Welcome to my world¶
About me¶
Hi! I am Paulina Martina. Orginally I come from the Carribean, but have been living in Europe since 2008.
I have been on an exciting journey during which I lived a semi-nomadic life during the last three years of my education. Personally I find myself to be a very curious and hands on person, for this reason I enjoy spending my time in the lab and learning about craftsmenship and technology. My time abroad broadened my cultural perspectives while I learned to view educational systems through different lenses.
Past to present¶
Trained at Via Design and Business University in Denmark I have background in textile engineering and product development. Fresh out of University, I took the bold move not to start a carreer as a fashion designer. Instead I went and registered "Hearth Design Lab" to develop The Hague's very first smart textiles and innovaton library. There is an urgent need for innovation within design thinking and the fashion industry. I am curious by nature and always open to learning about new theories and practices with a focus on design and material development. I am currently working on the curation of my first exhibit to open on the public launch of Hearth Design Lab 10.10.2020 My goal is to develop a coaching centred approach to assist the bridging of technology and fashion to innovate traditional teaching methods. Fabric Academy provides an opportunity to take a hands-on learning approach, by creating trough experimentation. I am working towards becoming a teacher within design technologies, fall 2019 I started a bachelor in User Experience Design.
Enter and leaving 2018¶
Spring 2018 I was recruited and became the project lead for Jasna Rok (Antwerps's first Fashion Techonoly Lab). SuperNova was Antwerps first time hosting a Technology conference, my 1st interactions with the world of FashTech had become a reality. My time at the Jasna Rok lab greatly contributed on me learning more about textile and material innovation as I was tasked to currate the FashTech Exhibition for SuperNova 2018 as part of team Jasna Rok. Being able to research and interview candidates really opened up the world of textile and innovation more up to me. This was great experience that helped me let go of former expectations of what I thought textile innovation and FashTech should be, by showing me what it already is and the direction it could be headed into the future with our help as digital makers.
Previous work¶
I am you¶
2016- "I am you" | Girl in "Burka" and augmented reality printed textiles |Photagraphy from Paulina MartinaK archives¶
" I am you" 2016 was inspired by the behavioral and social trends going on in the world. The collection was aimed to give women who live in multicultural environment an opportunity to be heard. In return this did more then make them part of the collection, but contributed to an interactive platform sharing different views on subjects such as Diversity, Culture and Empowerment. " I am you" stands for the universal unifying factors that perceeds race, age and religion. The garment prints could be scanned with phone/tablet which would open up to one of the three videos on which women share their thoughts on culture, empowerment and diversity.
Film editing by Samuel Henry and Paulina Martina | Interviews by Natusha Croes | Project by Paulina Martina
Hearth Bachelor Collection¶
During my 2018 Bachelor Graduate collection H[earth], laser-cut techniques and augmented reality where used to create a ready to wear collection with a modern approach towards sustainable branding and design. Taking new technologies to sustain craftsmanship with a modern twist. Upcycling plastic sheets into sequince, digital emboirderries and lasercutted textiles.
Project: Paulina Martina Photography: Viktor Jelinek
Project: Paulina Martina Photography: Viktor Jelinek
Project: Paulina Martina Photography: Viktor Jelinek
Project: Paulina Martina Photography: Viktor Jelinek
Project: Paulina Martina Photography: Viktor Jelinek
Inspiration¶
Key elements of my creative process and design thinking are.
Technology and innovation¶
The possitive aspects of globalization¶
Hands on approach in the lab¶
Human binding cultural topics¶
Modern Craftsmenship¶
Bridging Technology into the humanoid "natural" experiences¶
How can we create more meaningful connections with our surroundings by combining nature's contrast with technology in uplifting ways?
Plastic Surf-Weston Fuller, Wolfgang Rising, Chad Knight, Ok Caha, Ranian Hassan, Roman Bratschi, Sight Unseen, Enrico Ferrarini¶
Vimeo¶
KG Projects from Kailu Guan on Vimeo.
Kailu Guan's graduate collection is was made in order for audiences to interact with the garments. I find this project interesting as it is my 2016 " I am you" collection but in the next level regarding graphics. Also "I am you" was focused intercultural binding human factors as this project seems to have a more artistic visual approach. It is very inspiring to see how the design industries are opening up to combining art with technology to create cultural exchanges. I am looking forward to learning the possibilities in creating new variations and twists to my future projects from as a result of my learnings by taking part in the Fabric Academy.
Motivation¶
Ever since I moved to Netherlands I have been back and forward between the worlds of technology and design. But I have never really been able to find my place in just one of them as I believe that they are intertwined. Eventhough this is considererd to be a fact, many fail to understand the importance of collaborations and cross-specialty practices. Learning about other subjects and specialties can help us gain new perspectives and inspire us to approach our work and creative processes differently. As we all have different strengths, how great would it be to combine skills that help assist creating the jobs of tomorrow inspired by the needs of today. What if we could create opportunities for children/future generations of students to start learning about the possibilities and applications of open source learning and the implications of material innovations? My goal is to gain more experience and support cross-specialty open source education to deepen my understanding on material development. My goal is to use this opportunity to connect with others who are looking to disrupt design industries in and pave the foundation for my own material education lab in the future.
Possible direction for final Project...¶
How can we let people see that we already have many of the answers? Is it possible to learn about methods and theories that honor the teachings from the past while adapting them to current technologies? How can I create a course/kit that will make it possible for students to learn about the already existing possibilities early during their academic journey?