Alice Faye Huff-Idom and the Yarn Resource Catalog

Alice Faye Huff-Idom, a student at University of Akron, recently completed her Pathways into Professional Needlearts (PiPN) internship with my company Business Directions inc.  As part of her responsibilities, Alice has helped create the Yarn Resource Catalog.  Thanks to her, Barry Klein of Trendsetter Yarns, TNNA’s Yarn Group, as well as one of TNNA’s PiPN interns Rylee Tomlinson, the catalog is near completion.  I’ve now contracted with Alice to complete the mock-up.  So good-bye to Alice the intern. Hello to Alice the sub-contractor!

Here’s what she had to say:

Working as a PiPN intern this summer far exceeded my expectations. I not only learned   about the characteristics of unfamiliar yarns, but I learned more about the creative side of marketing and how to create a yarn catalog.

Creating a catalog allowed me to become more comfortable with Excel and how to collaborate with a professional such as Sherry Mulne. The experience with Sherry gave me a preview of what it would be like having a career as a creative marketing consultant and made me recognize my strengths and weaknesses.

I also learned that it is important to meet deadlines for clients including Sherry, to have an open mind and to show that I was willing and able to get the task done no matter how hard I had to work.

Finally, I would like to thank Sherry for welcoming me into her home and sharing her knowledge with me throughout the summer.

Here are the trip details.

• Dates: May 13, 2012 through May 24, 2012
• Itinerary:
  • Tour begins in Cleveland OH, with first stop in Milan
  • Next stop — Como to visit the Ratti Museum and Silk Manufacturing
  • Then to Venice.  (Dr. Jennings encourages you to book the lagoon boat ride to Burrano Island to see the lace workers and museum.)  If time allows, a visit to the Fortuny Museum.
  • Off to see the sites in Florence and visit a silkscreening and batik studio.
  • Then to Rome and a visit to a papermaking atelier, among others
  • Back to Cleveland
• Costs include airfare.

• The program is being organized by Dr. Jennings through EF College Study Tours,

• Information pertaining to costs and fees can be found at www.efcollegestudytours.com.  Once on the site, fill in tour # 1045590 in the appropriate box.  (If a pop-up happens, ignore it.)

If you’re interested, don’t delay.  Prices may go up Aug. 31st by another $100 or so, unless they have 5 registrants by that time.  Then they hold fast.

This is certain to be a trip of a lifetime.  It would also be a great opportunity to get together with past PiPN interns to compare notes, network and do a little needlework at the same time.

Personally, I’d love to go.  Maybe I’ll see you in Florence in 2012!

Sarah Jo Mosbeck modeling original knit skirt

Hi Sherry,
I was in the PiPN program last year, as an apprentice, and you were a tremendous help to me in the application process, and while I was in Columbus for TNNA. You had me give a talk on how adding the apprenticeship option had helped me, and as a result I was approached by Trisha Malcolm the next day, and she gave me a copy of Vogue Knitting’s Lace Stitchtionary to aid my designing dream.

My summer with Shannon Okey was amazing – informative and fun, and I came away having learned a lot and made a great friend. She wrote me a glowing reference letter for the job I have now.

I am currently filling Renee Lorion’s place as yarn editor here at SOHO Publishing in New York City while she’s on maternity leave for 3 months, and I feel that my participation in the PiPN program is responsible for me having the job I’ve wanted since I learned to knit. I’m also doing a couple of designs for them (one for Knit Simple Winter and one for Vogue Knitting Winter), which has been a long-held desire of mine.

So, thank you – the PiPN program, the addition of the apprenticeship option, and all of your kind council and advice has helped me to achieve my dream.

Sincerely-
Sarah Jo Mosbeck

PiPN’s Pathways Open Up Even further

We are continually receiving applications from both host companies and potential interns, so we’ve decided to open our process to matching students with hosts throughout the year.

We’ll still focus our student recruitment efforts towards positions in the summer months, but will maintain an active matching process for fall, winter and spring placements.

If you’re a TNNA host company who did not match with an intern this summer, we’ll be contacting you soon to see if you would like to keep your position active.  If you’re thinking about having an intern in the future, feel free to go to the Host Application and send it in now.  We will be updating the opportunities available on a quarterly basis.

PiPN 2011 interns and apprentices to date

Sophia Adodo
Texas Woman’s University, Denton
The Handwork Studios, Narberth, PA

Dania Carter
Mississippi State University
The Handwork Studios, Narberth, PA

Leah Chapman
RISD
KnitWhits, Emeryville, CA

Necol Dattilo
Kent State University
Stitchgrrl, Akron, OH

Sarah Ellison
Kent State University
Acorn Street, Seattle, WA

Kimberly Esasky
U of Akron
SoHo Publishing, NY, NY

Alice Faye Huff-Idom
U of Akron
Business Directions inc, Columbus, OH

Kelly Kleiden
apprentice
Helen Hamann, Tennessee

Alice Koelsch
U of Akron
Craft Akron, Akron, OH

Kelsey Leib
Kent State University
Stitchgrrl, Akron, OH

Mary Markeshewski
University of Alabama
Tanglewood Fiber Creations, Seattle, WA

Elli McHugh
Eastern Washington University
BeSweet, Sausalito, CA

Christina Musich
Carnegie Mellon University
Colonial Needle, White Plains, NY

Crystal Spann
Mississippi State University
TNNA, Columbus, OH

Heather Stanco
Carnegie Mellon University
Misti International Alpaca Yarns, Arequipa, Peru

Brigitte Tijerina
SCAD
Misti International Alpaca Yarns
Arequipa, Peru

Rylee Tomlinson
Mississippi State University
TNNA, Columbus, OH

Kelsey Tucker
U of Akron
Stitch, Piece ‘N Purl, Cuyahoga Falls, OH

Rylee Tomlinson, Mississippi State University, interning with The National NeedleArts Association

Hola mi amigos!

The TNNA trade show is almost here and I cannot tell you how excited I am! We are doing so many things to get ready like calling people and working on displays. Speaking of displays, I think y’all are really going to like what we are working on. It has a past, present, future theme and we have some help from Ohio State University’s Historic Costume and Textile Museum…but I am not giving away any more than that. You will just have to come to the show and see it for yourselves.
By the way, on a more personal note, all of this has been done while battling a medium level case of poison ivy. I would post some pictures but you would be too grossed out. You know, if it stayed concentrated to one area, like my arm, I would be okay. But no! It spread to my stomach, my other arm, and the front and back of both legs. I look just awful. Oh, and the itching is so much worse than the way I look. I have found, for anyone looking to relieve itching, that ice packs work wonders. Benadryl does too but, alas, I am now immune to it.
But I digress. The real point of this update was to let you know what we interns have been working on here at TNNA.  If you’re coming to the show, and I hope all of you are, don’t forget to stop by our display (to be on the show floor, in the “Fashion Show” area) and see what we have accomplished. You will not be disappointed, I promise!

I’ve asked them, as well as our other 2011 summer interns, to send me updates of their experiences, so you can here it from their own mouths.

Here’s the first from each of them:

May 5, 2011
Rylee Tomlinson

Hi everyone!

Just a little update from an intern here at TNNA. My week started off slow, almost to the point where I was not sure this was for me. Boy was I surprised! Things have significantly increased and I now have a healthy amount of projects to work on, which I absolutely love. I have to stay busy or I think too much and go crazy. We had some trouble at the beginning of the week with the technology but Miss Sherry got it all worked out while I busied myself getting display pieces ready to ship to California for Maker Faire (I’ve never done so much sanding or used so much spray paint in my life). Tuesday we spent all morning making our to-do list (it’s very long, you see) for the whole summer. Now I am involved in the PiPN program by calling interns and making sure they are settled in with their host companies, the Stitch N’ Pitch program with the Cincinnati Red’s, and the TNNA Tradeshow in June. Lots and lots to do in a month! This is so exciting, though. I’ve never really done anything like this before but I’m taking it all in strides and doing the best I can.

Stay tuned for more from the interns here at TNNA and also, eventually, some interns from other hosts!

—————–

Hi guys, Crystal Spann here! I just want to fill everyone in on how my first week has been, interning for TNNA. I arrived on Friday, May 13, and I must admit that I was very nervous! Everyone, especially Ms. Sherry Mulne, was very welcoming and kind to me. It took me a while, but I finally started to relax and feel more comfortable, on Monday, after the first day of work.. Rylee and I met with Ms. Sherry that morning and talked about everything that we planned on accomplishing over the course of the next month or so. After the meeting, Rylee and I went out to run errands for TNNA and Ms. Sherry. We ended up being out a lot longer than we expected (five hours to be exact.) For the remainder of the week we worked on a few of our projects that we discussed on Monday and we were very proud to realize that we got a lot done in such a small amount of time! So far, I can honestly say that I love it here and I am really learning a lot about the real world and how to make something out of nothing.
Thanks for listening,
Crystal Spann

I’m also happy to announce three new opportunities posted just a few days ago.  Y2Knit, an amazing yarn company located in both Funkstown MD and San Francisco CA is offering a great internship for someone looking to eventually have a full time job. (Who isn’t looking for a full time job!) This company is run by two sisters who have more talent than I can even begin to describe.  They’re looking for help with marketing, as well as design . . .

I’ve also just posted two positions with Misti Alpaca in, of all places, Peru!  They’re offering room and board (but you do have to get there yourself . . .)  These positions require skills in knitting and crochet, as well as a good grasp of Spanish.  The interns who were placed there a few years ago had an incredible experience.  I’m sure this year will be no different.

So, again, if you already haven’t registered . . . or if you have and one of these positions appeals to you, let us know.  We’re getting close to our match date (early April) so you have no time to waste.

If positions aren’t filled after that date, we will continue to accept applications, but you may not be able to get the placement of your choice.

Rebecca Cross teaching fiber techniques at Kent State University

In the past few weeks, we’ve visited the University of Akron, our first hub for the PiPN Summer Scholar Program, as well as Kent State University where our hands-on needlearts class originated.  Over 50 students attended our presentations, and we’ve already heard from quite a few interested in internships.

Recently, PiPN hosted a group of award winning student designers in Nashville at TNNA’s Needlecraft Market.  The Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association sponsors a fiber arts design competition yearly.  This year, AOBA staff and volunteers got a peek at how a  TNNA hotel show works, the world of stitching, as well as the PiPN program.

In the coming months, PiPN will be at career days at the Savannah College of Art & Design, Carnegie Mellon University,  and the Fashion Group International in Dallas, where we will be awarding a Best of Show in Needlearts to one of the student participants.

We’re also making plans to visit several of the Art Institutes of America in California, and hoping to work more closely with them in the coming year.

If you know of colleges offering programs in arts, textiles, fiber arts, crafts, fashion design & merchandising, marketing or entrepreneurship (or others). . . or a student who simply loves to create, let them know about PiPN.

With the addition of Mississippi State University as a second hub, we anticipate many more applications this year, so positions will fill rapidly.

Deadline for applications is March 30, 2011.  After matching all applicants at that time, we will continue to accept applications for any other open placements.