Browsing by discipline "Craft Science"
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(2017)This research focuses on the children's clothing of the 1950's. Especially this research has its focus on the meanings of children's clothes. Children's clothes had not been researched widely before, and there was no research of Finnish children's clothes from the 1950's. The decade was remarkable in the lives of families and children, there was some big changes in society, which had a direct effect on both families and children. Costume research has proven that people use clothes to communicate to one another. This is why it is interesting to research how we can see the changed position of the children in her clothes. I studied 12 clothes from Satakunnan Museo's collections. My aim was to choose clothes that would represent as good as possible the children's fashion of the 1950's. I chose not to research underwear, pyjamas, or accessories like shoes or hats. I created an analyse for this research, where I utilized semiotics, artefacts studies and earlier costume research. Children's position could be seen in many ways in her clothes. Urbanization, school systems generalization, could be seen as formality in the clothes. Also the conservative perspective on families and gender could be seen as differences in the clothes of boys and girls. As medicine and psychology as well as behavioural sciences, developed their theories, started the emphasizing of outdoor activities and playing for children's health. These matters could be seen as loose clothes and material choices. On the other hand no elastic materials were used in the clothes of matter, even though the guide books of raising children up, did recommend elastic materials. This research indicated that the society's and adult's aspects on children, could be seen in her clothes in the 1950's.
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(2016)Change is often viewed as the essence of fashion, but many who operate in the field have observed that certain features and events recur either in a linear, cyclical, swinging or fragmented matter. The purpose of my thesis is to forecast the next 1950s revival by developing and testing a new tool for forecasting. To achieve my goal I examined, if the revivals show common always recurring features and what the similarities and differences are like. I studied the two most recent recurrences in the years 1996 and 2012 by focusing on two retrotrends, apparel and Zeitgeist. The perspective of my thesis was a qualitative and hermeneutic future study. I examined the apparel features with photographs of Chanel's and Dior's collections. For the interpretation of the Zeitgeist factors I used Mitä, missä, milloin -books and collected the research material from the section on culture, news and international politics. For the analysis I employed the hermeneutic circle and two types of qualitative content analysis. On the first round I expanded my pre-understanding and defined the factors with which I grouped, measured and interpreted the material in the content analyses. On rounds two, three and four I analyzed the photographs by applying content analysis of visual images, and examined the text with inductive content analysis. On the fifth and final round I formed the base for my forecast by comparing my expanded understanding and the results of the previous rounds with one another. According to the results the most common characteristic features of the dresses and jackets, in Chanel's and Dior's collections from the years 1996 and 2012, resembled the features of the 1950s. The greatest differences where in the lengths of the sleeves and skirts. All of the Zeitgeist factors recurred in each revival, except for the "racial riots", youth culture and the buy now pay later -mentality. Based on my findings I predict that the common characteristic features of the 1950s apparel and Zeitgeist will recur in the next revival.
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(2018)Clothes play an important role in development of person’s identity. Children’s clothes build identi-ties of both children and their parents’. Clothes are one way of communication. Brand clothes might have different message than clothes that you can buy in any store. Some might think that the price and quality go together. Recycling brings another view to cloth’s qualities; how ethical and ecological clothes are. Internet allows people to recycle and interact in any time and place. Children’s clothing, especially branded, might invoke some discussion and opinions amongst par-ents. Children’s brand clothes are fascinating and at the same time those might make you irritat-ed. There are lots of researches about children’s clothing, branding of children’s clothing and par-ents’ consumption to children; conspicuous consumption. Most of the previous studies have been conducted as qualitative interview studies. This study investigates who are recycling children’s brand clothes, what kind of opinions parents have about children’s brand clothes and why they are recycling children’s brand clothes in the internet. This study is a quantitative internet survey. Study method was selected in order to find out how bigger amount of responses reflect the results of previous qualitative studies. Study was made in the tide of 2017 and 2018. Quantitative data was total of 566 answers from which 557 were includ-ed and analyzed with statistical software SPSS 25. In addition to quantitative questions survey had some open questions which gave deeper insight to the results. Results of this study give an insight of how parents, especially mothers are very interested and highly informed about children’s brand clothes. Usage and recycling of children’s brand clothes is seen as an ethical and ecological choice. Parents say that they recycle children’s brand clothes based on their children’s needs. When parents think about usage of brand clothes on other par-ents’ children they think it might be only because they want to be seen.
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(2016)The purpose was to study handmade underwear and their making in 2010's Finland. The study examined features of handmade underwear, which include the range of underwear types, the structure of underwear and the aesthetic style of underwear. The study also aimed to understand craft enthusiasts motivations for making underwear, both relating to underclothes themselves and to general values and attitudes. The theoretical viewpoints examined in the study were processes and meanings of making crafts, DIY-culture as well as styles, history and meanings of underwear. The research strategy was qualitative case study and it was based on data triangulation. Both the features of handmade underwear and the motivations for their making were examined with photographs and texts published in the Internet as well as qualitative questionnaire responses. The visual and textual data was collected from two sewing-related Facebook-groups and individual blogs and the data consisted of 65 photographs and 122 files that included text or both photographs and text. The questionnaire responses were collected using online questionnaire and the final data included 51 responses. The data was analyzed by using content analysis with theoretical approach and Atlas.ti 7.5.10 was used as a software tool in the analysis. Making underwear by hand could be seen as a small phenomenon among craft enthusiasts on the Internet. Underwear types examined in the study were bras and underpants for women, men and children. The structures and materials of the handmade underwear were mainly similar to industrially made ones. However there was more diversity in the aesthetic styles of the handmade underwear. The most frequent aesthetic styles were colorfulness, use of different types of printed fabrics, use of recycled and leftover materials as well as playful, joyful and humoristic expressive style. The most important motivations for making underwear were related to the clothes themselves, the most common reason being need for fit and comfort. Furthermore quality of the product and need for individual look were motivations that relate to the product. Motivations that relate to values and attitudes were economic benefit, ecological and ethical reasons, fulfilling craft enthusiasts lifestyle and aiming at self-sufficiency. The economic and ecological values were seen in utilization of leftover materials, which was a common motivation for making underwear. According to this study the making of handmade underwear appears to have influences of DIY-craft, which includes aspects of individuality, consumption and taking responsibility of one's own needs.
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(2007)In this research the technical functionality, quality and demands made on endurance runners' running suits in winter conditions were studied. The aim was also to find out how smart clothing and wearable technology are adopted in endurance runners' practise. Referring to previous studies the subject was approached in the theoretical part by studying the profile of endurance running, sports wear and the technology to wear as well as the smart clothing from the point of view of endurance running. The basis of subject was the interest of smart materials and the connection between technical structures and functionality. In the science of handicrafts smart clothing is rarely researched which made it even more interesting for the author. This research was carried out by the principles of the usability research. Usability means the suitability of product to its intended meaning. In the research both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Researched persons were active competitive long-distance runners and also the long-distance runners doing it as a hobby, 35 male and 12 female runners. User information was gathered by the internet forms which mainly was based on the multiple choices but also included few open questions. Gathered information was considered by using both quantitative and content analysing methods. The functional long-distance running practice suit in winter conditions consisted of layered look which considered the possibilities of functional and smart materials. The Practise suit was humid transformable, easy care and light also comfortable to wear. These suits were hoped to be more functional than the current ones. The future running suit was described to not to feel or notice during running. It will not be too tight or sweltering. The functional abilities of clothing materials were believed to be developed further more. Even if the new technical materials are adopted for the running suits the technology to wear is not even though half of the researched runners used pulse indicators. The runners hoped the technology to wear to change more invisible and easier to use. Some of the runners wished the technology to wear to be integrated straight to the clothes which would reduce the number of devices carried with while running. The rare use of Polar Adidas AdiStar Fusion practise system and some other similar systems for endurance running was surprising. According to the results the smart clothing would not make a big brake through in the near future. In the point of view of the researched persons developing of clothing materials was a good and necessary thing, but integrating too much technology to the hobby smears the main purpose of sports and focuses wrongly on the metres and others minors .
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(2019)Objectives. The objective of this study is to determine the opportunities and challenges regarding customer-inspired teaching entities in handicrafts in comprehensive school, in which the students design and make crafts for someone other than himself or herself. These customer-inspired teaching entities are a timely research topic, as in our individualism centered culture it is more important than ever to teach children and youth to consider the opinions and feelings of others. These teaching entities are strongly linked to user-inspired design, which is increasingly used in the development of products and services. The research questions are: 1. How have customer-inspired teaching entities been implemented in handicrafts in comprehensive school? 2. What challenges do customer-inspired teaching entities face? 3. Why are customer-inspired teaching entities used? Methods. This study was carried out as a survey utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods. The research material was collected from comprehensive school handicraft teachers using an electronic questionnaire containing both open and closed questions. 45 handicraft teachers completed the survey. The closed questions were analyzed quantitatively using SPSS. The answers to the open questions were analyzed using different sorts of content analyses. Results and conclusions. It seems that there are usually no more than three customer-inspired teaching entities in a school year, and they account for under 20 % of all handicraft’s teaching entities. Students had made handicrafts mostly to their family members or other relatives and acquaintances or the school itself. Customer’s participation to the design process of the product varied, but participation to the assessment was less common. Sometimes students had designed and made products as a group, but this was rather rare. The biggest challenges were motivating the students, their low skill levels and lack of time. Customer-inspired teaching entities were seen particularly fit for teaching collaboration, interaction and design skills, as well as for teaching empathy and to take others into account. Most respondents held it important to utilize customer-inspired teaching entities in handicrafts in comprehensive school.
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(2010)The objective of the present study was to increase knowledge about the atelier culture of recent history, especially about the ways in which atelier clothes were made. I look at the ways of dress-making in the production of a renowned atelier, Salon Kaarlo Forsman. I also give a general outline of the atelier. The studying method I used was triangulation, which is a typical approach in case studies of recent history. My data include 23 dresses by the Salon Forsman, theme interviews of four of the Salon workers and one mannequin, data from my research work, as well as press material and archives. The basis of the analysis of these materials was a theme frame that I had put together with the help of pre-understanding. I then completed and defined the theme frame on the basis of the analysis of the data. I also analyzed the dresses in the fashion photos in the press material. Salon Kaarlo Forsman represents a certain cultural period, the years 1937-1986, and a place where a woman could have individual clothes made for her, from hats to fur coats. The atelier was particularly known for embroidery with beads, draping, and fantastic cuttings designed by the owner, fashion designer Kaarlo Forsman. I draw an outline of the work and practices of the atelier, but also that of Kaarlo Forsman's life work, as he had a great influence on the sewing methods atelier clothes. Mr. Forsman was able to stretch the first period of modern fashion well into the third period by refusing new, labor-saving methods and sticking to individually designer clothes to the end of his enterprise. The crucial practices in the atelier that I present in this study are fitting, designing, finishing and sewing, as well as beading and the decoration of dresses. I compare the activity, practices and dress-making methods in the Forsman atelier to that of Haute Couture in Paris, which served as model for Finnish fashion houses. I point out the similarities and differences.
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(2018)This research was inspired by the need to repair teared car upholstery. The subject of this study was an original upholstery fabric from a year 1962 Volvo Amazon. The aim of this study was to collect knowledge of craft-based design and manufacturing process based on an original car upholstery fabric. The research question was: How do I design and develop an upholstery fabric according to an original design while maintaining authenticity? Due to the hand craft based and practical nature of the subject, development research was chosen as the research method. The design process moves forward in three stages. At the first stage the situation was outlined, and the original upholstery fabric was analyzed to find the problems. To support the analysis, Katja Hynninen was consulted as a weaving expert, and Eila Lindfors’ (2002) dissertation was helpful when textile use and caring features were estimated in a sensory manner. The most important attributes of sensory evaluation were the feel, the density, the colors, the stripe rhythm and the general look. Problems with the origi-nal fabric were analyzed by the weak structure of the upholstery fabric yarn, the thin density and the length of the stripe pattern. At the second stage, the aim was to find solutions to the problems found at the first stage. The problems were solved by finding materials and by do-ing experimental weaving on a sample warp. At the final stage the swatches were compared to the original upholstery fabric and to the problems found at the first stage. The experiments were evaluated by the same sensory properties as in the analysis. As a result of the devel-opment process, the most appropriate proposal for the upholstery fabric was presented ac-cording to the objective defined by the researcher. Although the aim of this study was not to produce general information on car upholstery, the research results can also be beneficial to others who are interested in doing similar car up-holstery fabric restoration.
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(2020)Tiivistelmä - Referat - Abstract Goals. The process of apparel making comprises different levels of thinking: sketching of an idea is abstract thinking that takes its two-dimensional shape in a design. Cutting out the plane material requires also two-dimensional patterns. The final step is producing a three-dimensional garment. Transforming an idea into a ready product requires, at each stage of the process, spatial visualization aptitude. The focus of this study is to research variation at two- and three-dimensional levels in apparel making process, and to add information on the role of spatial visualization in the working process. The purpose of this study is to find out what kind of decisions the pupil makes in sketching and making an item of clothing. It is also interesting to find out how the pupil’s spatial visualization aptitude is revealed in designing and making an item of clothing. Methods. This multi-method case study was performed in a craft class on the seventh grade (age 13-14) in the comprehensive school. The pupil’s spatial vizualization aptitude was measured with the traditional cubic test and with an apparel spatial visualization test that was specially modified for this study. In addition, each pupil was required to assess her performance in designing and sewing her own item of clothing. The multi-method study consisted of three stages: charting of working stages of each pupil, a two-part spatial visualization test, and self-assessment of each pupil. The results were analyzed by statistical methods and also by qualitative methods. Results and conclusions. The traditional cubic test proved to be more difficult for the pupils than the apparel pattern and design test. The test results supported the study hypothesis, i.e. the success in the traditional cubic test correlated positively with the success in the pattern and design test. Although the pupils had no previous experience in apparel making they were able to choose the correct patterns with no significant variation. The tests proved to be worked out applicable to the target group, and they fulfilled the main objective of the study by yielding information on varying forms of spatial visualization in a heterogenic craft group of seventh-form pupils. Although the small material (n16) is not statistically significant the result of the study can be considered to be indicative.
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(2017)For the students' future, it is important that today's teaching prepares them for their future challenges and gives them tools to solve those. There will be a need for creative thinking, courage and cooperation skills. The curriculum of Finnish schools has defined a broad range of skills which are important in the future of students. Teaching should be planned from the point of view of learning process and extending the boundaries of school subjects. In the context of integrating teaching, we talk about phenomenal learning, which is based on holistic phenomena of the real world. The basis of phenomenal learning is the principle of exploratory learning, where learning starts by exploring problems and finding answers and solutions to them. The focus of the thesis is a quasi-experimental study to explore which color shades are generated when using beetroot and peels of mandarin and red onion as a source of color, how those colors will withstand washing and light exposure and what kind of possibilities for exploratory, phenomenon based learning following the aims of transversal competences defined by the integrated curriculum the project provides. The main results of the experimental part of the study show that the use of rhubarb leaves as a mordant has darkened the color result with all the dyeing colors tried. This is explained by the fact that rhubarb causes a dark background color, which shows strong in light dyes with little redness. The colorfastness of beetroot towards light and washing is poor. The colors achieved by the use of mandarin peels are light yellow and red onion is a source for green or brown shades, depending on the mordant used. Those colors have a good fastness to light and laundering. The differences are found are a good starting point for phenomenon based exploratory learning. Performing dyeing and dyeing tests themselves touch many areas of expertise and educational goals. The use of bio waste as a source of colors, colors and woolen material offer a variety of opportunities for teaching following an integrated curriculum, exploratory learning, phenomenon based learning and improving transversal competences. The project can be expanded according to the teacher's goals, depending on the subject and topic, or following the pupils' interest. In this way learning can be expanded in various ways.
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(2016)Rapid development of ICT has brought it into nearly all areas of everyday living, including craft. Therefore, to retain the unique nature of craft, deep understanding is needed on how use of ICT affects craft, especially craft-design that is the sole basis of craft. In addition, it's also vital to assess the quality of the digital design tools. Little is known about ICT usage's effects on the craft-design process nor about usability of digital design tools meant for craft design. This research had three main objectives: to study usability of applications, meant for craft-design and find the best suited applications for craft-science students to use in their studies, to analyze and describe how using the applications affect students' craft-design processes and to develop and evaluate the performance of a remote evaluation method to study the two previous aspects. This research is a qualitative case study. Five applications were tested by eight participants. To enable authentic real life working environment and style for the participants and to gather research data remotely a remote multi-method was designed for data gathering of this re-search that included questionnaire-, written- and screen events video data. The main data analysis followed the procedures of qualitative content analysis. Usability of the five applications varied from very bad to excellent. Based on the overall usability, the applications that are most advisable for craft-design studies, from the five applications evaluated in this research are iWeaveIt and StitchSketch. Analysis of effects of application usage to participants' craft-design processes revealed three factors that promote changes: usability of the applications, new possibilities and limitations compared to traditional design methods and technical expertise of a designer. Reinterpretations and further development of ideas during the design process was observed in this research, while the participants were using the applications that were evaluated as good or excellent in terms of usability that contradicts with the findings of previous studies. The remote multi-method developed for this research fulfilled the main goals set for it. It gave the participants a possibility to work in their natural working environment without time or place limitations and it still produced rich attitudinal and behavioral data.
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(2016)Gender is usually seen as a binary system which is divided into men and women. It is defined socially and within a society, it can be seen especially in the ways we dress ourselves. We connect through clothes to the gender we feel as our own and the differences between genders are essentials in how we dress. Drag is a form of theater which was born in the gay community. It consists of forming an illusion of a gender other than one's own. Camp is essential to drag. It is a style which is formed of contradictions, exaggeration, theatricality and irony. Drag queens represent and make parody of stereotypical feminine behavior and the way women dress. The goal of the study is to investigate the way drag queens dress and how their dress is related to gender. How does femininity appear in the way drag queens dress? How do drag queens play with gender stereotypes and how it can be seen in the way they dress? The data of the study consisted of nine photographs of drag queens. I collected the photographs from the Instagram accounts of the drag queens. I analyzed the data with an aesthetic-semiotic model that was based on the aesthetic analysis model by Marilyn DeLong (1998). The model had three stages, which were 1) the observation of the pictures as wholes, 2) the separation of the wholes into visual parts and 3) the interpretation of the wholes. Drag queens based their appearance on typical feminine features which were often exaggerated. Their appearance was also contradictory and ironic. Drag queens used the stereotypical image of women in the way they dress but their characters were not based only on that. They use femininity as a tool for self-expression. Outfits that are assembled with care are based on creating an illusion in which drag queens use recognizable feminine elements.
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(2001)The objective of the study was to understand individuality in Muslim women's dress. The research problems were, how individuality forms and appears in their dress. To answer these questions interviews were made with nine Muslim women who live in Finland. The interviews were analysed with the phenomenologically oriented content analysis method. The research report proceeds in a dialogue between theory and the analysis. In this study individuality in dress was studied as a process. Factors affecting to this process were considered: the individual, the set of identities, personality, self, religion, culture and social relationships. An essential part of the process was searching for a positive experience of self. The experience meant intuitive self-identification and satisfaction with the mirror reflection for the women. Individuality was the result of searching for the positive experience of self-identification, because for each woman different kinds of dress gave a feeling of suitability for the self. For example, for some Muslim women head covering is a way to express the self. They experience this as the right way for the good Muslim woman. For others head covering can mean the loss of positive self experience. Individuality in dress appeared in various ways. Some women cover their whole body including their head in public. Some women do not cover their head and some dress even in tight and revealing clothes. There are also Muslim women who cover their faces, they are not included in this study. Individuality appears also within groups that dress similarly. Individuality appeared with different kind of clothes, hairstyles, make-up, choices, details and colour. However, individuality is not only the noticeable differences in dress, but how each Muslim woman belongs to this reality and expresses herself within dress. This means that in this study individuality in dress is seen in a way that many Finns would not consider as individuality.
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(2003)The aim of the study was to find out, how the craftsmen of textile of the archipelago reach for ecological sustainability. In addition, what does the ecological orientation mean for the craftsman and how to understand ecological handicrafts. Both the product and the creator serve as a narrator. To answer these questions interviews were made with nine craftsmen who live in the Archipelago. The interviews were analysed with content analysis method. The research report proceeds in a dialogue between theory and the analysis. The relationship between the sustainable development and the handicrafts of archipelago was observed as the theoretical basis of the research. By investing in cultural, social, financial and industrial sustainability the fundamental aim of ecological sustainability is possible to attain. Values, skills and knowledge of a craftsman have an influence on the various sectors of the development. The operational environment of the craftsmen is the archipelago, its nature and the culture created by man. One objective was to work out, how the archipelago and its notion played a part in their way of working and telling about their products. Ecology in the handicrafts of the archipelago appeared in various ways. Cultural and social sustainability materialized better than economical and industrial sustainability. Education seemed to be the best way to get intermediate goals on the way to the sustainable development. Handicrafts was seen as a part of the culture of archipelago and the networks in a sparsely populated area is experienced as an important thing. The ecological acting is commonly connected to the material of handicraft and its methods of production. Values take shape, when the craftsman talked about his family and told his story about growing into the craftsmanship. Striving for ecological sustainability in handicrafts aroused also mixed feelings. Craftsmanship is lifeblood on the market, which is ruled by the global market economy. Does it mean that striving for ecological sustainability is an attempt to reach for truth?
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(2018)The purpose of the thesis is to interpret the range of discussion concerning consumerism and the significance of possessions, that is present in the media. The method used is interpretive structuralism, which is a form of discourse analysis. My research questions have emerged from the data and the analysing prosess has restructured and refined them during the prosess. The data consists of 26 Finnish articles and columns in which Marie Kondo’s The life-chaning magic of tidying up, other organizing books or voluntary simplifying are discussed. The articles have been published in 2014–2017. The context of the study is in the Finnish consumer society, the forming of which I will reflect in relation to the development of the western consumer society, massconsumption, throwaway society and the rapid transformation of the Finnish social structure among other things. The standard of living has been dependent on aquiring wealth and on the amount of posessions, but in a mature consumer culture the consumer can also enjoy the act of not consuming. In consumer cultures, consuming is the practice through which individuals take part in social life and bond with each other. The results of the analysis suggest that there are six discourses present in the data: The life-changing power of tidying up, Posessions as burdens, Ecology and restraining consumption, Womens status in the household, Consuming as entertainment and Historical effect ”the burden of scarcity”. A discourse includes various aspects and opinions, positive and negative, which rise from the range of discussion present in the data. These discourses are not clear-cut, they overlap and same topics might be discussed in many of them.
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(2020)The aim of this study was to clarify which factors constitute an e-portfolio that supports and promotes learning in craft education, and how these factors appear in authentic e-portfolios made by lower secondary school pupils. The Finnish National Core Curriculum for Basic Education 2014 emphasizes learner centrism, self-directed learning, learning-to-learn skills, goal setting skills, and problem-solving skills as objectives of education. The basis of craft education is in the examination of transversal themes in a holistic manner. In addition to learning the holistic craft process, e.g. versatile use of ICT and reflective and critical thinking are considered objectives of craft education. Assessment in craft education is based on documentation of the holistic craft process. In this study, the e-portfolio method is examined as a way of implementing the objectives and meanings of craft education in practice. A content model of e-portfolio for craft education was constructed based on previous studies, literature and the National Core Curriculum for Basic Education 2014, summarising the central contents, aims and potential of e-portfolios in craft education. 8 e-portfolios made by lower secondary school pupils in craft education were analysed. The data was collected as a part of the Growing Mind -research project in one Helsinki-based comprehensive school. The data was analysed through qualitative content analysis to examine the ways the factors of the content model were embodied in the e-portfolios. The e-portfolios appeared as stories and diaries communicating the learning processes from the pupils’ viewpoint. The e-portfolios provided information about the authors’ thought processes, activities, and the grounds of their activities. The e-portfolios were produced in different ways and their contents and emphasis varied. All of the e-portfolios expressed the craft learning process in forms of goal setting, artefact documentation, feedback and inter-action, interdisciplinary learning, learning ICT-skills, and holistic craft process containing the generation of ideas, the design, the making process, and the assessment of the artefact and the process. The results of this study indicate that the e-portfolio is worthy of consideration as a method and tool in craft education especially when it is produced in a dynamic way as a part of a learning task.
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(2020)Objectives. Many studies, activities, processes, services, and even individual products in sustainability (sustainable development) aim at change either only explicitly or only implicitly. However, change often remains unnecessarily modest considering the severity of the problems. This tendency exists in the field of craft science, fashion and more broadly. The research assignment is to describe, analyse and interpret change for sustainability in the field of fashion. The research task is to analyse the philosophical concept meliorism’s potential to produce new insight to this central question of sustainability. The aim is to examine change and understand with meliorism those conditions in which highly challenging and complex information could still be received without paralysis and acted on in consistent and constructive manners. Methods. The chosen data Fashion Transparency Index is compiled by the world’s leading fashion and sustainability campaign: Fashion Revolution. The index is a comparative review on fashion brands’ transparency on sustainability issues from year 2020. The analysis was done in stages. First it was mainly data-driven content analysis where the phenomenon’s concrete manifestations were more prominent. Towards the end theory-driven analysis with the help of concept of meliorism was in focus. Results and conclusions. In Fashion Transparency Index change for sustainability in the field of fashion remains mostly as vague hope, transparency tool making and optimistic descriptions of the sustainability activities of big fashion brands. However, based on further results of this study, it can be tentatively claimed that if meliorism’s active take on making a difference, the preconditions for change for sustainability could be met. In other words if we are not to sink into hopeless pessimism nor give into unfounded optimism but we actively absorb inaccessible, incomplete and even anxiety provoking information and act in accordance to that information, we have an opportunity to improve the presence and above all the future of fashion field.
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(2020)Social media and its online communities and various platforms are actively used by hobby craft makers. Previous research has shown, that social media offers its users a place to meet people with similar intrests, an opportunity to share and receive information, and to showcase and receive feedback on their own crafts. Social media is also a place to find new inspiration ja ideas for future craft projects and serves as a virtual diary. The aim of this study was to find out how sewing-focused Facebook groups are used as part of the different stages of the sewing craft process; creating ideas, planning, makeing and evaluation, what kind of information, help or feedback is received from Facebook groups, and how this information is used in the sewing hobby. I was also interested in what kind of things is find to be meaningful in Facebook sewing groups. My research questions are 1) How are sewing-themed Facebook groups used at different stages of the sewing process, and 2) What issues group members find to be important in Facebook sewing groups. The data was collect througe semi-structural online survey, that included a call for volunteers to write about their experiences of how they use facebook groups during their sewing craft process. A link to the survey was shared in five Finnish Facebook sewing groups. There were 73 respondents. The writings were analyzed qualitatively, by means of content analysis. According to the research results, the groups are utilized in different ways in different stages of the sewing process, but the aims behind these different ways are very similar between the different stages: The groups are utilized to support progress in craft process, increase knowledge and as a helpt to clarify vision. In addition, a deliberate retrieval of feedback is identifiable in the evaluation phase. In the sewing groups, it was find to be importat to find new ideas and inspiration, learn new skills and develop oneself, seek information, meet people with similar intrests, and share information and help others.
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(2020)The objective of this research was to describe autoethnographically the intecration points on my personal history´s narrative identities. Material comprises of work plans and work diaries, and the resulting artworks. The scope of the study reference frame was set around narrative identity consepts, integrated with the narrative identity of personality psychologist Dan McAdams (1995) and narrative identity theories of hermeneutic philosopher Paul Ricoeur (1992). The reference frame concerning the craft science was practice-led research where artist acts as researcher of his/her own work. Maarit Mäkelä´s dessertation (2003) ” Memories on Clay” has influenced this work. Mäkelä studied representations of subjective creating process and gender, and verbally described the creative process and the resulting artworks. Research questions: 1. How integration points of my personal history´s narrative identity are materializing into textile art? What kind of process it is? 2. How this research process is shaping my narrative identity? Methods The research material was composed of autoethnographical processing of my personal history´s narrative identity integration points. The work plans and work diaries material comprised 85 pages and included photographs from different stages of the process. During my research process, I created five piece of textile art based on the fragments of my personal narrative identity. I interpreted and analysed the process in the course of it (reflection-in-action) and retrospectively (reflection-on-action) applying to the practice-led research. Results and conclusuions The outcome of this study were five textile art works.
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(2016)The aim of the study was to investigate ideas and idea generation of designers in free improvisation tasks at conceptual level in the experiment, planned primarily for the physiological and neurological measurements. My study was a part of the multidisciplinary research project Handling Mind: Embodiment, Creativity and Design which concentrated on studying relations between mind, body and materials combining the fields of psychology, neuroscience and creativity. The neurological study did not reveal what and how participants felt, thought and experienced during the experiment which was the main interest in my study. Previous research has focused on investigating various fields of the design process, as well as the ideation phase, but investigating idea generation in the context of neuroscientific research is a new and interesting chance for the research. The ideation phase represents an iterative and vibrant nature of the design process. Previous studies have brought out the meaning of available sources of inspiration, and designers' competence to adapt the essential parts of the original sources and transform them into design outputs regarding the aspects of novelty and functionality. Therefore, I developed my research questions concerning ideas and idea development in freely improvising tasks in a new design situation. The 30 participants participated in the study as volunteers from the School of Art, Design and Architecture in Aalto University from November 2014 to March 2015. They performed copying, designing or free improvising tasks by drawing or forming clay. I organized the Stimulated Recall (SR) interviews with my colleague to collect data. We selected the 15 out of 30 interviews to represent the data in our studies. I analyzed the transcript data by qualitative content analysis: the classification scheme was both data and theory driven. The analysis revealed that designers had different ideas emerging from internal stimuli, for example, from their mental library or they were impressed by external stimuli, for instance, material, tools and cup images from the experiment. The experiment represented an external design constraint: it confined the problem space and narrowed down the alternative solutions. Designers had concrete and abstract ideas, but also the abstractions of ideas were developed. They relied on familiar topic choices but also were capable of creating analogies. Even this minimalistic design experiment revealed that designers are able to use their mental sources of inspiration and capable of picking profitable stimuli from their surroundings in new and uncertain situations for adapting and developing ideas further. Designers sought meaning for their sketching and experimenting as well.
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