Keeping current, keeping busy

Hello my dear blog community!

It has been another exciting couple of months.  This post is just a quick summary of some of the most exciting things I've been up to in the automotive, textile, and design worlds.

In addition to my pet care business, the past few months have presented me with opportunities for freelance and part time work within my discipline.

One of these opportunities includes creating conceptual artwork that an automotive textiles supplier plans to use as inspiration for new designs.

I have also been working with my former professor, Vita Plume.  Vita is a Fibers and Surface Designer, and a world-renowned weaver.  She recently recieved a grant from the North Carolina Art Council to produce a body of work.  I have been assisting her as a weaving technician on the College of Design's TC-1 Hand-Jacquard loom.

Additionally, Vescom America has invited me to join their Product Design team.  I will primarily be assisting the team with hands-on screenprinting.  Vescom is a leading developer of interior products for the international market.  This primarily includes vinyl and textile wall coverings.  They offer sustainable, anti-microbial, and high fashion designs for all interior spaces.  I start with Vescom and look forward to learning more about the company and product.  Please check them out: http://www.vescom.com 

Staying current and networking have been my keys to success.  This month, I was able to do both by attending the Inter-Society Color Council annual meeting.  The ISCC was founded in 1931 with the goal of advancing the knowledge of color as it relates to art, science, and industry.  The council provides the unique opportunity to combine experts from each discipline.  Far too often artist, scientists, industrial researchers, and academics do not get to interact.  I find these relationships interesting and valuable, as presented in my thesis research.  It is important that each area works with one another and can "speak the language" of each group.

To learn more about ISCC, check out: http://www.iscc.org/

I'd also like to thank one of my worldly readers for sharing their website with me, which I will now share with you: http://racing-top.com.es/  
Thanks Javier- great links!

Mid-Century Modern

For those of you that follow my blog, or know me personally, this "hobby" of mine will come as no surprise.  My passion for Mid-Century America goes much deeper than the automotive industry and has culminated in an apartment full of stylishly designed, well-crafted furniture, kitchenware, and clothes.  

The term "Mid-Century Modern" refers to architectural, interior, product, and digital designs that thrived through the 1930's to 1960's.  Some of the most influential designers of this era include Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles and Ray Eames, Herman Miller, Milo Baughman, Thayer Coggin, and Paul McCobb.  The organic and simplistic lines characteristic of Mid-Century Modern are synonymous with Scandanavian design elements of this time period.  

This movement was prominent on the West Coast and in large, "trendy" cities, which attracted designers and collectors.  While LA and Chicago rank 1st and 2nd for concentration of mid-century architecture, Raleigh, NC is an unexpected 3rd.  Much of this has to due with the NC State College of Design, the professors and lecturers drawn to the program by CoD Dean, Henry Kamphoefner and colleagues.  The College itself is based on Bauhaus design principles (also a substantial influence on Mid-Century Design).  Another notable source of influence to Raleigh's position in the Mid-Century Modern scene is the wealth of notable NC furniture manufacturers such as Haywood, Lane, Broyhill, and Drexel.   

This fall Raleigh's Mid-Century Modern heritage has been flowing into the public arena through multiple outlets. On September 25, Triangle Modernists Houses hosted their annual tour of selected architectural jewels in the Raleigh area.  NC State's Gregg Museum is hosting "Southern Roots of Mid-Century Modern" (August 19-December 18).  Additionally, Mid-Century Modern private dealers are flourishing as Gen-Y is reconnecting with items from their parents' and grandparents' homes.  

Below are images of pieces I collected with my boyfriend from dealers, thrift stores, flea markets, craigslist, and our parents.  There's nothing more exciting than the thrill of finding a piece where the owners did not know what they were parting with and getting a real deal.  I've also included an exterior picture of our building, the Beckanna.  Our furniture has found a comfortable home in this 1960's uptown apartment.

Favorite Triangle Dealers and Deals
Father & Son Antiques
Good Bones Vintage
Modernique
Hipsteria
Cause for Paws
Habitat for Humanity ReStore

New Gigs, New Hopes

Good Evening Good Friends!

I've had some good news over the past month.  I expanded my career search to include technical and performance textiles...with success!  I'm in the middle of a couple of very intense interview processes and am remaining optimistic that I will be able to begin my professional career by September (fingers crossed!).

In the between time, I am also pursuing opportunities for extra income.  One of my most exciting endeavors is to expand my passion for pets into a profitable experience.  Check out my Paw Prints Website!

www.JenBensPawPrints.blogspot.com

Wish me luck!

Where in the World is Jenna?

New Brunswick, Canada!

Yeah...I've been here for a month...dog-sitting!

I'm at a friend's cottage on the lake, enjoying life.  I'm in Jemseg, which is 45 minutes from the capital of Fredericton.  Not only am I with an amazing dog, I am in a beautiful province with a lively downtown.  Last week, I picked a friend up in Maine and we traveled to Prince Edward Island and Halifax, Nova Scotia.  PEI was amazing with red clay beaches and thousands of acres of green gables.  While in Halifax, we made friends with a group from Quebec, canoed, and danced around our campfire.  We had a very short trip, but still managed an hours drive in the port area.

Yesterday, I took a trip into Fredericton for the Cultural Expressions Festival.  The day was filled with a rainbow of ethnicities, food, arts, music, and dancing.  I came back with a henna tattoo on my arm and one tired dog.  Also in Fredericton, I've been to local concerts, local shopping, and even a Pow Wow sponsored by the local tribe of St. Mary's.

I'll be here just 11 more days and will have another visitor starting on Tuesday!  Lots of fun ahead of me still, and lots of work behind me.

While here, I have also worked on a chapter I am writing for a new Woodhead Publishing book, New Product Development in Textiles: Innovation and Production.  I'll be sure to post when this book is released!  


I must go enjoy the beautiful weather!  I'll upload pictures once I'm home with a stronger internet connection.

Happy Summer!

American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists

Last week I attended the 2010 AATCC International Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.  The focus of this year's conference was "Innovation and Sustainability Bring New Life to Textiles".  The conference was co-located with ATME-I MEGATEX 2010 as part of the Textile and Sewn Products Industry Week.  Techtextil North America and SPESA Expo also ran concurrently.

On the first day of the conference, I presented my thesis research on automotive textile color trends.  Although few attendees were experts on the automotive industry, I received much positive feedback regarding my topic and approach.

Attending this conference was a great opportunity for networking and learning more about the textile industry and key players globally.  Some the most interesting presentations I attended were in the Concept 2 Consumer track.  These included Sarah Kang of Chico's presentation on Color Consistency from Concept to Production, Tiffany Eubanks of Inspired Design Solutions' presentation on Traditional Textile Printing in Today's Digital Age, Stephen Fraser of Spoonflower's presentation on People-powered Textile Design, Danielle Locastro of First2Print's presentation on Digital Printing Dresses Up Couture Fashion for Michael Angel, and the research of NCSU College of Textile's Nancy Powell, Lisa Parillo-Chapman and Amani Shaker, whose topic focused on Consumer Perception of Quality in Jaquard Woven and Printed Fabrics for Home Furnishings.

On the last day of the conference, I made my way through the week's textile expo.  Hundreds of global companies were in attendance, and I was able to take the time to sit down with consultants from Lectra, and DataColor, two digital textile technologies companies of great value to automotive industry.


In addition to the conference, those of you who follow me know that I enjoy taking full advantage of my travel, whether it be for pleasure or business.  On the drive to Atlanta, I stayed with friends in Spartanburg, SC and made a trip into Greenville, SC- one of the most quaint towns I've come to love.  While in Atlanta, I spent time strolling Centennial Park and Decatur Street, enjoying the local cuisine, and even attended an exciting Braves MLB game.  On the way back, I stopped in Marietta to see a friend's childhood neighborhood and walked along the Chattahoochee River on a beautiful Thursday afternoon.

Portfolios, Pets and Progress.

Another month has passed and on top of the work I am doing for the College of Textiles and my job search, I am constantly finding new ways to keep myself busy.

Updates
1) I have created a new set of instructions and a working chain plan for EAT in conjunction with the ElTex.  We are currently working with some of the wonderful personnel at EAT to check that these are accurate.  This will enable us to have our ElTex loom working properly, and ensure that students, faculty and staff will be able to easily work with this loom and software in the future.  Once the instructions are verified, I will be gin creating a database of weave structures.

2) In continuation of my thesis research, I am working with graduate student Ivy Hill to determine trends in hand by the categories of Thickness and Softness.  Once all data is collected, we will evaluate the trends and make predictions for the future.

3) Although I have not yet found my niche in the automotive textile industry, I am not allowing my confidence to falter.  This is a tough job market, especially for such a specific area of interest.  In addition to my career search, I have been finding new and exciting ways to continue my cash flow beyond working with the college.  These are listed in the next section.

New Projects
1) Pet walking, sitting, loving...  I am an animal lover to the extreme, but I know that until I have a normal working schedule, a permanent living situation, and a steady cash flow, I cannot have a pet of my own.  Instead, I have integrated others' pets into my life and have added to my weekly income.  This is usually the most exciting part of my day.  If you're local and have a pet that needs some extra love and attention while you're at work, gone for the weekend, etc., contact me and I'll be glad to help!

2) I am starting my own online business!  I am offering services to help prepare you for the job market. I am offering services such as Resume writing, formatting and editing and Portfolio building.  I can also provide guidelines and personal consultations for Interview success and self-promotion for "You as a Product".  The website is currently in progress and will connect from this blog as soon as it is available.

3) In addition, I am thinking about heading west to California by the end of the summer, surrounding myself with automotive design centers.  While I'm there, I'll continue my Pet-sitting and Resume services and perhaps work part-time with an automotive trim shop or in a retail environment.  I will continue my career search and will be ready to move wherever the best opportunity may take me.

So what's next?

Its been a very strange past couple of months for me. For the first time in 23 years, I'm not in school. This certainly doesn't mean that life has gotten any less busy!

This month I have began working with the NC State College of Textiles again, continuing my work with EAT DesignScope and helping Nancy Powell with automotive research (including my own). I really enjoy working with EAT and our jacquard equipment. Its certainly a privilege to have access to this equipment and every time I work with it, my technical knowledge continues to grow. I am currently working with our ElTex JC4, which has not run successfully in almost 10 years. I created a weave blanket in December and the technicians got the loom running after working with it and ordering parts for a full semester. Now that I've returned, our goal is to connect all 8 fillings and to create 3- and 8-filling weave blankets. I will then create the instructions, complete with step-by-step screen shots, for future students. I also hope to weave my ATS/Kolon Competition designs.

Beyond this, I have updated my resume and created a pdf portfolio. I am currently reaching out to all the contacts who were so helpful during my thesis process to thank them and connect them to my research. Still in progress is my physical portfolio and job search.

On that note, I am available and ready to interview if any of my readers know of available positions :)

Common Seam Collective

Collective Seam is a collaboration of five of the most talented fiber, fabric, and apparel artists I have had the pleasure of knowing:

Gabrielle Duggan

Meghan Holliday

Liz Morrison

Amy Quinn

Shelley Smith

I will quote their facebook fan page a

nd website for the most accurate description of this exciting project:

In August of 2009, five fiber-minded individuals came together to think about how to design and produce textile art and apparel in new and sustainable ways. As the conversation continued, the common concepts of "slow clothing" and the value of making further interwove the individuals and the Common Seam Collective was born...

The Common Seam Collective is a community of artists, designers, and craftspeople exploring fibers and textiles and developing our work through collaboration, critique, and education. From spinning yarn to fashion design, we seek to enrich our community by cultivating an interest in both old and new technological processes use in fibers and textiles.

On Friday February 26th, 2010, the Collective debuted their first group show featuring the work of founding members.

I was fortunate enough to attend this show, and see for myself how much these girls have accomplished during their time at NC State's Colleges of Textiles and Design and beyond. I felt so proud to have been a part of the same programs as these girls, but I will let the work speak for itself.

Please check thecommonseam.com for more information and photos.

All photography by Erin Debnam, www.erindebnam.com

2010 Chicago Auto Show

Enjoy!