Stressed out

Everything has been a bit of stress lately, with the deadline for the communication package for my FMP just gone, I don’t feel like I have had any time to sit back and think and reflect on things.

I am pleased now that there is only about 1 month left until everything is handed in, but thinking about thewhat I am going to do after uni is getting more serious. I have been browsing around in jobs and internships so hopefully I will be able to find something.

All of my communication package is complete now, so I just have my portfolio to do now. I’ve got a few weeks to do this so it will give me some time to really work on it and make it something really special.

Vintage car photoshoot

Photography/styling: Jeni Sargeant

Make-up: Katie Starr

Models: Lucy Dimech, Chantelle Tungatt

Gold Antique Photoshoot

Photography: Adam Fussell Model: Daisy Shayler-Webb Makeup/Hair: Jeni Sargeant

Photoshoot

This week has gone so quickly and I haven’t completed anything on my list for the week which is not good. I now feel a bit behind and I am going to have to re work my plan to get some of these things finished.

I have started working on my model space, which I think I have got just right in my mind, but I hope it will come across in my diagrams and within my model. I think the space is a big part of the project as it gives the feel of what my collection is all about. The merge of an exhibition and a shop space has been really interesting to work with. I have split my space into three sections, with the themes of each room running together.

I did another photoshoot this week, with photographer Adam Fussell. I wanted to have two contrasting sets of photos, this set of photos is more concept based and they were in the studio. The model is meant to be antique and statue like which I think has worked, but I think it may have needed a bit more paint and makeup for it to really stand out. I think these type of images will look good for my exhibition brochure and for a magazine layout.

I’ve had a nice weekend, just chilled out and enjoyed the nice weather, I think the relax has made me a bit more focused and I feel more ready to get everything done this week.

Weekend off

This week I feel I have made a bit of progress, I’ve got my look book together now and I have some of my photos edited, which is good. I’m doing another photoshoot on Friday to show the concept behind my gloves, also it gives me two sets of images to use which gives the brand a bit more variety. I need to start get some final things printed off and made up, I’ve done bits of everything but need to get some things finished. This weekend I took some time off, Relaxed saw my mum and went shopping. I think I needed the break as I feel more focused now.

More photos

Ive been editing the photos from my shoot, Here are few that I've finished. I really like them and think they work well with my theme.

Models: Lucy Dimech, Chantelle Tungatt

Make-up and styling : Katie Starr

My photoshoot

Time is going by...

This week has flown by so fast and I really feel that I have achieved nothing. I feel really stressed out, I know what I have to do, but I am doing it and it’s just not turning out how I want it to. I feel quite down as well, I really want uni to be finished now, I am fed up with all of the stress and the constant worry and work. I feel that things are always on my mind and that I can’t stop worrying about them or put them to the side for even a little while. The fashion show seems to be starting to get some things clarified now, we have the contract through from the venue so hopefully things will start to take some shape soon.
I feel like I really need a break from things at the moment, but there isn’t any time for a break, so I’m just going to have to keep going and just hope that everything works itself out.

Fashion show stress!

Fashion Show
So we are at a point now where everything needs to be pretty much sorted for the fashion show. It’s been really stressful, probably more so than doing my actual project work. Me and Katherine are course reps so we put in charge of managing everyone and everything. We have been collecting and recording the money, sorting out the contracts and the meetings, and seeing over everything.
Its been really hard trying to take into account everyone’s ideas but also making sure that everyone helps out and is putting in the same amount of time.
We have had some issues with the venue, in the first instance we were finding hard to find any sort of venue, but in the end we found one called Alea, and that capacity was still quite small but it was bigger than all the others we had found and they were also offering us the venue for free, so it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Unfortunately we were then made aware that the capacity numbers were actually a lot smaller than first anticipated, so it caused a lot of problems and a lot of stress. We have a meeting with the venue tomorrow to finalise thing and we have decided that we are going have two shows.
It can be quite difficult sometimes, as we are giving information by college and when the group ask if they can do this or can do that, I will tell them what has been said and they see it as me or Katherine making that decision when actually it has been set by college so sometimes we can end up in quite awkward and uncomfortable situations.
I am hoping that the meeting tomorrow can sort some things out.

final major project

I am now fully underway in the final major project. The deadline for the products is tomorrow and unfortunately mine are not completely finished. I have made 6 pairs of gloves, all of the outside shells of the gloves are finished it is just the linings that need to be completed. Where I was hand sewing the gloves it took me a lot longer to get them done, but I am pleased with how they are looking now.
The gloves have a vintage antique theme, with the element of hand craft and each glove being different and unique. The gloves could be art display pieces or could be worn as part of a directional styled outfit for magazine shoots or period featured photos.
I am going to try and keep the theme of handcraft going through the whole of the project. I am thinking of having hand-made wooden boxes with ornate hinges and clips to match the antique theme and then have the brand identity engraved into the top of the box.
I have an embroidery design on each of the gloves that have messages within the design that are also decorated around with coloured flowers. These designs are done by the embroidery machine, but each glove has a hand embroidered heart somewhere on the glove as kind of a signature to know that the glove is from my brand. I would like to incorporate the embroidery somewhere else into the brand identity, maybe on the business cards or on some type of stationary, this is something that I will need to develop on.
I am looking forward to giving in the gloves tomorrow so I can start to focus on the brand identity and really get things moving.
I will still have the gloves to finish but I am hoping that the linings and the small last bits of embellishment won’t take much longer.

Dissertation

My dissertation has now been given in, I felt with the dissertation that I had got to a certain point a couple of weeks before the deadline where I felt I had done all that I could do on it and didn’t really see where else I could take it. I found it quite hard when my tutor would say, use all the time you have rewrite and redo things, after a while I just thought I know this is all I can manage now, I had got past the point of wanting to do anymore and felt that it would actually make a difference if I changed it. I did end up giving in my dissertation a few days early, I was going off to Paris for a few days when we were supposed to be giving it in, so it did give me an excuse to get rid of it!
I think overall that it was a pretty good write and I feel that I have developed more of a style within academic writing, it’s just not something that I enjoyed doing, but I did find out some interesting things and things that may inform my work or ideas within the future; such as considering different aspects of sustainability within design and production and ethical marketing and branding, So i did gain something from it.

Exhibition Book

The work that I have done for this project edited down for an exhibition book. this is very basic and something I will want to develop for Final major Project.

Business cards

Sorry I have been neglecting you!

I have been so busy for the last few months I haven’t really had a chance to update! I need to go back a little while and tell you what has been going on;
Well Extended research practises turned out to be one of the hardest and most stressful things I think I have ever done! For the last two weeks before the deadline I was really ill with flu and a chest infection, So that just added to the pressure. I have never been one to feel like I wasn’t going to finish things on time, but a few days before the deadline I still had so much to do.
At the end of the project I think that everything finally came together and had a really strong brand identity. The theme ran through everything and I think that is what made it feel like it was a whole package rather than just a swing tag or a business card, you could tell what the brand was and I felt that it was really unique and in the end I really liked everything that I had done in the project.
After finishing the project I actually felt so relieved, and I really felt that I had done everything that I could and that I had completed things to the best of my ability. I was a little worried about what mark I would get for the project as it had been said that quite a lot of people usually fall behind their usual standard in the first part of the third year, which Is why I was so shocked and pleased with my mark. I got 90% which is the highest I have ever achieved, I was so pleased and was quite shocked.
I think this mark has put me in a good position for achieving a really good mark overall for my degree. So I am hopeful that I will get what I want!