Jenny Cooper ’89 with sons Miller and Walker
Q U E ST I O N S & ANSWERS WITH
JENNY COOPER ’89
What made you want to design children’s clothing? Having children. And the lack of options available. Necessity is the mother of invention, and I couldn’t find what I was looking for, except by traveling to Japan and Europe. Do your sons influence your thoughts on clothing for children? Absolutely! They have very little patience for clothing, and sometimes I think I’m lucky they wear it at all. So everything we make caters to their mentality. We can’t have any itchy bits, the fabrics have to be soft, and everything has to be durable and easy to wear. But just as important, they have to look cool in it and it has to fit, so we’re trying to marry the two views.
apologies for forgetting so much, as I didn’t know I was going to be secretary while I was chatting with everyone; if I miss you, please e-mail or Facebook me your information and I’ll include it next time): Donna Haghighat and Chris Dickinson are back in the Hartford area. They have two kids, and Donna is the chief development officer at the Hartford Public Library. Bryan Hauptfuhrer and his wife, Linda, brought their cute daughter, and Bryan told me about his job playing with gadgets his group develops at Comcast. Sean Dougherty is in the NYC area working in public relations. Bob Markee lives in Manhattan, working as an IT consultant for various nonprofits. His brother and family live on the same block, and Bob gets to spend a lot of time with his little nephew. Michelle Monti is a digital media specialist at Brown University with a “mini me” daughter, and immediately 62
/ The Trinity Reporter /
What are some of the differences between designing for children and for adults? Children have a very open and emotional reaction to clothing, and their reasons for liking things are not the same as adults, so that makes it both harder and more fun. They love color, as do I, and they have a sense of “dress up” as not being just for special occasions. They’ll get dressed up to go to school. How did your time at Trinity affect your work? I think it gave me a grounding in life before I specialized, and I’m able to bring those experiences to bear in both designing and managing a growing team of designers. Which course at Trinity was particularly influential for you? I don’t know that I could pick out just one. There was Italian, with Professor Del Puppo, which I don’t really use but sticks in my head as being a look at a culture instead of a language. And a sculpture class in sophomore year, I think it was. I can’t remember the teacher’s name! This seems so very long ago!
after Reunion traveled to France, where she went native. Andy Warren lives up by Boston with his wife and four kids and has started a company, Aidance Scientific, which specializes in wound care and therapeutic skincare products. Dan Goldberg and his wife have two children. Dan is a founding partner of a law firm in NYC and an avid sailor. Jay Flemma was unable to make Reunion but writes, “Sorry to miss Reunion, but I covered my 10th U.S. Open at Pinehurst that weekend and will cover my 20th major overall this August at the PGA Championship in Kentucky. Jeff Downing and Dan Prochniak both joined me for the grand reopening of the Philly Cricket Club golf course this May.” Liesl Odenweller lives in Venice, Italy, with her husband and their daughter. Liesl is an opera singer (of course!) and part of the Venice Music Project. The group’s perfor-
HOLGER THOSS
What is J.Crew’s Crewcuts line? An attempt to find and make cool clothes for our kids. Many of us in the office were having a hard time finding a pair of pants that fit and a shirt without strawberries, so we thought maybe we could fill a hole.
DEGR EE: B.A. in studio arts J OB TI TLE: Head of design at Crewcuts, J.Crew’s line for children FAVORITE TRINITY MEMO RY: I think it would have to be the first day, arriving and meeting my new roommate, who is still my closest friend. It felt like I was starting a new life, and after all these years, I feel like it did happen.
mances raise funds for the restoration of artwork. The group is in its second year and is making such an impact that they’ve been written up on travel sites and in The New York Times. I also thought it’d be fun to catch up with individuals we don’t hear from as often and write a short spotlight interview on one each issue. If you have any suggestions for subjects (including yourself!), please let me know. This issue is Kelly Keating: Kelly is the real life (non-TV) embodiment of the appraisers on Antiques Roadshow. Selling, brokering, and appraising, as well as learning through classes and from other appraisers and researchers is how he spends his days. Researching comparable items, he determines the value of pieces for auction or insurance. His art history degrees (B.A., Trinity; M.A., Hunter) and personal interest in silver, English