Funded Opportunities
VCAM Design + Making Collaborative
Four summers ago, the VCAM Maker Arts Space launched its inaugural Design + Make Summer Collaborative, an eight-week immersion in design, prototyping, and digital fabrication in partnership with local community designers, artists and organizations. The goal of the program is to learn design and prototyping skills and to challenge students to fully realize their ideas.
Design + Make 2025: Textile Arts and Design
Deadline: March 16, 2025 by 11:59 p.m.
Textiles are foundational tools for humans. They’ve allowed us to clothe ourselves, carry our possessions, and cover what’s precious to us.
This Maker Arts Space fellowship will explore woven, knit, print design, and various other textile-making techniques, giving students the knowledge and skills to make, mend, and modify their own textiles. We will experiment with different materials, patterns, stitches, and other ways of making to push our understanding of what a textile can be and do.
Crochet a sweater with string lights! Turn a mathematical expression into a woven pattern! Make a basket out of found materials! Students will have the opportunity to explore their own interests and imagine how they might intersect with textiles.
The fellowship will be led this summer by Manasi Eswarapu and Kent Watson. Manasi is the Hurford Center's Post-Baccalaureate Fellow with an extensive background in weaving and textile arts and Kent is the Maker Arts Space Education and Programs Manager.
Photo by Alex Preusser on Unsplash.
How to Apply
This paid fellowship runs from June 1 until the last week of July. To apply, submit a cover letter, a resume, and documentation of a project you are proud of. Applications are open until Sunday, March 16th, at 11:59 p.m. Submit application materials to Kent Watson at dwatson1 [at] haverford.edu (subject: Summer%202025%20Fellowship%20Application) .
Documentation of a Project
As part of the application, we would like to see evidence of a project you've put significant effort into. Visuals are helpful, and links to documentation are also acceptable. Note that the project documentation doesn’t have to be of a textile project you’ve done in the past, but it could be! Submit this content along with the cover letter and resume.
Photo by Chris Chow on Unsplash.
Past Fellowships
Summer 2024
Photo by Patrick Montero.
Photo by Patrick Montero.
In 2024, the Design + Making Fellowship focused on video game design. Students learned the gaming engine, Unity, and worked independently (and collaboratively) on game concepts.
Read about the 2024 fellowship
Summer 2023
Photo by Paola Nogueras.
Photo by Paola Nogueras.
In 2023 the Design + Making Fellowship focused on chair design and architecture. Four fellows learned practical design and fabrication tools and applied those techniques to chair making.
Read about the 2023 fellowship
Summer 2022
Luca Ponticello's modular dollhouse. Photo by Holden Blanco '17.
Dylan Ioffreda's "mini city maker" toy. Photo by Holden Blanco '17.
In 2022 the Design + Making Fellowship focused on toy design. Four fellows learned practical design and fabrication using the tools, techniques, and software of the Maker Space.
Read about the 2022 fellowship
Summer 2021
Children playing with the shadow flowers said the petals looked like two fidget spinners stacked on top of one another.
Silvan Sooksatan '21 and Julia Coletti '21 pose with their shadow hopscotch prototype. Photo: Holden Blanco '17.
In 2021 the Design + Making Fellowship partnered with Playful Learning Landscapes (PLL) an organization dedicated to creating educational interactive objects of play. Students participated in designing, prototyping and creating playful learning landscapes. The work was informed by the design principles and ethos of the PLL team. Students worked hands on and digitally with the ultimate goal of creating safe and durable physical objects that encourage play.
Read about the 2021 fellowship
Summer 2020
Over the summer of 2020 students partnered with members of E-Nable. E-Nable is a group of dedicated volunteers who work within the medical community to 3D print prosthetics. E-Nable provided guidance and feedback as students prototyped a proposed medical device that gave more autonomy to a double amputee.
August Muller '23 designed a utensil-holding prototype from home in Salt Lake City as part of the inaugural Design + Make Collaborative.