Monthly Archives: November 2010
In our office – every other Friday is project day. We make sketch models – then, when we come up with something we like, we reverse-engineer it to figure out the best way for young designers to make it on their own and have fun with it!
Last Friday, we started with a grab bag of electronic goodies, a mini-fish (left-over from our monsters project) and some cardboard boxes (medium-size priority mail boxes from the post office, free). I used crepe paper (lying around from a summer party) and it worked so well – young designers don’t need to stress over precision – the loose edges and not-quite-straight lines add to the watery effect. As an after-thought, I added colored acetate (transparency) because it brings color, light and dimension to almost anything. Here’s what we came up with! Continue reading
I’m exploring the tools and resources that Dove (body products) offers through their Self-Esteem Fund for girls. A few years ago, Dove launched their Campaign for Real Beauty. Even if you aren’t familiar with the details, you may have noticed their commercials featuring woman of all ages and body types. Or, you may have seen their powerful one-minute films on beauty standards and the media. The campaign promotes real beauty at all ages, and their Self-Esteem Fund focuses on the challenges facing girls and young women. These challenges are considerable. In the tween and teen years, a girls’ confidence is rocked. Girls may question their self-worth on a daily – if not hourly – basis, and they may not recover their self-esteem until their twenties or thirties. What would you tell your 8yo self, your 13yo self, your 20yo self? You look back and see a bright, beautiful girl who … Continue reading
I loved the building discs shown by Joel Henriques on his blog, madebyjoel.blogspot.com (I love each and every project he shares – thank you Joel!) However, paper discs are a bit tricky to build with, especially for younger designers. I tried the project using craft foam between the paper discs – easy to make and so easy to build! I had fun with the project myself, and my nine-year-old loved it, but designers as young as 4 or 5 can make this with assistance, and build on their own! Notes: This project makes use of a material and a technique that are very simple and come in very handy. The material is rubber cement – the unsung hero of glues (instructions for application below). The technique is making a guide (again, shown below). This project has many repetitive steps, which can seem laborious but is very rewarding in the end … Continue reading
Samantha Razook Murphy is the founder of Curious Jane and Blue Tree. She was inspired to create these unique programs to give her girls, and all girls, a chance to be creative and inventive in a high-energy, collaborative and gender-affirming space. She loves designing, tinkering and figuring out. Samantha is the mother of two girls and lives in Brooklyn, NY. She holds her BA from Yale and Masters in Industrial Design from Pratt. In her spare time she coaches volleyball and rides her bike around Brooklyn.