Posts Tagged ‘Harvard University’

Philippa Eccles
Harvard University, Boston MA

Autumn – 2008

I am a senior concentrating in the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University. My studies and research in the past four years have focused primarily on modern and contemporary art, with an emphasis on the fiber arts and crafts. I am currently writing a thesis on historical and contemporary quilting and I am conducting two Independent Studies in knitting, one focusing on hands?on design and the other focusing on theory.

Through my studies and activities during college, I have developed a strong intellectual and personal interest in arts and crafts, knitting in particular. Exploring the historical and contemporary foundation of this realm has enabled me to merge my skills as a writer and academic with my passion for the hands?on aspects of knitting and quilting. Being President of the Student Friends of Harvard University Art Museums taught me important leadership skills and how to organize and encourage interest in the arts. Writing a weekly Arts column for the school newspaper allowed me to articulate my interest in various aspects of the art world.

In addition, my work experience has enforced my academic exploration of the arts and crafts and enabled me to explore different aspects of this field. Working at the Fogg Art Museum gave me the opportunity to interact with historical and traditional artworks while my internship at the Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum introduced me to the study and preservation of textiles. My most recent internship at Classic Elite Yarns, part of the Professional Pathways into the NeedleArts program, exposed me to the many facets of the yarn and knitting industry, including the professional design process and managing customer relations within the wholesale market.

Download Philippa Eccles’ Resume

Philippa Eccles
Harvard University, Boston MA
interning at Classic Elite, Lowell MA

Philippa Eccles - 2008 PiPN Intern

So far, my internship at Classic Elite has been a wonderful experience. Initially, I was surprised by the small size of the company- it consists of about 10 people, one floor of office space and one floor of warehouse. For such a big wholesale yarn company, this was unexpected, but the small size has actually one of the highlights of my experience. I got to know everyone quickly; the workspace has a warm and inviting atmosphere. The office space is so open that you can overhear everyone’s conversations so it all feels very relaxed and informal. Not to mention the little routines like Thursday’s Chinese food lunch that make you feel right at home.

I’ve been working on one main project which is to inventory all of Classic Elite’s old patterns. I’ve already completed an Excel sheet with the basic information of each pattern and I’m in the midst of scanning an image of each. There are several reasons for this project. Customers often call in to acquire after older patterns. For this and other reasons, it’s good to have a database of the company’s history. In addition, my boss, Betsy Perry, is also hoping to make more patterns available online at Patternfish.com. This requires going through all our past patterns, seeing what have and what might still be of interest. Finally, the archives of patterns badly need cleaning out! Too much warehouse space is being taken up by hundreds of copies of old patterns that no one ever needs. Once the information is organized and in one place, all the excess copies can be thrown away. It’s a big but incredibly gratifying job. I’ve seen the company’s history and can now recognize different knitwear designers pretty well.

I’ve seen interesting and different designs/techniques that have given me inspiration for my own knitting. Most of all, I feel like I’m working on something concrete and necessary. The database has already come in handy a few times with customers calling in to inquire after old patterns.

I’ve also done a little work on online advertising. As a wholesaler, Classic Elite has an interesting dilemma concerning advertising since their ‘customer’ is really the retailer rather than individual. Nonetheless, the actual knitter has to be interested in Classic Elite yarns for the retailer to request them. My boss is trying to figure out how to take advantage of newer knitting ‘communities’ out there like Ravelry and Knitty.com. No consensus has been arrived at yet about the best way to do this (for instance, should we focus on advertising the yarns themselves, retailers that carry the yarns, Classic Elite patterns?) but hopefully there will be by the end of the summer.

One of my favorite things about working at Classic Elite is the fact that being surrounded by creative, hard working people- not to mention endless amounts of yarn- is inspiring. It has encouraged me to take my own interest in designing a step further. The first day, Cecily (with whom I share a cubicle space) gave me the email addresses of the editors of various knitting magazines so I’ve been spending all my free time designing for submissions. I also made a hat out of one of Classic Elite’s new fall yarns that will hopefully appear in one of their Fall web-letters as the week’s free pattern. It’s been really good for me to turn my own design into a more formal process- and to start putting myself out there. Knitting has always been one of my greatest passions, and I’m finally seeing how it can evolve into a career- one that involves a lot of hard work but also the type of creativity and energy that really excites me.

Finally, I’m learning a lot about yarn! I used to be much more concentrated on the process of knitting and the finished project and paid less attention to the quality/brand name of the particular yarn I was using. My time in Akron began to instill a new appreciation for the fibers themselves, and Classic Elite has only augmented this. I love all the colors, the different blends of natural fibers, the care and thought that are put in to selecting beautiful yarns. I’ve even taken advantage of my employee discount (which is very good!) to buy a sweater’s worth of 100% cashmere yarn from Classic Elite’s Luxury branch. It’s heavenly to knit with.
It’s hard to believe that three weeks have already gone by. I’m looking forward to continuing (hopefully finishing) my projects and seeing what else the summer has in store!

Pictures to come . . .
The hat I designed for the Web letter. It’s made from Ariosa,a Merino/Cashmere/Angora blend yarn that is new for fall.

Just some of the beautiful Classic Elite yarns! Inca Print is 100% alpaca, Lush is angora and wool and the one in the middle is Alpaca Sox- it’s really gorgeous sock yarn and comes in many vibrant colors.

My Classic Elite tote, I wear it with pride! And my cashmere hanging out of the top. Hopefully. by the end of the summer, I’ll have made myself a cashmere cardigan!