Though we got word our proposal was not selected for the “Warming Huts” competition in Winnipeg, I wanted to share a quick project I did with Will Kemper.
An architect, Will asked me to collaborate with him to design structures to shelter those moving along the Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail (the longest frozen ice skating trail in the world!) We used my Iceberg Cups as inspiration and sketched with bristol board to find appropriate forms for a shelter to be made out of wood and sail cloth.
Sketches, left; slip-cast Iceberg Cups, right.
Our design included hard wood benches spanning wall-to-wall for support. I would love to make one (or three) of these guys someday.
It’s the middle of October, and despite the unseasonable warm days, I have to face one undeniable fact: I can’t pretend thesis ended recently anymore. And, though I was really busy making stuff, preparing a presentation AND writing the book, I did an really awful, terrible job of posting my progress. (Indeed, one could call it shameful, at least compared to those in my cousin Dave’s program. Then again, my school doesn’t even have a real blog, let alone profiles on our students.)
Needless to say, back-dating stuff is just not going to work anymore. After taking a month off (filled with an amazing road trip with my mom) and then getting a job (YAY!!), I realized that my plan of filling up the void of my unemployed days with sewing, running and developing this section of my site did not pan out as planned. I am now attempting to incorporate the above three activities into my schedule. Feel free to punch me in the arm if I’m not posting regularly (you know who you are).
I’m going to end this post with some pictures of several of my final pieces from thesis. Then I can officially move forward into the exciting and unknown real void that is the future.
The Nina Shirt
The Robbie Shirt
The Robbie Shirt detail: hidden pocket in yoke.
The Koz Shirt
The Koz Shirt: collar details
Vessel Project Transformation: please see this short book for more details.
Vessel Participants with their final vessels.
Thanks for checking in! And happy fall to you.
I stumbled upon this little NY times article last weekend profiling the creator of “The Shirt”- a button-up for women. Pretty awesome that someone tackled the “gaping in the chest area” problem that many women have to deal with (see a comparison).
Most of the shirts are strictly business- solids and pretty slick looking- but that’s only fitting considering the creator’s inspiration while working as a lobbyist. Priced at under 100 bucks, I look forward to recommending this to friends, and hearing about any test runs.
Done with thesis: presentation, show and finally the book!
I’ve been slowly updating my site and the process, and after some much needed relaxation, getting back to it! That means new things here soon.
JUNIPERSGEMS, a design blog filled with product and graphic treasures, posted my Robbie shirt. Thanks!
I’ll be showing work in the Model Citizens NYC show at the Chelsea Art Museum during design week-weekend!
One of Ivey’s many Steven Alan shirts.
My studio mate and fellow thesis student, Ivey is focusing her last year in graduate school on mindfulness. In particular, she is investigating the importance of breath and how to preform simple acts of being gentle to benefit one’s own body and mind. She also happens to be a connoisseur of button-up shirts. We decided that we’d help each other out and combine aspects of both of our theses.
Ivey’s closet is stocked with button-ups. Her favorites are Steven Alan for the fit, the softness, and the perfect way the cuffs roll.
An early version of Ivey’s own “Be Gentle” shirt, top; Ivey’s hand placement for she shirt I’ll be making for her.
Ivey’s shirt will be a standard, everyday shirt with a pocket near the heart. Based on her concept for the “Be Gentle” shirt, this pocket will allow easy access for the wearer of the shirt to place his or her hand on the heart, re-inforcing mindfulness by giving warmth to this hardworking part of our body.
One of my Shirt Project participants pointed out this shirt, which also came to be through collaboration: between designers Margaret Howell and Sam Hecht of Industrial Facility.
Clothing designer Howell is initiating collaborations between herself and other designers, and this result is a button up for cycling.
Cycle Shirt, back.
As a bicyclist, it’s amusing to me to see what the child of a dress shirt and a cycling jersey would look like. But the upturned shirt tail is a nice touch, and the resulting look is both clever and has a utilitarian feel.
I love what Howell has to say about the button up:
Shirts are like people — a simple basic form, but with infinite variations of detail that make individuality. Adaptable and versatile, the shirt accommodates a variety of life styles…
For me, a shirt has always been about the tactile quality of cloth and the detail — pocket, pleat, buttons. The life of a piece of clothing starts with its purpose, but its character lies in these details. As people are attracted to other people by their special features, so are they drawn to a garment.
It’s my hope that others will see the special features that come out of collaboration in the shirts I’m creating through participation.
