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CTD Faculty Named Outstanding Educator

6/1/2020

ASID Alabama announced that the 2020 recipient of the Dr. Mary Ann Potter Outstanding Educator Award is CHES instructor, Mr. John Peaslee, ASID, RID. In addition to teaching at the university for 25 years, Peaslee has also served on the Alabama Board for Registered Interior Designers and as Regional Chair for the Interior Design Educator's Council.

Most recently, he served as the Faculty Advisor for the ASID Student Chapter at The University of Alabama where his encouragement and guidance led the chapter to new heights of achievement and participation. ASID Alabama noted that Peaslee is a dedicated advocate for the profession and, above all, a friend.

The entire ASID Alabama Board of Directors and the state Chapter are grateful to Peaslee and say he has been and will continue to be one of their heroes. We at CHES join ASID Alabama in congratulating Mr. John Peaslee on this great honor!

The annual Dr. Mary Ann Potter Educator Award honors the educator in our state who has shown outstanding and significant contributions to interior design education and/or the Alabama ASID chapter. The award recognizes educators who have promoted interior design professionalism within their respective programs.

Fashion for Life Celebrated 10 Years of Giving

12/4/2019

For a decade, apparel design students have made the most of an opportunity to showcase their best work and make a difference to those in need. Student fashion designs hit the runway on November 24 in UA’s Ferguson Center Ballroom. Called Fashion for Life, the show offered designers from CHES an opportunity to share their collections in front of friends, family and members of the community while raising money for Tuscaloosa DHR Children’s Christmas Gift Fund.

Fashion for Life is the culminating experience for senior apparel design students. Student designers used knowledge and skills gained from years of study to meet the challenge of this experiential learning opportunity. The collection development process and fashion show experiences mimicked what they will encounter once entering the apparel industry after graduation.

In this year’s show, designers were inspired by their own personal experiences in life. Fashions incorporated sustainability, size inclusiveness, cultural backgrounds and model diversity among other themes.

The designers were Marc Biancavilla of Eastchester, New York; Jael Brooks of Woodbridge, Virginia; Ian Burch of Herndon, Virginia; Sydney Good of Houston, Texas; Mara Baez-Velazquez of Phenix City; Alexandra Gibson of Tuscaloosa; Gizelle Macias of Bradenton, Florida; Kaitlyn Sarao of Coral Springs, Florida; Leah Sneddon of Harvest; Millie Steed of Huntsville; Mo Taylor of Birmingham; Kailyn Thomas of Tuscaloosa; Coleen Tolentino of Huntsville; Pang Vang of Spartanburg, South Carolina; Jannell Whitfield of Atlanta, Georgia; and Kendall Worrell of Boston, Massachusetts.

Interior Designer Matthew Bees in Prestigious NYC Show House

5/3/2019

From interior design student in Doster Hall to professional designer in Charleston, South Carolina, Matthew Bees has perfected his craft. His work has been featured in House Beautiful, Garden & Gun, Southern Living, Coastal Living, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.

This spring, he was chosen to work his magic in the nation’s most prestigious annual showcase for interior design, the Kips Bay Decorator Show House which runs from May 2 through May 31. Each year, celebrated interior designers transform a home into an elegant exhibition of fine furnishings, art and technology. This year top designers from around the world decorated a town house on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

The show house raises funds for much needed after school and enrichment programs for the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club. For more than four decades, the show house has been a must-see event for thousands of design enthusiasts, renowned for sparking interior design trends throughout the world.

If you are in NYC this month, stop by to see the work of our former CHES student, Matthew Bees. The Kips Bay Show House is open 7 days a weeks and tickets are $40. Learn more about Matthew and see his work at his website Matthew Monroe Bees.

View Matthew’s room and others through these links:

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/05/02/2019-kips-bay-decorator-show-house/

https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/house-tours/g27334515/kips-bay-showhouse-2019/

A Showcase for Creativity

4/23/2019

Apparel design students at the College of Human Environmental Sciences let their imaginations run wild for a special fashion show that celebrated Earth Week. Tasked with upcycling their finds from thrift stores, family attics and a few unconventional sources, designers created an amazing array of clothing for Tee Time 2019.

Students were asked to present one or two looks focused on sustainable design using alternative materials or re-purposed articles of clothing. Tee Time is an annual event that allows sophomore designers in the apparel production class to show their work for the first time. Junior and senior designers joined in on the fun, too.

Sophomore designers were Jacob Brosky, Julianne Dean, Kate Floyd, Angelina Kim, Faith Lowe, Jessica Lyerly, Nikki Maccariello, Jennica Mancarella, Grace McCoy, Callie McKinnon, Miya Michaels, Shea Ochoa, Makenzie Tokes, Katerina Weakley and Danbi Woo.

Juniors designers were Mara Baez-Velazquez, Marc Biancavilla, Ian Burch, Alexandra Gibson, Sydney Good, Gizelle Macias, Kaitlyn Sarao, Leah Sneddon, Millie Steed, Mo Taylor, Kailyn Thomas, Coleen Tolentino, Pang Vang, Jannell Whitfield and Kendall Worrell.

Senior designers were Jeff Austin, Mary Rives Drake, La’ Shandra Garner, Allie Gipson, Trevor Hill and Tommie Quinlan.

Photos by Eric Gray Photography

A Visit with Blackberry Hill Alpacas

4/18/2019

CHES Clothing, Textiles, and Interior Design students took a road trip to visit Blackberry Hill Alpacas, an alpaca farm in Anniston, Alabama. The trip was organized by CTD instructor Danielle Reaves who wanted students to experience the entire process of making wool yarn and envision the design possibilities of this resource. They got to meet the alpacas, see where they are kept, learn what they like to eat and how to shear them.They discovered how to take the sheared wool and prepare it to be spun into yarn. One student even took a turn at the spinning wheel. Students got to feel the wool, both on the alpacas and off, and learn which parts of the sheared wool are used and which must be discarded. Getting to feed and pet the animals was an added bonus that had many of the students wanting an alpaca (or two!) of their very own.

The visit ended with a trip to the gift shop which featured finished products made from alpaca wool. For the students who are participating in the 16th Annual North American Student Design Competition, which is sponsored by Alpaca Owners Association, Inc., this trip was especially valuable for learning the uses of alpaca fiber in fashion, textile and interior design. For a video of the trip visit the CHES Facebook page.