Nearly Christmas!

Since my last post, which seems a while ago now, quite a bit has happened. Started our second project and its a week till deadline for that, which has been interesting but also fairly difficult.

Tailoring Processes. We had to visit the "Heroes and Heroines" exhibition at Leeds City Museum as well as produce a shop report focussing on tailored garments, so I looked at Paul Smith, and all the different jackets and blazers that include interesting and quircky details that I felt could help influence me when it came to me designing my own jacket. We went on a class trip to the West-Yorkshire Playhouse where we looked at all the costumes they hold in their costume department, we were given the chance to wonder round try on some garments as well as draw and photo them. I didn't really enjoy this and found it hard to motivate myself to get on with it. I've stuggled with all the hand sewing that was needed to produce each of the samples that where essential as to submission for deadline.

Business and Enterprise. Another ongoing project we've been working on is "the £10 business" that we are supposed to be starting even in a group or alone. Again I've had no motivation towards this, and have so far just come up with a few ideas for a business. More importantly to me is getting a part-time job, as I think after christmas the money struggle will begin. Having spent too much over the festive period.
In our PPD we've been looking at our CV's and discussing work placements for next year, aiming as high as possible like Paul has urged us. Ideally I'd love to find a placement working in a big store where it gives me the chance to mix with other fashionistas and get my name out there. A job styling would be great although my self confidence may need improving on for that to happen.

2nd Year!!

Been back at uni for around two months now and just had our first deadline. So I thought now would be a good time to post my first post of this very important 2nd year. We had work to do over the summer holidays that would set us off for this new 20 credit project. Research and some cool hunting, to the right is one of my pages of research from this summer work.

The work seemed none stop since we started back in Mid-September, but I feel although I started slowly I pulled it round and caught up with what i needed. After under achieving last year and making it one of my aims to do better this year from the start I had something to proove to myself. And I feel it helped living with some of the girls off my pathway, as we'd sit and work together in the evenings.
Photo of our house on a night out.

I'm fairly pleased with how this project has turned out, although I have yet to find out how I've done grade wise. The trend book itself got a bit sloppy towards the end when time was running out, and I wish I could have included some of my illustrations and desings.

Here is my trend book, which was inspired by my shop report that had to be done as the second part of this project, I chose to report on Paul Smith and after a visit to the shop and the taking of a few photos and a look around I came up with the idea of using an old vintage stlye book, leather bound and sort of shabby looking.
Below are a number of photos from pages of my book.

Now we've pretty much finished our first year of uni just got a few tutorials left to decide on what pathway we shall take next year, I'm still not sure on this and am waiting on the tutorial to help me decide. I'm having to go over my blog adding loads more in as it wasn't up to the standards required... :| also I've had to re-submit work from the last brief, Interdisciplinary as again I hadn't included enough. Which all comes down to my bad time management, and laziness.

I'm going to have to sort a few things out next year if I'm going to be able to cope with the added work load and pressure of second year. I know I can do it, just have to get on with briefs when we first get them and not be shy to ask for help. I'm going to be sharing a house with three of the girls from uni next year as well as my girlfriend so I should have enough pressure to get on with it all from them. I think it will also be useful living with them as I feel I work well bouncing idea's off other people. Not copying or anything but talking through things and I often get good inspiration from other peoples work.

Having almost completed my first year of uni I think this would be a good time to go through my strengths and weakness. I believe i understand garment's fairly well and have a good eye for things. Although I'm quite inexperienced on a sewing machine I have worked well when I've needed to and produced well executed garments. My research and file work often lets me down, as I start it quite late on and rush it or even do things in a backwards order. My sketching has improved over the year and so has my CAD work thanks to Bruce's' workshops. I don't really enjoy using photo shop that much as it frustrates me loads, but I feel I can use it adequately.

I haven't mentioned one of the briefs throughtout this blog Creative Design Practices. This was the project where we had to do a shop report and trend report before we knew what the actual brief was. And of course I didn't start it for a while after.
We then went to Temple Newsam where we carried out research which was intended to be a basis for the project. Where we were going to end up designing a collection of garments for S/S 10 for a shop of our choice which is why we had to do a shop and trend report. I chose to design for Topshop as I felt this was a wide market and one I could design for quite easily. Above is a photo of one of my research pages from Temple Newsam which I went on to use as a structure idea for an outfit.

Here is my first go at a trend board. Which turned out to be wrong, and more like a mood board.
I've taken a photo of one of my design sheets. I did a number of these which had possible outfit's for my collection on.
Three of my final six outfits that would be part of my Spring/Summer 10 collection for Topshop, below is my final trend board for Topshop. WHich shows the fabric's I'm going to use and the inspiration behind it all.

3rd Year

So far I've been made to do mainly research bits for Sarah, my 3rd year photocopying pages shes found or finding my own stuff for her work. She also sent me to find orange shoes from high street shops that would work with her collection.
I'm finding it usefull seeing what sort of stuff the 3rd years are making, and how there coping with it at this late stage, it gives me the feeling I will need to step it up next year. Also getting advice into what pathway I may take next year.
On a seperate matter, we've nearly finished our final project for the 1st year, and its been a tough one, mainly down to having a cast on throughtout it. But i think i should manage to complete it by friday. It's our Interdisciplinary which involves a selection of fabric samples created using different methods, from that we have to carry our research and narrow down our choice of which fabric to use to create a garment, which has to be a maxi skirt.

Above are a couple of examples of my fabric samples and a few sketches I did for skirt designs.

PPD1

Easter eggs me and Jaime got from her mum. :)

First day back after Easter holiday. During Easter I spent most the time at home, working to get some money, then I fractured my hand. Went up to Jaime's after that, to spend a week with her. Had a really nice time jsut the two of us, went to Blackpool Zoo, couple of pictures above. Didn't get any uni work done though. Missed Monday's lesson due to doctor's appointment, first lesson back. We got our handbook for our Interdisiplinary which looks fairly hard. Creating our own fabric to make a maxi skirt. Was supposed to of had 6 A3 fabric samples done by now to help get on with this new project.

Met our 3rd years today also, who we will be working with and assisting on wednesday's for the next month or so, mine's called Sarah Cook, seems quite loud but funny.
She's given me a few tasks to do for her. Some research into eco-friendly clothes and landfill sites and a shopping trip to find her some orange shoes to add to her collection. The research into eco-friendly clothing gave me the idea to use it as a basis for my lastest project, interdisiplinary. Which I went on to use.

Found out that we're going to have to do a presentation towards the end of this year as well, on our first year here in Leeds, using these Blogg's as a source. As the Blogg is supposed to have been updated regularly since started in September..

Forgot to mention my elective anywhere, so I'll add it in here. Quite enjoyed the week of photography it's something I've always enjoyed doing, probably since going to New York on a Photograohy/Art trip at secondary school.
Here's one of the photo's that I took for my final selection, which was looking at the way light and lighting can affect photography and the purposely taken photos that use long shutter speeds to creat great images like the photos off this website which I used for research, 'http://www.smashingapps.com/2009/12/12/45-breathtaking-examples-of-slow-shutter-speed-photography.html'

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Here are a few photos of my work from Creative Design Realisation, my final design is below which I made into a very successful dress.


Coming to the end of our 3rd project since starting uni, and its been the hardest so far, learning completely new things and much more practical than the previous, which is better i suppose. But also tiring as a lot is going on, and I'm still not used to these early starts and long days. We also just had our first deadline for contextual and theoretical studies. I completed a 1500 word essay on Baroque period art work, not that brilliant, but it was just a first attempt. Harvard referencing is horrid.!

Got to finish making my dress on monday before handing it all in on tuesday, still bit of file work to complete as well. Shouldnt take too long. Off home this weekend with my girlfriend Jaime for my sisters 16th birthday. Jaime hasn't met most my family yet, they can all be quite over the top and excitable. 9 year old brother and 12 year old sister the worst with my mum just behind. Will probably end up going out with some mates from home as well whilst were there.

After Christmas...

I'm back in Leeds after the long christmas holiday's, finding it hard to get back into working life, and motivate myself.! Got some designs to do for the latest project we're working on, which is based on pattern cutting, we're going to need to create are own pattern to make a garment from. This is the first time I've ever done this sort of thing. Also work to do for my seminar, an essay to start and some picture analysing.

Over Christmas I worked quite a bit back home, and spent time with my family manily with my 9 year old brother, playing football. I still had my car at this point so travelling around at home was so much easier, didnt have to worry about lifts. Came back to Leeds for New Years which I spent with my girlfriend and some friends from here. Went home for a week and a bit after, before having to be back in Leeds for uni. Sold my car just before coming back to Leeds...

Catch up!!

Uni has been getting much more interesting and practical compared to the first project we did. We've actually gone on to make bits, and do some designs in the last few weeks which is much more interesting than research based projects. Lectures have stopped now for the year, leaving more time to get on with the essay and tasks set from Marcel in our seminars. Which I'm still yet to start. The seminar's have been getting a bit better although they still seem to be a repeat of what we already heard earlier in the lectures. I find it quite hard to sit their and listen and watch slide shows of historic art, hardly any of the lectures had any links to fashion, which is another reason why I prefer the seminar as Marcel does attempt to link in fashion. Also due to the size difference it's much easier to ask questions about the slide shows.

One of the last projects we did was Creative Approaches to Fashion where we got to do some more design work, creating garment ideas from abstract objects. The aim of this brief was to create a garment from three different shirts. I ended up making a jump suit which I feel turned out quite well.



Above is a photo of my final garment which Jaime tried on for me. I had to add a couple of safety pins to hold bits together, as we weren't allowed to use a sewing machine for this project. I've also included a photo of one of my research and design pages.
Here is an example of what I was talking about, using strange shaped objects like an orange skin to create the shape and structure for a garment.