carrie Dillon, ITA: Moderator

Kelly DiFoggio, Stein Fibers

Jack Eger, Crypton

Wesley Mancini, Wesley Mancini, Ltd.

Kathryn Richardson, Libeco

Katherine Shoaf, Radiate Textiles

Thurs October 8^th

9:30 am—Carla Bluitt, Crest Leather: Leather: A Whole New World

10:30 am—Oluwabusola Duroshola, Mannington; Next Steps: Navigating the Makers Journey Post University

12:30 pm—Wesley Mancini, Wesley Mancini, Ltd: A Designer’s Path

1:30 pm—Mary Armacost, Department of Defense: Textile Tech in the DoD: Where the Lab Meets the Field

2:30 pm—Julie Baird and Royce Epstein, Mohawk Design: The Case for Carpet Design

3:30 pm—Andrea Aranow: Archives as Design Inspiration

Invasive Plant Research Group to Present at Student Conference on Conservation Science

 Textile Design faculty member Becky Flax has been working with Dr. Anne Bower, Dr. Mary Ann Wagner-Graham, and a group of students from across TJU in researching ways to use invasive plants as natural dye providers for commercial textile applications. The group is presenting their findings in a poster show at the Student Conference on Conservation Science held in the American Museum of Natural History from October 7-9^th, 2020.

This group is one of only a few Undergraduate student groups presenting at the conference, mainly comprised of Ph.D. candidates and postdocs. The students representing the group are Irene Cooper, Amritpal Jagra, William Nguyen, Tyler Savage, Madison Bright, Nicholas Wahba, Abigail Lacour, Patrick Miller, Haileen Nunez, and Bennett Purdy.

Check out their poster below and congratulate them on their hard work!

"This is Textile Design" Webinar Series July 13-17, 2020

Join us for 5 days of engaging talks and hands-on workshops centered around the practice and profession of textile design given by alumni of the Textile Design program as well as current students and faculty. Whether you are actively engaged with textile design on a daily basis or are interested but know nothing about it, we will have something for you. Each day during the first week of June at 4:00 PM EST, we’ll have a new speaker and a new subject. Check out the schedule below for details. Click here to register!

July 13 - 17, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Monday, July 13– “Textile Design Inspiration: The Path Forward” Keynote by Marcia Weiss, Director of Fashion & Textiles Futures Center and Textile Design Programs. Q & A to follow.

Tuesday, July 14 – “Paper Practice” by Nathalie Bouchard, Textile Design BS, 2021. Nathalie will take us through a collage workshop using cut and torn paper and other materials you already have at home. Q & A to follow.

Wednesday, July 15 – “Textile Design: A Day in the Life” by alum Jess Thies, Textile Design BS, 2017. Jess Thies is a Designer and Project Manager of Weitzner Design, Inc. Q & A to follow.

Thursday, July 16 – “Straight to Paint” with Julia Foster, Textile Design BS, 2022. Julia will show us how to execute beautiful watercolors using simple techniques and talk about how this process informs her textile designs. Q & A to follow.

Friday, July 17 – “Textile Design in Action” by alum Angela Leonard, Textile Design BS, 2010, MBA, 2012. Angela Leonard is the Manager of Product Development for T-Y Group & Harbor Linen. Angela’s talk will be followed by Final Remarks by Mike Leonard, Dean of the School of Design and Engineering.

Textile Design Students win SDA's Outstanding Student Award

We are immensely proud of our students Elena Garrido and Jiyoung Park for winning the Surface Design Association Outstanding Student Award. This award celebrates students who have demonstrated excellence in fiber arts. Besides the recognition, both won a membership to SDA. Congratulations Elena and Jiyoung! 

 

Jiyoung Park graduated in December 2019 with an M.S. in Textile Design.

Jiyoung Park (Graduate, Thomas Jefferson University) Distortion 2019, monofilament, metallic, rayon, polyester, dimensions variable.

Jiyoung accepting her award.

Elena Garrido graduated in May 2020 with a B.A. in Textile Design.

Elena Garrido (Undergraduate, Thomas Jefferson University) You Deserve Your Dreams 2020, mixed media, dimensions variable.

Elena accepting her award.

Weave Design Studio I Students Exhibit Creativity

Jefferson Textile Design and Textile Material Technology students in Weave Design Studio I illustrated their creativity and flexibility during this period of remote learning.  Under the expert leadership of Professor Bridget Foster, our students created inspired and inspiring wovens while working at home.  Please see the below images for a snapshot of their second project.

 


Katie's sketchbook

 

Katie Lutterschmidt inspiration board and collection

Katie's process

 

Lillian Cartwright's woven sample

Lilly's woven sample

Lilly's sketchbook process

Nelly's woven sample (see great drawing below).

Cora Burns Collection

 

Nelly Ayih-Akakpo's drawing

Congratulations to our Textile Design Capstone and Thesis Students!

We are immensely proud of our graduating students this semester. They met the unique challenge of having to finish their studies at home amid this season of quarantine. These students rose to the challenge and really made impressive collections using the skills they've learned over the years. We couldn't be more thrilled to show you what they've made. Below is a quick peek at some of the work that came out of this semester.

Click here to see the undergraduate capstone collections.

Click here to see the graduate thesis collections.

Gabriella DeBlasio

Olivia Pagnotta

Nick Hammerschmidt

Courtney Locke

Ana Odiot

Jake White

Sabrina Pinello

Elena Garrido

Sonya Borowsky

Hannah Beckett

Gabriel Ortiz

Interview with Capstone student Gabriella DeBlasio

Gabby is one of a kind and I'm so honored to have had her in my classes. She's smart, grounded, and has a great work ethic. Gabby's work ranges between knitting and weaving and she has proven to be quite adept at both. I can't wait to see where she ends up applying her skills post-graduation.

How did you choose Textile Design as a major?

When I was in high school, I wanted to be a chemist because Chemistry was the only class that I actually enjoyed. During my senior year, I took fashion as an elective and I was encouraged by my teacher to combine chemistry with my new love for fashion. I came to PhilaU on a tour interested in Textile Engineering. When I sat down with an advisor as part of the tour, I asked to hear about all of the textile majors that were offered. She handed me a few documents that outlined each major in detail. I read through them and said that I wanted to major in Textile Design and I have never looked back! 

Are there any techniques in textile design you’d like to explore further?

I would love to explore weaving more in-depth. I had so much fun playing with double cloth on the handlooms and I'd like to try again with more intricate drafts.

What do you have on your knitting machine/loom/sketchbook today?

Currently, I am hard at work making some garment swatches for my capstone collection. When I have some free time to knit for myself, I am working on knitting some monofilament pillows. I am passionate about sustainability, especially reusing and reducing waste. After understanding how much yarn scraps are wasted in the textile industry, I thought about how I could use yarn scraps so they wouldn't have to be thrown away. I'm working on creating a tubular knit monofilament casing and then stuffing it with yarn scraps that I have collected from the studio.

What would you like to be doing in 5 years?

I want to be an Apparel Designer in knits and/or wovens. Although, I think I would be happy in a lot of different areas of the industry!

 How does your personal aesthetic influence your design work? Do you think it should?

My personal aesthetic is pretty wacky. I primarily gravitate towards the vibe of my capstone collection. I like soft and comfy things and especially anything that is olive green. I also love mismatched things, crazy geometrics, and vibrant colors. I wear mismatched socks every day and I have for most of my life. My personal aesthetic is all over the spectrum, so I am able to use this to my advantage when designing. I can adapt any concept or idea to fit into my style and design aesthetic. Really good design is when you can see a piece of the designer or artist within their work. When there is a personal connection and excitement to make something, the design is so much stronger.

What surprised you the most about Textile Design at Philau/Jefferson?

The first time I had heard of Textile Design was on my first tour of PhilaU. I read a small description of it and within thirty seconds I had chosen it as my major. I didn't fully understand what my major was until my sophomore year, just because the industry is so large and unknown to the average person. After I was immersed in it and began creating fabric is when I really started to understand what I had chosen to do for a living. I was happily surprised that I chose the perfect major without fully understanding what it was when I chose it. 

What is your favorite thing about Textile Design?

When I see a cool textile, whether it be a shirt, a scarf, or a blanket, I already have my hands on it to try and figure out what it is and how it has been made. I am constantly reminded that I chose the right path because cool fabrics make me excited! My favorite thing about Textile Design within Jefferson is definitely working with my peers and faculty. The studio culture is unmatched and we have created a little family within our major.

To follow Gabby's designs, check out her website and Instagram below.

www.gabrielladeblasio.com

www.instagram.com/gabsfabrics

Innovative Home Studio Work by Textile Design students

A lot has been said about the pros and cons of working and schooling from home. We’ve all experienced ups and downs but now as we near the end of the semester, I think we are all starting to get the hang of it. Many folks questioned how our design students would continue their studio practice away from the studio and the equipment. I’m excited and proud to show you a selection of some of the amazing work they are doing at home using what they have available to them. Our students are truly innovative. They are making, creating, designing, and producing amazing work from their bedrooms, kitchen tables, and home studios.

Scroll through the gallery below to see examples of some amazing work by our Textile Design students. The students highlighted in this post are Christina-Marie Kreibich, Sofia Turco, Olivia Pagnotta, Nathalie Bouchard, Nicholas Hammerschmidt, DanJuma Ochai, and Bennett Purdy.