Exhibiting at the Knitting and Stitching shows in London and Dublin.

I have just got back from Dublin where I had a great experience exhibiting my work with the Embroiderers Guild. The Irish people made me feel extremely welcome and they seemed very interested in my work. This experience has given me the confidence to talk about my work with others. They were very appreciative of the work that was involved in designing and making my collection. I felt that they were more receptive than maybe the people who had seen the work at Ally Pally and it wasn't just the younger viewers who expressed their views. There were many older viewers who showed their interest and wanted to share their thoughts with you.
I found the whole experience much less stressful than at Ally Pally, we were very lucky to have a much bigger space than we had had in London and we were able to sit away from our work allowing the viewer to walk around the work without feeling as if they were intruding.
I am looking foward to Harrogate now, it will be intersting to see how it, if at all, differs from the first two venues.

Fashion show-Vendome Mayfair.

I have been asked by Fashion Babylon.com to be part of their catwalk fashion show being held this Friday 1st October, at a club called Vendome in Mayfair, London just opposite the Ritz hotel. I'm very excited and just a bit nervous having never done one before. I have been asked if I would auction off some of my pieces shown on the catwalk. This will be an excellent opportunity for me to see if my work is commercial enough and gage people's reaction to my work. If anyone's interested in comming to see the show in can get tickets from www.fashionbabylon.com

Embroiderers' Guild

My graduation collection has been selected by the Embroiderers' Guild to be part of their Graduate showcase which will be shown at the Knitting and Stitching shows in October and November. The events organisers are Creative Exhibitions Ltd and can be contacted at www.twistedthread.com

The shows will be held at the following venues:

Alexandra Palace, London-7th-10th October.
RDS, Dublin-28th-31st October.
Harrogate International Centre-25th-28th November.

I am really excited to have been selected. It will give me another excellent opportunity to show my collection to members of the public as well as key journalists, interior designers and buyers from specialist stores. Over all 100,000 people are expected to visit these shows!

"Sophisticated Elegance,Contemporary Twist."

"Sophisticated Elegance, Contemporary Twist."

"Sophisticated Elegance, Contemporary Twist."

"Sophisticated Elegance, Contemporary Twist."

"Sophisticated Elegance, Contemporary Twist."

"Sophisticated Elegance, Contemporary Twist."

"Sophisticated Elegance, Contemporary Twist."

"Sophisticated Elegance, Contemporary Twist."

"Sophisticated Elegance, Contemporary Twist."

"Sophisticated Elegance, Contemporary Twist".

Images of my Final collection.

"Sophisticated Elegance, Contemporary Twist."

Graduate Fashion Week.

My final major project is complete and this week i'm exhibiting at Graduate Fashion Week, at Earls Court in London. It's exciting as this is what we have been working towards. A chance for us to show our work to the industry. I am hoping that I will get a good reaction towards my work and maybe good contacts along the way.

I volunteered to help set up our stand, which consisted of the two of the cutting tables from our studio along with some old glass scientific equipment from a nearby school. We also used some coat hangers that we have suspended above and tied to a lighting rig we hired. We have filled the glass bottles with the off-cuts of some of the students work. My work has also been placed in and around the glassware. We have four spot lights that when they are turned on give the appearance of sunlight flooding on to the glassware and also makes the hangers sparkle.

More finished neck pieces.

I have been working hard to complete some more neck pieces. While I have been working I have realised that they have become more refined and that they have the professional look that I wanted to create, yet they still remain those one-off original pieces which sit comfortably within the collection. I have combined using the felt that I had made along with the grey which helps to broaden the collection further and by using the millinery tape on each piece it has linked the individual pieces together nicely.

New Designers Preparation Day 2010.

I attended the New Designers preparation day last week, where there were several speakers that gave us some useful tips for when we exhibit there in June. First of all they said we should remember to be professional, to talk enthusicatically and with a confidence about our work to anyone who approaches us when we are on our stands. That we should not dismiss anyone that is dressed casually as they might well be someone of importance.
We should ensure we have business cards next to our work, especially when we are not on the stand, but also that we should not be afraid to ask for business cards from anyone that speaks to us. That we should follow up any leads we have shortly after the exhibition has finished and before the person has forgotton us. They advised us not to get our business cards printed on shiny card as many people like to be able to write on them to remind themselves why they had picked the card up in the first place. It was also suggested that we should keep a book to put them in as this is a good way of recording who has shown an interest.
We need to register on line before the show starts and will be issued with a photo card on arrival that should be worn at all times. When you have registered you are able to have up to 10 images of your work on the New Designers website for free!
We were also informed that there are several awards given, including a prize for the stand and that these are judged on the Wednesday and that we should insure that we are on our stand at 9 o clock that morning.

Trip to the Fashion and Textile Museum.

I visited the Fashion and Textile Museum, in Bermondsey Sreet, London last week where they had an exhibition called, Very Sanderson-150 years of English Decoration. This was a very interesting exhibition showing how the Sanderson company had begun and how they had developed through the years right up to the present day. It was interesting to see how they have moved with the times and how today are recognised for both their classic timeless printed florals as well as their contemporay ranges of woven fabrics and prints.
In 2010 Sanderson celebrates its 150th anniversary with fabrics and wallpapers inspired by its archive. It has given me great satisfaction knowing that a company would have revisited their archive and come up with some exciting new contemporary designs, as I am also inspired by the past to come up with my designs.

Embroidery on the millinery tapes.

This week I have been concerntrating on the embroidery detail on the millinery tapes. These will be used as ties on my neck pieces. I have used the designs that I created from the Art Deco/ Nouveau ironworks and I feel this has extended my designs further but has also added to the overall look of the pieces.

Photo shoot.

The whole experience of showing my work to people other than my tutors, family and friends had made me feel quite nervous. I have never exhibited my work before and I felt that there was a lot riding on this photo shoot as it could potentially be the lasting image that everybody would remember of my work.

I had been asked by the photographer David Lam to make up some embroidery stitching in PVA glue so that the make up artists could attach them to the models body. They were incredible as they created a look that was exactly right for the photo. I was extremely pleased with the reaction I got from both the photographer and the make up artists to my work, it has given me such a boost and a confidence towards my work and i'm looking foward to exhibiting my work at Graduate fashion week and the New Designers shows in London , as well as our Graduation show at college in June.

Finished Neck Pieces

Here are three examples of my neck pieces. I dyed the millinery tape using mixed Procion dyes and have attached it to the felt. I am very pleased with the acid lemon green colour that I was able to produce as I feel it really sets these pieces off, giving them the contemporary feel that I wanted to achieve. Placing it next to the charcoal grey of the felt it manages to pick out the blues and greens of my stitching. I am looking forward to seeing my pieces on the model at the photoshoot later on this week.

Embroidery samples.

Here are some images of how I have started to sample my embroidery designs into the shapes of neck pieces. It is interesting to see how they might look and how I could improve on the designs, as I want them to look professional and not craft like, however, I do think that they should remain one-off original pieces.

Embroidery Designs.

This week I have begun to create some embroidery designs for my jewellery neck pieces and I have started to sample some of them. I have taken my designs from drawings I have done from images of Art Deco/Nouveau ironworks. These fluid organic shapes and designs were used in several ways on stair cases, railings, screens, mirrors, tables and lamps and even on the entrances to the metro stations in Paris.

Contemporary inspiration.

As well as looking at the past I have also been looking at contemporary designers for inspiration. I particularly like Holly Fulton's work, like me she has a love of geometric patterns and Art Deco and has recently designed a collection that included some bold jewellery pieces.Visit www.hollyfulton.com to view more of Holly's work.
I have been inspired by Marni who have also designed some amazing accessories including neck pieces in their collection. Visit www.yoox.com to view this neck piece and more of Marni's collection.

Final Major Project.

I will design and make a collection of jewellery neck pieces that have been inspired by Ancient Egyptian imagery which I have collated through research and a visit to the British Museum.

The colour story will be taken from Marni's colour pallette.
I will use felt, dyed and embellished with embroidery and beading.

I anticipate my collection to be aimed at the sophisticated woman who would appreciate both the history behind the designs and the modern twist I will put on them.

A day out in London.

Yesterday I travelled into London and met up with my daughter. We had a great day and visited some interesting exhibitions. The first was a photographic exhibition at the Idea Generation Gallery, near to Liverpool Street station. The work was by Nat Finkelstein who was a photo journalist,who had taken iconic and intimate photos of people such as Andy Warhol in the 1960's. It was a great insight into the lives of the people he photographed, as well as the times in which they had been taken.
We then took a trip to Marylebone, to Alfies Antique Market, this is an interesting place , great to wander around and we are able to see lots of items from furniture, to textiles and jewellery.
Afterwards we went onto Oxford Circus, Regent St and Carnaby St, just off here I was able to buy some lovely beads that I hope to use in my final major project.
We then went to visit the amazing house of John Soames in Holborn, his vast collection sprawled through out the intire house and we didn't know where to look first!
Finally we went to the Hunterian Museum which was close by, in Lincoln's Inn Fields, at the Royal College of Surgeons. This museum housed a fascinating collection of animal and human anatomy and pathology, as well as art work and surgical instruments. We unfortunately didn't have very long in here but it was well worth the look and somewhere I would like to visit again.
Today I'm at home and although I feel exhausted I'm really glad we packed so much into our day yesterday.

Flapping with Felt.

I have made felt using various yarns which I have hand and machine knitted. I used an undyed 100% Mohair, a Merino/ Cashwool, and a 60% Mohair/40% Acrylic and I also used the 60% Mohair/40% Acrylic with a Merino yarn.
I am especially pleased with the felt that I made with the 100% Mohair that I hand knitted, which I am showing in this image, as it has felted well and has a soft fluffy texture. I will put the felt in the washing machine again to see what happens!

A trip to the British Museum.

I take inspiration from the past and have a special affection for the early 20th century. Many of the designers from the 1920's were inspired by the archaelogical discoveries made when the tomb of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh, Tutankhamen was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter .

So I visited the British Museum in London recently, where they have a fabulous collection of artefacts from ancient Egypt. There were many wall paintings that depicted and gave a great insight into ancient Egyptian life.
I was fascinated by the painted inscriptions and the hieroglyphics on the coffins which had once held the mummified bodies of the ancient Egyptians.
I intend to use the some of the colours for my colour pallette and patterns for my designs that can be found in these paintings.

"Flapper" Style evening wear.

We have just handed in our first semester's work and its going off to Indigo, Paris next week. My collection was inspired by my love of the 1920's and a visit to the V&A Museum.
I looked at Marni's spring/summer 2009 collection, I really liked the colours that had been used as well as the simple shapes and I feel that I would actually like to wear all of this collection. I used these colours for my colour story along with screen printing and beading to create a "Flapper" style evening wear collection.