Present Joys

Day 90: thu, 27 mar 2014. Just a normal afternoon in senior ad—the kind of afternoon I’m going to miss a lot when it’s gone.

Remember how I said I was going to make a bunch of sweaters? That’s how this whole thing started, after all. I love this collegiate sweater I made and I wanted to make more.

I bought a knitting machine at the very end of january. I’d wanted one for a long time, so that was great. At the time, I tentatively planned to use the machine to produce some unknown quantity of sweaters.

Much of february was consumed with another intensive project. That’s not to say I’m trying to pass the buck; only that I didn’t put much time practicing with the knitting machine or familiarizing myself with large-scale production techniques. Despite my lack of productivity, by the end of february I’d done some patternmaking research and produced a fairly detailed plan of the sized garments I hoped to make.

By the beginning of march, I’d started to realize how little time I actually had; if I was going to produce sweaters all my myself using my own knitting machine, I’d have to get my act together fast. I had my yarn supplier make me six pounds of yarn according to some vague specs. Last week, I went and picked up the yarn. This past weekend, I started trying to create production-ready sample garments with the yarn, and everything completely fell apart.

As I began knitting, the crushing weight of my overambitious planning fell on me like a load of bricks, and my stress level increased 200% in an instant. Who am I kidding? This yarn is not what I wanted! There’s no way I’ll be able to make more than two or three of these things in a month’s time! This machine is a total drag! Everything is terrible!

So I’m going to restructure my project a little bit. Instead of foolishly thinking I’m going to actually make tens or hundreds of finished garments myself, I need to outsource production to a serious knitting mill. Instead of planning to deliver sweaters by the thesis exhibition on may 1, I’m going to do a Kickstarter-style project. I’ll create a few prototype sweaters beforehand and use the thesis exhibition as an opportunity to get people excited about the project.

Instead of putting all my time into hastily producing a bunch of sweaters in the next few weeks, I’m going to focus on three things:

• finding a great knitting mill to collaborate with
• developing my overall brand (“CCAD is Ours”) and creating a compelling brand story—getting people excited about the idea of this brand; finding ways to conceptually tie all my products together; advertising my offerings effectively
• designing an engaging exhibition experience for the thesis show

I should have been more realistic about the sweaters. If I’d spent a little more time thinking, I’d have realized how unrealistic my original goals were. Perhaps I am being over-dramatic. Either way, I think things are back on the right track. I’ve got a lot of work to do.

What’s next?

Thankfully, all my eggs are not in this sweater basket; I’ve been conducting interviews and curating photography for that “CCAD family scrapbook”, and even if the rest of my project is a complete wreck, I think the book will turn out okay. I’d love to have these books printed and bound and ready to sell in person at the thesis show on may 1, so I’m working hard to finish the book and to find a good printer.

I’ll also be working to complete the few prototype sweaters. Once I have these, I’ll be able to shoot some promo photography. I will also be working to maintain healthy sleep schedule!

Stay tuned for more mental breakdowns and progress.

Day 89: wed, 26 mar 2014. “Innovators.”

Day 88: tue, 25 mar 2014. Draplin visits CCAD; most of the #14minnikids reunite for a group photo. A nice evening.

“There’s something about this place that’s addictive as hell.”

Those are the words of Danny Hinty, who’s managed CCAD’s Art Supply Store since 1974. A few weeks ago, I sat down with him to conduct an oral history interview—to try and glean some information about our school’s collective story over the past few decades.

I started looking through old CCAD Archives photography largely with a view to using it as part of an advertising campaign, but I’ve found it so compelling I want to do something more permanent with it. That’s what’s brought me to do these oral history interviews—I want verbal memories to accompany the photographs. Lord willing, I’m going to put all this stuff into a big, unwieldy “CCAD family scrapbook”. This fits in with my thesis project’s theme: a nostalgic celebration of the CCAD family.

Besides Mr. Hinty, I’ve also interviewed:

• Lowell Tolstedt, dean of fine arts 1967–2005
• Gail Storer, school librarian since 1980
• Nanette Hayakawa, administrator since 1979
• Frank Laskowski, alumnus and faculty 1967–2012
• Helen Hoffelt, CCAD kid, alumna, and faculty since 1955
• Stewart McKissick, alumnus and faculty since 1975
• Jeff Fisher, Financial VP since 1982

I have plans to do several additional interviews in the next week or so. It’s been a blast. It’s a little like panning for gold, I imagine. A ton of effort goes into coordinating a meeting, not to mention conducting the interview itself. But every conversation turns up at least one real gem. With every conversation, I’m getting a little better at asking the right questions that elicit meaningful, interesting responses. After each interview, I have my contributors fill out a release form that will allow me to use their words and stories as part of my overall campaign.

What’s next?

I’m still working on those sweaters. Remember those? I’ll fill you in on all the details soon. In the meantime, I’ve been working hard to finish transcribing all the interviews I’ve recorded. I’ve also been laying out the “scrapbook” and investigating methods of printing.