Jenna Dewar
Featured Projects.
Hundr Vidar
Started in 2016, Hundr Vidar was a non-gendered eco-friendly bag, apparel and accessory company cofounded by myself and my sister.
Our products found a quirky niche for those that appreciated unique pieces that utilized colour blocking of recycled materials and roll ends and included gorgeous hand carved or drawn artist prints.
My role in the company was as the head designer and manufacturer, but as a small start-up I wore many hats! This included participating in entrepreneurial programs through startup Edmonton, conducting market research, establishing customer relationships, developing a business plan, and keeping track of sales data to inform future products.
Due to time restraints of myself being in University full time and my sister taking on a management role at her full time job, Hundr Vidar ceased operations in 2021. My experience in this role spurred on my entrepreneurial spirit and I continue to explore new start-up opportunities.
Open Style Lab Fellowship
My time as a fashion design fellow at Open Style Labs in Brooklyn, NY in 2022 was extremely meaningful and impactful on how I approach design.
The fellowship involved adapting high glam looks for collaborators with Spinal Muscular Atrophy for a NYFW runway show using the co-design process. Along with a design partner we would meet virtually with our collaborators and discuss their wants and needs along with what they have done in the past to 'hack' their clothes for accessibility. This along with using secondary research and connecting to other designers in the adaptive clothing space gave us the important background knowledge to ideate and prototype solutions.
The collaborator on the right is Shane and his wife Hannah who are also known by their YouTube personas Squirmy and Grubs. Working with them opened up a whole new perspective on the 'rules' of creating apparel. We completely rethought how to create pants and really opened our minds to the opportunities we had designing for a different body type.
Flair Adaptive
After completing an adaptive design fellowship with Open Style Lab, I discovered there is often a lack of femininity in accessible clothing. To help address this, I created an adaptive lingerie line for my future brand, Flair Adaptive. Inspired by the organic sensuous curves and refined colours of art nouveau, this collection allows the wearers to feel sexy without sacrificing function. The garments use 3D printed magnetic front closures printed on fabric.
These 3D printed magnetic closures are designed for those with reduced dexterity to easily align and connect the front closure. The magnets, in combination with a pin system that snaps in to place with little pressure, keeps the closure secure. They were printed on organza ribbon, allowing them to be easily sandwiched and sewn between two layers of fabric. There are a few versions of these closures depending on the context in which they are used.
Kotatsu Coffee Table
For a furniture design class I created a Japanese Kotatsu table to aid those with Raynaud’s Phenomenon. People with this condition are prone to numbness in their extremities as a response to cold or stress. By placing your feet under the blanket, you can experience the warmth and comfort created by the heater attached to the underside of the table. This cherry table features a tabletop with a crushed stone and copper wire inlay.
Harm Reduction
Working alongside two peers in a 400 level design class at the University of Alberta, I tackled the issue of substance use in Edmonton.
As a team we interviewed several experts in the area of harm reduction and gained many valuable insights that we were able to direct towards an innovative two-pronged solution.
The first prong would be an education campaign as a means of reducing stigma and directing access to resources. The second prong would focus on the resources themselves through the use of community vending machines. These machines would include a wholistic view of addiction and its connection to being unhoused and would include snacks, first aid materials, socks, mittens, naloxone and clean needles.
While this was a hypothetical solution and never implemented, we received positive validation and were asked to be a part of a project creating a digital resource database using a human centered design approach. I participated in developing a website alongside other UofA designers and helped plan and facilitate co-design workshops with subject experts.