Presented by Visual College of Art and Design (VCAD) fashion marketing students, Tara Jean McTavish, Stephanie Martin, Eugenia To, and Jaspreet Johal–Showcasing Sons + Daughters Eyewear–CITY KIDS will be held at Make Studios on Saturday, October 25, from 12-6PM. Make will be transformed into a mini, child-friendly NYC (cotton-candy included). Food and drinks will be available, as well as entertainment from a live Lady Liberty statue. The students have created installations that will probably blow your mind, so we naturally wanted to chat with their creative team about their process.
Who is involved in the project?
Tara Jean McTavish: The four of us [Tara Jean McTavish, Stephanie Martin, Eugenia To, and Jaspreet Johal], Natasha Campbell, Calvin Yu and Shiva Shabani, the Sons + Daughters team, Kari Gundersen, Fentimans, VCAD, Arts Umbrella, PetitePuf, and Parallel 49.
What can people expect to see when they come to Make?
TJM: A big city for kids, which they can play in and they can engage with.
Eugenia To: Lots of interactions, fun times, activities for both parents and kids, so it’s really a fun family event.
How did the idea for CITY KIDS come about?
TJM: It’s a project for our Fashion Promotion class. Stephanie had the idea, she researched that September was a month for kids’ and it was a month to recognize this and donate money. So she was researching charities that we could donate to, and make a kid-based event.
Can you describe the process of creating the event?
TJM: First we started coming up with ideas of how we could make it work, and then we started thinking of companies we could involve with this, specifically companies that work with kids. Natasha [Campbell] came up with the idea that we could work with Sons + Daughters Eyewear (http://wearesonsanddaughters.com/), then a person in our class had the idea that we could do a gallery type setting. We then started thinking about the clientele that Sons + Daughters is based around, and that New York and kind of a city-kid event would be more suiting towards their target customer.
Which sections of NYC did you choose to focus on? And why did you choose them?
TJM: The first one you will see when you walk in is Time Square, and we also have Brooklyn, which has a graffiti wall that kids get to express their creativity and paint on it in any way that they want. Then next to that we will have Central Park, which is based off of the John Lennon memorial that is painted in chalk paint, so kids can actually be on the ground in the “grass” surrounding, and they can play with chalk on the memorial. Then it is Soho, that will have steps up to it, kind of an art space that is full of bricks, with a door that opens to a mural that kids can take photos in front of. This will also have a “tickle trunk”, provided by Arts Umbrella, so they can wear different things for the pictures. Then there is the Upper East Side, which has more of a Gossip Girl feel, with dress up items for both boys and girls. And lastly, there is going to be a live statue of the Statue of Liberty to engage with the kids and a live video playing clips of Sons + Daughters and some NYC imagery. Oh and free balloons for the kids!
Have you run into ay challenges?
TJM: Well the installations are just very large, so making them takes a very long time, it’s just time consuming and there is a lot of space that is needed. So getting the boxes, making sure that everything is where it should be, and getting everything done on time. Its more waiting for the paint to dry that takes a long time, there’s like eighteen layers of paint on these things to be honest.
Lastly, what was the best thing about putting together CITY KIDS?
ET: I think just experiencing this as a group, doing team work and just planning everything and coming together with ideas. Painting together, gathering at TJ’s place, and just relaxing but also working hard together.
TJM: Yeah, nice team bonding! We all work well together. I’m also just excited for the creativity, I love arts and crafts, so it’s just fun to be making it on a grand scale. People actually will get to look at it and enjoy it! Also, I love kids so it’s nice that we get to work with them one on one during the event. I also love Sons + Daughters, I think their eyewear is just so gorgeous. I want my kids wearing it.
ET: And on the other side, were making connections. Obviously we wouldn’t have any reasons to reach out to these people if it wasn’t for this project.
All in all, a mini NYC sounds like a nice Saturday afternoon to us. If you’re interested in a quick vacation this weekend, head down to Make this weekend, details can be found on the event page here.
Interview by Cianda Bourrel
