1. State of the art, project management and documentation¶
Introduction¶
As I begin documenting my journey at Fabricademy, I find myself reflecting on what truly inspires me as a designer. I’ve always been drawn to textile dyeing processes, fabric manipulation, and the way a simple piece of cloth can be transformed through construction, structure, or technique. Whether it's shaping garments, experimenting with texture, or adding small touches of technological innovation, I love exploring how textiles can shift, react, and come alive.
Although I started this program a bit later—joining in Week 4 during Biochromes week—the energy, creativity, and experimental spirit of the course immediately pulled me in. Even as I catch up on previous assignments, I can already feel how Fabricademy is giving me exactly what I’ve been searching for, a space to expand my skills, especially in working with new tools, digital fabrication methods, and software that I’ve always wanted to master but never had the chance to explore deeply.
Looking through past Fabricademy projects has also motivated me. Previous students have pushed boundaries in bio-based materials, wearable technologies, computational textiles, e-textiles, and sustainable fabrication. Seeing their transformations reassures me that I’m in the right place—one where experimentation is encouraged, and failure is simply part of the learning process. I’m inspired by how each project carries a unique personal story, blending craft, science, and innovation. It makes me excited to carve out my own path within this community.
Starting late hasn’t discouraged me—instead, it has pushed me to focus, stay organized, and manage my time intentionally as I navigate the first assignments. This introduction marks the beginning of my documentation journey, and even though I didn’t start from Week 1, I’m committed to fully immersing myself, catching up, and shaping my own version of the Fabricademy experience. I’m excited for what lies ahead and the skills I’ll gain as I continue exploring the intersection of textiles, technology, and material experimentation.
References & Inspiration¶
-
christiebrown ghanian fashion designer Christie Brown frequently integrates hand-dyed textiles and custom batik prints into her collections, showcasing Ghanaian craftsmanship through elegant, tailored pieces.
-
loza maleombho Côte d’Ivoire/Brazil fashion designer Loza experiments with textile manipulation and custom-dyed fabrics, merging Ivorian traditions with futuristic design. Her use of color gradients and fabric treatments gives her garments a sculptural feel
-
sindi sokhumalo south african designer A textile designer at heart, Sindiso Khumalo incorporates hand-dyed fabrics, natural dyes, botanical colors, and textile illustrations. Her work blends African textile heritage with contemporary luxury.
Documentation workflow¶
For this first week, our main task was to get to know the many platforms we would be using to document our work, communicate with each other and recieve feedback,
Intro of platforms¶
-
fablabs is a network that maps out global labs and gives us an easy, single log in for all the platforms we use.
-
gitlab is an open source service which hosts our documentation websites. We can publish and edit our sites through this platform.
-
nueval is where our work will be evaulated by our instructors and we can recieve feedback.
-
mattermost is a open source alternative to sites such as Whatsapp. Through this platform we can chat in channels relating to different assignments.
coding¶
I joined Fabricademy a bit later than the rest of the group, so the first weeks felt quite challenging. I had never used GitLab Fabcloud before, and while others were already progressing, I was still learning how the platform worked and completing my tasks offline by looking at what previous students had done. When I discovered that the program also involved some coding, I felt intimidated at first—my only experience with anything IT-related was a single Visual Basic lesson back in university. But I pushed myself to keep going, especially after realizing I wasn’t the only one learning from scratch.
Software installation¶
