FIT School of Art and Design

Author: Rachel Ellner

  • Elaine Drew: Actor, Tailor, Medieval Writer

    After two novels that take readers back 1300 years to early medieval England, Elaine Drew has just released a lavishly illustrated short story from the same period, A Knight’s Bad Day. Another is in the works. Drew had a bachelor’s in English from Emory University and had worked in public relations for General Electric before…

  • Toy Design’s Susan Adamo Baumbach on Whimsy, Twists and Tech

    Professor Susan Adamo Baumbach, longtime faculty member, is now acting chair of FIT’s high-profile Toy Design department. Thriving in the fast-moving world of design, refinement, production and sales of toys and games, is a challenge she meets. While she’s a die-hard enthusiast for some games of the past— must-have toys like the Frisbee and a…

  • The Radical Act of Repair: Artful, Visible Mending

    It may be a radical idea, but you don’t always need to hide your mending. Your stitching can be admired. Students and faculty members recently participated in “Radical Acts of Repair,” a workshop featuring noted textile artist Celia Pym remotely from London. It explored darning and the art of textile repair. Round patched darning techniques…

  • From Graffiti to Cornfields, Sarah Merenda Has Customers’ Walls Covered

    Sarah Merenda’s Fine Arts teacher, Prof. Marcy Rosenblat, told Merenda that she really needed to “work big.” Prof. Rosenblat was right, but she had no idea how big. Merenda entered FIT as a graffiti artist and skilled wallpaper hanger. Indeed she had been working large. But the encouragement to continue with large canvases confirmed her…

  • Deconstructing Knitwear into New Designs

    What’s old can be cut up, re-stitched, and combined with other garments to create complex, fascinating designs – in other words, made new again. Students in Fashion Design Professor Tom Scott’s Intro to Knitwear class (FD357) were assigned to upcycle sweaters donated by C2/Contempo Group, a global sourcing and product development agency. “Every year, we…