Hopes, fears and opportunities...

Over the three years of my degree I have really enjoyed being able to paint, watercolours, silk screen, acrylics, inks, emulsion. I probably over indulge in this hobby of mine!  Especially at the start of a new brief and producing primary research, observational paintings of flowers have been a major focus in my work throughout! It’s always great at the start of a brief anticipating how it will turn out and what paths you take with your work which is exciting too. I’ve also found composing mood boards an enjoyable but also challenging aspect in briefs, as it requires a lot of thought and reasoning why you place a certain image in a place. Also I love finding things, even on travels to quirky second hand shops or an old ring at the back of my drawer I forgot about. Composing a mood board is a selective process of gathering and constructing an inspiring board which ultimately tells a story of your themes.

However, there have been many obstacles to overcome like Illustrator, which at first was daunting though really I just needed to invest time into practicing with it. Though I fear sometimes I find it easy to give up and take a break when things don’t work so I need to focus and get on with it.  I can be quite slow with my work too, (especially if I’m in one of my painting moods!) I must work faster in order to get more work done required for briefs and importantly meet the deadline. Also I think I should be more experimental and make full use of the equipment around me in the studios, such as the vinyl cutter and sewing machines and try and incorporate those into my work.

I’ve considered freelancing however after my talks with Sheila and Nicky (both freelance designers) earlier this year, it would be tricky and a bit of a gamble starting from scratch and trying to make money. Though something I will consider in the future. Ideally I’d like to work in a design studio designing, whether it is interiors or fashion. However finding work experience has been tough which (still keeping my eyes peeled) I hope to find and have studio experience, working on briefs with other designers.

I’m still in two minds whether to go down the interiors route or fashion route with my work. (Partly because I’m very bad at making decisions) Both have their pros and cons for instance, I’ve found when working on briefs that fashion is very free and liberal when it comes to designing a print or pattern. With an interiors print it’s a little more restricted with how you place your pattern. Like wallpaper for example, is often printed in repeat or half drop or even as a border design.


I find it fairly easy to go from designing a bed spread to designing a print for a dress and love the different contexts of design. Now I just need to make a definite decision!