In the midst of finishing my Master’s thesis and keeping up with coursework, I have been looking at Academic positions currently available in the field of Apparel/ Fashion/ Textiles. This is a snapshot of the positions currently available and posted in the International Textile and Apparel Association website: Compared to other fields, this is a long…
Tag: care
Fiber Farm Community Supported Ag
I recently became a virtual farmer in support of Sweet Tree Hill Farm in Virginia. The farm has Shetland sheep, angora rabbits, and cashmere goats. I was excited to learn where the the funds I provided would go. They helped pay for 1 month’s worth of hay for the fiber animals. I’m glad I can contribute in…
Excerpt from Sheep Farm Literature
I began to read the book “The Improbable Shepherd: More Stories from Sylvia’s Farm” by Sylvia Jorrin, 2013. She has a sheep and goat farm in the foothills of the Catskill mountains in NY. This is a passage I especially enjoyed: “…Other islands of dark green emerged and disappeared. Parts of the hills that surround this…
Hand-spun New York Yarns
Excited to make something from my yarns! They are predominantly wool with some alpaca and cashmere blends. They were hand-spun on a drop-spindle, and are 3-ply yarns. The roving was sourced from the Laughing Goat Fiber Farm and Spot Hollow Farm in New York. The yarns were made during the second half of 2013 and I just…
Embracing Local Cultures of Dress- Small Exhibit
Local production of clothes has been integral to several cultures throughout time. This exhibit focused on comparing Navajo traditional, local cultures of dress and textiles, with the American Fibershed project that is creating “local” cultures of dress as part of the larger sustainable fashion movement. The Fibershed project in Northern California was established in 2011 by…
Amazing Fibershed Symposium 2013!
I went to the Fibershed Annual Wool & Fine Fiber Symposium in Point Reyes Station, CA last weekend Sat Nov 16. I was very excited to see a wide range of people from different professions including University professors to fiber farmers and artisans. Presentations can be seen here. If you are interested in agricultural sustainability, or care…
Commemorating Celia Cruz
Yesterday Google featured Afro-Cuban “Queen of Salsa” Celia Cruz to commemorate her birthday. I was happy to see the glimmering representation of Celia Cruz on google as a happy, creative figure. The image strongly parallels a blue dress she wore to the 3rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in 2002. Celia Cruz is…
Between the 1930s Stitches
Throughout the 1920s and 30’s Coco Chanel revolutionized women’s fashions by shifting women’s dress away from constricting corsets, bustles, and long trains. She designed comfortable clothes with a relaxed fit, which gave women greater freedom of movement and autonomy. She introduced the 3-piece suit as a cardigan, blouse, and skirt, which became a part of women’s…
Adding Value to Care Labels
Clothing tags can often be ignored or cut off after we determine the ideal way to wash/ dry our clothes. Including information about production processes, environmental, and social responsibility is one way companies are giving greater value to care labels. Below we see examples of care tags created by Leafcutter Designs in California. These labels can…
Mapping NY Fiber Farms
I’ve been creating a map of fiber farms throughout New York to contribute to discourses about regional Fibersheds. I inserted all of the addresses and identified the specific fiber animals that are one the farms. The map shows that there are extensive Alpaca farms, much more than sheep farms. This is because I was able…
Finished Cashmere Sweater and Memories
I finally finished the cashmere sweater that I mentioned in a previous post. The stitches in this sweater have so many memories and I am so happy that I can reflect back on the time I spent preparing the yarn and knitting. I began working on it in June and finished in August 2013 and it…
Re-Visiting Laughing Goat Fiber Farm
I previously visited the Laughing Goat Fiber Farm in January when it was snowy. Visiting in Summer is beautiful and it was great to see and interact with the fiber animals again. I’m currently hand-knitting a cashmere sweater from cashmere fibers of this farm. The cashmere is grey, a mix of black and white fibers from…
From Watershed to Fibershed
“Fibershed” is a term coined by Rebecca Burgess, it represents regional fiber resources from plants and animals such as sheep, goat, or alpaca, manufacturing mills that process raw fibers into clothing, and a local market. To understand this term, it is helpful to consider better known watersheds, bodies of water that link up to larger bodies…
Nurturing a Sustainable Design Aesthetic
I remember when I spent entire summer days drawing new designs alongside my twin sister, Nidia. The joy I took in drawing each “doll” as we called them, inspired me to pursue fashion design academically. This outfit was heavily inspired by the ’90s, and my interpretation of fashion as an art form. The “dolls” above,…
Development of a Sustainable Design Aesthetic
Developing a strong design aesthetic requires acknowledgement of the mind’s creative potential. It has taken my twin sister and I over 10 years to develop distinct design aesthetics. Both of our aesthetics are geared towards sustainability, but they are distinguished by the way we approach thinking about design. I will focus on communicating my sister’s,…
HELEN TREJO 