Mid-Semester Review & Feedback: Patricia Voto

Jennifer Carpenter, Thesis Professor:

• Do material studies of how woven fibers would be embedded/integrated into wool
• Create a mock up tool that could be used to knit and sew garments together
• Photograph cape for future reference and to use as examples when approaching brands

Jessica Mission Franks, Felt Bug Junes:

• Work with high quality all natural wools (the more natural the better).
• Experiment with needling of fibers to wool
• Experiment with wet felting fibers to wool (Try with Soap & Water)
• Visit Yarn Tree in Williamsburg, speak with Linda (weaver and felt-maker)

Erika Doering, Materials 4 Professor:

• Visit imake in DUMBO, Brooklyn
• Look at Body Shop Business Model
• Naomi Klien
• Find people who are monitoring the production of luxury goods (Green Peace?)
• Act as an agent and as a designer
• Talk to buyer of Beads of Paradise
• Discuss more of the exposure to new craft through luxury goods (opening the wealthy eyes to products and crafts never heard of, opening craftsmen up to new markets)
• Pick up Paul Hawken's Natural Capitalism

David Bergman:

• Look at this project as a new trend, what would set the brand apart
• Create a product that will not lend itself to mass production, requires time and effort
• Don't get constrained by feasibility
• Look into Bark Cloth (hammered fabric, special technique, individual sources, promote commerce)
• Visit Union Sq Market, look for sourcing
• Look at overhead, profits, markets and unit cost

Mid-Thesis Review Board and Feedback- Carl Frisk

Feedback:

Steven Landau

-Keep the scale small

-Co-operative approach is key to success

-Deconstruction vs demolition needs to be profitable or make a strong argument for it

Kerry McNaughton

-Think of classical heirloom furniture, not fad/trendy furniture

-Focus on dimensional lumber, and durability

Rick Penney

-Amish using CNC machine, very surprising

-Look at past thesis project using flooring

-Regional process used, but designs can be different

David Bergman

-Where does the material originate?/Who gets it and how?

-Look at Eco-Systems mechanical joining

-Talk to contractors

-Research glued woods, others who are using it

-Tucker Robbins' designs

-Citi Logs in NJ- Stubby Wormbold

-B.I.G. is collection only, will they go out and gather?

Thomas McCay

-Use of a specific wood type, 2x4 timbers, and what can be made from them

-Narrow materials to use to narrow design limits

-Timber seems to be the best thing to use

Karissa

-Look into shop space pricing

-How do builders get supply of wood?

-What incentives can be given?

Mike

-Look at Katrina reclamation materials in houses

-Is there a distribution of materials incentive?

-Identify and show loudly what the real objective is

Karen Tinney - November 30

I got feedback from: Jennifer, Anna, Erika, Jessica Franks, Robert, PJ

Feedback/Criticism:

1. Identify a value proposition: WHO would buy this product and WHY

2. Push the boundaries of what you are doing - should have had many more fleshed out ideas.

3. Look more into Smart Textiles (electronics + textiles)

4. Look at existing forms of consumer goods with this technology attached (sporting goods, clothing, military)- WHY are they making these specific material choices, how does that equate to price and value (ex. Patagonia)

5. Play up sustainability/environmental benefits

6. Identify what the product is NOT (your grandma's plastic couch cover, a slip cover)

7. Think about scale - how can this happen on a local level that mines into specific resources/skills of a region - to be viewed as a complete model/example of how this can happen all over America. GET SPECIFIC ON WHERE THIS HAPPENS 

8. Develop relationships with the people who develop the technology and who manufacture textiles - get their feedback.

Andrea Kim: Mid review board and feedback

Few points of feedback from critics:

-Go towards a social perspective, perhaps there is more of a problem in what is accepted by society.

-People seem to respond more to concept 2 (shin guards)

-Perhaps "energy drink" isn't the problem, but rather the bigger picture is the fact that people are just putting "sh*t" in their bodies.

-Look at what examples are out there to change consumption...such as, how do people reach diabetics? What types of communication exist?

-If I am targeting football players or any athlete that use and abuse, look at bike athletes because out of all athletes, they are one of the more health conscious.

-Looking into growth hormone levels and ATP (advanced technological procedure) for concept 2 might help.

Vanessa Leung's Mid Review Feedback

Feedback:

Mike Verbos:

- Look at all the interactions between food and wine (relationships/course)

- Maybe work with distributors, where they can introduce these topics to the consumer because they are good promotors

- where as waiters are not fully clear on the subject

- LANDOR (wine distribution company) - check out the company

- How do you make the wine culture less exclusive

- Stores, focus on displays

- set of small portion of wine that are paired with food

What I got out of this discussion:

- I could create a how to packet of different wines and food that are paired together

- Talk to distributors and understand what the interactions are between the consumer and vineyards, because they act as the middle man.

Eddie:

- Wine tasting USQ local wines?

- Maybe focus on educating sommeliers

What I got out of this discussion:

- Sommeliers could be the target and create a product that could help them teach the consumers

HS:

- Labels or other products that play with touch or sight, products that are not as high tech and more simple so people can understand what is changing within the wine

- Peoples conception with wine is it is very traditional and high end but the it is really about what the person likes.

What I got out of this discussion:

- Maybe the interaction with the product isn't as high tech or complexed so it simplifies the ideas or changes that are currently happening.

- personal interest in wine is a key factor and must be incorporated within the product so it should work with all types of wine

Roberto:

- What would be your next step to educate people, and who have you talked to?

What I got out of this discussion:

- start with distributors to create and educational package of "how to wine and dine" experience so it could consist of a whole table set and a manual of how to properly pair and use this interactive set when having a dinner party.

Rick:

- if we are able to teach them what they like we can teach them about the new breed of wine.

- How do you convince people to like the new wine?

- similarities in regarding with cheese

- helps us to understand what we like about certain things

What I got out of this discussion:

- Look at similar food products that are similar to wine and see what they have been doing to educate people about the tastes

- This product might require a whole system not just the tableware but the whole atmosphere of the place, so the whole thing is an experience so it might need to be held in a specific location that mainly focus on this interaction between the wine and food.

NY Times article about how forests act to counter the effects of greenhouse gases on climate

Forest Service Says Trees Can Slow Climate Change

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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: November 18, 2009

Filed at 7:13 p.m. ET

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The Caucus

The latest on President Obama, his administration and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion.

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- National forests can be used as a carbon ''sink'' with vast numbers of trees absorbing carbon dioxide to help slow global warming, the Forest Service chief said Wednesday, but that goal must be balanced.
He's also concerned about the risk of catastrophic wildfires that produce massive amounts of carbon dioxide.
Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said his agency is trying to manage forests to combat climate change while still easing the risk of wildfires that have increased in frequency and intensity, in part because of global warming.
Forests now store enough carbon to offset about 16 percent of the nation's fossil fuel emissions, but that number could be reduced or even reversed if wildfires and insect infestation continue to increase, Tidwell said.
''Disturbances such as fire and insects and disease could dramatically change the role of forests, thereby emitting more carbon than currently sequestered'' by tree stands across the country, Tidwell told the Senate Public Lands and Forestry Subcommittee.
Elaine O'Neil, a research scientist at the University of Washington's School of Forestry, said wildfires in California alone released emissions equivalent to that of seven million cars a year from 2001 to 2007.
The Forest Service and Interior Department spent about $2.4 billion last year fighting fires, double the average amount spent a decade ago.
Tidwell said he hopes to increase the resiliency of federal forests through projects such thinning out young trees and underbrush to control wildfires. Some fires must be allowed to cleanse and regenerate forests that are overly dense, he said.
Lawmakers are looking at the role of forests in climate change, with the goal of including national forests as a key part of a climate change bill being considered by the Senate.
''In my view, it is time to manage the nation's forests to address climate change and unlock their potential,'' said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the panel's chairman.
Proper management can ensure healthy forests that create carbon offsets that can be used to help minimize the cost of carbon reduction in other parts of the economy, Wyden said. Use of such offsets -- which now are excluded from the Senate bill -- would ''finally provide a way to truly account for the economic benefit that federal forests provide to our environment,'' Wyden said.
''We can create good-paying, green jobs while preserving our treasures and helping our climate,'' he said.

Jean Prouve wall lamp for inspiration

I was looking up Jean Prouve, and came across this excellent wall lamp. It thought I would post it as inspiration while you all work on your boards.  It it a really simple, elegant and functional piece, but also somewhat outlandish, in a good way.  It looks like you swing the big arm back by moving the spherical knob. There's a really elegant cable stay to support the long canteliever. enjoy.
steven

please vote for the one you think is the most catchy ...

Hi everyone,
--please give me some opinions on the below versions of boards
They are incomplete- The original space for sketches will be replaced with improved product ideation/graphs...but i would like to know which form of the presentation board is more catchy.
Thanks so much!

I NEED YOUR OPINIONS

Please give me suggestions for

1. the big title " i was born to be educated"

It was originally "i was not born to be a sex slave" due to suggestions i changed it,

however, i am still looking for a title that would grab people's attention more...

maybe titles such as "GIVE ME A CHANCE! EDUCATE ME"

or "HELP ME BY EDUCATING ME!"

.... any suggestions is welcomed!

2. general poster design suggestions.... is there anything you guys think i should add to spice the poster up? my topic is so serious i didn't want to overdo the poster...but i feel like the poster is almost too plain?

THANKS SO MUCH!

Angela

Fellowship Contest for Social Entrepeneurs:

http://greeneconomypost.com/fellowship-spotlight-2010-echoing-green-fellowship-for-social-entrepreneurs-6199.htm

samta_ board+feedback

FEEDBACK FROM JENNIFER:

Point out the
1. acoustic qualities of felt (sound dampening is always appreciated in a children's room)
2. Tactile qualities : young kids explore with their hands, therefore keeping them in a tactile environment will keep them engaged.


Look at Offi (foam chairs for children)


Problem Statement: India has a huge pool of talented craftsmen. But the people no longer value craft, Therefore, due to lack of patronage, traditional skills and techniques of craftsmanship are dying away.

Solution: The choices parents make, in terms of the things they give their children, embed certain valued in them. Thus introducing craft at an earl age, would encourage them to use and appreciate crafted products at an early age.

BOARD;
mark out kutch on the map of india.
Show images of your proposal
show original use of felt in india.
Take of unnecessary images from board.

convertible furniture: in response to Violaine's post

Hi Violaine, I looked at all of your sketches, and I am very excited about your ideas and your plans for your thesis project. I was very interested in a similar project to the one you are proposing a while back, and I spent a lot of time building furniture that was supposed to be convertible, similar to what you are thinking about. For example, I made a table which was used in the kitchen as a work counter, and then when you eat dinner, the counter folds open to create a dining room table. Here's a sketch:


The nice thing was that the height for a dining table is lower than for a kitchen counter (where you are usually standing up while cooking), so the geometry of this design worked well. I have seen some interesting tables that change in height from coffee table to dining table height.


Here is one that is not very nice, but it shows an intersting method of adjusting the height. there are mechanisms, like a hydraulic scissors lift, that will do this, too, but I think it is more elegant and satisfying to do this just using the geometry of the table, rather than incorporating complicated machinery that requires a power source.

I also had a look at the examples of furniture that you posted. I liked the table by Jean Michel Frank, who I never heard of until now. I did a quick check on him; did you know that he committed suicide in New York City?
steven

Vanessa Leung's New 30"x30" Board

After presenting, the feedback I received was that there was too much information about the process of making wine, which made it difficult to follow. Therefore confusing my audience so the the conversation was focused more about how the wine was made instead of what my concept was. As a result for my new board or during my presentation I need to expand on my concept and solutions instead. For this week I am going to focus on how to get my message across and generally summarize the information that they audience needs to know in order to understand my concepts.

Developing a direction and mission statement- Patricia Voto

Goal: Build a sustainable ecological system for gifted people, who have limited market reach.

Customer : A person who will pay for and value authenticity. Someone who understands the value of hand crafted works of art.

The Vehicle : Luxury Brands that are committed to building ecological systems. They drive value through making authentic, hand crafted, art available through new applications (e.g. traditional weaving used in designer wear)

The Result : A virtuous cycle. The artisan creates art, in the traditional approach for a completely new application, that has tremendous relevance in the product category, marketed by the luxury brand, owned by the discerning consumer, leading to more art in newer applications and leading to sustainable development of the artisan and an evolution of art.

My position is to be the go-between, connecting the brands to the artisans and encouraging the brands to integrate the artisans craft and skills more into the products (rather than an applique approach). The tactic would be similar to the surrealist art of the exquisite corspe. Almost finished garments would be sent to the artisans and they would have the opportunity to complete them by using weaving techniques.

Mission Statement: Due to a limited market reach, artisans struggle to distribute their product and lack sufficient means to find new applications for their techniques. The purpose of this project is to act as a guardian for rights of artisans, facilitating a fair exchange between artisans and luxury brands to assist in the introduction of the artisan talent pool to the luxury brand market and as such create a stream of wealth back to the artisans and their local economies.

Violaine de Pourtales

Making Lasting Multifunctional Furniture

My focus is the urban residence in which a limited amount of living space necessitates the use of multi-functional furniture. Today the experienced mover desires a more durable product than the cheap furnishings that all too often are thrown out and end up in the landfill. My aim is to stop that waste and offer another option which is a line of furniture that is heirloom, that is of good quality, that is not obsolete and that will last a long time.
All residents who inhabit 1 to 2 bedroom apartments in big cities like New York City require surfaces upon which they can work and surfaces upon which they can eat. Given that the biggest complaint amongst urban residents is a lack of space, I seek to combine these surfaces into a single piece of furniture.

Leigh Ann Tucker:11.23.09

This is my rough-draft version of the presentation board for next Monday. The images below that are pages from my in-progress proposal. The most important elements of my project that I want to get across in this board are:
+promoting a local food system (opposed to current industrial model)
+strengthening local economies (opposed to global market)
+cooking = engaging in process of preparing food = people will be more interested in food sources/care about the quality of their food.
+I am addressing a suburban market because they make up the largest portion of the US population and because the have least access to local and organic food.
People I spoke with this week:
+Will Millburg (chair of Lang economics department)
+Joe Holtz (founder of Park Slope Food Co-op)
+Stacey Murphy (founder of BK Farmyards)
Feedback from today:
+My board needs to show the environment that I am focusing on (the suburbs, the domestic environment)
+My presentation should be from the perspective of “the eater” instead of from the system down to the individual. I should show a timeline of their life.
+My presentation should make people empathize with the issue I am working with (why should people care about what people in the suburbs eat? How does this project effect everyone?)
+My presentation should emphasize the idea of SLOWING down and appreciation of cooking and how the way we prepare and eat food can improve our well being.
+I need to make my graphics about participation through cooking and about local economy more clear

Thesis Progress - David Lee

Feedback:
1. Revise mission statement to be more specific toward my design strategy
2. Revise graphic to look more like a scientist
3. Develop vehicle concept
4. Convey difference in approach from existing toys.
5. Convey the fun and playful aspects of the project.

NY Times Article

White House Pushes Science and Math Education

Ga-Ram Han // Thesis Feedback 11.24.09

Feedback: With Len, Mary, Steven, & Patty

*Find out specific lifestyle of targeted user
*Discover the logic behind abuse, look at psychology
*What are the voices of the users
*Develop stronger interventions
*Look into CDC, AA, & NA support groups

Progress_YooRi

Design approaches






Feedback from Len
- need quality control
- provide reasons for the problems
- use brand names when presenting problems
- change manufacturers and companies
- define user group
- how could I change the beauty culture
- make a list of ingredients in products
- make a list of brands doing right and wrong

Feedback from Patty
- design opportunity: create a line of cosmetic (or brand of seal), campaign (bring attention), and label design
- what is the overall outcome? try to list overall outcome, immediate outcome, and design criteria
- create a demand, define consumer needs
- sketches: try to define the value that was represented on each sketch, draw more
- how to change the industry instead of just representing issues?

Rob Spalding

HOW DID ROB PROGRESS THIS WEEK?
First of all, attended Columbia Business School LGBT Alumni Association’s Networking Event at Therapy (bar/club). Attendees included graduates of Columbia’s Masters in Business program—mostly successful gay men (exactly the user I wanted to reach). My goal for the past two weeks was to talk to some successful gay men to find out about how they currently deal with labels (sexual, gender, occupational, etc.). I spoke with:
*an entrepreneur who is starting his own LGBT elder care company (basically a nursing home for this new emerging market
*a Vice President within Investment Management Division of Goldman Sachs
*a branding expert and recent graduate of CBS
*a previous television/multimedia developer and current CBS student
*an executive at American Express
Because of the nature of the event (read: drinking and loud music), I wasn’t able to glean as much information as I could from them. I took the opportunity to make plans to see them over the next week for coffee to do more in-depth interviews. I have also sent them the survey found later in this update. I have also begun to contact younger, not-yet-established-or-successful gay men for interviews (surveys, too).
What do I hope to gain from these interviews (above and beyond expansion upon my survey)?
*a more illustrated/developed gap between inexperienced/experienced gay men (specifically in the context of labels and their link to gender roles and success)
*who and what contributed to your success? Stumbling blocks?
*what role does etiquette play in your success? Do you feel the need to homosexualize heteronorms within etiquette?
*gender norms—have you heterosexualized your relationship?
What did I learn about myself and about my project?
*There are a few good ways and a few bad ways to introduce myself and my project. I have a better idea of what works and what doesn’t.
*People have short attention spans when it comes to explanations. My speech at the review should be no more than 90 seconds.
*People love to talk about themselves. They are also really into my project. Listening is good.

My survey:
FOR GAY MEN ONLY: a survey by Rob Spalding
The purpose of this survey is to inform design decisions for my senior thesis at Parsons.
Please answer as honestly as you can.
All responses are anonymous and will be used by me for my researching purposes only.
1. What is your age?
2. At what age did you come out?
3. In what city do you live?
4. Is it acceptable to be out in your community?
5. Do you believe sexuality is a key component to a person's personality?
6. How much of your own personality is driven by your sexuality?
7. Are you currently in a relationship?
8. If yes, for how long?
9. What role do you play in the emotional aspect of your relationships?
10. What role do you play in the sexual aspect of your relationships?
11. What role do you play in the financial aspect of your relationship?
12. What is your level of education?
13. In what field do you work?
14. What is your motivation to go to work? Check all that apply.
15. What is your personal measure of occupational success? Check all that apply.
16. To what level have you achieved this success? Please rate from 1-10, 1 being the least and 10 being the most successful.
17. Please use this space to ask me questions, critique me, or elaborate on any of the questions I have asked you. Or leave it blank; it's up to you.
18. Thank you for helping me! Please pass this survey along to three more gay guys. The more responses I receive, the more accurate my design decisions will be. Thank you for your time and effort. Either forward them the e-mail I sent you or put their names/e-mail addresses in this response box.

RESPONSE UPDATE: I have 32 responses and counting. Age range: 21-65.

I have also honed in on using the format of the military (diplomacy) versus Amy V. I have begun to read Unfriendly Fire, a book published THIS YEAR about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” It is a comprehensive view of political, gay America and will be helpful to my quest. The author is an accomplished writer on queer politics, so I have contacted him for an interview.

I have also visited the LGBT Chelsea chapter and got the names of individuals to contact for project sponsorship.

I leave you with some photos that have inspired/directed me this week (gathered at the NYPL image library):