Internship: Glen Raven Fabrics

Anderson Hicks, Senior, Textile Design

This summer, Anderson Hicks and Jessica Lloyd, COT Seniors, were interns for Glen Raven in Burlington, NC. Glen Raven produces fabrics for awnings/marine, casual, residential, and contract markets. Their biggest selling performance fabrics are marketed under the brand name Sunbrella™.

Jessica Lloyd and Anderson Hicks at Glen Raven, Winston-Salem, NC

Anderson Hicks believes that she greatly increased her textile design education through this exposure to many different aspects of the industry. Ms. Hicks assisted in color matching through new CAD software and organized color blankets samples. She gained more design experience by developing new stripe fabrics for the casual line for January Showtime introduction. Anderson learned many parts of the design and development process such as cleaning up artwork, assigning weaves to designs, and requesting samples to be woven which she followed through to inventory. Anderson also feels very lucky to have participated in many of the design meetings which required travel to two of Glen Raven's plants in Anderson, SC and Elberton, GA. Anderson also attended the Casual Furniture Show in Chicago last September with Glen Raven. She believes that internships, such as this one, greatly benefit students and will help prepare graduates for careers in the industry. "The skills and techniques acquired are irreplaceable. The people you meet and contacts you will create are lifelong."