Soothing Sunday #3 (On a Monday!)

Image is from here.

 Well it isn't anymore... it is Monday but last night I got home at 8PM and just wanted to sit somewhere like below!

Image is from here.

So I started this post last night and put it to one side to watch TV and eat pizza and lots and lots of sweeties. So here is what I would have posted yesterday:


My week has been filled with lots of time to myself, but I have loved it. I have visited CWI twice (that's where I did my placement) I'm pretty sure if I keep visiting that much they will think I still work there! The second time I visited, I took cake. Homemade marble cake to be precise! It was tasty and they all enjoyed it! I will be posting the recipe and photos on The Other Blog very very soon! The image is more blurry than anticipated but nevermind, it still looks tasty.

 I also did a spot of baking with my friend Heather (and I supposed I should mention her boyfriend Josh seeing as he did help a little bit). Another recipe to be added to that Cakey blog of mine, but with less photos! They were called Chocolate and Pear Muffins, however they aren't very muffin-looking (as you will see in the next photo) but they sure are very very yummy!

I have also started working at GAP Outlet, in the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet in -or should I say just outside of- York. I love it!! I have to travel but it is worth it and it has encouraged me to buy one of those Young Person's Railcards. So all is good, just can't wait to feel more settled and actually know what I'm doing a bit more!

Travelling will also encourage me to read on the train, so I visited one of the University Libraries and picked up a few books. This time (where I cannot go on facebook or play silly internet games) will actually enable me to do some reading without too many disturbances!

Getting up in the morning and switching on the telly has somehow got me a little addicted with One Tree Hill. It's quite early in the series (I think) so it is quite easy to get into.... and well I'm really enjoying it!!

So I think that rounds up my week. There will be lots more to come next Sunday (and I will really try to post it on the SUNDAY!).

My Tailor's Dummy

When i left work on Friday, my leaving present included a menswear tailor's dummy. I absolutely love it and can't wait to use it in my final year! At university there are stands for us to use however it'll be great for me to have one to use at home too.

It's got a metal stand and a black body cover, so it's looking pretty stylish. Especially in Nathan's superman costume so far that I made him that you can see in the photo below.

This gift will allow me to adjust patterns, fit toiles and garments and to display the finished product. It will also hopefully encourage me to start more personal projects.

Image from my phone (sorry for the poor quality!)

Goodbye CWI - Hello Summer

Just over 12 months ago I started my placement at Cohen and Wilks, now it is coming to an end... it'll be a sad week to leave my work friends so that I can enjoy the summer before my final year at university. I'll be tying off loose ends, packing up my stuff and saying my good-byes.

I've absolutely loved the experience CWI has given me, I have learnt so much about the industry and even more about garments! I've made some amazing friends that I'll definitely stay in contact with, who have helped me so much throughout my experience. Working at CWI has changed the way I work, so hopefully I'll be much more organised and better at using my time more effectively. I can also use my technical knowledge to fuel my designs develop my final collection! I don't think I can even put into words how much this year has and will continue to help me...

As much as I've enjoyed working, the 9-5 days aren't quite what I'm used to and I'm looking forward to being a student again! I'm looking forward to having time to visit Art Galleries, Museums and to finding inspiration every single day! I've missed being creative over the past year, and I cannot wait until I get to start my final collection!

So as I sadly say Good-bye to CWI - I am saying Hello to summer, to creativity, to inspiration and to living the life as a student one more time!

 Image is from here. Thank you!

Home Sweet Home...

Here some pictures of my little trip home. I actually forgot I had a camera most days apart from the Christening so there are only a few around then. However we had a fun-filled day out at Butlins, with gigantic deck-chairs and camper vans, as well as more relaxing days with the family and a few beer garden drinks. It was a beautiful start to the Summer.

 

Now with only two weeks to go of my placement, I can start planning my summer before I begin my final year journey!

Photos are my from camera

Superhero Costumes - Part 3

After making the specifications I could then begin to draw up the pattern for the Superman t-shirt. This is something I have learned to do since working for Cohen and Wilks and I think it will be really useful for my final year at university.

 Once I knew how wide the top would be then I made a small pattern for the Superman logo to be appliqued to the front. This was done by cutting out the outline shape in 3 layers of fabric - 2 yellow (to stop showthrough of the blue) and one layer of red. I then cut out the red part to give the logo and pinned this in place onto the yellow fabrics. I used a zig-zag stitch to completely secure the "S" in place.

I really love the effect of this as it looks smooth, and neat and I know there is no chance the fabric could fray or spoil. If I was to do this again however I would use an interlining just to stiffen the red fabric as little, as I found it did move as I stitched it.

 

I then placed the logo onto the front of the fabric and stitched this into place. Next I stitched the front and back together at the side seams and shoulder seams.

My next steps to complete this part of the costume is to finish the seam allowances, stitch in the sleeves, stitch the hem, cuffs and collar. and this part will be complete. I will put up a photo of Nathan wearing it once it has been completed.

All photos are from my camera.

Show me your party dress!

The company where I am doing my year out in industry at, Cohen and Wilks, have suppliers in China, who we work with on a day-to-day business to make many of the jackets you'll find in our customer's stores. Our main supplier is Suntex, and today I received an email with some photos from their Chinese New Year Party.

There were two that stood out to me, the dresses in these photos were beautiful.

The sculpted shapes and beautifully stencilled patterns are just so inspiring. I just really wanted to share them with others! I don't think I've ever seen anything like them and I wanted to keep a record of them to inspire me in the future. Maybe they'll inspire you too.

Many thanks to May Cheng and Suntex for allowing me to use these photos.

Just a little something...

Well, it's been a while since I have written on here. I've been very busy over the past 6-7months doing my placement in QA at Cohen and Wilks. It has been an amazing experience so far and I am still learning so much from it. I have been working with Childrenswear, which is a new experience for me, and my role mainly consists of requesting tests on fabrics and components (so the garment will be safe) and measuring and checking garments for quality. I personally work with TU@Sainsbury's, Littlewoods, Dunnes and Peacocks as customers. Other customers Chen and Wilks supply to are M&S, Debenhams, Next, Mothercare, George, Tesco and John Lewis, as well as many others. I have worked and inspected garments for all these customers, which has shown me the differences in childrens clothing in the High Street. I have gained so much experience, more than I could imagine, since I started working there and I love my role as a QA, and although I don't get to make things, I am certainly considering working more in QA after university.

It'll be weird going back to university but I am looking forward to the work and projects I will be set in Final Year, even though it will be a HUGE amount of work. I've already started considering what I'll write about in my dissertation and what my designs and final collection could be based on. I think what I'm looking forward to most abotu going back to uni is the fact I'll be spending more time being creative again.

Well to end this post I thought I'd show you the suit jacket and trousers that I made for Nathan, which he wore to the Cohen and Wilks Staff Christmas Party.

Image taken from my camera. Thanks to Nathan Whitehouse for allowing me to use this photo of him.

Interview Technique

When I found out I had an interview with Cohen and Wilks in February, I wanted to do all I could in preparation for this. I didn't feel confident about my interview techniques, and I was feeling excited but also nervous. Cohen and Wilks is situated in Leeds and this was where I wanted to stay to complete my placement year, and many students have recommended the company from their past experience there.

In my design development module, we were advised that if we had time to produce an extra project for the company, showing how your skills can be related to them. This, to begin with sounded like a lot of work but I wanted to be remembered at this interview and this seemed the best way. I did a little bit of research into the company when I was applying for the placement, and found out they supply clothing to a number of high street stores. George at ASDA was one on the list and I decided to complete a childrenswear project for them, as I haven't got much experience in this sector of fashion.

I started by looking into George at ASDA as a company; their history, website and future products were just a few sections I wrote about. This was very interesting for me to look into and I felt more prepared for the interview just by doing this small amount of research.

Next I looked at their current products for girls and boys aged 4-12 years. This allowed me to see shapes, style, colour, print and fabrics and also enabled me to get a feel for the childrenswear sector so that I could analyse trends and predicted shapes to see how well they would work in a collection for George.

After this I researched childrenswear trends for Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 on WGSN and began to look at colours, shapes, moods and concepts of these trends. This was quite different to menswear and womenswear trends as they were less about the world around them but the experiences and lifestyles that you lose as an adult. The predicted shaped I looked into were coats and jackets, which incidentally is the area Cohen and Wilks provide the most garments in for chidrenswear.

Next was the creative part, and the most fun part for me, creating moods for both the boys and girls collections. The boys collection was called "Nostalgic Nature", which inspired the mood for my current Design Development project for Burton Menswear. And the girls collection was called "Favourite Fantasy". I then designed a page of jackets for each collection, and analysed them by hand after they were printed.

All this was completed on Illustrator, to show my skills in using this design package. As simple as this project looks, it was designed this way. Each decision in terms of layout, colour and font were all thought about carefully to display the right feel for the project and to provide clarity in my work.

I was told during my interview that this was a really good idea to do in preparation for the interview and is something I will probably aim to do as part of my research for future job interviews. It creates a good starting point for a conversation and also allows the company to see research and skills based purely on them. I would advise other designers to try this in their interviews, it will definitely make you stand out!

All images are of my own work; trend images are from wgsn.com; information about George and the current collections are from http://direct.asda.com/george/clothing/10,default,sc.html.

Fashion is so busy busy busy...

This term I have been so busy keeping up with work, deadlines, placement applications and interviews, while still trying to have some me time, just so I don't go crazy.

Firstly I'll start off with good news, I have been offered and I've accepted a Placement at Cohen & Wilks in Leeds, securing a job in Quality Assurance (QA), which I am really looking forward to. From July 2010 I will be starting my rather practical placement (this is what I love most in Fashion) and I will get a taste of what my future might hold for me.

Over the past term at university I have had a marketing project, a brand audit, a design project on sustainability and a Nonwovens project titled "FASHION: Decoratif". All of which have been interesting, exciting and a lot of hard work. You can look forward to seeing some examples of the things I've been doing over the past 8 weeks in the posts to come.