INTERNSHIP STORIES

I heard of this opportunity through my illustration professor. I was really excited for this opportunity so I quickly created a tailored portfolio and submitted my application with my fingers crossed. I was really hoping to get accepted because this internship sounded like a great opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and collaborate with other artists. About six weeks later, I got an email and I signed an acceptance form. I worked with several other interns. We had three advisors who taught us a lot about professionalism and ecology and helped by giving critiques throughout the process. The organization we partnered with is the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and our point of contact was a BLM archaeologist. Our point of contact worked with 30+ Native American tribes to protect and sustain public lands and foster an interest in our national heritag e. Our group traveled to Dolores, Colorado, to experience the land for ourselves and make signs for the park that would withstand th...

I learned about this internship through the Practice & Pie event. I was spotted by someone who told me that an employer liked my handknit sweater, who then directed me to them. She connected me with this artist after the event and I later introduced myself via email. My supervisor is a working artist who addresses and creates conversation around racism in America–with a focus on Baltimore, through craft. Many of her works are woven photography, repurposed ‘trash’ items such as plastic bags, caution tape, and more recently fruit bags. She uses various weaving techniques, hand-sewing, and other innovative joinery to create large sculptural works. My responsibilities were mainly to assist with making tests, or sketches, as she calls them. “Sketches” were like prototypes of larger works or playing around with materials. The sketches I created served as smaller models for larger projects, scalable measurements, potential joinery methods, and/or to learn about the characteristics of the ...

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 e...

My name is Lauren Schouten and I am a senior Illustration major. During the Summer of 2016 I was a Product Development Intern for Piece & Co. in New York City. Piece & Co. is a fair-trade textile company that focuses on employing female artisans all over the world, and bringing artisan textiles to luxury brands. I was always interested in getting into the fashion industry, but was a little worried about how I would fit into it. My concerns with getting into the fashion industry dealt with underpaid workers, environmental and social corruption, but also being an illustration major. In the search for an internship, I focused primarily on fair-trade and sustainable fashion and textile houses based in New York and Philadelphia. Piece and Co. stood out to me specifically because of their mission and promise to empower women all over the world, and to bring fair-trade textiles to the forefront of the fashion industry. Piece & Co. contacted me within a week of sending in my app...