My Internship Experience
During this semester, I worked as an intern for MUQIN LLC. startup company through the ISU Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship's Reiman Internship Program. MUQIN was founded by ISU faculty member Dr. Ling Zhang due to her experience in the innerwear and intimates industry and her recognition of the need for better-quality maternity garments. Her experience with raising her two children sparked her desire to make a change in the maternity industry, which has remained largely unchanged for the past decade, despite technology and fashion coming a long way since.
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I was hired as a Research Intern and will continue my work next semester as an Undergraduate Research Assistant. In this position, my job was to assist with the research and development of the company, which I did in several ways. First, I created many excel sheets to compile and streamline wear trial data findings, market research, and any other notes or details we have frequently referred to since the project began. Below is an example of our market research. We looked at several companies, the styles of nursing and pumping bras that they offered, the materials they used, and the construction methods. The guiding question for this research was, what makes these bras unique and how have consumers responded to those choices?
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The market research contained good and bad reviews, common keywords, descriptions, and links to the websites they were on. We used this as a reference for the price, competition, and consumer feedback that influenced our designs, which are currently a work in progress.
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Here are a few close-up photos of styles currently on the market for nursing and pumping bras. Finding a good nursing and pumping bra is especially difficult due to discomfort and potential infection associated with habitual wearing. Preventing such situations was another focus of my research. These photos represent options from several different brands on Amazon, each for a different purpose. These designs do not reflect MUQIN's products but represent the starting point for our market research.
Second, I created a useful textile swatch kit with hundreds of samples and colorways. I created a log on the back of each page with information about the material and what it is most commonly used for. At the moment, these swatches are part of a generic sample kit sent out in an order from a fabric company and do not necessarily reflect the materials we will be using. We have not yet reached that point in the development process, but we hope to soon. For the kit, I cut small swatches for better organization, and since each style is tagged on the back, we can easily match it to the larger sample.
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The video to the right shows a few pages from the swatch kit, selected at random. Below, you can see how I formatted the pages prior to attaching the samples.
Third, I began the process of designing garments. I created several different types and focused on comfort, fashionability, and innovation. We want to create comfortable garments for new moms so they can wear them for long periods without feeling sore, chafed, or irritated, as were the most common complaints of the current styles. We also want to create something that will build confidence, as a new mom is experiencing a lot of changes to her body in a very short amount of time and she deserves to still feel sexy and stylish. Innovation is the third important element of our design process because we are trying to break into the industry with a new idea. Currently, several of Dr. Zhang's designs are patent pending. Because of this, I cannot share the exact designs we have been working on, so instead, I have included some of my most recent inspiration below.
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I chose to look at celebrity maternity style because, while not directly related to what I was designing, the styles, colors, materials, and outfits that celebrities wear greatly influence industry trends for most markets. While maternity is an exception, I believe certain designs should take influence from modern trends, such as the styles above, while maintaining the comfort and functionality expected for a maternity garment.
As I wrap up this semester, I am proud of how much I have been able to accomplish with the company. The next stages will include finalizing the permanent website, manipulating samples, and manufacturing garments. There is not an official date yet, but we hope to launch the company sometime next spring utilizing all of the research from this semester and building off of it.