Reyn Spooner fabric digitization project allowed us to collect, organize, digitize and index using metadata a collection of designs, preserving this iconic island-lifestyle inspired fashion collection.
Founded in 1961, Reyn Spooner is the leader in Hawaiian fashion. You can thank Reyn Spooner for the creation of “Aloha Friday” which has become casual Friday’s over the years.
In the fall of 2018, The Digital Archive Group (TDAG) completed an immense one-year digitization project that included digitization of over 10,000 Reyn Spooner fabric samples.
In TDAG’s digitization facility in Chicago, fabrics were carefully pressed, captured and digitized, taking repeat patterns into consideration. After processing the captured images, detailed metadata was embedded into the digital files to make it easy to index and search for specific styles and patterns within an asset management system. An estimated 15,600 digital files were created representing the history and heritage of the Reyn Spooner brand.
Phase two of the project included adding high-level metadata. In this phase, TDAG added tags and keywords relating to the details found within the patterns to improve search capabilities of the digital archive. Digital archivists were instructed to apply keywords like hula dancer, palm tree, marine life, licensed products, holidays, fruit and floral.
