I have decided to move my blog over to my website in order to keep my online presence a little more tidier (the obsessive compulsive designer in me...)

A few weeks ago I was invited to come back to the Manchester School of Art to present my portfolio to the current third year students, and talk to them about my experiences after University.

It was a great experience for them as they were able to see a "finished" portfolio (I say finished, it feels very unfinished to me!) and what the expectations within industry are. I also took this opportunity to be quite frank with them about the ups & downs after university. Of course I had a lot of great stuff to tell them, but myself and my course mates were very unprepared for the huge anti-climax you can feel when you have finished, and suddenly have no job. This can be extremely disheartening, and you must have a back bone & persistence in order to take on the fact that you will receive many rejections within this incredibly competitive industry.

It was also a great day for me as I ended up giving some one to one tutorials, which I was surprisingly good at! It made me realise how much I have grown in confidence and how much I as a designer have developed.. It's incredible how much I have learnt in the months (6 to date) that I have been at Romo.. My style and skills have gone to another level and I am producing a much broader range of designs.. I am no longer scared of Geometrics, which is HUGE for me! 

One of the things I heard when I was at university was how disappointed some of the students were that I wasn't posting onto my blog so much anymore.. which I am very aware of and I am going to try and make a conscious effort to change it, starting today. So here is a little sneak peek of something I have only just started today... all being well, it will become a design of Tulips for a silk scarf. I am currently working on some designs (which you will have already seen the original designs of on here and my website, applied to an interiors context) which I am translating into scarf designs.. 

Whilst going through designs & hundreds of photographs (This really is no exaggeration! My external hard drive is a bible of floral photography), I have found some lovely photos I took against a concrete wall last April.. 

What you wouldn't believe about these two pictures, is that the Rose and Peony were in fact stuck to a 2L bottle! I did this so that I could create a sense of the flowers being weightless. With a little bit of magic I  managed to edit the bottle out, without disrupting the sense of depth between the flowers and the concrete.

It's been a while since I updated my blog, so I thought it would be nice to reflect on my 2013 and update you on how this year is ending for me and where it is leading to in 2014.

A regular lunchtime sight during the final weeks before the deadline. Eating, standing, working.

I can't believe how much can change in a year and this has been the biggest one of my life to date (I hope and imagine there will be even bigger years!). This time last year I was banging my head on the kitchen table, attempting to write my dissertation.. So much has happened since!!!

Even in my third year, I still made some incredible friends on the course (and surrounding courses) at MMU, who I'd never been close to in the previous years. I think without them, and they know who they are, my time during final year would have been much different. At times I am my own worst enemy (and my course mates were often the same), with an extremely self critical eye. As a group of friends, we were able to identify when one of us were emotionally punishing ourselves for the tiniest imperfection in a design, or where we clearly weren't seeing how incredible something was because we had become too close to it.. We would help each other out by taking the other away for a 5 minute coffee break, re-gathering our thoughts and going back into the studio to try again. Sometimes a light smack in the face was a little more beneficial, and I'm pretty sure this did happen on occasion!

Liz & I not taking life so seriously for 15minutes..

My advice to anyone in their final year now, do make sure you're not alone when the pressure is on. I used to be awful for hiding myself away, thinking I was better working alone. I really have learnt how important it is to take a step back, re-evaluate, and not be too proud to ask for advice or help from a friend, and more importantly, to not take criticism personally. The final 8 weeks of University were definitely a test of character and discipline! My determination has always been there, but it went to a completely new level, I'd even consider the word obsessed! It's not necessarily a bad thing, but I think sometimes you need to know when to stop. 

Graduation

At New Designers I made contact with some great studios and have been approached by companies since then, such as Designers Guild. Next and Oliver Bonas. I spent time designing on a placement at Designers Guild in London during August, which was a great experience and I learnt so much.  Since then I have also been offered a job in Mumbai, however I turned it down as I didn't feel the job role was going to make the most of my design skills. I also felt confident that there were still opportunities for me in the UK. It was a risk worth taking, as a week later I found myself being interviewed by the Design Director and Print Design Manager of the prestigious textiles company Romo. I've been working in the design studio of Romo almost three months I think and I am absolutely loving it. I am learning so much about the industry and also about myself as a designer. It is forcing me to design in ways I wouldn't normally, which is really strengthening my skill set and knowledge. 

A quote I had highlighted and stuck on my bedroom wall in Manchester I think what I've learnt this year, is if you want something enough, you'll make it happen no matter how hard it is. If these things were easy, everyone would be doing it and that's what sets people apart in any industry. My contract at Romo is only until the summer, and come then who knows what will happen and where I may be..? My future is still very uncertain, which is a little unsettling at times but very exciting all the same, and I know that I am definitely on the right track!

Thank you to everyone who has put up with my endless tantrums and laughed and celebrated with me through the best bits! Couldn't be much happier :) 

Romo Black & Jessica Zoob

For 9 months, I will be working in the design studio of Romo! It seems to be a really great time to start, as I am seeing the finishing touches happen to the next collection before production is complete.

My favourite of the lot is the collaboration with Jessica Zoob for the Romo Black collection. Zoob's use of colour is absolutely incredible, and I love how abstract her work is with textural qualities & a sense of speed and movement. The designers at Romo have recreated her pieces of art into designs for wallcovering, furnishings and cushions.. They're so yummy & I can't wait to get my hands on them!

Over the last few years, I have come away from the Sotheby's sculpture exhibition feeling a little disappointed.. previous years (and I'm going back by about 3 or 4 years) were incredible.. The sculptures that instantly come to mind include the 33 foot naked pregnant woman, a provocative sculpture which, on one side of the body, shows the anatomy of the female form and the unborn child inside. Another favorite was Marc Quinn's larger than life sculpture of Kate Moss in a yoga position.

However I'd say the 2012 and 2011 shows did very little for me... though this year it seems to have made a bit of a comeback! 

One of my favorite sculptors, Marc Quinn, designed this beautiful piece named Spiral of the Galaxy. Perched at the end of the canal pond, it is one of the most stunning sculptures Chatsworth has received in the Sotheby's auction. This timeless piece represents a sea shell so perfectly with its highly polished areas effortlessly developing into rougher, matte areas with the detailing of ridges on a real shell.

Ivy by Manolo Valdés deserves a mention.. Like Quinn, Valdés has been a regular artist to have work shown in the Sotheby's exhibition at Chatsworth... This piece is best appreciated on a bright sunny day, when the light can reflect off the metal work. The location of Ivy is perfect, as the strong lines in the fan-like pieces have a lightness and a movement to them which juxtaposes the unmoving horizontals of the cascade steps and the roof of the Cascade House.

Sitting on History I by Bill Woodrow

This is one of those pieces of art where I just think, "I wish I'd thought of that". It is a beautifully simple concept and has been executed so brilliantly. There is a charm about this sculpture which I just adore, I really hope Chatsworth buy it! It is one of the smallest sculptures in the exhibition; it doesn't scream for attention like some of the others, but that makes me love it even more.

Marianna by Jaume Plensa

Sorry I've been so rubbish lately.. I honestly don't know whether I am coming or going at the moment which makes it very hard to sit back down and do some designing again. Graduating from University has been odd.. I went to New Designers and got a lot of interest and had some great feedback.. Potentially some future prospects, but it all seems like such a waiting game. Between then and now I have also interned at Designers Guild, which I absolutely loved and would give my left arm to be given the opportunity to work there.

In the mean time, I potentially have something exciting lined up, but the meeting is yet to take place (again.. the waiting game). So I have decided to throw caution to the wind and invest my savings into having some of my designs digitally printed onto silks, and sell them to boutiques around the country. When I was interviewed by the panel at Texprint, they strongly encouraged that I approach Liberty with them. So I will! Nothing like a bit of ambition!