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TCD Loose Threads Archive - October 2008

Message from Alabama Chanin: Love Your Thread
Posted On October 16, 2008

Designer and Alabama Chanin founder Natalie Chanin joined TCD faculty, staff and students Wednesday evening October 15 as the featured speaker for the annual TCD Convocation, held this year in the Nebraska Union. Chanin, of Florence, Alabama, shared an inspiring and sometimes poignant story of her evolution as both a designer and entrepreneur. Committed to moving the textile and apparel industry in the direction of increased sustainability, Chanin has created a successful design/build model for a community-focused artisanal business. Chanin's appearance was funded in part by a grant from the UNL Convocations Committee.
 
Natalie Chanin addresses the annual TCD Convocation
 
Chanin spoke about her circular life and career journey, one that began in Florence, Alabama, took her to New York and Vienna where she worked as a costume designer and stylist in the apparel and film industries, and, 22 years later, saw her return to her roots in Florence, first to establish Project Alabama and, six years later, her current business, Alabama Chanin. Her business model 'thinks global' but 'acts local' with the emphasis on the local economy and on creating a mutually sustainable relationship between Chanin's design, product development and marketing team and the independent contractors who manufacture, mostly by hand, the garments and home accessories that make up the company's product line.
While in the department, Chanin met with students in TXCD 225 Surface Design on Textiles, TXCD 212 Product Development I, and TXCD 403/803 Draping, answering questions, talking about her design and production methods and systems, and commenting on student work-in-progress.
 
Natalie Chanin discussing student work in Surface Design on Textiles
 
Chanin's visit also included a luncheon with members of the TCD student organization Montage in the new International Quilt Study Center building where Chanin, a quilt enthusiast whose product line has included innovatively embellished recycled quilts (featured in the June/July issue of American Craft magazine) had the opportunity to tour the facility with IQSC currator of collections Carolyn Ducey. "You're so lucky to have this here," Chanin stated, "it's an amazing facility."
 
The TCD Convocation, begun as TCD's Welcome Back event in 2006 when Project Runway contestant Stacey Estrella served as keynote speaker, was created as an opportunity for new and returning students to meet one another and the faculty and staff, network, enjoy food and other refreshments, and learn about TCD programs and plans. This year TCD majors Abby Gross, Melissa Purvis, Kristen Limoges, Liz Nguyen and Jessica Nathans spoke about their summer 2008 internship experiences, each illustrating her presentation with imaginatively developed PowerPoint slides. Their experiences provided invaluable insights into both the internship program and the apparel professions.
 
Natalie "Alabama" Chanin (center) with TCD majors Katelyn O'Brien,
Bridget Berry, Melissa Purvis and Madison Simmons.


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Designer Natalie Chanin to Visit TCD for Annual Convocation
Posted On October 7, 2008

Designer Natalie Chanin will be in the department on October 15 and 16, and will be the featured speaker at the annual TCD Convocation, taking place from 5 - 7 p.m. on Wednesday October 15 in Nebraska Union on UNL's city campus. Chanin's appearance is funded in part by a grant from the UNL Faculty Senate's Convocations Committee.

The annual convocation provides students, staff and faculty members a chance to meet colleagues and peers, hear about recent student internship and study tour experiences and plans for future internship and study tours, and gain insights into the textile and apparel professions and industry. Chanin's talk, Love Your Thread: Local Communities and Sustainability in the Global Marketplace, will start at approximately 6 p.m. in the NU Auditorium, opposite the Regency Suites where the convocation begins at 5 p.m. with a beverage and appetizer buffet for all TCD community members.

Natalie "Alabama" Chanin is the designer and owner/founder of Alabama Chain, a company that creates an array of limited-edition items for the individual and home. Using a mixture of new, organic and recycled materials, Chanin's products are constructed with care by artisans who live and work in local Alabama communities. All Alabama Chanin product lines are made by hand in the USA. Co-founder and partner in the highly successful Project Alabama from 2000 - 2006, Chanin embodies the innovation and vision of youthful textile and apparel entrepreneurship. A graduate of the School of Design at North Carolina State University, Chanin worked as a designer/stylist both in the US and in Europe from 1987 through 2000. A member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, she was a finalist for the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum's Award for Fashion, and is a fellowship recipient of the Alabama State Council for the Arts.


Driven by her interests in sustainable production, incubating local businesses, strengthening rural economies, and slow growth, Chanin has applied a carbon imprint-sensitive model to building innovative businesses in the apparel and home decorating professions. Her design work has been featured in exhibitions including Evolution/Revolution: The Arts and Crafts in Contemporary Textiles at the Museum of Art of the Rhode Island School of Design, and has been featured in numerous publications including Women's Wear Daily and By Hand: The Use of Craft in Contemporary Art.

Chanin's visit to UNL is intended to inspire students and provide a model of successful art/design entrepreneurship. She will present about both her design approach and her business model to a range of classes including TXCD 225, TXCD 212 and TXCD 403/803, and she will have lunch with members of Montage, providing students additional opportunities to network and learn about her work.

The entire TCD community is invited to the annual Convocation, and the general public is invited to the 6 p.m. keynote presentation. Admission is free. Copies of Natalie Chanin's Alabama Stitch Book ($35.) will be available for purchase and autographing.



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