383 Design Studio

One of my favorite people visited my class today! Jennie Ortt brought her infectious energy and immense industry wisdom to my FIT students, and as always, I learned something new. (Actually, I learned a lot of things today! I had no idea about those org charts!?? One thing that really stood out to me, though, was she talked about how our business needs in-person collaboration. And while I am an advocate of remote work, I totally understand what she means. As much as I enjoy working remotely, I would be crazy to dismiss the value of in-person collaboration. It's just different. It reminds me, sometimes, of when my mom would talk about the value of church fellowship. Sometimes, you just need to be around people. The power of the water cooler moments or just stopping by someone's desk. Having someone there to get an extra opinion. Or, real talk, just having good energy around you. Quiet as it's kept, a large part of being a great designer is the relationships you build with others through collaboration, through the many discussions on how we bring this product to life, through working out the construction with the pattern and sample maker, through the strategy sessions with the cross functional teams. And yes, a lot of that CAN happen virtually. But some of it probably SHOULD happen in-person.

Last year, I had the pleasure of being on Make the Dot 's podcast "Makers of Fashion". I had such a great time chatting with Emilie Ho about lots of things, one of which was the origins of how I started in fashion by making Barbie clothes. Check out this short clip from the podcast, and then make sure you watch the whole very fun, informative and vivrant conversation! ?? to the interview on the Make the Dot YouTube channel in the first comment.

One of the many reasons I really appreciate Style3D is the avatar editor. The ones I've used on previous 3D tools have been good, but I haven't been able to get this level of customization from any of them. If you're curious about how it works and if you'll be able to fully customize the measurements on your own 3D avatar, check out this short teaser, and then head over to the 383 Design Studio YouTube channel and watch the full video.

If you're diving into the world of 3d fashion design, you probably already know how important it is to have a good avatar. I mean, it's like having a good fit model. But digitally! And this is crucial regardless of the 3d fashion software. Recently, I started experimenting with and learning Style3D . And I have to say, the avatar editor is more robust and customizable than most! I really like it, and I think you will, too! Watch how simple it is to use in this week's YouTube video on the 383design YouTube channel! ?? in comments.

On the last day of Black History Month, I'm honoring a woman who made one of the most iconic wedding dresses in US History but is still relatively unknown. If you've never heard of her, let me introduce you to American couturier, Ann Lowe.

Quick PSA for all of us creative . . . Don't forget to have fun and find the joy in what you're doing . . . Everyday! #weneedjoy

Though this woman's life reads like a soap opera, with tragedy came triumph and incredible amounts of courage and strength. A business woman who's networking and dressmaking skills would take her all the way to the white house, we can all learn a thing or two from Ms. Elizabeth Keckley.