FIDM Magazine

You're Invited: FIDM Orange County to Host Eco-Friendly Materials Event

On Wednesday, November 16, learn about the latest in eco-friendly, sustainable textiles, materials, and trends at FIDM Orange County's Innovative Materials Connection. Guest speakers include Rachel K. Lincoln, Women's Performance Product Developer for PrAna Living, one of California's leading companies in the area of sustainability and Kristine Upesleja, FIDM's Textile/Interiors Manager. Kristine has  conducted extensive research on sustainable fabrics and textiles since 2007.

While at the event, see the accompanying exhibition curated by Kristine Upesleja and Cynthia Aaron. It features the latest in cutting-edge and sustainable fibers, fabrics and materials, such as  fabrics made from coconut, banana, milk protein, used coffee grounds, and crab shells (to name a few). 

Also on display in the OC Museum & Gallery are selected garments from the the personal collection of Los Angeles-based historian Helen Larson. Gathered over a fifty-year period, the collection helped to establish the academic study of fashion history. This is the last collection of its kind still in private hands, and would be nearly impossible to duplicate in depth and breadth of objects.

Wednesday, November 16
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
FIDM Orange County Campus
17590 Gillette Ave.
Irvine, CA 92614

Light appetizers will be served.

*Please RSVP to careercenterOC@fidm.com or 949.851.6200 x1733.

Alumna's Eco-Friendly Swim Label is Growing

Fashion Design Alumna Mallory Curlee of CurleeBikini has recently moved into a new studio space. "I am further developing on the CB lifestyle as a whole, we even have started a CurleeBikini garden," she says. "I am prepping for S/S 2012 and we actually have an invitational opportunity to debut the line in the first sustainable swimwear fashion show at Eco Fashion Week in Vancouver, Canada!"

You're Invited: San Diego Campus to Host Eco-Friendly Materials Conference

On Tuesday, July 19, 2011, learn about the latest in eco-friendly textiles, materials, and trends at FIDM San Diego's Materials Conference. Guest speakers include Alison Rojas, Menswear Product Developer for PrAna, one of San Diego's leading companies in the area of sustainability and Scott Shearer, Development and Sourcing Manager for Accessories and Footwear at Volcom, Inc. 

Find out how Alexandra Hart's sophisticated and artful couture jewelry and metal sculpture is made in the USA from 100% recycled and refined metals and ethically sourced gemstones and FIDM's Textile/Interiors Manager Kristine Upesleja will discuss the latest in innovative and sustainable eco-friendly materials and textiles.

Don't miss the Beyond Bamboo exhibition on display in the library. Curated by Kristine Upesleja and Cynthia Aaron, Beyond Bamboo contains the latest in cutting-edge and sustainable fibers, fabrics and materials, such as  fabrics made from coconut, banana, milk protein, used coffee grounds, and crab shells, to name a few. 

Tuesday, July 19, 2011
5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
350 Tenth Avenue, 3rd Floor
San Diego, CA 92101
Light Appetizers will be served

*Please RSVP to Beverlee Cabral bcabral@fidm.com619.235.2049 ext. 1838

Interior Design Alumna Finds Success With Eco-Friendly Toys

Interior Design Alumna Eden Yaskil is the co-owner of Manny and Simon, a collection of organic cotton apparel and eco-friendly toys for children.

Her line is sold at over 250 stores, including Neiman Marcus and Barneys. One of their plush toys has also been seen on Modern Family.

FIDM Students Win Table Top Award

A team of five FIDM Visual Communications students took top honors at this year’s BizBash Expo & Awards, the national conference for event planners. At the BizBash Magazine/ISES-International Special Events Society Table Top Design Competition on June 14 in Pasadena, the FIDM team won for Best Aesthetic Design for Table Top. Under the leadership of FIDM Instructor and alumna Angela Hicks, the group interpreted the Midsummer Night’s Fantasy theme with an eco-friendly design featuring real branches, moss, and reclaimed tree bark. Working with a $300 budget plus contributions from Town & Country Rentals, Rolling Greens Hollywood (where Hicks is Creative Director of Home & Gardens), and the FIDM Scholarship Store, the team showcased their creativity with a lush romantic vision. Team FIDM consisted of: Jill Vandeventer, 
Angela Lee,
 Cindy Chao,
 Afra Forgette, and 
Sofia Baca.

FIDM Grad is a Semi-Finalist in Brides Magazine Contest

FIDM Fashion Design Alumna Hannah Friesen is a semi-finalist in Brides magazine's Operation Dream Dress 2011 contest. Voting for America's Most Beautiful Wedding Dress begins today and Hannah has created a blog to document the process.

Vote for Hannah's dress, which incorporates weaving and sustainable, natural fibers, every day until March 21. 

FIDM Instructor's Artwork To Be Featured Downtown

Artist, sculptor, and FIDM Jewelry Design Instructor Valerie Mitchell was chosen out of 15 district artists last month to design and create artwork that will be hung in Downtown Los Angeles, along Alameda from Third to Seventh streets, parts of Mateo and Palmetto streets, and Factory Place.

Read more about this exciting public art project in Los Angeles Downtown News.

Valerie will be teaching Metalsmithing this Spring at FIDM.

FIDM Grad Starts Gift Soap Business

FIDM Beauty Industry Merchandising and Marketing Grad JingJing Wang started her company producing handmade, eco-friendly, cold processed gift soaps a year after graduation. She visited the LA Campus to speak to a class in Entrepreneurship. “Sometimes doing a business is not what you planned,” said the upbeat Jing as she described some of the ups and downs of her first year in business. 

Where did you get the idea for your first business?

 I was inspired by a soap-making class I took in San Francisco. I found the process itself spiritually satisfying.

What did you learn in your first year?

After attending the LA Gift Show, I learned that my target market was bridal and baby shower, not the broader 30 year old, female, organic Whole Foods customer. I am still learning the market in China.

What are your plans for the company?

I’m going to start giving soap-making classes. My big dream is to bring my version of the crafts ecommerce website Etsy to China.

How do you keep moving forward?

I keep two books with me all the time: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and Deepok Chopra’s Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.

Any thoughts to leave your fellow entrepreneurs with?

Pure potentiality. Just do it.

Visit Jing’s website at jingbeautyusa.com

Innovative Materials & Textile Conference Held at FIDM

The FIDM Library and Alumni Relations presented three days of guest speakers and textile displays at the 2nd Annual Innovative Materials & Textile Conference, "Recycle, Reuse, Reinvent!" held recently on FIDM's Los Angeles campus.

Guest speakers discussed the latest eco-friendly and sustainable textiles and materials on the market. And students were invited to examine upclose these remarkable new materials available to designers.

The roster of speakers included FIDM Instructors and other industry professionals, including Taryn Hipwell, Julianne Pfister, Mallory Curlee, Rose Tourje, Sandra Garratt, Mike Farid, Susanna Schick, and Anna Mkhitarian.

Sustainable design was a common theme among the speakers.

FIDM Alumna Sandra Garrett (pictured above) is the Design Director at SilvrLining.com. She recently collaborated with with Project Runway designer, Andrae Gonzalo, among others, to create The Go Collection—urban outerwear that utilizes solar power for personal mobile devices.

Taryn Hipwell is an Instructor and Eco-Makeover Specialist at FIDM and has her own site EcoDivasTV.com. She has worked in both film and fashion for David Zucker and Anna Sui, and at the conference, she addressed sustainable design in terms of humanity, the environment, and the economy.

Julianne Pfister talked about eco-friendly packaging trends in the beauty industry. And Mallory Curlee introduced the topic of upcycling fashion—with her handmade, eco-friendly swimwear line, CurleeBikini.

Interior design was another topic of discussion when it comes to sustainability. FIDM Alumna Rose Tourje, discussed the evolution of ANEW, a non-profit she founded in 2005 dedicated to expanding Social Sustainability® through education and leadership. She highlighted the importance of sourcing locally, recycling and re-purposing, and the design and manufacture of sustainable products.

The event was a huge success. Free and open to all students, all seats were filled each day of the program. The conference moves to the San Diego campus this summer, July 19-20, and to the San Francisco campus in August, with guest speakers to be determined.

This exhibit was curated by Kristine Upesleja, FIDM's Textile/Interior Materials Manager. She has extensively researched and diligently collected these innovative materials over the past three years. FIDM Instructors invite her to give special presentations to their classes on these new textiles throughout the year. Students can find her in the Textiles Workroom in the Library, and can examine in person the latest materials on the market, including fabrics made from coconut, banana, milk protein, used coffee grounds, and crab shells. Her goal is to establish the largest materials collection on the West Coast. Free handouts describing these materials are available in the FIDM Library.

FIDM Alumna Opens Reinvintage in SF

Stocking vintage, recycled, and locally made fashion, accessories, and decor, Reinvintage was opened by FIDM Alumna Tracy Bechtel in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood.

"My decision to open Reinvintage came from a lifetime of collecting, creating, and compulsive shopping in second hand shops," says the Fashion Design Grad who also carries the work of local artists. "I knew that if I had a store filled with amazing things then people would see the importance of funky and unique fashion."