I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar…

April 26, 2020April 26, 2020amanda goode 2 Comments

These Times and How We Maintained focus

Jessica Westlake’s graduating project

From growing up in a small town in the south west, there wasn’t a large variety of job opportunities for young adults. I decided to work in bars and restaurants. The coast, not far away, was bustling with more people than my small town, it was where I worked in a bar.

I enjoyed working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, as I gained confidence from working in this environment.

Gaining confidence, I started working at a more sophisticated cocktail bar to build my experience and knowledge.

I Worked in the ‘Sunset Lounge’ cocktail bar.

I could visualise my knitwear displayed in this space, overlooking the coast, with the sunlight glistening beside my collection.

I want my designs and products to be fit for the market which socialise in the cocktail bar scenes.

I want to explore the vibrant colours, shapes and lines of the citrus fruits I used in the cocktails because they demonstrate a fun colour palette which will be utilised within my collages and knitting.

The Mechanics of the Field

April 11, 2020amanda goode Leave a comment

These Times and How We Maintained focus

Olivia Holbrook explains her unique knit project.

‘The mechanics of the field’ is inspired by family holidays and the love of unusual objects.

My family took me to Devon or Cornwall every year, allowing me to play in fields and exploring in the woods; bringing my attention to wind farms and tractors, the agricultural lifestyle that you don’t find in the city.

My love of mechanical objects has inspired me in many ways.

I’m intrigued by things that people overlook.

My collection for ‘The Mechanics of the Field’ has led me to explore less travelled pathways, creating designs that have several outcomes.

I see my collection being used for menswear but I’ve also have turned my designs

into objects children, and even adults, can play with.

By using both machine and hand knit techniques this has allowed my outcomes to have a variety of weights and textures, allowing the audience to explore different experiences through touch and play.

My colour scheme is bright, using primary and secondary colours inspired by reference I made while exploring the wonderful world of tractors.

Jessica Morgan-Helliwell

April 5, 2020April 5, 2020amanda goode Leave a comment

These Times and How we Maintained Focus

Center stage today is Jessica Morgan Helliwell. Welcome to her colourful underwater world.

Thalassic Botanica,.

Thalassic is a word that is related to the sea and Botanica is a play on botanic which is related to the life of plants in this case, the plants of the sea.

Living by the sea, I have always been indulged with luscious beaches and aquatic life. When I was asked what ‘I wanted to be when I grow up’ I was torn between two careers: 1) Being a Marine Biologist OR

2)The Textile industry as an Interior designer.

Deciding between two very different fields, I followed my aspirations and went for the creative route I have always loved and thrived in.

This project is the time for me to rediscover my love for marine biology and combine it with my chosen career path in textiles.

Focusing on coral reefs the collection I’m looking closely at the textures, shapes and colourings found on varieties of coral, seaweed and species that create the architectural colonies of the ocean.

I’m incorporating the lives that exist and thrive among coral reefs and creating innovative, busy digital prints for a quirky, colourful interior setting.

At home with Jordan

April 4, 2020amanda goode Leave a comment

These Times and ‘How we Maintained Focus’

Continuing our weekend theme with our graduating designers.

“We are torn between nostalgia for the familiar and an urge for the foreign and strange. As often as not we are homesick for the places we have never known” – Carson McCullers

The Story of ‘REMINISCENT’ is exploring how my spirit and soul drives me back to the place that I call home.

With collective research derived from the “Riviera of Devon” in Torbay, I portray an essence of ‘wander’; from the cliffs leading down to the sea, to the wildflowers that surround the landscape.

The focus on the wild botanicals is a metaphor – seen through their qualities to self-seed, and change in the seasons. My nostalgic emotions can be unpredictable, yet the desire to ‘spread my wings and fly’ has me in a constant battle between the ‘once was’ and the ‘what will be’.

It’s a feeling of escapism and tranquillity – visually translated into experimental textile prints.

The spirit of my project is adventurous and organic. I have learned to appreciate my home; happy place and discovered a need to share with others around me.

There is no better time to spend at home than right now.

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Circleline Design Studio

March 31, 2020amanda goode 4 Comments

Following on from a very successful placement with the prestigious design studio and creative team at Circeline , alumni of Bath School of Design, Ryoji Morimoto is now seeing his work out and about in Beijing collections.

ryoji

Spotlight on Jess Game

March 28, 2020amanda goode 2 Comments

These Times and How we Maintained Focus

Each weekend we will follow the progress of two of our graduating students

Working under these conditions they deserve all the glittering prizes!

Let me introduce you to Jess Game – Knitter extraordinaire

Here, in Jess’s words, is the narrative to her work

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For years I had the above image of me sat on my gorgeous plastic throne hung on my bedroom wall. At the time, I was extremely enthusiastic about gardening and took great pride in my veggie patch.

However, I saw (and still see) these two funny looking pumpkins as my biggest gardening achievement. Peas please, is a knitwear collection inspired by my childhood love of vegetables.

This collection is led by colour and pattern and is intended for children’s fashion.

It is full of character and quirky details to give something usually considered to be boring (especially to children) a more fun and exciting view.

It has been created on Dubieds and domestic knitting machines to create knits of varying weights and structures.

The collection features a range of fun jacquards and intarsias along with some heavily textural pieces.

Handknitted and crochet embellishments have also been applied to create individual and unique details and trims.

Go Jess……

March 27, 2020amanda goode Leave a comment

These Times – How we Maintained Focus

How enterprising of one of our creative thinkers.

Jessica Morgan-Helliwell has produced an outline pattern for you to download and fill in with the colours of your choice.

It may inspire you to get more creative during these unique, home-based times.

Where will you get your colour reference from?

Jess says

I’d love to see all of your creations! So tag me on instagram/Facebook @Jmhtextiles and use the hashtag #colourwithjmh and ill repost your pictures on my social media!

I have tagged an image of how I have coloured it in as well to give you some inspiration🤩

Who Works In A Space Like This?

March 27, 2020March 27, 2020amanda goode Leave a comment

These Times – How We Maintained Focus.

Yes, who does work in a space like this?

Staff have shared their temporary home working spaces.

Guess whose spaces they are?

Letters below the images

Share your guesses on your facebook pages.

ANSWERS TOMORROW

More images to share as we move around the house/studio in future posts.

Establishing Studios: These Times

March 24, 2020amanda goode Leave a comment

And HOW WE MAINTAINED FOCUS.

Yesterday we started our record of how Textile Design for Fashion and Interiors students were coping with the unique situation we find ourselves in.

Now working remotely they have set up studio’s wherever they are situated around the world.

The creative spaces, have put together so quickly, are a testament to their desire to carry on creating.

Tomorrow we have the third collection of student’s images and the 4th post will be guess which staff’s studio this is!

3rd yr Megan’s studio

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All help gratefully received-making a print table

Jess’s studio tidy for a day

Still tidy, for the moment

3RD YR jess at sea.

1st yr Rosie’s studio

2ND YR All help gratefully received to make an impromptu print table

3RD YR Jessica moves into the kitchen

3RD YR Tabitha’s up in the roof

3rd YR Enjoying the sun streaming in

2ND YR Natalie’s little studio

2ND YR Jessie set to annoy her flat mates

Natalie’s studio full sun

The computer is up and running

Starting Today: These Times

March 23, 2020March 23, 2020amanda goode 2 Comments

and HOW WE MAINTAINED FOCUS.

In light of the world pandemic Bath School of Design are undertaking immediate steps to ensure that, although working remotely, our design students are engaged, focussed and supported in their studies.

From now, until this situation rights itself, and we are able to interact socially, we’ll be dedicating the blog to how our Textile Design for Fashion and Interiors students are coping and making the very best of what they have.

Of course, they’re some of the most creative people around, what else would you expect ?

This first blog post celebrates how, within 6 days, they travelled home, some across the world, and set up studio immediately, ready to throw themselves back into work and start creating immediately

We salute you. You tenacious, talented people.