New Digital Designs...

I have started to build up a collection of more commercial digital designs, to strengthen my portfolio. I am most comfortable drawing by hand and then scanning these into Photoshop, then editing and creating compositions or repeats, but I have started to find other ways to design by using my IPad to draw onto, or just scanning in ink textures or shapes then adding colour with brushes on Photoshop, this allows me to create a wider range of designs.

This is a part of a design I did today, using sketches of flowers and adding the colours on Photoshop.

Fashion Embroidery & Stitch show in March 2012!

I received such a good phone call yesterday!!! It was about Madeira, having received my sponsorship report from my final major project they have asked me to exhibit with them in March, I couldn't believe it!! I obviously said yes so I will now have my own space in the Fashion Embroidery & Stitch Show which is in Birmingham from Tuesday 22nd - Sunday 25th March.
It is just what I needed, it will definitely motivate me to update my portfolio, although over Christmas I have been working on producing more commercial designs for my portfolio and I have around 30 digital designs using techniques and processes that I picked up from my placements, focusing on repeats for fashion fabrics. I now want to get some of these printed on to fabric so I can add embroidery and embellishment to them!

I spent ages on my report, describing my process from concept to finish and evaluating each of my final pieces, with materials and processes I used. After I had my report bound, I printed the front cover onto fabric and sewed into and added embellishments.

I really loved my 3 weeks at the Amanda Kelly studio, I felt like I really learnt a lot from my time there and it really inspired me to work on and update my portfolio, although I have not had the time yet! I was really amazed by the embroideries there and saw techniques I had never thought of using!




I was set a little project of drawing sketchy flowers ( I took photos of them below) inspired from the catwalk. I then got to see these put  into a final design which was really interesting.

I was really happy with these drawings as I have never tried to draw flowers in such a stylized way before and I would like to experiment with more styled drawings. Being able to see the stages of the design process and even some of the simplest textures being made in to really gorgeous prints has opened my eyes up to designing differently and really making the most out of any mark making and  that strengthening my Photoshop skills would be really important!

New Home!

I have been so busy since leaving Uni, from New Designers to moving all the way to London!


New Designers went really well and I enjoyed exhibiting and the opportunity to talk to others from the industry, it was also really nice to spend a week with my friends. About 4 weeks after the exhibition I was contacted by one of the companies that viewed my portfolio, which resulted in me driving to Leicester and I was given a brief which I posted off yesterday! It was designing embellishment, editing photographs and also combining the two together to create t-shirt designs for Next, one of the brands that the company supplies too. So I look forward to getting some feedback soon and seeing where this leads me.

This is my first blog post from my new home in London! We had such a nightmare trying to find somewhere to stay, some of the places we looked at were disgusting and we both doubted that we were going to find somewhere nice! After finally finding a flat we both loved and the landlord saying no to us because we were not working in a bank or anything (even after offering FULL years rent upfront!!!) our lovely estate agent hunted the most amazing flat in Bow! It is a first floor flat with 2 bathrooms, 2 double rooms and a balcony! I have been here 2 weeks today and I'm feeling really settled in.

 My first placement starts tomorrow at Amanda Kelly, so I am really excited for the next 3 weeks!! - but not so much taking my portfolio on the tube!!