Surface Design student, Christel Stipp along with Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS recently showcased their range of women’s accessories at an exhibition held in August on the Cape Town campus.
The exhibition was the culmination of Stipp’s Mtech practice-based research project.
Stipp is the first CPUT MTech surface design student to complete a practice-based research project, which consist of a dissertation and a practical. Students usually opt for the dissertation route.
However, Stipp said she was up for a challenge and opted for the creative route.
Her project aimed at equipping the elderly with surface design skills in order to empower them to create an accessory range.
She approached the Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS community group that is based in Khayelitsha.
Stipp started work on the project in 2006 and held various creative and skills- based workshops with the women.
Many of the women were already skilled in crochet and other handwork techniques and were able to incorporate this into Stipp’s project.
“After the workshops we went on to create the accessory range which included handbags, ponchos, scarfs and belts,” said Stipp.
“We worked with a wide variety of materials. This included wools, leather and craft-wire. The majority of materials were sourced from South Africa and Namibia,” she said.
The various accessories will be marketed and the public will be able to place orders. The accessories will be produced by the women who will benefit from the sales.
Mama Gold, one of the members of the group thanked Stipp for the positive impact that the research project had on the grandmothers’ lives. She said they gained valuable skills.
Co-ordinator of the MTech Fashion and Surface Design Programme, Alettia Chisin said: “As an educator I was deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to supervise a project of this nature, which was from the start a co-operative and reciprocal exchange of knowledge and ideas amongst all the participants.”
By Candes Keating
Written by CPUT News
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