Upholstery

 Throughout my last year of University I had numerous lectures on what type of creative career I wanted to achieve after graduating. Unfortunately I am no nearer to knowing what I want to do now than I was six months ago. However since graduating I have had lots of time to reflect and look back at the past three years and look at what I enjoyed the most. 

 

I have never been particularly academic, I always got average grades and Textiles was the only thing I was ever any good at. I think I get my creative side from my nan and grandad who constantly have some sort of creative project going. My nan is amazing at finding hidden jems and antiques in the unlikeliest of places and my grandad can basically do everything; upholstery, carpentary, painting, gardening...I'm yet to find something he cant do, if you want it he can make it! So when he offered to teach me the basics of Upholstery I jumped at the chance. My nan found a couple of ottomans for £20 which needed renovating and my grandad showed me how to strip, prepare, paint and cover them. Below are before and after pictures.

 

 

 

After leaving my work placement at Textra (a local interior design company). They gave me some remenants of fabric which was used to create roman blinds for a house in Ascott. Embroidered silk

 which was at least £100 a metre. So I thought it would be a nice reminder to cover the ottomans in the fabric, and I have to say two years on they look perfect in my little room.

 

So I am going to make a resolution to get back into doing small upholstery projects, as there is something so satisfying in taking something old and damaged and renovating it and giving it a new lease of life.

Feeling Festive

Well I kept to my word and got creative today, doing some drawings and sewing.
Seeing as it is christmas I thought it would be both cost effective and thoughtful to make some of my Christmas presents. I didn't realise how much hand printed and dyed fabric I had left over from University. So I decided to make some little padded hearts, a nice little accessory in any house I think.

My nan brought me back lots of embelishments, beads and sequins from one of her trips to India so it was nice to get to use them alongside my dyed and printed fabric. I'm going to buy some nice ribbon to sew on so they can be hung around the house.

I'm thinking of making my own Christmas cards this year, but I'm not sure what to have on them. This a quick pen and water colour drawing I did, but you never know it might make the cut and be on all my Christmas cards.

Self Reflection

After three years at University, living and breathing Textiles, it is safe to say that I have enjoyed having a break from being creative. Trying to be constantly inspired and motivated for three years was incredibly hard; I dont know if that says something about me as a person of whether everyone in the creative industry struggles from time to time. But I have made a resolution to myself to start getting creative again, so drawings, sewing and photography will hopefully follow shortly..

Life after Graduation

Unbelievably it has been nearly 5 months since I graduated from University and even longer since I've posted a blog. So I figure it's about time I get blogging again..

Its true what they say about it being hard for graduates to find jobs, but I have been lucky enough to have had a few part time jobs. A work placement I undertook at University has led to periods of employment; Textra, a local interior design company specialises in made to measure curtains, in and around the Oxfordshire area including all the major Universities. I love how hands on the job is, focusing on not only the production of curtains, blinds etc but also going out and fitting them, I have learnt so many transferable skills while I have worked there.

I have also been working for a family friend who is currently setting up and running a business selling Alpine Coats . All coats have been designed by Veroni Gilbert and produced in Serbia. I have been helping organise and source products and have also done some sewing as well. It has been a real learning curve seeing what is entailed when setting up a business, and working for myself straight out of University has been amazing but does involve a lot of organisation.

Have a look at the link to Veronis Designs if you're interested; http://www.veronisdesigns.com/

Business Cards

All my business cards and postcards arrived this morning which could not of come at a better time as I have my mock interview tomorrow with Alison Willoughby, and I'm very happy with them...

 

I ordered three different images onto my business cards as each one shows a different element of my work, from the dyeing process to manipulation and stitch.

When ordering my post cards there were numerous options of paper choices. I knew I wanted a thick gsm so they would not be too flimsy, but I also wanted to make a statement with them and as my work is inspired by the environment and nature I decided to go with a 100% recycled paper.

 

Photoshop

While Photoshop is not neccessarily my strong point I do find it very useful to create simple moodboards incorporating colours and imagery to begin my projects. I am still mounting and preparing my portfolio for next weeks interview with either Alison Willoughby or Lauren Barfoot, so I decided to create some extra mood boards using photos from my previous projects in the second year.

A Change of Scenery

While I do love what I do, my work load at the moment is quite overwhelming, so I decided to have a change of scenery and travel home to work for a bit. It is always so calming, I always instantly feel inspired when I get back to my own room and go for a walk...

 

A Trip Down Memory Lane

While I have been currently focusing on my Extended Major Project I took an evening out to select more samples for my portfolio; it was nice to look back on my second year work and see how my design skills have progressed...

This particular project was only 4 weeks long and was an Innovation unit where we were given a real freedom in the techniques and materials used. I experimented with papers and fabrics and burning and breaking them down, while incorporating simple geometric shapes. While I enjoyed the freedom of this unit I would of liked more time to push my ideas further and also experiment with a larger scale.

For this project I gathered my imagery from my allotment at home and I wanted to create an illustrative range of samples using imagery and fabrics reminiscent of an allotment. I used purely recycled materials, reminiscent of gardening and allotments such as hessian, denim, suede and corduroy. By incorporating simple pigment prints with applique and stitch techniques I feel I was able to create some interesting fabric samples.

My starting point for my final project in the second year was the Botanical Gardens; I wanted a range of samples that were more vibrant in colour and still incorporated stitch. While I feel that the colours were a success I think that I needed more detailed stitch and manipulation techniques to add more interest.

When looking back and comparing my second year work to my latest projects it is nice to see the progression I have made in design choices and how my technical abilities have evolved, I have definately come along way in the three years at university.

Creating my Portfolio

So after meeting with my tutors I finally decided on what samples/drawings/moodboards to take forward and mount for my protfolio. These images are all from my previous project, which was aimed at the interiors market and focused on a more illustrative view of Nature, using a romantic, ethereal colour pallette.

Photography was a key element in this project and I enjoyed experimenting with different techniques. The above moodbaords were created with my own photos and while Photoshop is not my strong point, these simple experiments allowed me to define what colours I wanted to use and in what weighting.

Below are my mounted pieces of work for my portfolio...

  

My own little studio...

After feeling very creative this morning I set up a mini studio in my bathroom, creating some large scale simple prints to work into.

Current Project

 I am currently undertaking my Extended Major Project so here is a brief overview of what I am doing. My title is ‘Inspiration from the past, East meets West’,  I have chosen a topic close to my heart, being of both Indian and English heritage, and I am focusing on modernising and putting my own twist on traditional Indian techniques and patterns. Nature is the main focus in much of my work as my surroundings are always my inspiration, (living in the countryside has its upside) and to tie in with this I have been using purely natural materials, such as cottons, muslin and linens.  I have been dyeing up my fabrics and pigment printing imagery with stitch and manipulation as an accent to this. So here is some of my work so far...

   

 

Hello...

So I am new to the Blogging World, which is shocking considering I am in my third year at University. But seeing as this is my last project while I am a student it seems only right that I document it and then graduate and go into the big wide world. I promise to upload pictures and update this journey whenever I can :)