Meetings

Lauren Jones – On Bridging the Gap between Frustrated Seamstress and Liberated Fashion Designer: My Processes

On this score, she would like to thank many of the people she has met along the way for lending their guidance and expertise as her mentors and teachers. These people include, first – her mother – who told her tales of her grandmothers sewing prowess – she was a young woman during the depression and never had enough money to dress the way she would have liked to – so instead, she would take herself to the shops, find a stylish suit on a mannequin – and then return home, and cut out the pattern in newspaper to make for herself. It was this tale that inspired the founding of Front Range Prototypes, LLC. 

Lauren’s mother guided her through the basics of sewing, which proved enough to get her first job in the industry – working for the Costume Shop of Trinity College in Hartford Connecticut. There she learned how to identify period accurate costumes and how to build them as well. She then moved to Colorado, where she met the wonderful Elfriede Gamow, who employed her first as a salesgirl in her garment oriented fine fabric store, then as a manager and wholesale buyer at Industry Wide Trade shows. Elfriede taught Lauren about the properties of natural fibers, and of the importance of finding the right fabric for a task. Lauren learned the importance of weave in durability and was able to develop an eye for fashionable fabrics that would sell well in the shop. 

While employed by Elfriede, Lauren was also apprenticed to Master Tailor Susan Igou – first female president of the International Congress of Tailors. Susan taught Lauren how to create professional, couture quality finishes in all kinds of different women’s garments, as well as the basics of fit, and basic tailoring skills. 

After 4 years learning from these two wonderful women, Lauren applied to Parsons the New School for Design in New York City, where she was accepted and matriculated with the class of 2009. There she was offered, and accepted, a position at the school as a draping tutor for her fellow schoolmates. This experience helped Lauren develop a keen mind for trouble shooting particularly tricky patterning problems, as well as working with others to come up with viable design solutions that could please the designers as well as those judging their construction techniques.

After Parsons, Lauren had the opportunity to work with several successful designers in New York City, including Diane von Furstenberg, Sophie Theallet and Lika Volkova of SANS fashion. Lauren has worked as a professional lead dresser for New York City Fashion week. She has held the lead design position at local firm CoVelo Clothing and is currently the Brand Manager for Tashi Delek, a line of ornaments by Icelandic Design as well as Icelandic’s lead designer for Spring 2017.

An invitation from the Wearable Arts Group:

The Fashion Artists Critique Group will present their annual “Runway Show”, with the theme “Colorado, Naturally”. The FRCQ membership is invited to bring their art inspired by the Colorado environment for display.  Any art inspired by the Colorado environment – sky, mountains, water, flowers, trees, geology, earth, fire, snow, rain is eligible.  (We are looking for works inspired by the natural environment, not human impact, such as architecture or events.)

“Naturally” our creative Colorado group will fill the room with delightful, inspiring, diverse works of art! 

Jo Fitsell – Pulling on Threads – Nature’s Way of Helping Us Out of the Cocoon

“Pulling on Threads – Nature’s Way of Helping Us Out of the Cocoon”

The only way to healthily get out of a cocoon or “comfort zone” is to pull on the threads from the inside. In some ways you must eat your way out, slowly devouring or discarding everything you built up to protect yourself. If someone tries to break in and force you out before you are ready, you die. Nature is both beautiful and brutal. It will try anything once.

This talk will draw comparisons between the natural world and the artistic path. It will highlight some of Jo’s recent work and her excursion to the woods of Massachusetts in which she spent six days in nature with teacher, mentor and artist, Peter London. Students from Jo’s “Daring Greatly” class will discuss their process with mentorship and moving out of comfort zones. Plenty of actual pieces will be presented for viewing.

Jo Fitsell is an artist working with fiber, paper, paint and the stitched line. Her art has been exhibited in galleries and museums nationally and internationally. Locally, her artwork is at Kaiser Permanente, Oracle, and The Denver Seminary. Jo currently teaches at The Art Students League in Denver and is a “Think 360” artist-in-resident and has had many rewarding collaborations with young people. She is one of the founders of the vital and exciting organization, Front Range Contemporary Quilters. Interweave Press has published her new DVD on Marbling “Marbled Fabric Surface Design.” Jo helped The Denver Art Museum set up The Thread Studio. www.jofitsell.com