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!

Chicago, Chicago

I've returned from a wonderful trip to the mid-west!

As mentioned in the previous post, I traveled to Chicago for the International Conference on Design Principles and Practices. Not only did we have wonderful weather for February in the Windy City, but the Conference was extraordinary! I didn't hear an actual count for the number of participants, but my guess would be well over 100- and it certainly proved to be an international crowd. Speakers were representing research from all over North and South America, Europe, Asia and newly formed countries which I had never even heard of. Regardless of nationality, we all spoke the common language of Design.

Most conference attendees were also speakers and were divided into 8 different "streams". These included:

Architecture, The Built Environment and Planning

Business, Economics and Knowledge Management

Social Policy, Culture and Welfare

Design Policy, Planning and Politics

Design Research

Digital, Internet and Multimedia Design

Engineering

Industrial Design

We were welcome to join any presentation, but were grouped by stream for "Talking Circles". These provided a chance to speak about our international commonalities within Design. I joined the Industrial Design Stream. We spoke mostly about multi-disciplinary Design and how, while nearly all designers are well versed in supporting disciplines, such as engineering and business, they are often not credited with these skills. We spoke about how the term "Design" even seems to take on a negative connotation around particular fields (such as engineering). Although I will not discuss this at length here, it is a topic I am very passionate about. Please email me if you'd like to discuss further. For a summary of this discussion, we concluded that while Designers are well-rounded in various disciplines, the key is to speak in the language of others. Because Designers are creative, and are both left and right brained, they can use the vocabulary of engineers, financial planners, and marketers. This flexibility is necessary for any productive business.

For more information on the Conference, please check out the website:

http://designprinciplesandpractices.com/conference-2010/

4th Annual International Conference on Design Principles and Practices

Hello my fellow Automotive Textile lovers!

My blog frequency has certainly dwindled since my graduation in December, but I do have exciting news to share. Tomorrow I am going to Chicago, IL for the 4th Annual International Conference on Design Principles and Practices. I will be presenting my thesis research on Sunday afternoon with the Industrial Design Stream. Following the Conference, I will submit a paper which will be under review for publication by Common Ground.

I am hoping to get a little Chi-town sightseeing done before the Conference starts on Saturday... And what is winter without an Auto Show?! Thursday evening, I'll be heading to McCormick Plaza for the 102nd Chicago Auto Exhibition to see what 2010 and beyond has in store! That's all for now, but I can assure you that details and pictures will follow, as usual.

HAPPY NEW YEAR and HAPPY HOLIDAYS

I hope everyone is having very happy holidays, wherever you may be.

I have been very busy graduating, celebrating holidays with family and friends, and moving. Although I have completed my thesis and degree, I will continue this blog until I find permanent employment. As soon as I get a chance, I will update with my progress. If you have emailed me, I will respond as soon as I can.

Take Care!

The Fun Never Ends :)

I hope everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving has had a wonderful one with friends and family! For everyone else in the world, I hope that you also take some time to think about all the things you are thankful for!

This past week I did my "final final final" (hopefully) thesis edits. The post "I'm Done" did not included edits from the thesis editor. This is the final step. She edits primarily for formatting (not content) so that the theses are consistent with the ETD (electronic thesis and dissertation) guidelines. I was able to complete these edits in a few hours and have shared with Nancy for 1 last review from her. I will edit one last time according to Nancy's feedback then this "final final final" version MUST be submitted by THIS Friday.

With the thesis almost completely behind me, its time for another project. In order to graduate, I must complete a final project for my Independent Study in Jacquard weaving. This project inspired my 3 architects I admire most: Gaudi, Gehry and Graves. This week I am creating image boards for each designer. From these I will create 2 colorways. I hope to have fabrics in each colorway for each designer, for a total of 6 fabric designs. My goal is to accomplish this in 1 week! This will leave me with a week and a half to prepare these weaves in design software (EAT DesignScope) and weave on either the Staubli and ElTex. Ideally, I will work on the ElTex- which hasn't been used in at least 7 years. This will certainly come with a learning curve. I'm up for the challenge, but the timing is certainly not ideal. I'll power through what I can and keep you updated!

Day Dos in Mexico

Day 2 didn't start until 11am, which was very nice to get a normal amount of sleep. I slept until around 8, had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel, then ventured around the hotel and surrounding blocks. It was a beautiful morning and a great opportunity to take pictures. I even ventured to the 6th floor smoking terrace and found my way to the helicopter pad! I was about 8 stories up, definitely one of the tallest buildings in the city. That morning, there was also a protest in the streets. I didn't figure out what for, but added a video.

Once I returned to BUAP, I listened to a speaker who focused on nonwovens and was a friend of my contact. It was then my turn again. I presented on 3D Spacer Fabrics for Automotive Upholstery and on the New Product Development Process through the Development of the Splinter Concept Supercar. I hadn't accounted well for the time it would take for translation, so didn't have an opportunity to present my thesis research at this time. It was necessary to formally close the Conference with a panel of Conference organizers and the College Director. The students were then asked if they'd like to hear my final presentation, and to my surprise, an overwhelming majority raised their hands- definitely a good feeling!

That night, also to my surprise, a neighboring University hosted a Fashion Show on BUAP's main campus. The show included collections created by the University's students ranging from high fashion dresses and trousers to ball gowns. This section of BUAP was in an old convent and absolutely beautiful. It was a bittersweet night as I had to bid farewell to my new friends, but with my new appreciation of Puebla, I hope to return in the near future!