So now there is three weeks until deadline and there is still so much to do! I feel really like I have a little bit of everything, but nothing that is fully complete. I have made up two prototypes now, but I feel like they’re not really showing the full concept and the message that I am trying to put across.
I think it has been hard to step back and be able to look at my work critically, It’s not really a process that we went through last year, so it’s a skill that I am going to have to work on, I think that this well help me to get the best out of my work.
I have tried to focus more on the whole process, so designs, packaging, branding and promotions, and tried to think of them as one thing, rather than doing it separately. I think this has helped me to really bring together my brand identity and made it a solid foundation.
I think that my brand name really reflects the ideas and concept that I am trying to put across, the fingerprint is a strong pattern and identity which I think is engages the consumer and gives the brand some stability.
I am hoping that my concept becomes stronger as the brand develops and the products and exhibition space will hopefully reflect this.
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
Brief part 2
Extended research practises - Brief part two
The live brief is now over and we are moving on with our project, using what we did in the first part of the project as a starting point I have decided to create a range of gloves that are completed inspired by the fingerprint.
The lines of the fingerprint are used within the construction of the gloves and the prints are repeated and vibrantly coloured. The gloves vary in size and length to give variation but are all bought together by use of the base colours black and white, and the print being in a different colour.
There is a lot of elements that need to be considered for this brief, which is stressing me out quite a lot, usually you can see how you are going to get all of the work in a brief done, but with this I am really struggling to see how everything I want to do is going to get finished.
I want to have every part of the brief covered, so doing;
• Product
• Packaging for the product
• Packaging for products in the exhibition shop
• Swing tags
• Swing tags for exhibition shop products
• Invitations
• Tickets
• Business cards
• Model and space layout
• Exhibition book
• Animation and video
I really feel that all these elements are important to the end of the brand and make it what it is, but I just don’t think that there is going to be enough time for me to be able to do it all.
I think it will be a case of keeping the research on each area light, so I can cover as much ground as possible.
The live brief is now over and we are moving on with our project, using what we did in the first part of the project as a starting point I have decided to create a range of gloves that are completed inspired by the fingerprint.
The lines of the fingerprint are used within the construction of the gloves and the prints are repeated and vibrantly coloured. The gloves vary in size and length to give variation but are all bought together by use of the base colours black and white, and the print being in a different colour.
There is a lot of elements that need to be considered for this brief, which is stressing me out quite a lot, usually you can see how you are going to get all of the work in a brief done, but with this I am really struggling to see how everything I want to do is going to get finished.
I want to have every part of the brief covered, so doing;
• Product
• Packaging for the product
• Packaging for products in the exhibition shop
• Swing tags
• Swing tags for exhibition shop products
• Invitations
• Tickets
• Business cards
• Model and space layout
• Exhibition book
• Animation and video
I really feel that all these elements are important to the end of the brand and make it what it is, but I just don’t think that there is going to be enough time for me to be able to do it all.
I think it will be a case of keeping the research on each area light, so I can cover as much ground as possible.
Monday, 11 October 2010
Making gloves... that means a pair!
Gloves!!
I have finally finished making my pair of gloves... well almost just a couple of bits of hand stitching to do and then all will be finished. I am really pleased with the way they have turned out, and for a first set of gloves fully made up in fabric I think they are pretty decent. There are a couple of things, now that I have made them up, that I would consider maybe changing if I were to make more gloves in the future; where the hole is in the design, is not the best place the emphasize it, because it drags where the hand adjoins the wrist and droops down a bit, whereas I want it to be emphasized and design feature, also I would look into the length of the gloves, making them a bit more flexible where the arm pieces are, to allow for more movement from the elbows. Other than that though, I think the shape and the style of the gloves has worked really well.
I wasn’t sure If the fabrics I was using would be too thick for gloves, but now they are made up I think they look like a warm pair of winter gloves.
I was thinking about how I could take this idea further, and I was thinking about using the gloves as the base and adapting them into something else, so making them part of body piece or putting them into a jumper that has hands. I think there could be some really interesting ideas and themes that could come out of using gloves, and also it is quite unusual as no one else is using the product of gloves. I hope that the next part of this project will help me to progress and really focus my ideas onto something.
Apart from that I have not really been that well this week, so when I couldn’t get out of bed for two days it’s been quite a struggle for me to get everything finished, and it just happened to coincide with the weekend that I had a hospital appointment down in London so that took away even more of my time. Third year has been quite stressful for me so far, and usually I don’t get stressed that easily, so I’m a bit worried about that, I’m hoping some of the pressure may be lifted in the next couple of weeks once this live brief has finished.
I have finally finished making my pair of gloves... well almost just a couple of bits of hand stitching to do and then all will be finished. I am really pleased with the way they have turned out, and for a first set of gloves fully made up in fabric I think they are pretty decent. There are a couple of things, now that I have made them up, that I would consider maybe changing if I were to make more gloves in the future; where the hole is in the design, is not the best place the emphasize it, because it drags where the hand adjoins the wrist and droops down a bit, whereas I want it to be emphasized and design feature, also I would look into the length of the gloves, making them a bit more flexible where the arm pieces are, to allow for more movement from the elbows. Other than that though, I think the shape and the style of the gloves has worked really well.
I wasn’t sure If the fabrics I was using would be too thick for gloves, but now they are made up I think they look like a warm pair of winter gloves.
I was thinking about how I could take this idea further, and I was thinking about using the gloves as the base and adapting them into something else, so making them part of body piece or putting them into a jumper that has hands. I think there could be some really interesting ideas and themes that could come out of using gloves, and also it is quite unusual as no one else is using the product of gloves. I hope that the next part of this project will help me to progress and really focus my ideas onto something.
Apart from that I have not really been that well this week, so when I couldn’t get out of bed for two days it’s been quite a struggle for me to get everything finished, and it just happened to coincide with the weekend that I had a hospital appointment down in London so that took away even more of my time. Third year has been quite stressful for me so far, and usually I don’t get stressed that easily, so I’m a bit worried about that, I’m hoping some of the pressure may be lifted in the next couple of weeks once this live brief has finished.
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Tailored Gloves
Working on a live brief...
The first three weeks of our extended research practises project involves working on a live brief, So we have a time limit and specific things that we have to do that are required each week.
This is the first time that we have specifically been asked to make a product rather than a garment, a lot of the influence in my research was towards prints and finger prints, so I decided to make gloves. I made up a quick sample... when I say quick it took me hours because it was so tricky to sew, anyway In the end I thought it wasn’t that bad, so I might as well try it out.
I have unpicked two different pairs of gloves to see how their made and have also used this as the basis of starting my pattern for my own gloves.
I managed to create a pattern yesterday, but I am not sure how well it is going to work, I think I may have just made parts up myself and don’t know if that’s actually the way that they are supposed to be made.
I really like the design though, but I need to find a way of adding tailoring techniques within it. I’ve never done anything tailored before so trying to add something in that you don’t really know anything about is really hard. I think I am going to try sewing some parts my hand and then having some padded sections and then adding in some piped seams and top stitching.
I am also struggling with ideas of how I can take this further, I am not sure where I want to take my ideas for the next part of the project, whether I just want to do gloves or carry it over into something else, I think I want to discuss this with my tutor to see what they think may be a good idea to take forward.
The first three weeks of our extended research practises project involves working on a live brief, So we have a time limit and specific things that we have to do that are required each week.
This is the first time that we have specifically been asked to make a product rather than a garment, a lot of the influence in my research was towards prints and finger prints, so I decided to make gloves. I made up a quick sample... when I say quick it took me hours because it was so tricky to sew, anyway In the end I thought it wasn’t that bad, so I might as well try it out.
I have unpicked two different pairs of gloves to see how their made and have also used this as the basis of starting my pattern for my own gloves.
I managed to create a pattern yesterday, but I am not sure how well it is going to work, I think I may have just made parts up myself and don’t know if that’s actually the way that they are supposed to be made.
I really like the design though, but I need to find a way of adding tailoring techniques within it. I’ve never done anything tailored before so trying to add something in that you don’t really know anything about is really hard. I think I am going to try sewing some parts my hand and then having some padded sections and then adding in some piped seams and top stitching.
I am also struggling with ideas of how I can take this further, I am not sure where I want to take my ideas for the next part of the project, whether I just want to do gloves or carry it over into something else, I think I want to discuss this with my tutor to see what they think may be a good idea to take forward.
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Third year..... arghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!
So third year is definitely in full swing, it’s been three days since we had our first briefing, and I am feeling the pressure already.
I think that it takes a while to get back into the way of working and remembering how you put things together and make things look creative, and on top of that we have a week by week schedule where there are lots of things that need to be done.
It’s just going to be quite a lot of pressure this weekend especially, because it’s my birthday, and well you only turn 21 once, so I have friends visiting for that and then I am going to Michel Buble on Monday night as part of my birthday present, so for the deadline Tuesday it really doesn’t give me much time to get everything I want to get done finished.
I have decided that for the first part of this project I am going to make gloves. I sampled a glove last night by unpicking a pattern and trying to remake it by drawing it out again, for a first attempt I think it went pretty well, it was just quite fiddly trying to get the fingers sewn because they are so close together, but I think if I can work out a good pattern for my prototype it shouldn’t be too bad.
I managed to finally get some decent work and sheets done today, I have been really struggling translating my ideas from my head onto paper, but I think that I made a breakthrough today.
Hopefully this will be good enough for a decent design to come from, I’ll let you know how I get on!
I think that it takes a while to get back into the way of working and remembering how you put things together and make things look creative, and on top of that we have a week by week schedule where there are lots of things that need to be done.
It’s just going to be quite a lot of pressure this weekend especially, because it’s my birthday, and well you only turn 21 once, so I have friends visiting for that and then I am going to Michel Buble on Monday night as part of my birthday present, so for the deadline Tuesday it really doesn’t give me much time to get everything I want to get done finished.
I have decided that for the first part of this project I am going to make gloves. I sampled a glove last night by unpicking a pattern and trying to remake it by drawing it out again, for a first attempt I think it went pretty well, it was just quite fiddly trying to get the fingers sewn because they are so close together, but I think if I can work out a good pattern for my prototype it shouldn’t be too bad.
I managed to finally get some decent work and sheets done today, I have been really struggling translating my ideas from my head onto paper, but I think that I made a breakthrough today.
Hopefully this will be good enough for a decent design to come from, I’ll let you know how I get on!
Monday, 16 August 2010
20 - Sommerset House
Martin Margeila – Sommerset house- Amazing!
I went to the MMM exhibition the other day, and wow probably one of the most interesting a diverse exhibitions that I have been to.
There was a collection of years of work and the processes that were used to get there. This really inspired me and has given me some great ideas- especially for layout of a design and exhibition space.
I loved the use of moving pictures and large scale video screens, all packed in together, It gave a insight to what he was thinking and how everything is achieved.
I would go back and see the exhibition again, I did manage to take some sneaky photos, even though you weren’t allowed to, Just had to do it while the security weren’t watching!
I went to the MMM exhibition the other day, and wow probably one of the most interesting a diverse exhibitions that I have been to.
There was a collection of years of work and the processes that were used to get there. This really inspired me and has given me some great ideas- especially for layout of a design and exhibition space.
I loved the use of moving pictures and large scale video screens, all packed in together, It gave a insight to what he was thinking and how everything is achieved.
I would go back and see the exhibition again, I did manage to take some sneaky photos, even though you weren’t allowed to, Just had to do it while the security weren’t watching!
It's been a while
Time for a catch up.
Well I’ve neglected my blog for the past couple of months, I haven’t had much inspiring or exciting to talk about, so I think now is a good time to start writing again.
The summer is drowning out rather quickly now and I think it’s about time I got back into the creative swing of things.
After having a great holiday in Egypt, It’s now time to think about my third year work and also the dreaded dissertation.
After reading the summer project, I has felt quite daunting, I seemed to have lost my creative spark somewhere along the way – I think it’s the summer job in the office that numbs my creative senses.
Well anyway I’ve started to think of some ideas, I definitely want to stick with the theme of identity to start of in extended research practises, and then maybe add in a contrasting theme such as technology and the future and build upon them together.
I went to visit some exhibitions the other week, including the V&A, Tate modern and the science museum. I think that these gave me some inspiration, and I got some photos that might help aid the start of my work.
It took me quite a long time to actually be able to get something on paper, which I have now finally done, It’s only a page or 2 but at least it’s a start.
I think I have struggled with committing to anything because I know that the ideas and concept need to be strong to start off with, otherwise the whole of the project is not going to be as good.
Hopefully If I just throw myself into it, I might actually begin to get somewhere.
Well I’ve neglected my blog for the past couple of months, I haven’t had much inspiring or exciting to talk about, so I think now is a good time to start writing again.
The summer is drowning out rather quickly now and I think it’s about time I got back into the creative swing of things.
After having a great holiday in Egypt, It’s now time to think about my third year work and also the dreaded dissertation.
After reading the summer project, I has felt quite daunting, I seemed to have lost my creative spark somewhere along the way – I think it’s the summer job in the office that numbs my creative senses.
Well anyway I’ve started to think of some ideas, I definitely want to stick with the theme of identity to start of in extended research practises, and then maybe add in a contrasting theme such as technology and the future and build upon them together.
I went to visit some exhibitions the other week, including the V&A, Tate modern and the science museum. I think that these gave me some inspiration, and I got some photos that might help aid the start of my work.
It took me quite a long time to actually be able to get something on paper, which I have now finally done, It’s only a page or 2 but at least it’s a start.
I think I have struggled with committing to anything because I know that the ideas and concept need to be strong to start off with, otherwise the whole of the project is not going to be as good.
Hopefully If I just throw myself into it, I might actually begin to get somewhere.
Saturday, 8 May 2010
Design Development
Final ideas for my line up.
Using photos to inspire design.
Using shapes around the body to create intersting shapes and ideas.
Using tribal design to create shapes.
Illustration ideas for final line up
These are some of the illustrations that I have done to use as part of my final line up. I thought I would try a different style from usual, I have used fine liner and water colour paints, and made a very fluid and loose image. This is a contrast from what I usually do, which is very strong and starky. I think they have turned out quite well, and I think that will work well when I put them with some of my other CAD work.
The Faces I tried to make look slightly animalish and jungle looking, this is so it fitted in with the Tribal theme, about how the tribes use, work and live in the same way that some wild animals do.
Research practises - Tribal distinction
Research Practises
Research practises is fully underway now, well actually it’s nearly over, hand in is on Thursday and then that is pretty much it for, end of Uni year 2!
I don’t really know how I feel about this project there are some bits that I like, and then others that I don’t. I have tried to be more innovative with my research this time, by using different types of paper and different shapes and sizes.
I have done a lot of samples of texture and used fabrics well throughout my research work, which I think has helped me a lot with my design work.
At the start of this project I really wasn’t enjoying it much, I think that my theme that I started off with was maybe a bit restrictive, and I felt that it was all very ordinary. However, I used the smallest links between things to make my research more expressive and it gave me a wider scope to be able to look around the subject and explore in different directions. This is going to have t be something that I consider for next year when I start extended research practises. I will have to allow myself lots of areas and space to research, so that I have the most inspiration and ideas that I can design from.
I am now at the point where I have decided on what my collection is going to consist of, I am in the middle of doing my line up. I have decided to mix both hand rendered and CAD this time, as I seem to always do my line ups computerised, so I thought a bit of both would make a bit of a change.
I have nearly completed my exhibition stand, which I think looks really good, I haven’t used any conventional materials (foam board) so it gives it a real life effect and you could imagine it if it was real.
There are a few bits in my research and design work that I need to finish off, but I don’t think that will take long.
I also need to start my statement of intent; I have the folder all ready and I have even started to decorate that, it would be good to get something put inside though! I’m going to leave that until the beginning of next week, so that all the other parts of my project are finished, otherwise I think it is going to be hard to write about what I think is successful and what I want to take forward.
I do feel like I have been a bit lazy with this project, and I will kick myself after if I get a lower mark, because I will think why didn’t I just put the effort in, I’m hoping that now though, that I have been able to make up for it!
Research practises is fully underway now, well actually it’s nearly over, hand in is on Thursday and then that is pretty much it for, end of Uni year 2!
I don’t really know how I feel about this project there are some bits that I like, and then others that I don’t. I have tried to be more innovative with my research this time, by using different types of paper and different shapes and sizes.
I have done a lot of samples of texture and used fabrics well throughout my research work, which I think has helped me a lot with my design work.
At the start of this project I really wasn’t enjoying it much, I think that my theme that I started off with was maybe a bit restrictive, and I felt that it was all very ordinary. However, I used the smallest links between things to make my research more expressive and it gave me a wider scope to be able to look around the subject and explore in different directions. This is going to have t be something that I consider for next year when I start extended research practises. I will have to allow myself lots of areas and space to research, so that I have the most inspiration and ideas that I can design from.
I am now at the point where I have decided on what my collection is going to consist of, I am in the middle of doing my line up. I have decided to mix both hand rendered and CAD this time, as I seem to always do my line ups computerised, so I thought a bit of both would make a bit of a change.
I have nearly completed my exhibition stand, which I think looks really good, I haven’t used any conventional materials (foam board) so it gives it a real life effect and you could imagine it if it was real.
There are a few bits in my research and design work that I need to finish off, but I don’t think that will take long.
I also need to start my statement of intent; I have the folder all ready and I have even started to decorate that, it would be good to get something put inside though! I’m going to leave that until the beginning of next week, so that all the other parts of my project are finished, otherwise I think it is going to be hard to write about what I think is successful and what I want to take forward.
I do feel like I have been a bit lazy with this project, and I will kick myself after if I get a lower mark, because I will think why didn’t I just put the effort in, I’m hoping that now though, that I have been able to make up for it!
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Business module over!
Today we had our final presentation for enterprise and innovation, and I am relieved that is now over. I was interested in the content of this module; it just dragged on for such a long time that it made me resent it slightly.
I think though that my groups presentation went really well. It was all visuals for our slides, so I think this made people listen to what we were going to say. Well at least I hope so. We got some really good feedback after we had finished, so this is a good start and hopefully we will all end up with a good mark for it.
I think the good visuals in our presentation really demonstrated our business well, and gave a true idea and representation of what our business involves and how it would happen.
For the first time I think this was the closest time to the deadline that I have actually completed a piece of work! Usually I’m finished a week before, but literally we were running through it an hour before we had to do it.
I thought the presentations were going to be more formal, but they were quite relaxed and I think that this made the group feel relaxed so the presentation came across clear and there weren’t many mistakes.
I think that this module has helped in getting to know what it would involve if you wanted to start up your own business or company. I think it informs you of how many things there are to consider and how a good idea isn’t enough sometimes.
Below are some of my personal reflections that I wrote whilst completing this module.
I have always thought from when I started becoming interested in fashion that I wanted to start up my own business and run things the way that I wanted to. Looking at large fashion brands and high street fashion shops now I have always felt that I wanted to do things differently. However after Completing the Enterprise and Innovation lecture and seminar course I am not so sure that I want to, or would be able to set up my own business by myself.
After seeing statistics about how so many companies fail within the first year, and then how after 3 years 8/10 companies shut down, it does scare me a bit. I never like to fail at anything, so with the odds so highly stacked against you in the first place it does give you a fear of even starting in the first place.
I have realised that you have to have such an innovative idea now to be able to succeed, designing and selling clothes isn’t enough anymore. There needs to be an edge, something that people desire or need.
There were so many things that I didn’t realise came along with starting your own business, and so many different choices and decisions to make. Such as deciding on the legal status of your company, and this decision leads to so many other rules and regulations that have to be taken into account.
Also the amount of money that would be needed to start a company is great, and then it is not guaranteed that you are going to make your money back, and you could be left in a situation with ridiculous amounts of debt and you are no better off.
I think that If I was to start my own company I would want to do it with someone else as well, so that I wouldn’t have to have so much pressure on just myself and you have someone to discuss ideas and choices with.
I am thinking now that I would like to work first for quite a while so I have some experience of how a company works and to learn the best way to start my own business. I would think about starting my own company whilst I was still in work to try and get the best of both worlds, whilst having the security to do so.
Second set:
After nearly completing this module, I am still in two minds about what I would want to start working as, whether just to bite the bullet and go for it and try to become a freelance designer/ or PR or to start working for a company and move my way up to a higher post. There is a different sense of achievement that comes with both, and I still find it hard to choose between. As I am so independent and innovative in the way that I think, I sometimes feel that I would work better for myself, and that I could do things in the way that I wanted. I feel that if I worked for a large company I would find it hard not to say when I think they are making a mistake or going about things in the wrong way. But then on the other side, starting your own business needs a lot of hard work and motivation, and when I have just finished university I don’t know how much self motivation I will have left and would it be enough to succeed in a business that is falling as it is.
I think that I will only know what I really want to do, when I’m there doing it, I am really indecisive as it is, so choosing what you really want to do with your life is not the easiest of choices. I will always worry that I have made the wrong decision, so I think for now I am just going to wait until the time comes, there is nothing much else that I can really do.
I think though that my groups presentation went really well. It was all visuals for our slides, so I think this made people listen to what we were going to say. Well at least I hope so. We got some really good feedback after we had finished, so this is a good start and hopefully we will all end up with a good mark for it.
I think the good visuals in our presentation really demonstrated our business well, and gave a true idea and representation of what our business involves and how it would happen.
For the first time I think this was the closest time to the deadline that I have actually completed a piece of work! Usually I’m finished a week before, but literally we were running through it an hour before we had to do it.
I thought the presentations were going to be more formal, but they were quite relaxed and I think that this made the group feel relaxed so the presentation came across clear and there weren’t many mistakes.
I think that this module has helped in getting to know what it would involve if you wanted to start up your own business or company. I think it informs you of how many things there are to consider and how a good idea isn’t enough sometimes.
Below are some of my personal reflections that I wrote whilst completing this module.
I have always thought from when I started becoming interested in fashion that I wanted to start up my own business and run things the way that I wanted to. Looking at large fashion brands and high street fashion shops now I have always felt that I wanted to do things differently. However after Completing the Enterprise and Innovation lecture and seminar course I am not so sure that I want to, or would be able to set up my own business by myself.
After seeing statistics about how so many companies fail within the first year, and then how after 3 years 8/10 companies shut down, it does scare me a bit. I never like to fail at anything, so with the odds so highly stacked against you in the first place it does give you a fear of even starting in the first place.
I have realised that you have to have such an innovative idea now to be able to succeed, designing and selling clothes isn’t enough anymore. There needs to be an edge, something that people desire or need.
There were so many things that I didn’t realise came along with starting your own business, and so many different choices and decisions to make. Such as deciding on the legal status of your company, and this decision leads to so many other rules and regulations that have to be taken into account.
Also the amount of money that would be needed to start a company is great, and then it is not guaranteed that you are going to make your money back, and you could be left in a situation with ridiculous amounts of debt and you are no better off.
I think that If I was to start my own company I would want to do it with someone else as well, so that I wouldn’t have to have so much pressure on just myself and you have someone to discuss ideas and choices with.
I am thinking now that I would like to work first for quite a while so I have some experience of how a company works and to learn the best way to start my own business. I would think about starting my own company whilst I was still in work to try and get the best of both worlds, whilst having the security to do so.
Second set:
After nearly completing this module, I am still in two minds about what I would want to start working as, whether just to bite the bullet and go for it and try to become a freelance designer/ or PR or to start working for a company and move my way up to a higher post. There is a different sense of achievement that comes with both, and I still find it hard to choose between. As I am so independent and innovative in the way that I think, I sometimes feel that I would work better for myself, and that I could do things in the way that I wanted. I feel that if I worked for a large company I would find it hard not to say when I think they are making a mistake or going about things in the wrong way. But then on the other side, starting your own business needs a lot of hard work and motivation, and when I have just finished university I don’t know how much self motivation I will have left and would it be enough to succeed in a business that is falling as it is.
I think that I will only know what I really want to do, when I’m there doing it, I am really indecisive as it is, so choosing what you really want to do with your life is not the easiest of choices. I will always worry that I have made the wrong decision, so I think for now I am just going to wait until the time comes, there is nothing much else that I can really do.
Sunday, 18 April 2010
Work experience evaluation
Work Placement
Work Placement Contact Details
Company Name Arcadia – Dorothy Perkins
Type of Company Design (retail chain)
The work placement itself•
Briefly describe your role within the placement, the duration of your placement and a short evaluation of what you have learnt through the experience?
• What do you feel you have gained on a practical, personal and professional level?
My placement was for 3 weeks, within the Design department of Dorothy Perkins, whilst I was there my role was such of a design assistant. I did numerous different tasks whilst I was there:
• Colour sourcing
• Fabric sourcing
• Trend boards and Ideas
• Sewing garments and embellishing (ready for press day)
• Photographing garments to send out to press
• Designing
• Embellishment designs
• Preparing design packs (photocopying boards, gathering fabric swatches)
• Sitting in on supply meetings
• Preparing outfits for press day
I have learnt from my experience, how a brand works towards a market level and how the designers know what works and what doesn’t work for their customer for example – when designing jackets they tend not to design them with zips down the front because they don’t sell well in store. There are quite a lot of restrictions for the designers to deal with such as: budget, time, market level, trends and does it fit in with the rest of the collection, this makes it quite a tense atmosphere as they have to consider what everyone else is doing as well. The designs go back to a more basic level, with a lot of emphasis put on print and embellishment rather than cut and shape of the garments. The basic garments are developed and improved upon for each season. I did find it exciting knowing what the new trends for this Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer of next year were going to be, its good knowledge to have to understand and know what you’re going to do next.
I have also gained from my experience that most designers tend not to stay in a job role for a long period of time, this was clear from the high turnover of staff that they had and also that many of the team had said that 3 -4 years was the longest that they had stayed in any job – I think that this is down to the restrictions they have when designing, so it becomes quite repetitive after a while.
I definitely now have more of an understanding of how the industry works, and can see how the buyers, merchandisers and designers all have to work together to produce the best thing for their market and for the season.
Conversations and visits
Briefly describe any visits you made, conversations with practitioners and organisations or any other contact with the creative industries you have made before and since your work placement.
Before my placement, the conversations that I had with the creative industries where via email and when I received news that I had got my placement at Arcadia it was via a telephone call. I did not make any visits and I did not have an interview for the placement.
Whilst I was on my placement I had contact with several different areas within the industry – the press – magazines such as ‘heat’ and ‘Ok’ organising booking garments for photo shoots, Contact with suppliers – chasing up when garment samples were going to ready and with the creative director talking about what work I have been doing and what would be ready for the press day.
Other Research
What other research have you undertaken into the creative industries? List the websites you have visited, journals read and any other information you have gathered. What have you gained from this?
The research that I have done into the creative industries was mostly through researching on the internet and looking in journals for personal reviews and reflections.
Whilst I was on my placement I spoke to all of the design team, asking them about their personal experience and the job roles that they have encountered, this gave me a real insight to what different job roles actually include and the type of hours, pay and work that is required of you.
Websites visited:
www.drapersonline.com
www.fashioncapital.com
www.fashionunited.co.uk
www.prospects.ac.uk/links/fashiondes/
www.career-descriptions.co.uk/fashion-buyer-career
Portfolio/work
What comments have been made about your work/portfolio during discussions with people in creative industries? What was the feedback and how are you going to act on it? At this point what do you feel you are missing from your portfolio in order to secure future jobs or post-graduate places?
As I did not have an interview for my placement, I didn’t get the chance to show them my portfolio, So the only feedback that I have had on my work s from my tutors.
Before I show my portfolio I would like to get the opinions of my tutors and fellow students to see what they think works well and what doesn’t. Before I applied to any post-graduate jobs I would like to take some time preparing my portfolio so it showed the best of my work and made sure that I was going in the right direction. I was always have someone else look over my work before showing it so I know what their reaction was so that I knew what to expect.
Comparisons•
Make comparisons between your experiences and other peoples. What does this tell you about your expectations of the industry as a whole, what are they looking for in a graduate student?
• Try to take a broader approach than your own to understanding the creative industries; your work placement is only one element of a very diverse industry, listen to other peoples experiences and compare them to your own.
From working at my placement, I talked to quite a lot of the younger people that were working there and asked them about their experiences of work; It seemed quite clear that some major high end companies exploit their workers, I heard about two different people that were working for Alexander McQueen and the hours they were expected to work were ridiculous, from eight in the morning until ten at night, even later if they had to. They were expected to do all the running around and jobs that people didn’t want to do, and as one person named it ‘slave labour’. I know that I wouldn’t be able to cope in an industry that works like that, I’d feel very undervalued and it would definitely be something destructive.
I think if I had to chose I would rather work for a place that wasn’t so high end and treated there staff with value and respect than work for somewhere just because of the name. I would want to be in an encouraging environment not somewhere that dictates orders and direction.
Career Plan
What sort of job are you looking for and where are you intending to live when you finish the course? List the actually companies/organisations that maybe potential employers. Which of these companies are you interested in and why?
I think once I finish university, I would like to work as part of a design team, I always thought that design wasn’t the area that I wanted to work in, but after my placement, I have a completely different view. I would like to do some different experience within the fashion photography and marketing side of things to get an understanding of what that part of the industry is like and then hopefully decide from there. Obviously I would have to start as a design assistant/Junior designer if I was to work as part of a design team, but I think that is the best way to gain experience.
I think my long term goal would to be to run my own business or have my own line of products in a store somewhere, I think that is where my true passion lies and I think that is the best way to really express your personal creativity.
After working at Arcadia I would most definitely consider working there, even if it was for a short period of time, or even if it was to clarify exactly what I wanted to do.
But I think that I would like to work for a large scale company in whatever area I chose to go into.
• Arcadia – Lipsy – Debenhams – Firetrap – Oasis - River island
I will move back home for a while once I have finished University which is close to London, depending on the job that I get, I may move further into London for a few years until I am settled in a job that I like.
Action Plan
What are the gaps in your knowledge, experience and understanding of working in the fashion industry or applying for post-graduate study? What do you need to learn while still at college and how are you going to go about doing that?
I think that I need to try and do some more work experience in different areas so I have a clear view of what different jobs would consist of and what I would need to do to be able to get a job working in that specific area.
I think that all the contacts that you meet you need to stay in touch with as I think that this is the quickest way to progress within the industry. I think I need to learn whilst still at college the best way to present my portfolio so that I have the best chance at any interviews that I do manage to get, I also think that I need to know the best way to get a start in the business. I am going to try and do this by talking to some of the third year students and see how any of them are making their way into the industry and what their plans are for the future.
I am going to try to make as many contacts as possible over the next coming year so that it gives me the best start when I come to getting a job. I am in no rush though, I would rather find a job that I am going to enjoy not just take one for the sake of having a job when it’s not really something that you want to do.
Work Placement Contact Details
Company Name Arcadia – Dorothy Perkins
Type of Company Design (retail chain)
The work placement itself•
Briefly describe your role within the placement, the duration of your placement and a short evaluation of what you have learnt through the experience?
• What do you feel you have gained on a practical, personal and professional level?
My placement was for 3 weeks, within the Design department of Dorothy Perkins, whilst I was there my role was such of a design assistant. I did numerous different tasks whilst I was there:
• Colour sourcing
• Fabric sourcing
• Trend boards and Ideas
• Sewing garments and embellishing (ready for press day)
• Photographing garments to send out to press
• Designing
• Embellishment designs
• Preparing design packs (photocopying boards, gathering fabric swatches)
• Sitting in on supply meetings
• Preparing outfits for press day
I have learnt from my experience, how a brand works towards a market level and how the designers know what works and what doesn’t work for their customer for example – when designing jackets they tend not to design them with zips down the front because they don’t sell well in store. There are quite a lot of restrictions for the designers to deal with such as: budget, time, market level, trends and does it fit in with the rest of the collection, this makes it quite a tense atmosphere as they have to consider what everyone else is doing as well. The designs go back to a more basic level, with a lot of emphasis put on print and embellishment rather than cut and shape of the garments. The basic garments are developed and improved upon for each season. I did find it exciting knowing what the new trends for this Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer of next year were going to be, its good knowledge to have to understand and know what you’re going to do next.
I have also gained from my experience that most designers tend not to stay in a job role for a long period of time, this was clear from the high turnover of staff that they had and also that many of the team had said that 3 -4 years was the longest that they had stayed in any job – I think that this is down to the restrictions they have when designing, so it becomes quite repetitive after a while.
I definitely now have more of an understanding of how the industry works, and can see how the buyers, merchandisers and designers all have to work together to produce the best thing for their market and for the season.
Conversations and visits
Briefly describe any visits you made, conversations with practitioners and organisations or any other contact with the creative industries you have made before and since your work placement.
Before my placement, the conversations that I had with the creative industries where via email and when I received news that I had got my placement at Arcadia it was via a telephone call. I did not make any visits and I did not have an interview for the placement.
Whilst I was on my placement I had contact with several different areas within the industry – the press – magazines such as ‘heat’ and ‘Ok’ organising booking garments for photo shoots, Contact with suppliers – chasing up when garment samples were going to ready and with the creative director talking about what work I have been doing and what would be ready for the press day.
Other Research
What other research have you undertaken into the creative industries? List the websites you have visited, journals read and any other information you have gathered. What have you gained from this?
The research that I have done into the creative industries was mostly through researching on the internet and looking in journals for personal reviews and reflections.
Whilst I was on my placement I spoke to all of the design team, asking them about their personal experience and the job roles that they have encountered, this gave me a real insight to what different job roles actually include and the type of hours, pay and work that is required of you.
Websites visited:
www.drapersonline.com
www.fashioncapital.com
www.fashionunited.co.uk
www.prospects.ac.uk/links/fashiondes/
www.career-descriptions.co.uk/fashion-buyer-career
Portfolio/work
What comments have been made about your work/portfolio during discussions with people in creative industries? What was the feedback and how are you going to act on it? At this point what do you feel you are missing from your portfolio in order to secure future jobs or post-graduate places?
As I did not have an interview for my placement, I didn’t get the chance to show them my portfolio, So the only feedback that I have had on my work s from my tutors.
Before I show my portfolio I would like to get the opinions of my tutors and fellow students to see what they think works well and what doesn’t. Before I applied to any post-graduate jobs I would like to take some time preparing my portfolio so it showed the best of my work and made sure that I was going in the right direction. I was always have someone else look over my work before showing it so I know what their reaction was so that I knew what to expect.
Comparisons•
Make comparisons between your experiences and other peoples. What does this tell you about your expectations of the industry as a whole, what are they looking for in a graduate student?
• Try to take a broader approach than your own to understanding the creative industries; your work placement is only one element of a very diverse industry, listen to other peoples experiences and compare them to your own.
From working at my placement, I talked to quite a lot of the younger people that were working there and asked them about their experiences of work; It seemed quite clear that some major high end companies exploit their workers, I heard about two different people that were working for Alexander McQueen and the hours they were expected to work were ridiculous, from eight in the morning until ten at night, even later if they had to. They were expected to do all the running around and jobs that people didn’t want to do, and as one person named it ‘slave labour’. I know that I wouldn’t be able to cope in an industry that works like that, I’d feel very undervalued and it would definitely be something destructive.
I think if I had to chose I would rather work for a place that wasn’t so high end and treated there staff with value and respect than work for somewhere just because of the name. I would want to be in an encouraging environment not somewhere that dictates orders and direction.
Career Plan
What sort of job are you looking for and where are you intending to live when you finish the course? List the actually companies/organisations that maybe potential employers. Which of these companies are you interested in and why?
I think once I finish university, I would like to work as part of a design team, I always thought that design wasn’t the area that I wanted to work in, but after my placement, I have a completely different view. I would like to do some different experience within the fashion photography and marketing side of things to get an understanding of what that part of the industry is like and then hopefully decide from there. Obviously I would have to start as a design assistant/Junior designer if I was to work as part of a design team, but I think that is the best way to gain experience.
I think my long term goal would to be to run my own business or have my own line of products in a store somewhere, I think that is where my true passion lies and I think that is the best way to really express your personal creativity.
After working at Arcadia I would most definitely consider working there, even if it was for a short period of time, or even if it was to clarify exactly what I wanted to do.
But I think that I would like to work for a large scale company in whatever area I chose to go into.
• Arcadia – Lipsy – Debenhams – Firetrap – Oasis - River island
I will move back home for a while once I have finished University which is close to London, depending on the job that I get, I may move further into London for a few years until I am settled in a job that I like.
Action Plan
What are the gaps in your knowledge, experience and understanding of working in the fashion industry or applying for post-graduate study? What do you need to learn while still at college and how are you going to go about doing that?
I think that I need to try and do some more work experience in different areas so I have a clear view of what different jobs would consist of and what I would need to do to be able to get a job working in that specific area.
I think that all the contacts that you meet you need to stay in touch with as I think that this is the quickest way to progress within the industry. I think I need to learn whilst still at college the best way to present my portfolio so that I have the best chance at any interviews that I do manage to get, I also think that I need to know the best way to get a start in the business. I am going to try and do this by talking to some of the third year students and see how any of them are making their way into the industry and what their plans are for the future.
I am going to try to make as many contacts as possible over the next coming year so that it gives me the best start when I come to getting a job. I am in no rush though, I would rather find a job that I am going to enjoy not just take one for the sake of having a job when it’s not really something that you want to do.
Friday, 16 April 2010
End of Easter break... and I feel totally unrested!
Work experience over
Today I finished my work experience, in some ways it’s a relief but in other ways I feel quite sad. I am happy that I don’t need to do all the travelling and the boring jobs that I sometimes had to do, but then yesterday and today there was a completely different atmosphere in the office. It was really busy and vibrant, which is what I like, it made the place seem more alive and definitely more of a creative buzz. The press day is next week, which is a shame that I am missing out on that, after all the work that I’ve done for it.
It was really nice today that all the girls in the office got me a card and we had cakes a nibbles before I left. I thought that was really generous and nice of them to do that, especially when they are so busy preparing for everything.
This weekend it’s time to get ready to go back to uni, I’m not sure how I feel about that at the moment, where I have been working I haven’t really thought about it much, I would like a few days of rest but that never happens.
On a good note though, today at work there was a sample sale and a chuck out, so I have basically kitted out my wardrobe for the next month, I got some really great stuff, and I think that’s defiantly a good incentive to work there and also it keeps the staff happy.
All the girls working there have given me some contacts and advice if I wanted to do more work experience in the future, they all mentioned about working for a supplier, which is something I never really thought of doing but it maybe something that I look into.
Whilst working at Arcadia I have started to think about my own future, and I think that I have decided that I want to work for myself. I think after I leave uni I will travel for a little while, for inspiration and just to relax and get away, and then start working for a company so I have so income coming in, whilst writing a business plan and starting to create a company. I figured if it doesn’t work out, I can always do something else!
Today I finished my work experience, in some ways it’s a relief but in other ways I feel quite sad. I am happy that I don’t need to do all the travelling and the boring jobs that I sometimes had to do, but then yesterday and today there was a completely different atmosphere in the office. It was really busy and vibrant, which is what I like, it made the place seem more alive and definitely more of a creative buzz. The press day is next week, which is a shame that I am missing out on that, after all the work that I’ve done for it.
It was really nice today that all the girls in the office got me a card and we had cakes a nibbles before I left. I thought that was really generous and nice of them to do that, especially when they are so busy preparing for everything.
This weekend it’s time to get ready to go back to uni, I’m not sure how I feel about that at the moment, where I have been working I haven’t really thought about it much, I would like a few days of rest but that never happens.
On a good note though, today at work there was a sample sale and a chuck out, so I have basically kitted out my wardrobe for the next month, I got some really great stuff, and I think that’s defiantly a good incentive to work there and also it keeps the staff happy.
All the girls working there have given me some contacts and advice if I wanted to do more work experience in the future, they all mentioned about working for a supplier, which is something I never really thought of doing but it maybe something that I look into.
Whilst working at Arcadia I have started to think about my own future, and I think that I have decided that I want to work for myself. I think after I leave uni I will travel for a little while, for inspiration and just to relax and get away, and then start working for a company so I have so income coming in, whilst writing a business plan and starting to create a company. I figured if it doesn’t work out, I can always do something else!
Saturday, 3 April 2010
Work experience at Arcadia - Dorothy Perkins department
At home for Easter – Starting Work Experience
Well I am officially now 1 week through my work experience at Arcadia, and to be honest it was completely different to how I am imagined it to be. The layout of the offices are so restricted and if you walked in not knowing where you were you would think that they were just a standard office – not somewhere that was design based or creative.
On the first day I was really nervous, sitting on the train on the way up there, I had that horrible feeling, slightly sick, nervous but excited at the same time.
When I turned up, everyone was really nice, and there is also another girl there doing work experience, so at least I am not by myself and have someone to talk to and to do tasks with.
So far I have actually been involved in quite a lot of exciting things there, Fabric sourcing, designing, trend spotting, decided themes and ideas for the spring/summer collection 2010/11. So It’s not like I am just doing the photocopying or anything, but saying that I have had to do some, but I don’t mind because I have been able to get involved with so much else.
The environment is quite relaxed, everyone pretty much wears what they want, so It’s quite comfortable and easy going.
I was quite shocked by the restrictions within the office though, and I’m sure if health and safety were to pay them an unexpected visit they would have something to say too.
The design team are literally bunched onto small desks, along with computers, folders and files, where they then have to design their collections on a tiny piece of table. They have boxes of fabrics and hundreds of theme boards floating about all over the place. You always have to move something to get to something else, which is pretty annoying, because where you moved something earlier is always where you want to get to later.
I think the designers have quite a hard job to do, they don’t just have to design the collections, they have to work with the buyers, consider the market level, consider the budget they have, whether another part of Arcadia is using the same theme, whether the print or art work has been seen before, organising sample meetings.
It seems really a strange situation with the samples, they take 4-8 weeks to get back to the office and they cost roughly about £300 to have done- which is strange because then the garment goes onto be sold at roughly £20 to £30.
So far I am enjoying It, I don’t particularly enjoy the travelling up there though, although most of the time I do get a seat on the tube, which is always a plus! I am excited to see what the next two weeks bring, hopefully it will be exciting and there will be more things that I can learn.
Well I am officially now 1 week through my work experience at Arcadia, and to be honest it was completely different to how I am imagined it to be. The layout of the offices are so restricted and if you walked in not knowing where you were you would think that they were just a standard office – not somewhere that was design based or creative.
On the first day I was really nervous, sitting on the train on the way up there, I had that horrible feeling, slightly sick, nervous but excited at the same time.
When I turned up, everyone was really nice, and there is also another girl there doing work experience, so at least I am not by myself and have someone to talk to and to do tasks with.
So far I have actually been involved in quite a lot of exciting things there, Fabric sourcing, designing, trend spotting, decided themes and ideas for the spring/summer collection 2010/11. So It’s not like I am just doing the photocopying or anything, but saying that I have had to do some, but I don’t mind because I have been able to get involved with so much else.
The environment is quite relaxed, everyone pretty much wears what they want, so It’s quite comfortable and easy going.
I was quite shocked by the restrictions within the office though, and I’m sure if health and safety were to pay them an unexpected visit they would have something to say too.
The design team are literally bunched onto small desks, along with computers, folders and files, where they then have to design their collections on a tiny piece of table. They have boxes of fabrics and hundreds of theme boards floating about all over the place. You always have to move something to get to something else, which is pretty annoying, because where you moved something earlier is always where you want to get to later.
I think the designers have quite a hard job to do, they don’t just have to design the collections, they have to work with the buyers, consider the market level, consider the budget they have, whether another part of Arcadia is using the same theme, whether the print or art work has been seen before, organising sample meetings.
It seems really a strange situation with the samples, they take 4-8 weeks to get back to the office and they cost roughly about £300 to have done- which is strange because then the garment goes onto be sold at roughly £20 to £30.
So far I am enjoying It, I don’t particularly enjoy the travelling up there though, although most of the time I do get a seat on the tube, which is always a plus! I am excited to see what the next two weeks bring, hopefully it will be exciting and there will be more things that I can learn.
Monday, 29 March 2010
Easter - Work experience!
Easter break is here... but no time off
Ok, so I got my mark back for fashion concepts and new media the other day and I was holy surprised with a great 78%. I was so happy with this mark, but quite shocked by it at the same time. Even though some of the work I had produced for this module I felt was quite good, I just didn’t think that it matched up to the standard of what I can really do. But nonetheless I’m not going to complain.
We received our new brief for the project research practises on Friday, this is quite an important module, even though it’s only 10 credits, it leads on to the module next year which is extended research practises, so the better this one is, it should lead to something good next year.
I haven’t really thought much about the new project yet, I have just taken a couple of days to just chill out and get used to being back at home again, which for some reason feels strange, maybe because the house is immaculately clean and tidy, as we are hopefully moving house at some point soon.
Even though it’s Easter break, it’s never a break really is it, there is always some sort of work that needs to be done, and for some reason this time around there is a lot that I need to finish off... My Critical studies portfolio- not looking forward to that, more writing and severe brain ache! Also I need to make sure my business plan and business file are all up to date for Enterprise and Innovation as that is due in the Friday of the week that we get back. I also need to get cracking on my portfolio for my PPD2 interview, which is a bit further on, but I like to have things finished and prepared as soon as possible. Then on top of that is the new research for research practises, I haven’t really thought about the theme that I want to look into, I think it will be quite hard to start off with, but once I get an idea I think this module will give me a real chance to try out some new and innovative research methods and also try out some different layout and presentation ideas.
Tomorrow I start my work experience, I am excited but I always get so nervous whenever I am going into a situation where I don’t know anyone, where I am going or what I am supposed to be doing. So I think it will be good once I have got used to it, well I hope so. Travelling to London everyday is going to be a bit of a chore though, I am not really a fan of travelling at the best of times, so up and out early everyday isn’t really going to agree with me, but I will just have to get on with it.
I think this placement will give me a real insight into how the industry works, so am intrigued to see if what I think it is like, is what it’s really like. I am a little nervous though if it’s not what I expect it to be, I don’t want to be put off of fashion or my course by having a bad experience, but I am hoping that It will be enjoyable and will learn some valuable skills. I’ll let you know how I get on in a couple of days, I think it’s going to be either a love it or hate it response... let’s hope it’s love!
Ok, so I got my mark back for fashion concepts and new media the other day and I was holy surprised with a great 78%. I was so happy with this mark, but quite shocked by it at the same time. Even though some of the work I had produced for this module I felt was quite good, I just didn’t think that it matched up to the standard of what I can really do. But nonetheless I’m not going to complain.
We received our new brief for the project research practises on Friday, this is quite an important module, even though it’s only 10 credits, it leads on to the module next year which is extended research practises, so the better this one is, it should lead to something good next year.
I haven’t really thought much about the new project yet, I have just taken a couple of days to just chill out and get used to being back at home again, which for some reason feels strange, maybe because the house is immaculately clean and tidy, as we are hopefully moving house at some point soon.
Even though it’s Easter break, it’s never a break really is it, there is always some sort of work that needs to be done, and for some reason this time around there is a lot that I need to finish off... My Critical studies portfolio- not looking forward to that, more writing and severe brain ache! Also I need to make sure my business plan and business file are all up to date for Enterprise and Innovation as that is due in the Friday of the week that we get back. I also need to get cracking on my portfolio for my PPD2 interview, which is a bit further on, but I like to have things finished and prepared as soon as possible. Then on top of that is the new research for research practises, I haven’t really thought about the theme that I want to look into, I think it will be quite hard to start off with, but once I get an idea I think this module will give me a real chance to try out some new and innovative research methods and also try out some different layout and presentation ideas.
Tomorrow I start my work experience, I am excited but I always get so nervous whenever I am going into a situation where I don’t know anyone, where I am going or what I am supposed to be doing. So I think it will be good once I have got used to it, well I hope so. Travelling to London everyday is going to be a bit of a chore though, I am not really a fan of travelling at the best of times, so up and out early everyday isn’t really going to agree with me, but I will just have to get on with it.
I think this placement will give me a real insight into how the industry works, so am intrigued to see if what I think it is like, is what it’s really like. I am a little nervous though if it’s not what I expect it to be, I don’t want to be put off of fashion or my course by having a bad experience, but I am hoping that It will be enjoyable and will learn some valuable skills. I’ll let you know how I get on in a couple of days, I think it’s going to be either a love it or hate it response... let’s hope it’s love!
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Deadline approaching!
It’s nearly deadline time
So fashion concepts and new media is nearly over.... thank god! This wasn’t the most enjoyable project for me. I have got everything done, but I feel that it’s not the best work that I have done, or that I could have done, but I think stress and annoyance has made me just make do with what I have done this time, which is something that I never usually do. But I didn’t see the point in getting myself completely worked up over something, at the end of the day it’s just one project so I’m ok with that.
My video I think is probably the best part of the project, although at the end I think I may have slightly rushed it and became a bit messy just because I wanted to get it finished. After sitting at a Mac for 8 hours straight, I just wanted it to be done and out of the way.
I have put the techniques that I learnt in digital realisation into my video with the use of flash, and illustrator work, so in that instance I think it’s pretty good, and the images and video that I have got really link well with my concept, but I think I may have overdone it with the layering of videos, I think some stuff I should have just left plain, and it would have still had the same effect, but oh well there’s nothing that I can do about it now.
I have just a few more bits left to do for the project, just a few things t finish off and make sure they are decent enough to be handed in. The portfolio design package I have done, I’m not sure if its good or not. I have put all my final ideas in and used illustrator and Photoshop to do it, but I’m not sure if it looks professional enough. I’m thinking that I should have hand rendered some more of it, just so there was some variation and made the pages more visually interesting. I have put some small hand rendered pieces on, just to add excitement, but I think some of the main content could have been hand rendered as well. But I am feeling ok about what I have done so I’m just going to leave it as it is now.
The next thing to focus on is my critical studies essay, I spoke to my tutor about it the other day and he gave me some pointers of what I should do, he said what I had done so far was pretty good though. So that has given me a bit more confidence about it, as last year my essay wasn’t particularly great. Today I think I’m going to read through it and make some amendments and see if I can make it a bit better. So hopefully this time I will get a decent mark for it.
I also need to start doing some work for the portfolio pieces, but I think I am just going to work on that just before we leave for Easter and over the time off, But as I am doing my work experience at that time as well I think it’s going to be pretty tight on time. We also have our group business presentations to sort out, which are the first week back after Easter so that’s another thing that we need to do... and there was me looking forward to some time off. Oh well aye.
So fashion concepts and new media is nearly over.... thank god! This wasn’t the most enjoyable project for me. I have got everything done, but I feel that it’s not the best work that I have done, or that I could have done, but I think stress and annoyance has made me just make do with what I have done this time, which is something that I never usually do. But I didn’t see the point in getting myself completely worked up over something, at the end of the day it’s just one project so I’m ok with that.
My video I think is probably the best part of the project, although at the end I think I may have slightly rushed it and became a bit messy just because I wanted to get it finished. After sitting at a Mac for 8 hours straight, I just wanted it to be done and out of the way.
I have put the techniques that I learnt in digital realisation into my video with the use of flash, and illustrator work, so in that instance I think it’s pretty good, and the images and video that I have got really link well with my concept, but I think I may have overdone it with the layering of videos, I think some stuff I should have just left plain, and it would have still had the same effect, but oh well there’s nothing that I can do about it now.
I have just a few more bits left to do for the project, just a few things t finish off and make sure they are decent enough to be handed in. The portfolio design package I have done, I’m not sure if its good or not. I have put all my final ideas in and used illustrator and Photoshop to do it, but I’m not sure if it looks professional enough. I’m thinking that I should have hand rendered some more of it, just so there was some variation and made the pages more visually interesting. I have put some small hand rendered pieces on, just to add excitement, but I think some of the main content could have been hand rendered as well. But I am feeling ok about what I have done so I’m just going to leave it as it is now.
The next thing to focus on is my critical studies essay, I spoke to my tutor about it the other day and he gave me some pointers of what I should do, he said what I had done so far was pretty good though. So that has given me a bit more confidence about it, as last year my essay wasn’t particularly great. Today I think I’m going to read through it and make some amendments and see if I can make it a bit better. So hopefully this time I will get a decent mark for it.
I also need to start doing some work for the portfolio pieces, but I think I am just going to work on that just before we leave for Easter and over the time off, But as I am doing my work experience at that time as well I think it’s going to be pretty tight on time. We also have our group business presentations to sort out, which are the first week back after Easter so that’s another thing that we need to do... and there was me looking forward to some time off. Oh well aye.
Friday, 5 March 2010
what a project :S
Fashion concepts and new media is the project at the moment, well really were nearing the end of the project... and oh dear I’m really struggling with it. It’s so different to what I’m used to doing, and I don’t really know where I’m going with it, or how to my ideas from my head to paper without them looking completely rubbish.
At first it was quite difficult to come up with a concept, especially as we were using a piece that we had designed for another project which already had research and inspiration behind it, so coming up with something that is completely new but for an original product has been quite hard.
At first my concept was purely based on the shape and the fabric (see-through) but after some discussions about my range, there just wasn’t enough in it to make an impact and to link it into all of the other aspects such as marketing, the venue and the invitations.
My concept has now changed to manmade, protecting the natural. This gives me more scope, because I have my concept, then I have the theme of triangular and pyramid shapes to go along with it, so it now has more depth meaning I can expand it over more areas.
I have started work on my 2D design package, which is the ideas that we have chosen for our event, all together in one place, fully illustrated and professionally rendered. We haven’t seen any examples of what the portfolio could look like, so it’s hard to know if I’m going along the right lines with things. For some reason with this project, I feel that I don’t really want to discuss what I’ve done because I can’t face it all being wrong and having to do it again, with struggling with it so much already.
Today I have been focusing on designing my static exhibition stand. At first I was just going to do a perspective drawing on Illustrator, but after seeing some of the 3D models and how easily and effectively some of them are made I decided to do that. I started that at one this afternoon, and I think I can say that I am just about finished with it now. It just needs some paint and some tidying up then I just need to photograph it.
We had a video workshop yesterday and at first I was completely dreading it, the thought of video and Macs all in one day was a bit too much for me to even think about, but surprisingly it was easy to use and I felt that I got on with the programme quite well, and the demo video that I made actually turned out quite well.
I think that I am going to film some of the things for my final video on Monday, and then hopefully I will be able to create a decent video over Wednesday and Thursday.
This term has been such a busy time, with this module and our critical studies essays to be done, I’ve just found far too much, and has taken some of the fun out of uni. I have tried not to be doing work all night every night because I don’t think that it’s healthy , and I find that I just keep giving myself headaches getting so stressed out about things, so I’m just trying to chill out a bit more and try and keep things moving.
I don’t think that there is enough time to fit everything into this project, there is so much to do, and it’s so hard to do everything well in such a short space of time.
Hopefully I will have finished everything by the deadline next week.
At first it was quite difficult to come up with a concept, especially as we were using a piece that we had designed for another project which already had research and inspiration behind it, so coming up with something that is completely new but for an original product has been quite hard.
At first my concept was purely based on the shape and the fabric (see-through) but after some discussions about my range, there just wasn’t enough in it to make an impact and to link it into all of the other aspects such as marketing, the venue and the invitations.
My concept has now changed to manmade, protecting the natural. This gives me more scope, because I have my concept, then I have the theme of triangular and pyramid shapes to go along with it, so it now has more depth meaning I can expand it over more areas.
I have started work on my 2D design package, which is the ideas that we have chosen for our event, all together in one place, fully illustrated and professionally rendered. We haven’t seen any examples of what the portfolio could look like, so it’s hard to know if I’m going along the right lines with things. For some reason with this project, I feel that I don’t really want to discuss what I’ve done because I can’t face it all being wrong and having to do it again, with struggling with it so much already.
Today I have been focusing on designing my static exhibition stand. At first I was just going to do a perspective drawing on Illustrator, but after seeing some of the 3D models and how easily and effectively some of them are made I decided to do that. I started that at one this afternoon, and I think I can say that I am just about finished with it now. It just needs some paint and some tidying up then I just need to photograph it.
We had a video workshop yesterday and at first I was completely dreading it, the thought of video and Macs all in one day was a bit too much for me to even think about, but surprisingly it was easy to use and I felt that I got on with the programme quite well, and the demo video that I made actually turned out quite well.
I think that I am going to film some of the things for my final video on Monday, and then hopefully I will be able to create a decent video over Wednesday and Thursday.
This term has been such a busy time, with this module and our critical studies essays to be done, I’ve just found far too much, and has taken some of the fun out of uni. I have tried not to be doing work all night every night because I don’t think that it’s healthy , and I find that I just keep giving myself headaches getting so stressed out about things, so I’m just trying to chill out a bit more and try and keep things moving.
I don’t think that there is enough time to fit everything into this project, there is so much to do, and it’s so hard to do everything well in such a short space of time.
Hopefully I will have finished everything by the deadline next week.
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
The new project
Fashion concepts and new media
Today we were briefed on our new module. It’s a 20 credit module so you know that means there is going to be a lot of work.
This module is what Pathway A is all about, Promotion, promotion, promotion. It looks really interesting but quite daunting at the same time. It’s exploring a completely different area, one that I have never really delved into before, so this makes me feel quite nervous, but at the same time I really want to get stuck in and start creating something that’s really inventive and really sticks out in people’s minds.
We have to create a fashion show/performance and a display stand at London Fashion week, from a collection that we have developed from the outcome of our previous module; innovative cut.
I think it will be quite hard to create a range around my garment because it was so wacky and out there, but I will give it a go. I think what will be more challenging is targeting the right audience, because there is no specific features or styles that my garment holds, it’s hard to define who exactly would want to come and see my show. I’m hoping I will get more of an idea as we progress forward in the next few days.
I think after reading week, it’s going to be really hectic with uni work, We have this module, our critical studies essay to write and we will be finishing off Enterprise and Innovation, so that will be putting together our business plan and our presentation.
I am going to try get my essay done during reading week, as I find it really difficult to write by myself and I find that By discussing it with someone, it helps me to get my head around my own ideas... strange I know, but it helps.
I think I am just going to try finish off a few things with this project, and leave most of it until we come back after the week off, I would rather do that Knowing that my essay is done and isn’t hanging over me waiting to be finished.
I have also started my yearly dance competition again since last weekend, so that’s just another thing to add to the list of things going on. I always seem to get everything happening at once... typical.
Today we were briefed on our new module. It’s a 20 credit module so you know that means there is going to be a lot of work.
This module is what Pathway A is all about, Promotion, promotion, promotion. It looks really interesting but quite daunting at the same time. It’s exploring a completely different area, one that I have never really delved into before, so this makes me feel quite nervous, but at the same time I really want to get stuck in and start creating something that’s really inventive and really sticks out in people’s minds.
We have to create a fashion show/performance and a display stand at London Fashion week, from a collection that we have developed from the outcome of our previous module; innovative cut.
I think it will be quite hard to create a range around my garment because it was so wacky and out there, but I will give it a go. I think what will be more challenging is targeting the right audience, because there is no specific features or styles that my garment holds, it’s hard to define who exactly would want to come and see my show. I’m hoping I will get more of an idea as we progress forward in the next few days.
I think after reading week, it’s going to be really hectic with uni work, We have this module, our critical studies essay to write and we will be finishing off Enterprise and Innovation, so that will be putting together our business plan and our presentation.
I am going to try get my essay done during reading week, as I find it really difficult to write by myself and I find that By discussing it with someone, it helps me to get my head around my own ideas... strange I know, but it helps.
I think I am just going to try finish off a few things with this project, and leave most of it until we come back after the week off, I would rather do that Knowing that my essay is done and isn’t hanging over me waiting to be finished.
I have also started my yearly dance competition again since last weekend, so that’s just another thing to add to the list of things going on. I always seem to get everything happening at once... typical.
Monday, 1 February 2010
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Critical studies essay... I’ll pay you lots of money if you do it for me!
I’m really struggling with the critical studies essay, probably because I don’t really have an interest in what we have to write about. I hate researching for different books and philosophers and all that blah. It’s so tedious and I actually can’t bring myself to do it. I know I have to though and I really want to get at least a 2:1 for my essay this year, as last year my essay was my lowest mark! Not good! Well I’m thinking that I am going to try and write it over February reading week, that way I’ve got no distractions being at home and I can just get on with it.... well hopefully anyway!
illustrator is amazing
I love Illustrator
So now we are fully underway with design realisation... and I have found a new love for illustrator. I’ve only really used it for doing flat drawings before but this module has given me some many other uses for it... it’s brilliant.
I find that everything looks a lot more professional when using it, especially things like final line ups and digital illustrations. Everything has a much smoother and nicer effect, which is good.
I’m not really getting on that well with Flash though. Animation isn’t really the type of thing that I want to get into, and it’s a lot of time for very little result. I’ve tried a couple of animations, their not perfect but I think that they show that I can use the programme at a basic level. I would like to know more about it and what It can do but I don’t think that we will have the time to learn it, so there is only so much that you can do.
Today I’ve had a pretty lazy day, I should have gone to Uni really, but I was just in the mood to chill and do nothing, so I did.
One good thing that has come out of this week though, is I think my work experience is finally sorted. I got a call yesterday morning from Arcadia and they asked me if I wanted to do some work in the design department over the Easter break..... YESSSSSS!
So the lady said that she was going to write to me and confirm it, so fingers crossed everything will go smoothly.
So now we are fully underway with design realisation... and I have found a new love for illustrator. I’ve only really used it for doing flat drawings before but this module has given me some many other uses for it... it’s brilliant.
I find that everything looks a lot more professional when using it, especially things like final line ups and digital illustrations. Everything has a much smoother and nicer effect, which is good.
I’m not really getting on that well with Flash though. Animation isn’t really the type of thing that I want to get into, and it’s a lot of time for very little result. I’ve tried a couple of animations, their not perfect but I think that they show that I can use the programme at a basic level. I would like to know more about it and what It can do but I don’t think that we will have the time to learn it, so there is only so much that you can do.
Today I’ve had a pretty lazy day, I should have gone to Uni really, but I was just in the mood to chill and do nothing, so I did.
One good thing that has come out of this week though, is I think my work experience is finally sorted. I got a call yesterday morning from Arcadia and they asked me if I wanted to do some work in the design department over the Easter break..... YESSSSSS!
So the lady said that she was going to write to me and confirm it, so fingers crossed everything will go smoothly.
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Digital realisation techniques
Digital realisation – the new project
So the new project has started, it’s one of those projects where there is quite a lot of listening to do, before you can actually go and do something yourself. This is quite annoying because I like to be able to just get stuck in straight away, but as we are using computer software – some of which I haven’t used before I suppose it does help to listen.
The first workshop we had was Illustrator. I have used illustrator before to do flat drawings for the first project of this year – but not done much else with it. I knew the basics which helped and I have now gained a wider range of knowledge and understand what all the tools do. I have a guide for fashion illustrator book, so for some of my final outcomes for this project I am going to try and apply some of those techniques to my work. I think illustrator is defiantly a useful tool to have; it is used so much in fashion promotion and advertising these days that I believe that it is a necessary skill to become successful.
It is quite hard going from being in the fashion studios with a lot of space and being able to suit yourself with timings and stuff like that, going to sitting at a computer in a dark room all day. It makes my eyes hurt a lot of the time, I don’t like looking at things in the dark, I like the light on and I like it to be bright! So this is causing me some difficulty, and there isn’t much that can be done about it, it has to be dark to be able to see the projected screen. Booo. I don’t know if I will be able to cope with this for another 3 weeks!
The second workshop was on Dreamweaver – the web design programme. I always get a little bit anxious when I know nothing about something because I usually get confused and end up in a state and not knowing what I am doing. However I think this software was pretty easy to use. When the morning first started it was literally a hour and a half of explanations and being told the maths behind the design – not fun! And I thought that after that I really wasn’t going to enjoy the rest of the day, but as we started to create our own websites and pages it became a lot more interesting. For one of the outcomes for our final project we have to create our own website about ourselves and our work. I am really excited to do this, I’ve always wanted to know how to and create my own website so now I will have the chance.
I have started on some of the design for the website :
• Colour scheme
• Header
• Banner
• What content I want in it
I am having trouble deciding on what looks best though, I have designed a few different ideas and I am really struggling to choose. I have to think about my audience and what would look good to them not just what I like and what looks good to me.
So the new project has started, it’s one of those projects where there is quite a lot of listening to do, before you can actually go and do something yourself. This is quite annoying because I like to be able to just get stuck in straight away, but as we are using computer software – some of which I haven’t used before I suppose it does help to listen.
The first workshop we had was Illustrator. I have used illustrator before to do flat drawings for the first project of this year – but not done much else with it. I knew the basics which helped and I have now gained a wider range of knowledge and understand what all the tools do. I have a guide for fashion illustrator book, so for some of my final outcomes for this project I am going to try and apply some of those techniques to my work. I think illustrator is defiantly a useful tool to have; it is used so much in fashion promotion and advertising these days that I believe that it is a necessary skill to become successful.
It is quite hard going from being in the fashion studios with a lot of space and being able to suit yourself with timings and stuff like that, going to sitting at a computer in a dark room all day. It makes my eyes hurt a lot of the time, I don’t like looking at things in the dark, I like the light on and I like it to be bright! So this is causing me some difficulty, and there isn’t much that can be done about it, it has to be dark to be able to see the projected screen. Booo. I don’t know if I will be able to cope with this for another 3 weeks!
The second workshop was on Dreamweaver – the web design programme. I always get a little bit anxious when I know nothing about something because I usually get confused and end up in a state and not knowing what I am doing. However I think this software was pretty easy to use. When the morning first started it was literally a hour and a half of explanations and being told the maths behind the design – not fun! And I thought that after that I really wasn’t going to enjoy the rest of the day, but as we started to create our own websites and pages it became a lot more interesting. For one of the outcomes for our final project we have to create our own website about ourselves and our work. I am really excited to do this, I’ve always wanted to know how to and create my own website so now I will have the chance.
I have started on some of the design for the website :
• Colour scheme
• Header
• Banner
• What content I want in it
I am having trouble deciding on what looks best though, I have designed a few different ideas and I am really struggling to choose. I have to think about my audience and what would look good to them not just what I like and what looks good to me.
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Work placement and portfolio
PPD
We had our first PPD session today, which was a bit pointless to be honest. It was basically just like a tutorial, that we could have had a scheduled time for, but oh well. I have been searching for a work placement for quite a while now, I keep getting responses, but I can’t seem to finalise anything, which is getting on my nerves quite a bit now. I really don’t want to end up not getting a work placement as it will make it a lot harder for me when I actually finish my degree to find a job after without experience.
I applied for a few more places today, and I think that I am just going to have to every week find a few different places to apply for and hopefully something will get sorted soon.
I have now also started some work on my portfolio, I made a list of all the pieces of work that I felt were worthy of being in my portfolio and best showed off my different skills.
I need to complete some more illustrations as the ones I have done this year I have not particularly liked and I think that it is important to have a range of different skills and techniques on display.
My last project was in a sketch book, so I have had to take photos of some of the pages, and edit them using Photoshop. I will then print them onto nice paper for my portfolio.
We had our first PPD session today, which was a bit pointless to be honest. It was basically just like a tutorial, that we could have had a scheduled time for, but oh well. I have been searching for a work placement for quite a while now, I keep getting responses, but I can’t seem to finalise anything, which is getting on my nerves quite a bit now. I really don’t want to end up not getting a work placement as it will make it a lot harder for me when I actually finish my degree to find a job after without experience.
I applied for a few more places today, and I think that I am just going to have to every week find a few different places to apply for and hopefully something will get sorted soon.
I have now also started some work on my portfolio, I made a list of all the pieces of work that I felt were worthy of being in my portfolio and best showed off my different skills.
I need to complete some more illustrations as the ones I have done this year I have not particularly liked and I think that it is important to have a range of different skills and techniques on display.
My last project was in a sketch book, so I have had to take photos of some of the pages, and edit them using Photoshop. I will then print them onto nice paper for my portfolio.
oh hello 2000 word essay!
Critical studies
We have now finished our lecture programme, so it is just seminar sessions from now on. We have now got all the topics and knowledge that we need for our essay and portfolio tasks. In our sessions we are just going to be building on what we have learnt and start to formulate them into coherent ideas and arguments and possible questions that we can use for out essay and maybe in the future for our dissertations.
I have had two main ideas so far, but nothing specific or in the form of questions.
The topics that I want to cover will either be; Identity and ideology, or fashion and sustainability. I am going to do some research next week into books, journals, essays and visuals that I could use to support both.
I am going to try and get an idea as soon as possible because it takes me a long time to formulate my ideas properly and actually manage to write things up and into correct grammar and English. I will also have to look up the Harvard referencing system again, and make sure I get that correct when I first start my essay because it makes it quite difficult trying to add the referencing in afterwards.
We have now finished our lecture programme, so it is just seminar sessions from now on. We have now got all the topics and knowledge that we need for our essay and portfolio tasks. In our sessions we are just going to be building on what we have learnt and start to formulate them into coherent ideas and arguments and possible questions that we can use for out essay and maybe in the future for our dissertations.
I have had two main ideas so far, but nothing specific or in the form of questions.
The topics that I want to cover will either be; Identity and ideology, or fashion and sustainability. I am going to do some research next week into books, journals, essays and visuals that I could use to support both.
I am going to try and get an idea as soon as possible because it takes me a long time to formulate my ideas properly and actually manage to write things up and into correct grammar and English. I will also have to look up the Harvard referencing system again, and make sure I get that correct when I first start my essay because it makes it quite difficult trying to add the referencing in afterwards.
Uni on a monday morning...
Back to uni we go... still so much snow!
The first day back to uni, and 7 o’clock was not a good sight on the clock. I haven’t been up that early in such a long time... and it was painful. The only saving grace was that it was only a morning lecture so it wasn’t like I had to concentrate all day.
There is still so much snow around as well so it makes travelling and getting anywhere really difficult. More people are getting on the buses, so it takes longer and their so packed, its probably just as easy to walk.
The first business lecture back and just when I think I am on top of things, they just set more. I feel that the next two terms will actually be more stressful than the first because we have deadlines for more than one project within the term. This lecture wasn’t particularly thrilling and I don’t think that the next few are going to be that exciting either – tax, legal status and finance – not the most exciting things to talk about.
I got my results back for the innovative cut project. I got 78% which is my best mark so far this year. I am really pleased with it and I felt that I had understood what I had done to achieve this mark. This has now put me on an average of 72% over the three projects that we have completed.
The first day back to uni, and 7 o’clock was not a good sight on the clock. I haven’t been up that early in such a long time... and it was painful. The only saving grace was that it was only a morning lecture so it wasn’t like I had to concentrate all day.
There is still so much snow around as well so it makes travelling and getting anywhere really difficult. More people are getting on the buses, so it takes longer and their so packed, its probably just as easy to walk.
The first business lecture back and just when I think I am on top of things, they just set more. I feel that the next two terms will actually be more stressful than the first because we have deadlines for more than one project within the term. This lecture wasn’t particularly thrilling and I don’t think that the next few are going to be that exciting either – tax, legal status and finance – not the most exciting things to talk about.
I got my results back for the innovative cut project. I got 78% which is my best mark so far this year. I am really pleased with it and I felt that I had understood what I had done to achieve this mark. This has now put me on an average of 72% over the three projects that we have completed.
Monday, 4 January 2010
Christmas... Hohoho
Christmas time.
Christmas is over, and it has been a nice change this year. I went away from the city and into the countryside down in Devon. I have to admit though it didn’t really feel like the usual Christmas, or Christmas at all for that matter. However it has been nice to get away and actually have a few days of doing nothing, and just having some time to chill out.
It’s now about a week until Uni starts again, and I need to get cracking on with things. I have done bits and bobs of work, but just have a few more things that I need to do.
I need to start looking for some more work placements, I have been really struggling to find one at the moment, and I am running out of ideas of who to contact. Smaller companies offer placements but they are usually a lot closer to the time that what I am looking for so it has been quite difficult. I am going to spend the whole day tomorrow just searching and applying for everything that I can find.
I have been working on my crit studies work as well, trying to think if ideas and themes that I can use for my essay and then ultimately for my dissertation. I have been working on some of the portfolio tasks this week, and getting my folder started properly. I just need to finish typing up the lecture and seminar notes and presenting them.
I am looking forward to going back up to Leeds, but then whenever I come back from Christmas I feel really lazy and lifeless and I miss home and family and friends more than usual. I do have the dancing competition coming up in February though, so I’ll be able to come back home a bit more often.
I’m looking forward to the next project when we get back, and at least it’s only a ten credit module so it won’t be really really stressful. I think that I will learn a lot of CAD skills in this project to, which is only beneficial for the future and for skills for my CV.
We have some taught sessions for our PPD starting this term so hopefully I will be able to secure a placement this way if I can’t do it myself.
Christmas is over, and it has been a nice change this year. I went away from the city and into the countryside down in Devon. I have to admit though it didn’t really feel like the usual Christmas, or Christmas at all for that matter. However it has been nice to get away and actually have a few days of doing nothing, and just having some time to chill out.
It’s now about a week until Uni starts again, and I need to get cracking on with things. I have done bits and bobs of work, but just have a few more things that I need to do.
I need to start looking for some more work placements, I have been really struggling to find one at the moment, and I am running out of ideas of who to contact. Smaller companies offer placements but they are usually a lot closer to the time that what I am looking for so it has been quite difficult. I am going to spend the whole day tomorrow just searching and applying for everything that I can find.
I have been working on my crit studies work as well, trying to think if ideas and themes that I can use for my essay and then ultimately for my dissertation. I have been working on some of the portfolio tasks this week, and getting my folder started properly. I just need to finish typing up the lecture and seminar notes and presenting them.
I am looking forward to going back up to Leeds, but then whenever I come back from Christmas I feel really lazy and lifeless and I miss home and family and friends more than usual. I do have the dancing competition coming up in February though, so I’ll be able to come back home a bit more often.
I’m looking forward to the next project when we get back, and at least it’s only a ten credit module so it won’t be really really stressful. I think that I will learn a lot of CAD skills in this project to, which is only beneficial for the future and for skills for my CV.
We have some taught sessions for our PPD starting this term so hopefully I will be able to secure a placement this way if I can’t do it myself.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)