In 2014, Mood Fabrics launched an innovative new side to its company, Mood U. Located on the second floor, a space that used to house furniture from Mood Home is now filled with seventy sewing machines, set up in neat rows. This is where classes are taught for beginners up through advanced students. When I visited, it was the first day of an open sewing lab that was slated to happen every Thursday. I met with Benjamin Mach, the director of Mood U, who was also a contestant on "Project Runway" (the fashion reality show uses Mood's materials for most of its on-screen challenges). Ben, who has been running classes at Mood U since early 2015, told me that the open labs began because students had started asking instructors for tips on personal projects after class. In response, a time was created when members of the school could come in with whatever they were working on and receive advice and assistance. Ben admitted that he will always be excited to see what comes out of the open labs. He already witnessed one unique project – a woman trying to teach herself how to make baby booties.
Ben, who had only been the director of the school for two weeks when I visited, confessed that though he has had to jump in head first (“literally – I’ve jumped in the deep end”), he was looking forward to “putting his spin on things.” He shared a bit more about the origins of the school: The Los Angeles location of Mood began running classes in 2013 with immediate success. This continued and enhanced when the school opened in New York. There are a wide range of workshops focusing on different items, techniques, and materials. Some past classes that Ben mentioned included instruction in leather-working, a How-To in making clutch bags, and beginner sewing courses.
As to who takes the classes, Ben says it can be a wide range of people. He informed me that though there are those who are looking at going to fashion school, many of the students have no intension of getting into the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) or Parson’s School of Design, and that they are simply hobbyists. Quite a few are the kind of people who once dabbled in sewing, often in their childhood, and now want to see if they can get into it again. While I was chatting with Ben, a man who had taken his course came up to him to thank him for the instruction. He complimented him on how thorough he was, and yet how easy to follow. “Thank you for speaking plain English,” he said.
Ben is not the only "Project Runway" alum to spend time at Mood U. There are guest appearances every week. While I was there, Sean Kelly, the winner from a recent "Project Runway" season, was there to help out. It was great to see Ben and Sean joke around together – as Ben put it, “You have to keep things fun when you do things like this.” He explained that members of the corporate fashion world often come by to take a break from the high-stress professional world and experience the calm, creative atmosphere of Mood U. The school has the same effect on Ben, even though he works there. He told me that no matter how physically drained he feels at the end of a day of teaching, “I head off into my evening recharged and happy.”