FIDM Students Participate in 2018 Wool & Fine Fiber Symposium

Students from FIDM's San Francisco campus recently participated in the 2018 Wool & Fine Fiber Symposium, hosted by Fibershed, which develops regional and regenerative fiber systems on behalf of independent working producers.

Earlier this month, FIDM SF Instructor Jenine Hillaire and Department Coordinator, Janice Paredes, partnered with Fibershed for its 7th Annual Wool Symposium, held at Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station, California. The day-long event featured more than 20 speakers, along with hands-on skills demonstrations and Symposium Marketplace.

Panel discussions focused on soil-to-skin themes such as Fire Ecology, Fostering Animal Integration, Fiber Systems, and Functional Use of Garments. Practitioners and creators shared perspectives on the relationships between fire and our region's ecosystem and material culture, the role of prescribed grazing and integrated agroecology in fuel load reduction and soil carbon sequestration among many other benefits, and the impacts of the use phase of clothing and textiles.

Jenine collaborated with Fibershed directors to create the Zero Waste 2018/19 Design Challenge for FIDM Students, who were tasked with creating designs that resulted in less than 5% scrap waste from the marker (cutting layout). The Symposium organizers invited FIDM Students to display and speak about their designs using wool yarns and the woven 'community cloth' made of wool from Northern California sheep then loomed at Huston Textiles in Sacramento, California. 

Categories:  Apparel Industry Management Fashion Design Fashion Knitwear Design Textile Design