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.