My name is Andrea Barnes and I am a Junior Fiber major with a concentration in Experimental
Fashion. During the Summer of 2017, I maintained a three month long weaving and retailing internship for Nantucket Looms. A cottage living style store that offers hand made textiles, furnishing, and design services. The store is based on Nantucket, an island located off the cape of Massachusetts. For years I have visited family that live on the island and consider Nantucket as my second home. Almost two years ago I walked into the store with my family one Christmas and accidentally discovered the weaving studio hidden in the upstairs part of the Looms. There I had a long conversation with the head weaver, Rebecca Peraner, and expressed my interest to be a part of the commercial textile world. She recognized the Maryland Institute College of Art and asked me to send her some pictures of my work as well as my resume. Two weeks later she responded with an enthusiastic email about my work and asked for my summer schedule.
This is now my second summer at Nantucket Looms. The first summer I interned I had small and limiting tasks to complete from day to day. I cleaned the upstairs studio, answered costumer’s questions, and worked on small scale projects on the loom on a 35 hour work week schedule. This summer I was assigned more advanced projects on the loom and was asked to experiment with material to create new products for the Fall of 2017. I worked with cashmere, linen, and created large cotton throws that sold for an expensive price. I also got the chance to work on set for some for one of their commercials/ advertisements for the company. I feel this time I had a chance to gain closer relationships with not only the employees in the weaving studio, but as well as the people working floor of the store, packing station, and the graphic design studio. Ive also learned each employee has a small creative outlet whether that be knitting, sewing, painting, drawing, or photography. For a boy who works in packaging his mother years ago worked as a weaver in the studio and he also practices photography in his free time. I learned a lot about Island life in the summer vs. the winter and how family is an important part of the company and it’s values. Working at The Looms has helped me gain new insight on where I want to go with my career. I want to be in an inclusive studio space for artists, designers, and business people. A place that is commercial but emphasizes the importance of
tradition, craft, and community.
Having this extraordinary experience under my belt I feel less intimidated to apply for internships in competitive cities such as New York and San Francisco. I plan to direct my portfolio towards more fashion and less interior design/ fine arts for when I apply to internships for the Summer 2018. I also hope to continue to keep all the close relationships I have made within Nantucket Looms. I have gained many mentors and friendships from this experience that I will never forget.
