Abbie James

Second Year Textile Design Student, University of HuddersfieldCommercial Design & Embroidery

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Drawing from photocopies

I created these drawings earlier this year and I really like how they turned out. During one of our lessons we created small sculptures which were then put into the heat press, those sculptures were then scanned into my laptop and I used tracing paper to find some interesting forms within the work and drew them with a fineliner. I found the results really interesting and a technique I’ve never thought of using before, it really allows you to broaden the work you’ve already done and create a variety of new responses.

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Theory and Ethical Studies

The future through past archives

1) What different kinds of archive can you find?

There are a huge variety of archives which all showcase a variety of documents and objects, from archives such as the ones at my University to museums and online sources. Other archives may include:

      - government archives

      - corporate archives

      - historical societies 

      - religious archives

Society of American Archivists. (unknown). 

Archives tend to be specific to one particular topic, making it much easier when attempting to find objects/documents of a particular type. Thanks to todays technology though, it has become increadingly easier to find things due to search engines and filters allowing us to narrow down to specifics.

2) How would you intervene in an archive?

There are many ways to do this, simply by documenting my own life. I’ve kept diaries from the early age of 7 up until the present so I have my own personal archive of memories and experiences which will continue to grow as I do. Alongside this I have a personal blog which I used as my own online but more public journals, which I find really interesting as it’s very easy to go to the archive of my blog and find a specific year and date to find exactly what was happening in my life at that one particular time. One other way is photography, photographing my days and creating a visual journal either physically or on the internet, or on an ap such as instagram.

3) What kind of respones might you make and why?

If I were to respond to my own archive I’d find it extremely interesting to look back at old art work I’ve done as a child and re-draw it in my current style now or create a responsive textile pieces to show how I’ve grown up and how my skill has changed and grown over the years. This could be a project that was continious, re-creating the same pieces every 5 years to create a collection of artwork showcasing the growth of my skills and creativity.It’d be interesting to see if I felt my work has improved or if my childhood lack of caring made the pieces less seious and therefore more exciting to look back on.

4) What is your own archive of work?

I see my own archive of work to be my sketchbooks. I have piles of sketchbooks that I’ve kept hold of my entire life due to always having a huge passion for drawing and these sketchbooks have documented how my skills have grown over the years. I have always adored having these around, both for inspiration and nostalgia and although they may not seem like much to others, they are probably some of my prized possesions and I’d never dream of throwing them away.

References

Society of American Archivists. (unknown). Types of Archives. Retrieved from http://www2.archivists.org/usingarchives/typesofarchives.

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Theory and Ethical Studies

How can you use data analysis to bring fresh insights to your research?

Data analysis is something I’d never thought too much about before this session but I am now beginning to believe that it’ll come as a great tool for me during my time on the course. Data analyis allows us to bring different viewpoints to our attention, it allows us to look at the bigger picture and gets us out of the routine of solely working from our own heads. Questionnaires are a brilliant way to do this when gaining research as you can gain a huge amount of information from a variety of sources in an extremely short period of time. They allow us to also get precise percentages as well as commentary on subjects, I feel that giving people the opportunity to comment on something anonymously gives you a great deal of truth, which is somehing that may not always happen in a face to face situation.

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Textiles Ecology

Looking at Textile Practitioners who engage with ecology in commercial design.

Patagonia is a company I have only recently heard of but after reading up on their brand and their aims, I found that the work they do for both the environment and workers rights is quite outstanding. 

“At Patagonia, the protection and preservation of the environment isn’t what we do after hours. It’s part of our everyday work.”

Patagonia is a brand that creates outdoor clothing that is built to last for years, the company is extremely passionate about the environment and they spread a huge amount of awareness within the company on how we can fight this. They also ensure that all of their clothing is being produced under safe and legal working conditions.

I find it inspiring and extremely respectable at how much Patagonia truly care about our planet, after watching a short video posted on their website of a Patagonia climbing ambassador (Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll) who refuses to throw his clothes away it really made me think. One of his tshirts was what many people would see as ruined, full of little holes and stains but he stated  "A piece that is full of patches and repairs has a spirit. It has a story attached to it!" and it really made me question how I see fashion myself.

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Textiles Ecology

Looking at Textile Practitioners who engage with ecology within commercial design.

Stella McCartney   

“I design clothes that are meant to last. I believe in creating pieces that are not going to get burnt, that are not going to landfills and that are not going to damage the environment.” - Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney was brought up vegetarian, so being a vegetarian myself I naturally feel very connected to her as a designer and greatly respect her decisions to not use animal products such as leather and fur in her work. Stella understands the environmental impact that the animal industry has on the world and works on trying to reduce that whilst also spreading a very strong message of the importance of sustainable fashion. She believes that ‘every little bit really does count’, and I completely stand by her on that point. All of the materials that Stella uses are ethically sourced, from organic cotton and sustainably certifed wood to recycled fabrics made from plastic water bottles and regenerated cashmere.

Alongside environmental issues, Stella also brings focus onto the importance of recognising the working conditions of the workers creating the garments. Her website includes a ‘sustainability’ tab, which offers educational information and powerful videos on this topic and I feel this is an extremely respectable thing to do as it’s a rare feature within high end fashion brands and raises awareness to many people that many be unaware of where some of their clothes may be coming from.

http://www.stellamccartney.com/experience/en/sustainability/qa-with-stella/

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Textiles Ecology

Looking at Textile Practitioners who engage with ecology in commercial design.

LOOMSTATE 

‘At Loomstate we work toward a shared vision, believing that whole clothing supply chains from cotton farm to fashion house can support sustainable clothing production.’

Loomstate is a fashion brand focussing extremely heavily on sustainability, they aim to see a future where people and the environment are respected as much as the products themselves. I respect this outlook so much as it’s so fresh to see a company not just focussing on their income and fast fashion, but taking into account exactly where they are sourcing their materials - whilst going out of their way to collaborate with other companies sharing the same views. 

One of their many projects was the 321 collection, creating clothing that can be reversed and worn in five different ways, therefore reducing waste. They have also designed 100% organic cotton shoes for Vans and an organic clothing line for Target. Loomstate does a huge amount of charity work too, such as when they worked for the Skraptacular company and  transformed their fabric scraps into tote bags. They have also been involved in things such as classroom talks about organic farming and beach clean ups.

After researching into this brand it’s really made me think about my own practice and how I should definitely question my material choices more in the future as it’s so easy to just pick and choose what I think looks best without actually thinking about what or who it affects. I also want to think about the amount of waste I create when making my samples for embroidery and how I can reduce or reuse these.

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The Secret Life of Our Clothes

I have recently watched ‘The Secret Life of Our Clothes’, a BBC documentary filmed in 2014 which shows the journey our clothes make when we donate them to charity. I personally shop at charity shops regularly and donate lots too, but it had never crossed my mind that such a high percentage will never actually be sold here in the UK. It seems completely bizarre to me that there may be a family in another country who could possibly own an old item of my clothing, it’s very hard to get my head around but it’s quite fascinating.

Clothes that are not sold in our charity shops are packed tightly into large bundles and then shipped away to countries such as Ghana, these bundles are then sold at markets. I was astonished at how many people fought over the bundles, clawing their way in to get a good deal for their family with the hopes of finding useful items. 

I can find both positives and negatives in this practice, the positives being that it is providing jobs for poor families who otherwise may have struggled and it’s also hugely reducing waste because if these clothes had not been transported then it would be impossible to store and sell them all in the UK, meaning they’d end up in landfill. Despite the great use of recycling, the documentary also shown a negative side of the industry, being that it is taking away from the traditional clothing worn by many in Ghana. Used clothing from the UK is much cheaper and as mentioned in the show, much easier to wear as you can simply iron it and go, whereas in Ghana you have to wait for your traditional garments to be made. I actually found it really sad to see a place full of culture being overtaken by western clothing, it just didn’t look right at all and it’s unfortunate that they seem to slowly be losing their traditional ways due to costs, this has also meant that companies creating the traditional clothing have unfortunately gone out of business due to not being able to compete with the cheap prices of second hand clothing.  Another negative I found is the pollution and huge carbon footprint created by continuously shipping these clothes away, although I definitely feel that this is better than the clothes being left to rot in a landfill.

There are many things to compare this practice to, such as upcycling, selling and swapping clothing. All of these things have become very popular in recent years, especially with Ebay, Depop and facebook groups being so accessible. I find this way of getting rid of clothing to be so much better for the environment as we are selling in the UK and there’s no carbon footprint to worry about. 

After watching the documentary I’ve definitely found how important the context of things is. Without watching I would be completely clueless as to the final destination of my donated clothing, and it’s truly opened my eyes to how it affects the environment and people involved

BBC 2. (2014). The secret life of your clothes. https://unitube.hud.ac.uk/view2.aspx?id=14586~5l~EnkVm4Smrg

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Textiles Ecology

How could Textiles Ecology impact on your practice of making?

During my first lecture in Theory, I discovered the many ways in which our textile practices affect the environment and the world we live in, whether it be the wasteful use of energy, use of harmful chemicals or where our materials end up, many of us are adding to the harm on a daily basis.

As an embroiderer I assumed that my practice wasn’t too harmful, I’m usually just working with a needle and thread alongside machine work and I’m very rarely using chemicals unless dying my own fabrics. It makes it very easy to compare my practice to things such as print where you are using a huge range of chemicals continuously and flushing them down the drain every day; but I found that this comparison isn’t true when looking at the bigger picture. Embroidery may seem harmless, but when looking at the scale of things the energy usage from the machines can be huge, especially within large companies. Taking this into account you also realise that dust and noise pollution is a factor too. We are also constantly creating small samples before starting work which seems like nothing, but added all together this is a huge amount of fabric which will more than likely end up in the bin.

As a commercial designer I feel as though I’m slightly clueless on the environmental impact in which my designs may have in the future, I’m constantly in the mindset of designing and never the impact the designs may have on the environment; only focussing on how they’ll look and come across to others. This lecture has definitely made me think more about this, and made me question how I can take into account the environment rather than just ‘will the consumer like it?’. So how can I change this? Well, working with more natural materials is a start, so I know i’ll be giving back to the earth in the long run. 

The lecture also made me realise that as a consumer I never truly focus on the fabrics I’m buying, I tend to focus mainly on aesthetics and functionality and never focus on how harmful they may be compared to others. It’s definitely made me think and it’s something I’m going to try and be more aware of in the future.

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YEAR TWO

I’ve decided rather than starting a new blog I’ve decided to continue this one, so all following posts will be from my second year

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ORLY COGAN

“Orly Cogan’s work ranges from two-dimensional wall pieces to installations and photography, exploring the conventions of femininity through stitching into vintage fabrics. Her pieces are like pages of a sketchbook full of drawings which Cogan explores through more contrived compositions verging on fantasy. Embroidered female forms interact with each other and discreet objects, exploring feminine archetypes such as the Madonna/whore, the femme fatale and the beauty queen. Cogan plays with feminine sexuality and perspective, allegorical and abject in her narrative.”

(taken from ‘Contemporary Textiles’, black dog publishing)

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I've always been a huge fan of Orly Cogan's work and adore the way in which she mixes controversy and feminism along with such traditional techniques.

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Designer/Maker - Summary

It was clear from the start of this module that it was going to be an interesting one, we were instantly thrown in and told to take risks and not to worry if things go wrong. We were encouraged to play and work in ways we may have never done before, creating unexpected work that was never carefully planned. Beginning this module I wasn't overly comfortable as we weren't really working towards anything, there were no concepts to follow and no trends to look at and although it was all very fun and enjoyable, I worried that I wouldn't get anything from it.The module really brought me back to my childhood, and after a couple of workshops I really began embracing the designer/maker way of working.

The workshop which stood out to me was the 'play' workshop; we worked in groups and selected photographs from a previous workshop and then created a narrative from them using plasticine. I feel I connected with this workshop most as it got me thinking in the conceptual way I'm used to, creating a story from something simple and really using my imagination and sharing ideas with a group. I was also very inspired by the workshop in which we were given rules to follow and worked in a very fast manner, passing around a piece of paper and adding to it each time to create something completely new and unpredictable This reminded me of games I'd play when I was little, and lead me to continue doing similar activities with friends and family at home – which eventually grew into one of my final ideas.

Unfortunately, during this module I was involved in a very serious violent crime, resulting in a fractured skull and a lot of psychological damage. I was suddenly surrounded by fear and felt  emotions I'd never experienced before. During the start of this module, we were given the task to create a set of rules to follow, ironically, one of my rules was 'Turn fear, into beauty', I took this rule on board and decided to not let my injury hold me back, I embraced it and based one of my ideas around it.

For my first final idea, I wanted to bring back the feeling I got during the workshops, of childhood and immaturity. My idea was based around the workshop of collaborative drawing, I decided to focus on an educational point of view – a workshop for children which helps them to create their own zines of drawings, using a collaborative process which allowed them to create unpredictable outcomes, with plenty of added humour, making learning fun. My second concept was a sensory room for people struggling with emotional difficulties like myself, I questioned friends on what calms them, and then went on to design a room that was filled with tactile surfaces which encouraged peace of mind, sensory rooms are generally for children or those with disabilities, so I wanted to look at them in a new light and create a room for adults who simply need to get away from the world.

Overall, I found Designer/Maker to be an enjoyable module full of imagination and creativity. It helped me to completely let go and to do things without thinking, resulting in ideas that were different and looked at in a new light.

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Contemporary Practitioner - Summary

A Contemporary Practitioner is somebody who tends to work with personal ideas, using their craft to create things that bring the context to life. Whether it be working collaboratively or not, I personally feel that contemporary practitioners create works of art that should be shared, for the world to understand and enjoy.

Personally, I was extremely excited to be starting the Contemporary Practitioner module as it's where my comforts lie. Unlike Commercial Design, there was never a strict brief to follow, meaning my work had the freedom to go in the direction I wanted it to. Although this may be a selfish outlook, I'm interested in exploring my own mind and creating from issues that affect me, rather than following a set of rules placed in front of me.

The module began with a trip to the Whitworth Gallery in Manchester, visiting the Art_Textiles exhibition which really put me in my element. Surrounded by huge sculptures and the work of artists such as Magdalena Abakanowicz and Tracey Emin, I already felt inspired to begin creating.  I was especially inspired by the work of Faith Wilding, her 'Womb Room' got me thinking about interactive textile pieces where the public can completely engage with the work and feel almost like they are a part of it. Although it was early in the brief, I knew I wanted to create something interactive as it's a route I've never been down before.

I tend to already think in a very conceptual way, so when our first curating workshop began I was comfortable grouping certain elements of the gallery together to create a space with meaning. The workshop challenged me to work in a large team which I found a little difficult to begin with as it made me realise how differently each individual thinks, some students simply focussed on texture and colour while others focussed on the meanings behind the artworks – it gave me a greater idea of how different we all really are, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. As the workshops continued I was taught about Plutchik's Wheel of Emotion, something I was unaware of before. It was something that highly caught my interest as I'm somebody who is drawn to very personal themes. Using thread to represent two opposing emotions, it got me thinking about how I could use the concept of emotion and turn it into a very personal concept for one of my final ideas.

I continued to research the artists I saw in the Whitworth, alongside various other practitioners, until it became clear to me what I wanted to create. The first idea I put forward was to be in a gallery space, bringing the viewer into my thoughts on mental illness, and the other being an interactive installation surrounding feminism in today's society. Both of my themes were extremely personal to me, which helped me to pour my heart and soul into them, adding into them my experiences with both topics.

Contemporary Practitioner really made me spread my wings as an artist, making me bring out my personal feelings that I struggle communicating verbally, into artwork that can be shared with everybody. This module made me realise that I have a love for concepts, I long to know the meanings behind things and I want to create things that can educate others on my own personal experiences and views, giving people the opportunity to have a more open mind.

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Commercial Design - Summary

A commercial designer is somebody whose work and designs are purely focussed on the brief given, they adapt their ideas to fit with what the client needs and understand current trends within our society.

As my commercial designer module was my first, I began this project with an extremely anxious mindset. I was unaware of what the tutors wanted and how to organise my work, alongside the fact that I had never worked in a commercial way before. I definitely do not see myself as having a commercial mindset when it comes to my art work, I tend to focus more on concepts that mean a lot to me and I enjoy taking risks and creating things people wouldn't expect – unfortunately that is quite the opposite when it comes to this module. I'll admit, I really struggled to begin with, but after doing plenty of research on the Artisan trend and looking into the brand we would be designing for, Anthropologie, I finally felt I was in control. My passion for the trend and brand grew quickly, and I became extremely inspired to design; I feel this passion really shone through to my work.

During this brief we learnt how to complete comp shops, researching into various brands and visiting stores, noting down things such as prices, designs and shop layouts which were then compared with other stores. This gave me an insight into the competitive nature of commercial design and helped me understand the role of a commercial designer a lot more. It made me see that to be a commercial designer you must be bursting with research, you must know what is going on around you in the fashion/interior world to have your designs stand a chance. During one of my comp shop tasks, I visited Vivienne Westwood in Liverpool where I came across a knitted jumper that completely stood out to me – the earthy colours related extremely well to the Artisan trend and it really inspired me to start designing. Deciding to go down the fashion route, I decided to design a range of scarves; This idea was sparked after looking on the Anthropologie site and coming across their scarf and blanket range, which really drew me in due to the textures and Artisan colour palettes.

The rotation I was in during this brief was weave, and I wanted to take full advantage of that. My research journal was bursting with research, photographs, colour swatches and drawings and I began to weave organic textures that were inspired by all of these elements, using the looms in University alongside my small loom at home. After continuing my research into Artisan on WGSN I was heavily inspired by the pictures of rust and decided this would be my main focus when creating my samples.

Overall, I feel this module went very well for me as it taught me a lot of new things and introduced me to a completely new way of working, it also surprised me as at the beginning of the brief I didn't think I'd enjoy any aspect, which turned out to be completely untrue.

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Concepts for Context

Lindsay Bloxam - Case Study Interview

1. How did Bloxam get into Designer/Making?

She was studying Embroidered Textiles at University and came across designer/making when her post graduate studies ended.

2. How does Bloxam address the relationship between designer-maker and context?

Bloxam believes that you should always start with a plan as people aren’t going to want to buy something they dislike. She does a lot of research and questions her client to ensure she is creating what the market is after.

3. Where and how does Bloxam sell and promote her work?

Bloxam sells and promotes her work in many different ways, the main way being through trade shows. She states that trade shows are crucial for exposure of your products, and this is what you need to get noticed and for your products to sell. Bloxam also sells commissioned work, seeing it as an ‘extension to her studio’. 

4. What virtues does Bloxam link to designer-maker? 

Bloxam focuses on many virtues that link to designer-maker, self motivation, a hard-working mindset, flexibility and good people skills.

The Textile Book, C. Gale, J. Kaur (2002), Berg Publishing.

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Visually Analysing Two Designer/Makers

Sandra Buckland

Backlund & Scarisbrick, (2009)

The two pieces shown above are from Sandra Backlund’s ‘Pool Position’ collection, a collection that consists of very sculptural knitted and crocheted garments, turning traditional techniques on their head to create something very avant-garde. 

With Backlund’s background in Art, she approaches fashion in a much more conceptional way than other fashion designers. She takes risks and let’s her imagination run wild, resulting in almost architectural final garments. I feel this is an extremely positive thing as her work is admired by both fashion designers and fine artists.

‘One day it can be in Vogue Italia and the next it will be in this handicrafts exhibition in a small town in Sweden.’ - Dazed, 2009

Nora Fok

Fok, (unknown)

The piece shown above, named Bubble Bath is a jewellery piece consisting of many small white balls which were created by carefully hand knitting nylon thread. Nora did this by taking her son’s toy marbles and knitting around their form, to create these tiny ‘bubbles’, this technique gives the piece a feel of nostalgia and makes it somewhat more special. I also get a great sense of nostalgia from the name of the piece, as I feel this piece represents her son and the playfulness and joy of bubble baths. The piece is extremely delicate, and I especially like the transparency of the bubbles - much like the ones she was inspired by. 

Nora Fok draws her inspiration from the natural world and the everyday objects that surround her. All of her pieces are completely different as they’re each inspired by a different thing. She's passionate about nature and wants to bring to peoples attention the pure beauty in plants and other organic objects that are sometimes overlooked. 

Fok says that her jewellery pieces are not pieces of art until they are placed on the body, she believes that the movement and fluidity of the human body is what really brings her pieces to life.

How do the two artists compare?

Although both of these designer/makers are creating wearable garments, they definitely have their differences. Backlund, although a designer/maker is quite commercial with her fashion designs and has been featured in fashion magazines, wheras Nora Fok’s work is much more contemporary fine art.

The one thing that is very similar between the two is that they are taking traditional techniques (knitting and crochet) and creating an almost scientific look, challenging the norm and creating something we’d never expect from the materials. Both artists are also inspired to create by a similiar thinking process, Nora Fok is inspired by the natural world she see’s everyday, nostalgia and her children, and Backlund creates pieces to get away from her mind and to be ‘free’ as an artist.

Backlund, S. & Scarisbrick, J. Pool Position. [Knitted Dress, Photograph]. , retrieved from http://sandrabacklund.com/previous-collection.php?page=39

Dazed, (2009). Otherworldy knits from within. Retrieved from http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/1523/1/sandra-backlund-otherworldly-knits-from-within   

Fok, N. Nora Fok. [Photograph]. , retrieved from http://www.norafok.com/nora/.

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Keywords/Concepts

Word    Kitsch        

Definition  ‘Art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way’ Oxford dictionary (unknown)

Origin 1920s Germany

Ji (2012)

Word   Avant-garde

Definition  ‘New and experimental ideas and methods in art, music, or literature.’ Oxford Dictionary (unknown)

Siynonyms Innovative, Ahead of the times, Futuristic, Modern, Unfamiliar

Van Herpen (2012)

References

Oxford Dictionary. (unknown). Kitsch. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/kitsch

Young, Ji. (2012). Music Tin and Vintage Bambi. [Photograph]. , retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/thru-caramelaws-eyes/8467786581/in/faves-20837663@N08/

Oxford Dictionary. (Unknown). Avant-garde. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/avant-garde

Van Herpen, I. (2012). Immortal Coil. Retrieved from http://www.necromantical.com/tag/iris-van-herpen/

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Leigh Bowser

We were recently given a presentation by Leigh Bowser, a graduate from the University of Huddersfield who wanted us to take a part in ‘The Blood Bag Project’. This project has continued to grow into something huge since Leigh graduated, recognised by many different organisations and with people all over the world taking part, the success of the project is clear.

The aim of the project is to raise awareness for a condition that Leigh’s neice Chloe suffers with, Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA). Having DBA means that Chloe’s bone marrow doesn’t produce red blood cells, meaning she is critically anemic and needs blood transfusions every three/four weeks.

‘Through the power of craft, I want to raise awareness for DBA, as well as encourage people to donate blood.’ - Bowser (2015)

I found her presentation very moving and you could tell how passionate she was about the ongoing project, which I was happy to be a part of. It’s made me realise how powerful collaboration can be, bringing people together to do such a simple thing like craft to raise awareness for such a huge cause, it’s such a successful way of working.

Bowser, L. (2015). Retrieved from http://thebloodbagproject.tumblr.com/ Bowser, L. (2012). The Blood Bag Project. , retrieved from http://www.mrxstitch.com/the-cutting-stitching-edge-the-blood-bag-project/.