Team Weave

So, it had taken 24 hours make the warps, and then a further 18 hoursto get them on to the loom, which could not have been possible without the help of the weave girls and of course, Erica, the best technician you could every ask for.

With the warp being 30 inches in total (3 warps of 10) I really needed them to help me wind it on! I wanted to post these photographs to show how much you should appreciate your peers and how much you need them in testing times at the loom!

Many thanks to them all! x

Duchamp

http://www.duchamplondon.com/marcs_blog/

Worth a Look!!

I came across this blog just now while on the Duchamp website researching ties for my project. Not only are the ties beautiful but this is a great blog which I wanted to share with you all, one of the designers from the suiting brand 'Duchamp', and it has alot of posts about the inspiration behind the designs which is really interesting and inspiring in terms of going about my own design work. I will be looking at this alot after discovering it today! The presentation of it is very slick too and in keeping with the Duchamp brand and website.

Enjoy!

'Ties'

'Ties'

So, after being inspired by Gresham Blake, I have folded some of my initial samples in to mock-up tie shapes and attempted pocket squares...

I like them displayed in a fan and this was a good thing to do early on as it gets me thinking about presentation for the final show. A brightly coloured tie could add a really contemporary, quirky twist to a traditional style of suit! I would also like to try mocking up some more feminine ideas for neck-scarves and ladieswear fashion accessories too.

Gresham Blake

Gresham Blake Brighton

While walking the lanes of Brighton I came across this beautiful bespoke suiting shop, 'Gresham Blake'. The bright colours of the ties and the quirky designs instantly caught my attention, particularly as all the colours and designs are aimed at men.

At the start of my project I immediately associated my thoughts for using brighter colours with womenswear, however, visiting Gresham Blake has opened my mind up to more opportunities and ideas for aiming my fabrics at menswear too. The ties are handmade and woven in silk which immediately interested me further as the fabrics that I have just produced are all 100% silk, hand dyed and hand woven. Visiting Gresham Blake has become extremely inspirational for my current project and I would really like to aim my final designs at small fashion accessories for both men and women such as ties, pocket squares, neck scarves and linings.

My initial idea was to develop a fabric that could be used for both fashion and interiors, however, my initial warp and Gresham Blake has really heightened my interest for fashion and the fabrics so far are much more suitable for fashion and I feel will be much more appreciated through fashion. However, I want to include interiors somehow as I have such a passion for them, so they will remain incorporated as inspiration for my fabrics through colour, scale and proportional qualities.

I particularly like the presentation of the fabrics and ties in the last photograph and I would like to use this as inspiration for presentation in my final show statement.

More information on Gresham Blake can be found on: www.greshamblake.com and www.gbties.com

Bold and Bursting

Bold and Bursting with Colour

2 weeks later and I went to Brighton again this weekend, I really love visiting Brighton as it has a young, relaxed, fun vibe about it and is full of colour! These graffiti scenes were really striking and added so much colour and character to a small side road. The three dimensional visual qualities that they portray and also how they work withthe shapes and angles of the buildings gives the graffiti a perhaps more sophisticated approach in its appeal.