JudY R CLarK SayS BELIEVE!

Over the past 3 weeks I feel as though I have become to know designer Judy R Clark better than she knows herself. We have researched, interviewed, created, practised and performed, all in aid of sharing and learning from the successes of her career so far.
Since graduating from Herriot-Watt University Judy has a busy few years. In the interview she told us all about the trials and tribulations of waiting for that big break and about making it happen for yourself. Judy was lucky enough to take part in a few internships to gain the much needed experience to go it alone and this was good to find out about at this stage as we are expected to be constantly gaining experience. She got her 1st internship through a chance meeting with Sandra Murray and from this she went on to be accepted to a placement with Alexander McQueen, after her idea to illustrate the bottom of her CV got her noticed.
The things that I found most interesting from the information Judy gave us were her inspirations, work ethic and her self belief. I always find it interesting to find out what an artist or designers inspiration has been for a particular piece and especially if all their work is derived from the same source. Judy's Influences are quite varied, from historical costume and exotic places, to her families heritage. Its the combination of these elements that make her work so eclectic. Like Judy I love historical costume, in fact I love history full stop and historical textiles is something I would really love to find out more about. She researches dress styles and tailoring and is true to this without being old fashioned. Her work is far from it and was lapped up by fashionistas in New York when she exhibited in fashion event 'Dressed To Kilt'. Her classic yet contemporary Harris Tweed creations were truly embraced and she nearly sold out her entire collection within the first few days. This charity fashion event's subtitle is 'Mad for Scotland' and seems to represent everything Judy stands for. She first began working with Harris Tweed when she received a batch from her uncle who has a loom and weaves from his home on the Isle of Lewis. Since then her use of this world famous fabric has cemented her unique style. She commented,  “I have been working with tweed for a number of years now and my love for the fabric just keeps on growing. The luxurious feel, the durability and its flexibility makes it a joy to work with. My tweed creations mix this beautiful historic fabric with contemporary design to produce couture garments. And it can all be done here in Scotland. With this exhibition I hope to bring some of the Harris Tweed history to people as well as surprising them as to just how fashionable tweed is right now.”
When talking about her work ethic Judy's message is clear, believe in yourself and your business. If I had a penny for every time she said beieve then i'd be rich, but its obvious that this piece of advice is what has propelled her success. So much so that when asked who’ll wear it she said assertively, “well I’ll wear it!” This shows her complete confidence in her work and her unwillingness to change her ethos for anyone, she has a passion for what she does and she does it the way she wants! Its this determined attitude and her down to earth and hard working approach that I really admire her for. I wouldn't say im a lazy person, but the drive that Judy has displayed is extraordinary and it hasn't been in vain. She admits that this success has gone hand in hand with sacrifices in her social life, often having to decline invites to get work done. Judy simply thinks to herself, "they're only drinking wine". This is such a good piece of advice and one of the main things I think i'll take away from this project especially with fourth year looming. I'll keep telling myself just to remember that im probably not missing out on that much and there will be plenty more opportunities and if you love what you do, as Judy obviously does, then it won't be that bad anyway!

Judy's advice - Work extremely hard, push push push, love what you do, believe in yourself and your business, don't get too excited by your first pay packet and blow the lot, don't compromise, be a sponge and be inspired by everything, its all about the networking and push yourself to go to everything, don't be apoligetic, each achievment must be followed by another and remember they're only drinking wine.

I FEEl a trEnD cOmInG ON!

Until recently I had never thought about how designers know forthcoming colours and looks or where trends come from. After attending Premier Vision in Paris last year my eyes were well and truly opened to the world of trend forecasting and last week I was lucky enough to get to attend a textiles trends presentation at 'The Lighthouse', the center for architecture and design, in Glasgow. We had a presentation from Anne Ritchie who specialises in trend forecasting, about the Spring/Summer 2013 interior and fashion trends.
The main trend that stood out for me and seems to run through everything at the moment is a celebration of craftsmanship! People want something more unique and personal for there money. From food to interiors, the home grown, handmade and everything artisan is creeping into Vogue. Traditional techniques such quilt making and embroidery are appearing being used in innovative ways and as we have seen over the last few years, vintage and haberdashery detailing are still big. This really appeals to me as I love going wild with embellishment, recycling old buttons and beads and I love mixing and matching. The trend that encapsulates this, bringing elements of old and new together is 'Eccentric Boutique'. Poisonous greens, dusty plums, ocher, clashing prints of pattern and stripes, all full of embellishment give this trend a jumbled, electric feel. Again this is a look I really warm too, I think its because I've grown up surrounded by this eclectic trend. My mum has always liked creating her own interior looks with antique and vintage finds from over the years, mixed with bright prints and key modern pieces. It just shows that this look is really easy to create by just keeping your eyes open for classic and quirky bits and bobs. I am constantly on the look out for the next unusual piece.

In complete contrast to this is the trend 'Northern Lights'. It continues to showcase the idea of vintage and eclectic but in a more natural way, with a cooler, weather worn yet nostalgic feel. Meadow grass greens, pinks and stone greys all add to this serine trend. I think this is the perfect look for summer, bringing the texture of the outdoors in and again creating an organic feel. Its all about distressing, untreated wood, matt finishes and again hand made. Quilts and baskets just a few examples of the craft elements essential to this look. Its really interesting how trends change with the economy and general feel within the country. Like the recession in the 80s, the recent recession has seen fashion hark back to the past. Everyone is loving the nostalgic look with companies like Cath Kidston, who's whole ethos is about recreating retro prints flourishing. Both the trends I've highlighted have a relaxed, vintage and mix matched feel looking to the past for inspiration. You don't have to have a lot of money to achieve these homely, stylish looks and that's why I think everyone will be so attracted to them.

LeTS StarT WITh WHY!

In a recent lecture Mike Press mentioned the theory by Simon Sinek, the 'WHY' discovery! Normally people start with WHAT there going to do, then think HOW there going to do it and finally, WHY there doing it in the first place. Sinek encourages us to ask ourselves WHY first of all. You can discover why by thinking about the times you felt things were totally right and why this was. If things aren't going well then we need to understand WHY? Steve jobs said just before he died, "your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life". This statement really struck a chord with me. It reminds us that we only live once and not to spend it doing something we hate! I'm also quite a home bird and a cautious person and I think I often need reminded to seize the day and take risks in life. He also said, "Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." This is all related to the previous lecture and ties in well with 'Make a job, don't take a job'.I really believe that doing something your passionate about is the way to be content and happy. Like Steve Jobs said, there is no point in carrying on with a situation your unhappy with. Ultimately only you can change your life. I know too many people who have not done things or carried on trudging along for the sake of what others will think of them and probably a fear of starting again! I think I have the potential to be this kind of person and I have to keep reminding myself "To change one's life:  Start immediately.  Do it flamboyantly.  No exceptions."  ~William James.

Design and the market - 'this is not business studies!'

This module is all about introducing us to an enterprising way of thinking and eventually creating and analysing our own business vision. Prof Mike Press spoke enthusiastically about the world of business and design and how if we embrace this ever evolving world then our future as T shaped designers is bright. He mentioned a few graduates that had gone on to create successful businesses out of there deign ideas. How textile designer Johanna Basford and Jeweler  Kate Pickering have created there business models were particularly interesting to me. Johanna has become successful as a commercial designer through effective self branding. Also Kates big online pressence has helped her set up her company Vanilla Ink and her new jewelers collective. All the designers that Mike Press featured were very inspiring and showed what can be achieved by using design and business knowledge together.

A few comments and phrases that stood out from todays lecture were-

• Make a job - Don't take a job
• How do you stand out from the crowd? 
• How do you brand yourself successfully?
• Reinvent yourself when things are going well
• Takes risks 

I am looking forward to this module and the different skills it will teach us about networking and being entrepreneurial. Our 1st task is a group project to create a presentation on a successful designer or company about how they developed their business into what it is today. Some designers I would love to learn more about are Orla Kiely and Celia Birtwell. In a way both of them are similar with their nostalgic yet modern feeling designs and highly successful companies. 

Celia Birtwell has an amazing new book out at the moment. It includes an archive of  her drawings and prints and pictures of her 60s and 70s bohemian lifestyle. Beautiful! Can't wait to get my hands on it.

Orla Kiely has worked her way up through the industry starting as a junior designer and building her business up to the international company that it is today. She is an inspiration.

First things first though, learn how to spell BUSINESS! 

ThE END of the RSA

We were told at the beginning of the RSA project that it would revolutionise the way we approached a design brief and thought about a project from the outset. In the beginning, like everyone, i was confused and daunted by the task to solve an issue through design. However after the initial research my concept came to me quite easily and i ended up creating my range of stylish cycle wear fabrics. I wanted to create something that the cyclist could wear on and off their bicycle with confidence. 

I took my inspiration from the tyre tracks and mechanical workings of the bike itself. I also found this company called 'Dashing Tweeds', that specialise in jackets and capes that have reflective yarns woven in. This is a perfect example of the kind of piece i wanted to create, something safety conscious that doesn't scream reflective.

This board shows some of my development  work, the zig zags taken fro the tyre tracks and my colours taken from traditional tweeds. I got the idea for my colour scheme from the charity cycle ride, 'The Tweed Run'. There catch phrase is 'A metropolitan cycle ride with a bit of style'. It encourages people to dress up in their finest tweeds and ride through the city on there vintage bikes. Its a nice contrast to the neon Lycra of typical cycle wear and this is what attracted me to the idea.

                                                     

                                                        

Here is some of the samples i produced based on my sketchbook work. I printed on silk organza, cotton lawn, jersey cotton and Lycra. The jersey cotton was particularly successful because of its stretchable quality. It would lend itself well to active wear. I looked into reflective dye and after little luck finding the right product and price i had to settle for using pearlescent dyes and silvers foils to show where in an ideal world my reflective sections would be. This did however enhance my skills in using these. I did add reflective ribbon to some samples, for subtle reflective strips.

                                                       

These are some pictures of my designs in context. 

I LIkE tHE WAy i BIkE

 So it's been a while. I can't deny that i neglected my poor wee blog last semester. The RSA project took up all my time and stress but now we're through to the other side i have to say that i really enjoyed it! I chose the brief 'The Good Journey' something to improve your daily commute. I found that studies have shown that the commute is most peoples single biggest stress but cycling is the best way to travel for good well being. So my question was, why do so many people put up with packed tubes and late buses? After doing some research i found that people form barriers towards cycling, one being fear of busy traffic and the other fear of looking stupid. While cycle wear is essential on the bike its often humiliating on foot. So my aim was to create a range of cycle wear fabrics that encompass the right balance of safety, style, fashion and function! I wanted to create stylish designs that included subtle reflective elements, that could be worn on and off the bike.

Here are some sketchbook pages, that show my research and development.

Assignment 5

Does the fashion industry continue to use smoking to sell fashion in spite of the current anti-smoking opinion? Why exactly do they believe including cigarettes in their advertising is beneficial to their brand?

Whilst investigating whether the media promotes smoking in semester one, some interesting points arose. Such as whether the problem was the media promoting smoking or anti-smoking campaigns ineffectiveness to counteract it? Young people may be able to identify more with the positive portrayal of smoking in the media than health campaigns designed to try and solve the problem. It may be the case for many young people that smoking is primarily about image and that is why the fashion industry has such an impact on promoting it. The fashion industry is unlikely to be using smoking to sell tobacco, but are they still are using images of tobacco to sell fashion? If so, in what way do designers, editors and photographers believe that linking tobacco with fashion is beneficial to their product? I propose to investigate this through some of the research methods learned in semester two, such as observations, questionnaires and interviews.

It may be the case that designers are simply trying to create a rebellious image for their brand through the inclusion of tobacco in advertising to appeal to young people. However I hypothesize that it may be more about the bad publicity gained. For example a punk band can sing about rebellion and dress the part but without actually being rebellious they lack credibility. Credibility might be the key, so is this what designers are aiming for by using smoking images in opposition to our present anti smoking society? By snubbing the anti-smoking movement they perhaps appear daring and that’s what fashion is somewhat about.

Firstly I will need to confirm whether the fashion industry does continue to use images of smoking in its publications and advertisements. To confirm this, I intend to examine a sample of magazines. These will be taken from the top five best selling UK fashion magazines; Glamour, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Instyle and Elle. I will review a year’s publication to get a fair impression of each, primarily looking for images with smoking content. By closely analyzing them I will be able to see what atmosphere is being conveyed in the pictures and themes that emerge. For example certain styles of clothes or other items used in the image such as super cars etc and what message they communicate.

After collating the themes and attitudes found in the magazines I will conduct short semi structured interviews with the editors, designers and photographers who have included smoking in their work. I mainly want to find out what they believe the artistic benefits of including tobacco products are. ‘Smoking is often used in these magazine spreads to capture a certain mood or image’ (Amos, 1992). Is this true and what exactly is it about adding a cigarette that they believe will help make their product more appealing? Or are they using it to provoke? Do they feel the bad publicity they might receive would be beneficial? I will also ask their views on the modern stigma of smoking and the current health warnings against it. Do they feel a responsibility when portraying smoking as stylish? Is it purely art? In addition I think it will be interesting to get the perspective of vocal anti-smoking figures within the business. I will ask them why they think many use tobacco products and why they personally feel so strongly against it. After conducting the interviews I will collate my information looking for isolated and common beliefs.  Throughout the process I will insure anonymity to all participants.

I had initially thought about using questionnaires instead of interviews. However I felt that through interviews I might get more in-depth results. The types of people I wish to question are often busy professionals and questionnaires might get intercepted or lost by secretaries etc. I have also considered the possibility of phone interviews in the case of the interviewee being too busy. If neither face-to-face or telephone is convenient I will ask if a short questionnaire would be more suitable. I hope that by doing this I will get as wide a range of answers as possible.

After analyzing my findings from the interviews I will take my information to two focus groups of young people to elucidate their opinions on the beliefs of the designers. In order to be economical with resources and time I will use a group of students from Dundee University, from a range of courses and backgrounds. To generate conversation I intend to use prompt questions and record the results through service design tools such as group sketching and use a tape recording of the conversations primarily for reference to pick out key words and themes. The problem with just approaching students is they may be from a particular demographic and they might not be representative of all young people. To balance this I would approach youth workers from an economically deprived area to help conduct a similar focus group to insure I had a wider range of results.

Through analyzing literature and magazine spreads, interviewing professionals and conducting focus groups with young people. I will attempt to find out why tobacco is continually used to promote products. It will be interesting to compare the opinions of the professionals as to why they do it, with views of young people to see whether they believe that they are in fact influenced by smoking imagery.