MamerSass

My name is Haven DeAnglis and I am a junior Fibers major with concentrations in Sustainability and Social Practice and Experimental Fashion. During the summer of 2018, I was an intern at MamerSass Reinvented Fashions in Chincoteague, Virginia. The small business focuses on reducing textile waste, and the apparel that is sold in the store is either vintage or upcycled. I learned of the internship experience after the co-owner and designer of the business, Jamey Brittingham, reached out to the Students of Sustainability club to see if we would be interested in hosting them on their college tour. I was able to bring MamerSass to campus in the spring of 2018, and Jamey gave an inspiring artist talk about starting a small, sustainable business. They also brought along the mobile shop, so students could see the upcycled clothing creations. Before Jamey and her partner Derek came to MICA, I did research on the company and learned that they offered internships. I expressed my interested in interning with them, while communicating the plans for the artist talk, and after seeing my portfolio, I was offered the position.

MamerSass could not have been a better internship experience for my career goals. My dream after college would to have my own small business, in which I would design and make upcycled punk clothing and accessories. I was the only intern Jamey and Derek had at the time in May and June, so I was able to frequently ask questions about how to start and successfully run a business. I mainly worked with Jamey in designing and making upcycled clothing. The workroom is part of the store, so while we weren’t dealing with customers, we were busily making clothes. One of the most important takeaways I had was that working hard and being able to multi-task is key if you want your business to grow. Even though Jamey and I may spend hours making a shirt, it may only sell for $35 because customers want inexpensive clothing. The materials for upcycled fashion is free or very cheap but one has to love the labor they put into it for being your own boss means no one is giving you a steady wage. While it was a lot of work, I absolutely loved the internship and making the clothes and jewelry each day. One of the most fulfilling aspect was when a customer would buy an item I made and knew they would wearing something I created.

During most of my internship, Jamey and Derek were preparing for vending at Firefly Music Festival, which meant that a lot of clothes had to be made. Jamey and I created Festival Tops out of scrap pieces of fabric, Split Tees out of old, unwanted t-shirts, and many t-shirt shopping bags. I was also able to teach them how to screen print their logo onto t-shirts and sweatshirts, which sold well at the festival. It was cool to see that something I had learned in school was able to be implemented into another setting. After my internship was completed in June, they asked me if I would like to stay and work with them for another month and be paid! Not only was the internship an excellent learning experience, but I was able to receive a job from it, too.

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

My name is Emma Rubini, and I am going into my senior year as an Illustration major. In summer 2016, I interned in the costume department at the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company (CSC). The world of theatre is one that has interested me since I was a child, but I had gotten out of it since starting college, and it was something I really missed. After becoming interested in costumes as a hobby, I took the costume design class here at MICA in fall of 2014, and it was from the professor of that class that I heard about CSC. I emailed the costume director, Kristina Lambdin. She got back to me quickly, and after a short back-and-forth, she accepted my internship request. She is also the one who became my direct supervisor. She is in charge of designing costumes for new shows (sometimes with a co-designer) as well as maintaining the costume shop and creating new costumes.

The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company is a theatre company here in Baltimore, and I was drawn to them because of their dedication to the education of the community, and their creative spirit.  While working there, I acted as Kristina’s assistant, sometimes working in conjunction with other hired seamstresses. 

During the time I worked, the company put on the play The Three Musketeers, and I helped with modifying existing costumes as well as cleaning and repairing costumes that were damaged during the show. I assisted with organizing and repairing the costumes and returning them to their correct places in the stock. We followed a similar process for the next show, Anne of a Thousand Days.

I am very happy with my time at the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company. I think what I am most proud of is the fact that my work will be seen by so many people. Even though my contributions weren’t large or grandiose, even the small feeling of pride I get thinking about that tells me that I am on the right path. I am very interested in the design and production of costumes and fashion, particularly in the world of theatre, and I think the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company has been the perfect place to start.

Printfresh

My name is Emily Joynton. As an Illustration Practice MFA grad student, I participated in a variety of different workshops facilitated by my program. Last spring, one of those workshops focused on patternmaking and it was led by Amy Voloshin and Leanne Biank of Printfresh. Before the workshop, I was not sure how much I would enjoy making patterns or learning about the industry, but Amy and Leanne led an informative and enjoyable session. I found making patterns to be challenging but also a lot of fun, so after our critique I asked Amy and Leanne if Printfresh offered any paid internships over the summer. They enthusiastically confirmed that they do, and a few days later I sent in my formal application. Just a few weeks later, I was officially accepted as one of the summer interns.

Printfresh is a textile design company, meaning that they have an in-house team of designers who are constantly creating new patterns to coincide with predicted trends (mostly geared toward the women’s and junior’s markets). Printfresh also prints samples of each of the designs so as to give clients a tangible example of the print. As an intern, I spent half of my days in production where I learned how to print, label, and archive these original prints. While this side of the internship was not as exciting as the actual designing, it helped me have a much better understanding of how the company functions as a whole, how all the moving parts culminate in client visits, general sales, and trade shows. Being in production was a great test of patience (we had numerous technical difficulties with the printers themselves) but overall a good experience in what felt like the “behind the scenes” work of a textile design company.

The other half of my days was spent working in design. I was partnered with a really great junior’s designer named Esther who mentored me on everything from making patterns to more efficient use of Photoshop. She led me through each step of creating a pattern, working through the project sheets of each new trend. Each “trend” for a designer is a group of 4 patterns, so I would help Esther by creating the final pattern in the trend group, or creating motifs that she could later layout herself into a completed pattern. I also helped her do market research and find reference images for new motifs to incorporate into new patterns. Esther also helped me think as a designer for the junior’s market and what that meant in terms of what kind of motifs we used, what colors worked best, etc. We had an excellent personal and professional dynamic – working with her was a wonderful experience.

During my time at Printfresh, several of my patterns actually sold! This was really exciting news that spoke to the great mentorship I had from Esther and how I was learning to create marketable prints. I was also asked to help with the Premiere Vision trade show in New York. That was a thrilling experience to see the sales in motion and be in the center of the activity that is a major trade show. These are just a few examples of how Printfresh allowed me to see all sides of the business and have very well-rounded experience even in such a short amount of time.

Working with Printfresh was a great experience all around. Based on my internship, I would consider applying to work at Printfresh as a full-time designer when I graduate in May. It’s very exciting to become aware of opportunities like this, where I am able to put my skills as an illustrator into fun and important paid work.