Hi! My name is Gabrielle Ramos, but I usually go by Gabby. I’m a sophomore attending Thomas Jefferson University and I am majoring in Fashion Design. So far I’ve been enjoying each of my classes. We have been learning the basics and getting a view of the fashion industry. I have been interested in fashion and working in the industry since I was very young. I started taking design classes in fourth grade and grew to love it enough to pursue it in college.
When I heard about an available job at the Design Center, I took my opportunity. This is my second year working with the Textile & Costume Collection. My job at the Design Center consists of cleaning and taking care of objects. I also inventory, construct mounts to store objects, and research items in the collection.
One of my favorite assignments was working with a variety of shoes in the Collection. I maintained the shoes by adding padded forms made of cotton and filled with batting. Once finished with their new supports, I made sure to replace them in their correct location within the Collection so they can be easily accessed in the future. I also researched and discovered information about the shoes related to the designer or the materials they were made from. I really enjoyed this type of project because I was able to work with the shoes first-hand and see the varied shapes, fabrics, and colors of shoes from different eras.
I am starting a new project with a recently donated pair of shoes from the 1940s. I will be conducting research to find out the history behind the shoes and posting updates about the process of my work and my research. I’ll share any new and interesting information I find as well. I can’t wait to keep up with you all in the blog posts!
