Interview with Capstone student Courtney Locke

As we approach the end of the semester in a novel way, I wanted to continue our series of interviews with graduating students. They are always inspiring, but especially at times like these. The following is an interview with graduating senior in Textile Design, Courtney Locke.  She's been a true inspiration to her peers in her positivity, friendliness, and dedication to her craft.

"My name is Courtney Locke, I am from a small town called Towanda. I am sad to be graduating from this wonderful program, but I am very excited to start working in the textile industry, applying the knowledge I have gained."

How did you choose Textile Design as a major?

I didn't really choose it, it kind of fell into my lap by luck. I was going to go to Lock Haven for marketing, and by chance, my friend's mom's friend was at the same Thanksgiving dinner as me, and she told me all about how her goddaughter was thinking about applying. Without much thought, I applied and later went to shadow a student for a day. At the end of that day, I found out I got in, and I shed a few tears in front of the poor admissions officer. That was the moment I knew I was going to the right school. Then when I started in the fall, I truly knew I was in the right major at the right school.

What is your favorite book of all time?

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It's just a well-written book with a cool plotline.

What's the best piece of advice you've received from another designer?

"You got this" – pretty much everyone in the studio at one point. That was the best advice because I found a lot of times I was my biggest critic. Being surrounded by people who didn't let you give up on yourself was the best motivation to keep going. 

Which design from your portfolio are you most proud of, or is most special to you?

My chunky black and white floor-loom woven piece. These types of wovens are something I had always wanted to try, but the idea never fit well with any of the projects in my past classes. So when capstone gave me a broader ranger to experiment, I tried out this idea, and I believe it to be a very successful piece in my capstone collection.

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

The possible applications of non-woven textiles. I am currently going through my parent's recyclables and trash to see if there are any uses to the plastic wrappers in any textiles or if they could be heat pressed together and then created into something new.

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

Currently setting up my 4 harness table loom for at home Capstone work. Doing more print iterations in my sketchbook, but also trying to problem solve the best way to get the iterations from my sketchbook to Adobe. 

What kind of music do you listen to in your headphones?

Classical piano music- Tchaikovsky, Offenbach, Chopin.

Heavy Metal/Hair Bands- Motley Crew, Cattle Decapitation, Ratt, Van Halen, Five Finger Death Punch, Black Sabbath, Metallica 

Pop- Taylor Swift, Jonas Brothers, and Lizzo

What is your favorite thing to do to distract yourself from school stress?

Go on a run, try and get out of my own head for an hour.

What advice would you give an incoming student into the Textile Design department?

Take full advantage of the resources that this department has to offer and using the resources to further your creative exploration. 

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

The most surprising or best part about textile design is the studio culture. It is one of the most positive and friendly spaces you will ever be in. With both your peers and the faculty creating such a wonderful environment to work in. I cannot stress that enough.

What is your favorite thing about Textile Design?

The people. All of the wonderful people that I have had the pleasure to meet, and be able to see just how crazy talented all of my peers are. 

Interview with Alum Morgan Jefferson

We love to catch up with our alumni to see what they've been up to post-graduation. I'm pleased to present to you, Morgan Jefferson, in her own words. Morgan graduated in 2017 and I remember her capstone show clearly. She approached knitting with a fervor and determination that has benefited her to this day. Read on to see how and why she does what she does so well.

"My name is Morgan Jefferson, I graduated from Philadelphia University with a B.S. in Textile Design in 2017. I was raised in Delaware and moved to Philadelphia for school. I started interning with the URBN brand in 2015, now I am an Assistant Designer for Free People. My job is so creative. I am responsible for coming up with new sweater ideas that represent the Free People brand. I get inspired by monthly trend presentations and a lot of runway shows. I knit on machines and get to explore a lot of different types of yarns. Sometimes I get to hand-knit and crochet for special projects. Still, the majority of my job consists of machine knitting fabric for the designers on my team to make sweaters. I do not have a background in fashion design, but I have had the opportunity to make a few sweaters here and there. I have been in my full-time position on the sweaters team for almost 2 years now, and I have learned so much! " 

How did you choose Textile Design as a major? 
I randomly chose Textile Design as a major! It’s such a funny story. When I applied to PhilaU, I chose “undecided” as my major. But got a call from financial aid and was told I had to choose a major to receive my financial aid. I remembered a quiz I took on one of many visits to the campus that resulted in 5 different majors that I might be interested in. Since it was the heat of the moment, the first one I remembered was Textile Design, so I chose, fell in love with the major, and never looked back.

When did you learn to knit/weave/print, and who taught you?
I randomly taught myself how to knit the summer before I started my freshman year. I got so frustrated with it I stopped. I taught myself how to crochet my sophomore year and got really motivated to hand-knit again, so I tried again and success! I learned how to machine knit once I got to school and fell in love with that more than hand knitting because it was so much faster.  

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received from another designer?
Your first idea is your best idea!

Are there any techniques in textile design you’d like to explore further?
When I was in school, my two favorite mediums were knit and print. I would love to explore print more in-depth because I loved watching my idea develop from my sketchbook to the final print.  

What do you have on your knitting machine/loom/sketchbook today?
Right now, I currently have a beautiful jacquard that I’m knitting in alpaca yarn. I drew this really nice motif inspired by an argyle print I saw, and I wanted to put an ikat twist to it. Wish me luck! 

What drives you to make your best work? 
My best work is always made at the last minute! Surprisingly I work very well under pressure. I’m a very indecisive person, so I think the less amount of time forces me to make more decisions.  

What kind of music do you listen to in your headphones?
I listen to a lot of upbeat music when I’m knitting because it gets me pumped and energized. You must be in high spirits when you knit, or else things will go horribly wrong. If I ever have a bad knitting day, I turn on Beyonce Homecoming because the whole concert makes me feel like I can do anything.  

What are your hobbies? How do you make time for them?
I LOVE to crochet! It’s something about slow fashion that has my heart. I crochet every day after work, it makes me very relaxed, and it really opens my mind to all the things that I can do. Working for such a big brand, you must always put into consideration what the customer would buy, which isn’t always what I have in mind. Crocheting at home helps my creative mind flow a little more. 

What do you love about your current job/workplace?
I love how challenging it is at times; the customer is always looking for the next best thing, which means you must make every design your best.  

What surprising skill, technique, or method did you learn in school that you are still using today?
Never in a million years did I think I would be machine knitting all day every day. It was a fun class in college, but I didn’t think you could have a career based on that skill. I also heard that not many companies have/utilize knitting machines. I think there’s only about 3 in the U.S.  

What’s next for you?
I have huge dreams and plans for the future. I would love to own my own textile business one day, selling the most beautiful textiles anyone has ever seen and share my creativity with the world. I want everyone to know what Textile Design is, that is my ultimate goal.  

To keep up with Morgan and her knits, you can follow her on her Instagram account @morganstextiles where she posts about the sweaters she designs for Free People.

Alum Ben Jones highlighted in DesignPhiladelphia

We are proud (but not surprised!) to see alumnus Ben Jones being highlighted in DesignPhiladelphia's online magazine. Ben received his MS in Textile Design this last December and is now working at Anthropologie. The following is an excerpt from the article written by Abbi Mosconi.

Formerly a sculptor with his own at-home fine arts practice, Jones pursued his growing interest in fabrics, enrolling in the Post Graduate Apprenticeship Program at the Fabric Workshop and Museum. Recognizing his potential, an advisor geared Jones toward continuing his textile education at Jefferson.

Although he had limited awareness of the university prior to taking a tour, for Jones, it was love at first sight.

“I was completely blown away,” he said. “The facilities, the equipment, the curriculum — the history. People have been analyzing polymers here for 100 years. It’s in the blood of the building.”

One of the highlights of Jones’ studies was an internship in color development at Nike — an opportunity he nabbed due to the intensive color science training he received during his courses. 

For his final project, Jones utilized that experience at Nike to create a collection of LGBTQIA+ athletic performance apparel aimed at empowering individuals who might not identify with current styles of athletic apparel. 

Follow the link for the whole article.

Thank you to DesignPhiladelphia for shining a light on our amazing students and alumni and showing all the great design work they are doing.