This sampler, made by Laura Bowker (1805-1843), is part of a small group of pictorial samplers worked by girls from Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire. Each of the charming works features a woman standing in a pastoral setting with trees, rolling hills, a pair of lambs, and an oversized basket of flowers. These bonneted ladies hold bouquets...
How can you draw customers inside your shop, when exposing wares in a window is not an option? This framed wooden butcher’s shop might be an answer. Although it is unclear to what uses this framed life-like model of a butcher’s shop might have been put, the fact that it is framed and behind glass,...
Seventeenth-century Dutch socialites Petronella de la Court and Petronella Oortman, the dauphin of France, Queen Victoria, and Queen Mary had them: dollhouses and miniature replicas of masterworks of furniture and decorative arts, through which they could recreate their larger-than-life existence. The popularity of these Lilliputian marvels extended well into the twentieth century, when doll-sized houses,...
The Education team was excited to take a field trip to Washington DC to be part of the Smithsonian Education Innovation Awards. Although, we often travel for individual programs, this was one of those rare chances where the whole team got to travel together. After a short flight and a nice celebratory lunch, we headed...
In the middle of a snowy New York winter, my colleagues and I were able to navigate between storms and travel to Washington, DC and New Orleans, two of four cities in which we’ve established relationships with school districts for Cooper-Hewitt’s Smithsonian Design Institute (SDI), an intensive, five-day innovative professional development program offered each summer...
Can you explain a little bit about the type of work you do? As the Youth Programs Manager, I run DesignPrep, the museum’s series of free teen programs. DesignPrep offers designer-led workshops, studio visits, and college tours that focus on various design disciplines from fashion and architecture, to graphic design and product design. I also...
This past week Cooper-Hewitt kicked off Design by Hand, a special program running from fall 2013 through spring 2017, sponsored by Van Cleef & Arpels. This exciting new series focuses on the craftsmanship, innovations, and merits of contemporary global designers. Workshops and talks connect university students, high school students, adults, and families with design. Each...
Welcome video produced for the 2013 National Design Awards Gala. This video explains who we are and what we do here at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Music by Do Kashiteru.
Can you explain a little bit about the type of work you do? I manage the National Design Awards program – organizing everything from the nomination, submission, and jury processes to the White House and Gala celebrations. What do you enjoy most about your work? Working with passionate people, both at the Museum and in...
