The end of the Semester

After completing the weave rotation for this final semester I discovered that I really enjoyed weave and felt my artistic skills really developed in the hand loom samples.  I thought the samples were really creative and full of detail from the usage of different fabrics, yarn, string, beads and lace.

The colour palette I used was very interesting with very natural brown and crème colours and bright dark contrasting purples and blues. They’re not colours you would associate with lace but they worked really well and I was able to use really nice lace that worked well with the colours.

I wanted my samples to be really interesting and not just plain weaving, so I mixed certain weave patterns and also altered the weft loom by tying knots in the yarn breaking up the weft and the samples.

I want to specialise in weave because I have fun in creating the samples and want to learn more on the machines especially the Jacquard weave, as I only started to learn a few things in this rotation on the computer software called Jacquard designer.  I need more practise on it to get my samples just right by using the right weave techniques and the right kind of design suitable to develop into a woven fabric.

Below is a link to Flickr with some photos of my final weave samples:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/70067575@N03/

Portfolio presentation assessment

I had my portfolio presentation this week and it was one of those things that put me out of my comfort zone.  I don’t like speaking in front of people as I get very nervous and talk quite fast and quiet, and even if I’ve prepared a speech I end up messing it up.

I enjoyed preparing my portfolio and as I put my best and favourite samples in from Print, Knit and Weave and I was able to see my samples all together in a collection, I’ve noticed my work improve over the year and was able to discover that weave was my strongest work because it was full of creativity and detail because of the added work into the actual sample piece. I have enjoyed weave this year as I'm not restricting myself with experimenting and I really like the final samples so far.

I put some silhouette designs from Print into my portfolio I really liked how the samples looked in the silhouettes and below is a picture of the designs.

The presentation went well I think. I walked in calmly and just was myself as I knew I had to be myself because that’s who people want to see – someone with artistic skills and a passion for what they do. I enjoyed talking through my work and I was able to understand my work myself through talking to someone else about it. It’s given me more experience and practise for future job interviews.

Weave...

Now I'm on Weave in the final rotation of Textiles for this term. We will be using the Jacquard looms to create very quick detailed weaves as well as doing about 4 hand woven samples.

This time in weave we had to learn to thread up the weave loom in the colours that we wanted to use related to our new project on lace.  The picture below shows the kind of colours I decided to use.  To make the threading up the loom easier we were put into pairs so we would be able to work as a team.  It was nice to learn teamwork and find out which way is easier and quicker to thread up the loom.  We chose light crème and brown colours which were very suited to lace.  We had to choose yarns that were strong and were very hard to break which was tricky as we would find the right colours but the yarn wouldn’t have been suitable.

In order to get all these new samples completed I must go in and work on my hand loom during my free time as well as my tutorial classes.  I am sketching interesting patterns and designs to create on the hand loom and I can’t wait to start experimenting with the looms.

3rd year Design Seminars

I really found the 3rd year seminar that I watched very interesting.  There was such a range of themes such as; tribal, cocktails, nature, mystic, romantic, light in the darkness, hope, architecture and much more. There was a lot of print students in this seminar so I did find it a bit repetitive and would have liked to have seen more knitters and weavers.  I learnt new things about how to present my work and also what the tutors where looking for. I got new ideas for my own work like more mark making and different types of medias for my visual studies.  Market research is a huge thing to focus on so I am going to look at WGSN as a lot of the students had researched this company. I want to use everything in my inspiration and the 3rd year students even used postcards and jewellery as inspiration. Because I will be focusing on a product field I need to choose something that has a big product selling point, and my theme must stand out and the colours must work for people to go wow!

Lost in Lace

For visual studies we were asked to visit Birmingham to look at the "Lost in Lace" Exhibition.  Because I am moving on to Weave rotation next week I was looking at patterns and lines that could be used in my weave designs.  I found swirls, circles and flower images were very strong in lace so I will focus on this kind of style and create my woven samples related to the lace theme.

I found the Exhibition very inspiring for myself as I love lace and detail. The exhibition was small and very laid out full of space to walk around and look everywhere.  I could touch little samples of the full scale displays which allowed me to discover the fabric and texture.  I could walk through huge walls of lace and see a computerised structure of lace that changed colour on a timer, the colours used were neon and I really liked this effect so it could be useful for my own work.

Below is a link to a slide show of some of the photos I took on my trip to Birmingham

http://www.flickr.com//photos/70067575@N03/sets/72157628054989143/show/

Fireworks!!

I really like fireworks; the colours the patterns and the bright lights.  But I'm not too keen on the noise but I wasnt close to them this year which was good for me.  The display was in Markeaton Park.  The park had a fun fair set up and then a Bon fire, then at 6pm the fireworks started.  I recorded the display on my camera but it still needs a few tweeks before I can post it up here hopefully by this week.  I really enjoyed the display and I could sense my creativeness kicking in as I seen the fireworks spilling out and creating interesting patterns.  I could see some of the patterns on dresses and so this put me in a customising dress mood.  But i am going to wait till after I get my coursework completed and assessments over with so I can relax and have fun with the garments rather than stress about coursework.

Information Exchange Evening

On Wednesday evening there was an information exchange event at university.   The 3rd year fashion students displayed their work placements that they had done in the 2^nd year and I was able to ask questions and discuss with them if the placement was suitable for my own degree.  I am currently thinking of work placements for the summer so I found this event very useful.  After wandering around and picking a few interesting placements that suited my degree and my own interests in textiles, I discovered that I should focus on small businesses or freelance designers for work placements.  I think I am more suited to these kind of companies as I would get more information and experience on a one to one basis instead of a busy business where I would feel pressured to not ask them questions about what I would be working with as I would feel I was keeping them back from their deadlines.

Comparative Shopping

For this task I decided to visit Nottingham as there was a bigger range of shops in the market place. I visited most shops that were in both the Value, Middle market and Premium (Designer) to get a good insight of the different shops layout and the actual garment quality.

I focused on specific garments such as scarfs and jumpers. I found the quality changes as u go up a level in the market place.

These images I took of the scarfs in Dorothy Perkins. The colours were bold and colourful; the technique to create the scarves was woven and then printed. I found the quality wasn’t that great and the seam finish wasn’t good as the edges were easy to fray. The shop was very cluttered, small and busy and the sales assistants really weren’t much help.

I then visited All Saints and found a lovely scarf made with thick material that was dyed and then woven. The scarf was big and chunky and well suited for this season’s weather I could tell the quality was much better than Dorothy Perkins. I also found the building very interesting, very theatrical looking, dark and well-spaced out layout. The sales assistants were very nice and helpful and always made sure I was ok or needed anything.

Lastly Paul Smith was my favourite. The Scarves on display were beautiful with fine silk and so delicate to touch. The technique was printed silk with a nice finished hem. The shop layout was so lovely and spaced out it was like an exhibition in a grand house, I felt at ease to take time to look at the garments and when I wanted to try on garments that reached prices of £180 the sales assistant asked if I would like to try it on and then gently took it from me and put it in the changing room much to my positive shock. The photo of the cardigan below was from Paul Smith.

Print samples!

After these past 4 weeks I was able to create 6 digital print samples, designed from my summer project “City life – Not on the high street” I used Photoshop to alter and manipulate my sketches and to create interesting patterns and abstract prints.  I really enjoyed the designing bit but I had a few hiccups with the printing as the images were not very strong and so I had to repeat the process and make the background darker so the print came out bolder.  I really like the designs I created and think the detail is really effective on them.   Below I have two of my prints which I can visualise on a non-sleeve dress and a thin belt on the waist; basically the dresses that are in fashion now.

The 4 week rotation so far

I'm finding the 4 week rotation on my course quite intense and busy.  I like being busy and having things to do but it feels rushed and hard to understand what I have been asked to do and complete for the crit.  At the moment I'm printing and I used to dislike print and found it board me because I couldn’t create texture, but after many fun experiments  last year I have discovered that print isn’t that bad and I could specialise in it.  I am very competent in Photoshop and I feel my designs are improving and becoming stronger the more I work on them.  I really like beadwork so I will add detail in my samples once they have been digitally printed.  I haven’t used the digital printer before so it will be interesting to see what the samples look like.  I have one week left to get all my 6 samples ready so I'm slightly feeling pressured but my motivation and determination to do my best will allow me to succeed in this.  I will then move on to knit which I enjoy so I can’t wait to start a new project and create new designs and experiment with the techniques and machines.  

Looking Backwards and Moving Forwards...

During my time in University I have been able to create my own personality suited to me and my skills in textile design.  I have also noticed a distinct style; full of colour, floral pattern, detail and beadwork which I think would be my own design handwriting.  I know that my creative mind is strong as I'm a very artistically minded but I know my professional mind isn’t strong and I know I still need to focus on the lectures and assessments and to improve my knowledge by studying and preparing my work professionally.  My sample work in Knit, Print and Weave also need to have some professional work and experimentation developed.

The reason I decided to do the BA Hons Textile Design started at GCSE level. At the start of the 2 years of Art and Design GCSE I thought I wasn’t good enough compared to everyone but with encouragement from family and friends my artistic skills grew stronger and I improved so much that by the end of the 2 year GCSE level I received the Art and Design award in my year in both campuses.  I was over the moon and knew that I had a gift in Art and should take it further because it was the only subject I enjoyed but I did not think of going to University at this time as I didn’t think university was for artists but just for really smart intellectual people.  I then did a BTEC National Diploma in Art and Design and further developed my skills by learning and developing new techniques.  It was through these two years that I enjoyed Textiles as an art and was encouraged to create wall hangings and create fashion accessories.  So I wanted to study textiles further and was encouraged to decide if I wanted to study it further in University.  Then after open days and interviews I came to Derby University and so far I have developed a strong passion in fashion and I want to create samples in textiles suited to fashion.

My dream job would be altering garments preferably 2^nd hand and revamping them to suit the current trend and reusing clothing to help save the environment which I'm very much serious about. I would love to have my own business with people to help me with the financial and business aspect of it.  But in an ideal world I think I’d be more suited to a company where I would work in a specific area maybe in design and recreating the garments.

Designers that are significant to my studies

By using the following link I was able to discover designers and see how significant their designs where to my own work and how their seasons where similar or different from the last.  I looked at Autumn 2011 and Spring 2012 to see the difference or similarities.

 www.style.com

Below are the designers that I was inspired by and decided to look into further.

Aquascutum

 Autumn 2012

I found Aquascutum’s season collections had very different approach to the colours compared to other designers.  By using bright colours for Autumn and then dull colours for Spring allowed the collections to stand out.  Joanna Sykes – the designer for this company creates a plain garment for each collection with very little detail and pattern.  The bold colours with a bold line pattern used are very interesting and make a statement in both season collections.  I noticed that the Autumn garment gave a comfortable look where as the Spring garment gave an uncomfortable waterproof look.

Spring 2012

Jenni Kayne

Autumn 2011

Jenni’s simple styles are very suited to the seasons.  There is a noticeable change between the two seasons.  Autumn 2011 collection uses natural colours with a detailed pattern inspired by nature, whereas Spring 2012 is right coloured with a plain pattern.  It’s very bold nearly making a statement compared to Autumn which is very casual in with the crowd look.  I think each garment style is suited to the season collection it has been put in.

 Spring 2012

Nicole Farhi

Autumn 2011

The contrast of colours is so strong between Nicole’s seasons.  Her Autumn 2011 collection shows dark colour with detailed embellishment adding texture to the garment, whereas the Spring 2012 collection is bright and bold with no embellishment needed.  The Autumn collection is very covered up compared to the loose dress garment in Spring.  Both colours are striking and bold and Nicole has used them very well for the seasons.

Spring 2012

Holly Fulton

Autumn 2011

Holly is very much into her pattern and she achieved her garments look by using print media.  She uses the same colours in both seasons but to create a different feel to the clothes she has altered the colour to suit the season. E. g makes the black stronger for Autumn 2011 and yellow stronger for 2012.   The pattern at first glance is similar but when looked at closer detail there is a major difference in detail.  I like how Holly creates the season collections to be similar so customers would recognise her garments and the season collections to be hers.  I found the themes that sprang to my mind when looking at the garments were completely different.  The Autumn 2011 implied a French sophisticated look where as the Spring 2012 creates an Indie casual loose look.  I consider Holly very significant to me because the styles are interesting and very much in fashion.  I like how they are simple but effective and the detail in the prints catches my eye.

Spring 2012

Rachel Zoe

Autumn 2011

Rachel is very much into her bold strong patterns that show line.  She uses lack for the pattern in the garments.  Each collection is different with the Autumn 2011 showing a rock chick fun look compared to the sophisticated bold floral long dress in the Spring 2012 collection.  The Autumn collection is very simple compared to the spring collection.  The style of dress is really different in each collection but the pattern and colour are slightly similar so there are small links from the Autumn 2011 to the Spring 2012 collection.

Spring 2012