More scarves!

I had a look at some of my scarves at home to see what colours are used, the pattern and design and the fabric used. Each scarf was from a different brand too.
 All scarves are 100% silk except for the one on the far right from Primark which was cotton. The middle scarf is from Marks and Spencer and the far left is Christian Dior (which I found for a bargain price at under a tenner at The Vintage Style Agency in Stockport http://www.vintagestyleagency.co.uk/)
 It was good to see how or what was different about a low cost scarf (Primark), high street brand (Marks and Spencer) and a high end design (Christian Dior). All scarves were made from good quality silks and cotton and had a repeat design which meant whichever way you wore it the pattern would still be the same or would not be completely missing.
I've been wondering when it comes to making my final scarves how to finish the edges off, as at the moment for my sample scarves have been using magic tape to give a clean and straight edge. All of the scarves I looked at had a very finely rolled seam with a tiny straight machine stitch, so there were no visible frays at all (this also looked a lot more proffesional than the magic tape obviously!)
The colours are as you can see very light and soft which add to the overall texture of each material, they have a nice drape and hang very well. Though each scarf was of a different size, the Dior scarf was a standard square meter, the Marks and Spencer scarf was 62 inch x 10 and the Primark scarf 76 inch x 45. The Dior scarf was the shortest and could only be worn hanging loose or tied around the neck, the Marks and Spencer scarf was a longer skinny scarf which again could be worn hanging either side or in a loose tie, however the Primark scarf was most versatile and could by styled any way due to its large size. This was interesting to see the differences in sizes as it affected how the scarf could be worn, I will have to think about the size of my final scarves as this will impact how the scarf can be worn and styled.

Sample scarves....

Just thought I would add a few photos of how my scarves are coming along. Have been wrapping and tying them around my mannequin to see how the designs fall and drape. As they are sample scarves they can only be worn tied in a short knot around the neck or hang loosely either side. However I do feel quite happy with the size as there are a number of scarves that are fashioned in this way. I think for the end of year exhibition I shall be taking along my trusty mannequin!

Teenage market stall...

In between all of the hustle and bustle of my final major project, I took some time out to think how to market my work and most importantly start designing business cards (in preparation for the degree show).
I thought about getting my business cards professionally printed but it would loose the textures and shades of my drawing, I like to stick to old traditions and methods! It did take some time to make the business cards but I'm very pleased with the outcome. I have showed my business cards to a few people and have been asked why I did not draw tulips (as my business name is Tulip Designs) but I thought the essence of my work is mainly floral patterns and paintings, I like the sound of Tulip and it has pretty and flowery connotations which sums up my work!
Luckily I found a great opportunity to sell some of my work locally at The Teenage Market, which is happening inside the old Stockport Market hall 1st April. The stalls were free to young designers/students which was a big plus! For the stall I will be selling greetings cards and fashion illustration postcards, however I still have a few to produce yet. I'm looking forward to getting a taster of what it is like to sell my work, also to think from a business perspective and how I will price my work and present it. It's going to be a really busy day from the sounds of it and so many varied stalls ranging from vintage/second hand clothes stalls to dancing! http://www.theteenagemarket.com/

Silk screen print samples...

Managed to book time in the print room and finally get started on some sample silk screen prints! Unfortunately I have only completed two silk print designs at the moment but aim to produce several more on Tuesday! I used an A3 size board to paint my designs onto as I wanted to create bigger, fuller designs, as I tend to stick to small and confined paintings.
I'm very happy with how they both came out and especially how some of the colours have merged together. The Peacock design is exactly the kind of colour palette I want to use and I also think these two particular designs (I copied from my current sketchbook) fit well in a scarf design as they have a good flowing, trailing effect. It will be good to hang these samples from a mannequin and see how the design appears when wrapped around a neck and how they can be worn.
My next step in designing is possibly trapping some fake flowers against a painted background and putting into the heat press, I would love to see what kind of outlines and shapes this may give the fabric.

Hopes, fears and opportunities...

Since my last hopes, fears and opportunities, I feel a lot has changed in the last few months of my Surface Pattern design degree.  

I have decided to take part in the teenage market in April at Stockport indoor market, to get a taste of what it is like to sell my own work. Also to explore how I would find working freelance and selling my work to the public at craft fairs.  For the market I will sell a mixture of handmade greetings cards using primary images from my sketchbooks and also postcards with watercolour fashion illustrations. I have not thought about prices just yet which is another issue I will have to think about and plan. I also need to plan how I will utilise the stall and how my cards will be displayed. I will also need to start making a sufficient amount of cards to sell and perhaps business cards. I would also like to see what other craft fairs are around and take part in others to push my work out there. Taking part in the craft fair will also help my CV as will the work experience. It could also be an idea to show cards to greetings cards shops and see if they would be happy to take some.

My biggest fear is that I will find it hard to find work after completing my degree, I think now is a good time to keep my eyes peeled for jobs and start applying. Ideally I would love to work for a company designing bedding, fashion prints or interior products such as lampshades. I find it really hard to stick to one specified area of design as I like to design for different aspects and I like the versatility. I am still considering working freelance and selling my work through an agent though I may find this a struggle to live off after I have finished my degree, but perhaps I could manage with a part time job as well. I am also worrying that my grade will not improve as I was a little disappointed from the result of my negotiated brief and aim to work harder to get a better mark.

I think this year I have taken more opportunities and felt more confident about approaching people and taking part in things. For instance contacting people for portfolio visits, taking the opportunity to intern at an organic sustainable fashion company.  I hope to go back when I have more time to spare as it was very insightful and helpful. I have one more portfolio visit to arrange which will hopefully be a lot more easier now. I found the task in the negotiated brief extremely tiring and stressful, trying to arrange appointments and then having to rearrange, this affected my mark as I did not get the third visit completed within the deadline. With my portfolio I have become more selective with which work goes in my portfolio and make it relevant to the person I am speaking to, for instance I would include my bedding designs if speaking to a designer in the bedding design/interiors field.

I have also considered other options I could take on such as fashion illustration, which I aim to research and talk to people in the know about this area of design. Next week I hope to go back to life drawing, something I’m quite used to as I did this at college a few years ago. Hopefully drawing figures will help me understand the form of the figure which will help me with my fashion illustration and become more accurate. I have not looked in to prints for fashion before which is something that I have only started on, since the beginning of third year with my scarf brief. It has been exciting and interesting exploring this other avenue of design and designing for another context, exploring more colours and patterns. It is completely different to interiors, I think this has made me more explorative with my design work to try new styles and be more experimental. This has opened my options too, if I decide to go into fashion print or fashion design. Another option I am considering is stationary and greetings cards, as I intend to sell handmade cards at the teenage market. I find designing cards quite quick and easy and I could still use my fine art background when designing, such as floral painted cards.

This year I feel a lot more open and comfortable to try new things which I would not normally do in first or second year. I feel more confident when talking to people I am not to familiar with and arranging visits etc. My PDP has helped me tremendously as I have been able to keep track of where I am up to with work, reflect on how I am progressing and what I can improve on next. In my last few months of Surface Pattern design, I hope to speak to more people in various design areas and look out for other intern positions and work experience to add to my CV.  I’m glad I have taken more risks as I would not have seized these opportunities such as work experience, craft stall and speaking to people several months ago. I am happy with what I have achieved so far but need to keep taking risks!