carolynann

UPDATE: This site has been unreliable and I am now no longer able to upload new projects. I shall be moving my portfolio over to a new web page soon.

Find me on Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynann

Objective: To continually grow as a designer and human being by learning from each new experience. Through my experiences I wish to learn to use my potential to its fullest and share the joys of design with others.

I am a recent graduate from Oregon State University with a bachelors degree in apparel design and business. It took me a while to finally find my niche. When I reflect back on it though, I have always been into design whether it be designing dresses for my dolls (and later prom dresses), cutting and dying my own hair, or altering my clothes. I was driven to start designing my own clothes by the fact that I either could not find the style of clothing that I desired or at a price point that I could afford. Until I went to college and was faced with deciding what I wanted to do with my life, I had never considered apparel design as a profession. I started out in college with a biochemistry major. I stayed with this major for two years during which time I took a few theater classes (including a costume re-enactment class) and started attending Faerieworlds ( an outdoor music and arts festival in Eugene, Oregon). After two years on this course I decided that apparel design is what I wanted to do since I felt energized each time I started creating a new piece. I love new ideas and enjoy the process of taking an image from my mind or another’s mind and making it into a tangible product. I have designed and altered my own clothing as well as done work on commission. I have created costumes for halloween and festivals such as Faerieworlds, vampire balls, and renaissance faires. I specialize in Victorian fashions, Steampunk, faerie and fantasy wear, neo tribal street wear, and recycled clothing.

Aside from apparel design my main passions are learning, cultural immersion, languages, volunteering, and travel. This past summer I went on a month long backpacking trip to Europe. That was my second time in Europe but my first time going on a self planned and unguided trip. It was one of the best experiences of my life and showed me how easy it is to accomplish a goal when you set your mind to it. Ideally I would like to combine my love of travel and design. I plan to do this by designing functional festival wear to vend at festivals around the world such as Burning man in the U.S., Vuuv in Germany, and Ozara in Hungary. I have also tossed around the idea of touring with a band, whose styling fits my desired style ( such as Omnia), as their personal designer.