Week 12 (PS Lvl 5) Employment

The Professional Studies lecture I attended this week focused on Employment rather than self-employment. Although, I have so far looked at a lot of research for businesses, I would also consider working as a designer for a studio. It will be useful to write my report of trade shows, as working for a studio could also involve exhibiting. 

The best website I have found for finding jobs in design is Drapers Jobs. It has a full range of jobs in this industry from design to buying, and full details on what the job entails and skills needed. 

http://www.drapersjobs.com/jobs/print-and-textile-designer/

Weeks 10 & 11 (PS Lvl 5) Self-employment

This weeks professional studies lecture on self-employment has made me consider the possibility of having my own business after this course. Writing my report on trade shows will of course help with this, as I will be aware of how to sell my work from my own business. Firstly, if I was to launch myself at a trade show, I would have to think of how to start the business up, and of course were I could work. There are a few possibilities such as from home, at a studio or in my own shop/gallery. I think renting a studio would realistically be the best option. I have done some research into possible venues....

The Mushroom Works

http://www.mushroomworks.com/studios

The Mushroom Works is in Newcastle near where I live so it would be an ideal studio space, especially for starting out on my own. The cost would obviously depend on the size of the studio space, which would probably be fairly small at first if I was just a small business. 

The Shed

http://shedgateshead.blogspot.co.uk/

The Shed is a Gateshead Council Initiative for creative businesses, which is rent free! This would be ideal for a start out business not having to pay for rent and the location is ideal.

Week 9 (PS Lvl 5) CV's

I am definitely learning alot this year from Professional Studies. The last lecture was on cv's, and before now I was oblivious to how many types there actually are! Conventional, skills based, academic, electronic, european, technical, creative..

I am required to create a skills based cv for this module, so I thought I had better do a some research to find out what this type of cv requires.


Findings...

I have found that unlike a standard cv, a skills based cv focuses mostly on how the experience or achievements you have meet skills that an employer requires. These could be communications, team work, time management, commitment and interpersonal skills etc.

Week 8 (PS Lvl 5) How to: Copyright your own work

Following the lecture at uni- hearing the stories about copyright issues for some designers and after my own research around the subject, I will definitely be copyrighting all of my own designs. I thought I'd share some of the ways we have been taught to do this at uni and after a little internet research of my own...

1. Update your blog regularly - writing about the designs your currently creating but most importantly posting images of your work, will keep a record of dates when work is created, and will be a source of evidence if needs be.  

2. Images posted on Instagram, Facebook pages etc will work in the same way as dates are recorded!

3.  Up date your visual log everytime you finish a piece of work. This will help to record dates and details about the design. I think this is a useful idea anyway for keeping track of all the work you've made, if it has been sold and how much for etc.

4. Photograph your work and print, or upload the photos to a blank disc. 
Write the copyright symbol, your name and date on the back. 
Place in an envelope and post back to yourself. 
Keep the seal intact- if there is an issue in the future, open in the presence of a solicitor and the fact it is in a sealed envelope with the date stamped on it will provide enough evidence. 
(I think this is probably the best way out of the lot to prove the work was created when you say it was as dates can definitely be proved)

Week 8 (PS Lvl 5) Copyright issues affecting designers

Our latest uni lecture has opened my eyes to the many issues regarding copyright for designers. I now think we need all need to become more aware of how easily our designs can be taken and manipulated or copied exactly. I for one, was not aware of how much this actually goes on, and by the end of the lecture I realised I didn't know much about how copyright and intellectual property rights affect designers/makers.

I've found the whole topic very interesting so I thought I'd share an example after the research I've been doing, as It's definitely made me more aware, and I'm hoping raising the issue will make others think twice about protecting their work...


Forever 21 v Diane von Furstenberg

http://www.elle.com/pop-culture/best/designer-lawsuits-614883-7#slide-7

Furstenberg sued Forever 21 in 2007, for copyright infringement of five of her dresses. Forever 21 were permanently stopped from copying any of her designs.


After researching into Copyright issues that other designers have experienced in the past, including the likes of Rachael Taylor and M&S using her design without permission, and Zara using images of bloggers photos on there clothing, I'm going to be more careful in the future about protecting my own work and about the images of work I put on my blog.

After last weeks lecture, I am interested in setting up my own tradeshow after graduation, so copyrighting my work will be something i definitely need to take into account.

Week 7 (PS Lvl 5) Funding

If I want to do a trade show soon after I graduate, I would have to think of ways to fund this as they can be very expensive, especially for someone just starting out in business. I have done a little digging on the internet and found some possible options.

British Council and Arts Council offer grants. However, this is for internationally work, so I would have to consider if I would want to exhibit abroad straight away. 

The Government offer low interest start-up loans for new designers. Obviously, the downside of this is that this would have to be paid back unlike a grant, but I have yet to come across a grant allowing me to do a trade show in the UK first. 

Week 7 (PS Lvl 5) Trade shows

I have been completely inspired by today's lecture on Trade shows. I would love to get a much better insight into the planning and everything that goes into trade shows, as I would like to be prepared for after graduation. I am planning to go to Indigo Paris in February to do work experience on the college stand and I think this would be the perfect opportunity to collect primary research for my report.



I have done a little research into which trade shows would be available to me. The Design Trust I found to have a long list of possibilities.
- Heimtextil in Germany
- New Designers, Surface Design Show,TENT and Top Drawer London
- Printsource New York
- Formex Sweden
- Maison & Objet Paris

Week 6 (PS Lvl5) The Trends Industry

This weeks professional studies session has made me spark more of an interest in the trend forecasting industry. I have found it quite interesting how trends for fabric, prints, colours etc are all sourced from popular music, film, global culture, design and social trend influences. 

I was already aware of some of the trend books/journals as I have had to use them for my work but gaining some knowledge of their background has sparked an interest for me, wanting to gain experience, research further into how this works and consider as a possible career choice. This interest has had me researching further into trend forecasting companies so I thought I would pop a couple of my favourites on to the blog...

WGSN

Wgsn is a fashion trend forecasting website. I have found the information they provide extremely useful, especially with my own work in the studio modules. The provide very good trend predictions that I have found so far have been proved right, and they provide a wide range of research for print and colour trends also. I think I would really like to work for a well established trend company like this as I believe I would enjoy the travel aspect of the job and getting a insight into future trends.

   

Trend Bible

Trend Bible are a North-East based interior trend company. They sell there trend books to many well-known brands. I think it would be interesting to get an insight into interior trend forecasting as it will be slightly different to fashion forecasting. Gaining experience or working for this company would be very beneficial especially as they are right here in the North-East where I live. 

Experimenting with multi directionals

Week 5 (PS Lvl 5) Identifying customer target markets

This week has focused on identifying customer target markets. I have chosen the fashion business Zara to practice identifying a target market and researched via there website.

What products and services do they offer?

Womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, baby, giftcards, instore and online services

What materials/techniques do they use?

Tailoring, Bespoke shapes, digital print, embroidery, chiffon

How much do they sell their products for/where do they sit in the market?

Mid-end market, student and professional

List their competitors?

Mango, All Saints, House of Fraser, Reiss

What is their unique selling point?

Good how they filter down from the catwalk

Unique, classical feel

How do they promote themselves/what image are they trying to portray?

Adverts in magazines

How would you describe the customer?

Mostly female, professionals

Week 4 (PS Lvl 5) The Design Meeting

I have learn't a lot about the realities of working with clients and how to professionally present my work and portfolio to a client, so I will be prepared for the future, in which I will be hopefully be able to put these skills into practice. 

My chance to meet potential clients would be at trade shows/networking events, which I may be able to experience if I get the chance to work on the College stand at Indigo in Paris next year. 
I have been taking a look at other designers websites to develop a better understanding of how I should be professionally presenting my brand if I were to become a freelance designer in the future.

Jessica Hogarth

http://www.jessicahogarth.com/

I have researched further into the designer Jessica Hogarth. Her website is professionally set out, with good quality photos and professional logo which still looks creative. There links on the site to her other social media accounts such as Facebook and Pinterest. She also uses instagram to blog pictures of the collections she is currently working on, connecting with her audience. I think if I were to set up my own brand, I would follow these guidelines. A well designed layout on a website, but also social media pages to interact with others and show my current work and progress. 

Studio work

My new bay in the studio

I am really excited about getting on with my first studio module, as we have started out with being required to produce a collection of Fashion fabrics and then straight into surface design, to produce a collection of paper based designs for the gift industry. Gift is an area I have never tried before, so I am looking forward to having the chance to experiment, especially since my first module requires me to use my CAD based design skills in addition to traditional textile and design techniques, allowing me the chance to further develop my CAD skills which I have not had much practise with. I have chosen to go with a Futuristic theme and i've already started pulling apart old equipment for the circuit boards and bits and pieces, as I'm interested in looking into the advanced technologies side of the theme.

Week 3 (PS Lvl 5) Subject Specific

I have known for a while that I am quite interested in getting into the Fashion side of design and this weeks lecture has helped me getting further information into the potential areas.


Notes from the lecture:

Product areas
-Menswear
-Womenswear
-Kidswear
-Babywear
-Bridal
-Sportwear

Styles 
-Floral 
-Graphic 
-Conversational 
-Concept led

Market Levels
-Courture
-RTW
-High Street


This has led me to researching other designers from the fashion industry. One of my favourites being Louise Gray. I love her abstract prints and colourful designs. 

http://louisegraylondon.com/

Week 2 (PS Lvl 5) Careers options

I have been doing research into career options in the industry on the creative skills set website. I can't believe how unaware I was before about the possible jobs at the end of the course. 

In particular, the role of a Buyer in the industry sounds especially interesting. I quite like the idea of sourcing new designs and the travelling that the job requires.
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/fashion_and_textiles/job_roles/672_buyer

However, My main choice would be a Textile designer for Fashion. I know that I enjoy the design work we do on this course, and I would definitely consider continuing with it as a career. Looking at the job requirements on the website has helped me to get a better picture of what I would be letting myself in for if I did.
http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/fashion_and_textiles/job_roles/723_textile_designer

Week 2 (PS Lvl 5) Keeping it professional.

As part of the Professional studies module, we have been looking into potential career options after graduation. I have found this quite intriguing as although I am not particularly interested in looking into them all, there are a few more options than I had first thought. 
I thought I would share a few of the options for career ideas that this degree could potentially develop into... 
-Designer/maker
-Teacher
-Stylist
-Buyer/merchandiser
-Gallery owner/curator
-Illustrator
-Art therapist/community arts
-Self-employment/freelance
-Arts event organiser


Some useful websites for looking into these career options in more depth:
-Skillset http://www.creativeskillset.org/fashion_and_textiles/careers/
-BITA http://www.interiortextiles.co.uk/
-Textile Institute http://www.texi.org/
-UK Fashion/Textiles http://www.ukft.org/
-Creative Boom http://creativeboom.co.uk/


For assessment, I am required to write a report on 'A chosen aspect of the appropriate creative industry' which could be 
-A career
-Work Experience
-Experience of doing a trade show
-A business plan
-Self employment/freelance work
-Shop report


I think each area will be useful to look into as I would like to gain work experience, but also research into a variety of possible careers and possible business plans if I decide to become self-employed, so it is going to be difficult to decide what to write it on.

I think researching into a number of career options could be useful for showing the options I have available to me as a designer after I graduate. Gaining personal experience in these areas would help make the picture clearer for which career would be the right direction for me.

The report could demonstrate understanding of..
-The selected career- what you would do in the job
-How you would enter
-Knowledge of industry structure
-Primary research specific to your report from current industry professionals

Week 1 (PS Lvl 5) A change of scene...

After recently graduating from Newcastle college with my foundation degree, I have now directly entered level 5 of the BA (Hons) Textiles and Surface Design course at Cleveland College of Art and Design. I am really looking forward to getting back to work after a long summer off, and studying at my new college, so I will hopefully try and keep this blog up to date with my current work and inspirations!

As part of my course, I am now studying a Professional studies module. It is based on potential careers I could go into in the future, once I have graduated. I have to say, it sounds like it's going to be very useful and interesting, as I'm really keen to find out as much as I can about my options. I think it is going to encourage me to make contacts with other professionals, which will be really useful for potential employment, and also allow me to collect info on there job roles and the entry requirements/experience I will need to get where I want to be in the future. I'm really excited about getting a better insight into the industry. You might see a few updates here on my research during the module!

FINAL SHOW AT NEWCASTLE COLLEGE

 

Screen Prints

Started sampling for my final project. I have decided to include screen printing in my final module. I have screen printed individual pipes on to grey jersey using a combination of inks including plasticol inks. Time consuming but I think it is going well so far..

I like the combination of the greys and the bright yellow as it really stands out so I am planning to keep with this colour palette for the rest of my sampling.

Museum of Modern Art

 

On a trip to New York recently, I took a little look round the Museum of Modern Art and the work of Piet Mondrian caught my attention. I really like his use of line and blocks of colour. This could help inspire some of my prints in the future.

 



'Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow'

'Broadway Boogie Woogie'

'Composition with Red, Blue, Black,
Yellow and Gray'

 

Pipes...

I have taken a completely different direction with my structure theme and began drawing pipes instead. I think the coloured tonal pencil really adds depths to the drawing making it look 3 dimensional.

I like this mix media drawing as the combination makes it really interesting. This has given me the idea to create a pattern using a combination of different pipes, which I intend on adding some of my pattern development motifs into. I think my designs and drawings have improved over the course from looking back at previous work, so I'm really excited to get these designs finish to see what they turn out like!

 





Made in Jesmond Open Evening

The Oriental inspired silk scarves that I screen printed for 'Made in Jesmond' have finally been displayed in the shop along with other students work from my course.


Oriental Scarves

We displayed our items in the shop and merchandised the window to show our handmade pieces.

Work Experience at Urban Outfitters

I have been doing work experience recently at Urban Outfitters Newcastle helping to style the mannequins, window and other tasks. As something I've never done before, I have found it really interesting and a useful experience for the future. I have been really enjoying it so it is definitely something I would like to continue with or do again if I get the chance.

Hancock Museum Archives

Took a little trip to the Hancock museum archives underneath the Discovery museum in Newcastle, to help find inspiration for my final project. I found some interesting animal skeletons which could be good for some initial drawing.

Final Major Project

For my final major project, I have been given the option of choosing my own theme to design a final collection of garment fronts. I am really excited to specialise in my favourite area and I feel this is my strongest above interiors. For my theme, I have chosen to look at structure as I wanted a to keep my theme broad so I have plenty to draw inspiration from. I have been down to the Newcastle Gateshead quayside to look at the structure of the bridges and see if I can take any initial inspiration from there...

 

 

 

 

 

I like the use of line in these structures and I think these might translate well into good prints.

Made in Jesmond

The second brief of my second year at Newcastle college was a live project for 'Made in Jesmond'. I was asked to design my own product  range to be sold within the shop. I have chosen my own theme, which was oriental, drawing inspiration from the Oriental museum in Durham and Newcastle china town. I have really enjoyed this module as I was able to get down some interesting intial drawing and also florals which I haven't had the chance to draw from in a while. 

 

I chose to make a collection of screen printed silk scarves as I am particularly interested in making fashion outcomes. I think I am stronger at fashion than interiors etc and screen printing is something I am really beginning to enjoy.

 I think my first scarf print turned out the best, as I was unsure about the composition I used on the second and the pink I had added into my colour palette.

 

I created my own swing tags asI think they look more professional. I learn't alot from this project about creating my own products and this could be a potential option for my design work in the future.

Subterranean

Since I have been very busy recently and handed in my Subbterranean module, I thought I would share some of the work from the project and how I have progressed...

 

 

Subterranean Moodboard

I am not usually very good at moodboards but I am pleased that I seem to be improving module by module, comparing this to last years attempts! As I mentioned in a previous post, I took inspiration from Chanel's autumn/winter 12-13 collection and chose to look at minerals and crystals. I took a little trip to the Hancock Museum in Newcastle to draw from their mineral rock collection. I feel I achieved some interesting intial drawing work from these studies as I like the textures and shades.

I have been experimenting with 3 way colour seperations for screen printing, which I have found really make my prints more interesting than have one colour. I think this could be a useful skill to have learn't for the future.

I really enjoy drawing my final prints out by hand and I feel I am stronger at this than doing it digitally. I have used my original motifs that I developed and combined them to make two mirror repeat designs for my final collection. I feel these are my best prints so far whilst studying this course which shows that I have made progress.

Technical Repeat