Angie Cohen, an award-winning graduate of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and veteran of fashion powerhouses in New York City, wanted to share her knowledge and skills with youth interested in fashion.
With schools eliminating hands-on shop and home economics courses, Angie saw a need for students to learn sewing and other fashion skills. So she began offering after-school classes, then summer camps, and then adult education.
In Miami, Angie created DesignLab, a program for school-age children about clothing design and creation. Then, Angie and DesignLab won a $25,000 HP Tech Makeover, and the growing benefits of her vision to reach and teach youth interested in fashion rapidly multiplied. And through the HP Tech Makeover this previous home economics training for Cohen’s students became high tech, allowing students to excel in the field of their dreams. HP partner Strictly Tech of Fort Lauderdale worked with DesignLab to create the vision of how HP technology could enhance the program. Together they chose, configured, and installed some incredible new equipment.
That included the students’ 10 ElitePad 1000 G2 tablets with charging cart, the administrators’ three HP Elite x2 1011 G1 tablets with keyboard docks, two HP Color LaserJet Pro M252dw printers, a digital projector and screen, along with wireless networking for all devices, cases, accessories, software, printing supplies, and a 24-inch HP ProDisplay P242va LED monitor. It also included the biggest innovation of all: an HP Sprout 3D Makers Bundle.
What does all this new technology mean for Cohen and her students?
Students can now print their colorful fashion designs, bringing them to life. This technology also allows students to design accessories, such as custom buttons, and use a 3D printer to produce them. At DesignLab students can create their design on the tablets and then immediately see it in a hundred different colors and patterns to help them choose the best. A real life example of design, the new technology, and learning took place when students designed T-shirts featuring species native to Florida’s Everglades. Not only does Angie use technology to create designs, she also uses it in the designs. She and her students have incorporated conductive thread, fiber optics, and LED lights in clothing. Very fashion forward!
“When Angie was able to literally overnight put her hands on the tools that could move her projects from ‘great idea’ to ‘look what I just did,’ it was pretty amazing,” said Bob Cohen, Angie’s husband and DesignLab CEO.
Now elementary school-aged children are dabbling in Blended Reality without even realizing how incredible it is to carry their ideas across physical and digital boundaries seamlessly.
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