Erin Fitzmaurice/THE GATEPOST
By Bailey Morrison
What is your resume and educational background?
My undergrad is from Framingham State in apparel design. I have a master of fine arts from Boston University in costume production. I’m currently working on my Ph.D. in design at Iowa State. I’ve been making clothes my whole life.
What is the best part of your job at FSU?
The students. When they ask really good questions and something clicks, that’s great. When they get excited about figuring something out, that is pretty cool.
What would your students be surprised to learn about you?
My students know pretty much everything about me. ... They might not know I’m trying to learn to play the mandolin. I’ve been practicing for about three years. I don’t think they’d be surprised – they know a lot about me. They critique my work, which is nice.
What are some of your accomplishments?
I was at the International Textile Apparel Association (ITAA) conference in Santa Fe a few weeks ago and I received two different awards. One was an award from Cotton Incorporated Innovations in Cotton Design.
It was for an origami-like design, which is cool because that is one of the topics I’m doing in my special topics course. We do some creative shape-cutting, so that is related to my award. The other one was the Vinci Award for Excellence in Design Emphasizing the Use of Technology – it was for digital textile printing. I do it in a very low-tech way, though, because we don’t have the programs here to do it. I came up with a way so our students could send their designs to a local place to get their fabric printed. ... That won a pretty big award – it was exciting. I’ve shown designs for about five years at ITAA, but this was the first time they were recognized at that level.
Do you have any hobbies?
Outside of fashion, I do costume design for the theater department. I ride my mountain bike as well.
What class would you recommend all students take?
Everyone should take a class in creativity. Everyone has the ability to be creative. We don’t have that class yet, but we should.
What was your favorite undergrad experience?
Studying in Paris. It was a semester long during my junior year.
What advice would you give to FSU students?
Try classes you don’t think you’d be interested in, because you might change your mind. You also might find out what you don’t like.