Wasteful Generation

As much as I try to justify my need for consumption. Deep down I know something is wrong. When you spend a whole day on Ebay trying to sell over 50 unwanted goods that still have labels on or have only been worn once it becomes clear that you are addicted to retail therapy and consumption.

For me this is a thing that has gone on for years. I buy things and never wear them. I'll take tags off to cover this fact up to make me feel less guilty. Why do I buy things that I don't ever wear? Probably because it feels good at the moment to know I can. It feels a gap in my world. Often I have been giving money by people to treat myself to some retail therapy, but what I now realise is this is their way of making themselves feel better by knowing they have done something for me, but this means nothing, it is empty!!!!! YOU CAN'T BUY LOVE!

This is a wasteful way of living and sums up the throw away fashion society that we live in. More than a million tonnes of textiles end up in landfill each year. This is a shocking fact and this is why I am trying to change my buying habits and recycle my unwanted goods to a new home where they will be loved and cherished.

Interior Realisations

Industrial Interior Predictions.

Industrial Unit Hand-in

It feels great looking back at my work and feeling I had done everything to my best ability. This is the only project I can honestly say that I have handed in a felt that it was finished. I had explored everything to the max and had fun with the processes used to create my designs. I discovered my strengths and managed to develop these skills throughout. I feel I have developed my decision making skills. Therefore making me more focused for professional industry work.

What I think was most successful in this unit was my ability to make decisions. I have learnt from previous units that you have to be focused to get a well developed selection of work. I was able to put aside things I liked if I felt it was not in keeping with the path I was going down. Making these decisions well will make you a successful designer and will prolong ones time in the textile industry.

London Sky line sample

This was a development idea for my industrial unit. It was a three dimensional design for an interior outcome. I liked the idea of having it as a wall hanging on different scales. It was my own representation of the London sky line. I think the black and white colour palette make for a strong visual impact. Each individual paper has been smocked and then rolled to created depth and structure.

Development ideas from Industrial sketchbook

These are selected pages from my sketchbook showing my ideas for my Industrial project. They show my development stages that lead to print ideas and pleating styles. It was clear to see through out my project work that I had a clear, clean simple colour palette similar to that of the constructivism art movement. It was this realisation that became my main focus of inspiration and lead to a strong body of work for an interior outcome.

Industrial Design

Industrial Design Photoshop

Here are a few examples of my Photoshop from my last project based on Industrial design. The whole project was a success and this was because of my strong starting points in Photoshop. I managed to discover my strengths in digital design and I think I have found my CAD design style. Which is bold, clean, straight lines in Black and White. The idea of doing my designs in Black and White first came about because I wanted to have images to transfer to screen printing, but now it is the way I like to work. I think it is important to find what works for you and stick with it, by doing this you should improve greatly and thrive within your desired industry.

Deepa Panchamia

Panchamia's work is a huge inspiration to me. She is a textile designer who creates sculptures, installations and architectural formations that explore the intertwining concepts of SCALE and SPACE, STRUCTURE and SURFACE.

Lately I have been exploring manipulation techniques through the pleating method. After seeing Panchamia's work I felt moved to create a large scale pleated wallpaper sample exploring surface and scale. I hope to develop these ideas further with print ideas printed on the fabric before the manipulation takes place.

Abstracts from my Dissertation.

Writing ones dissertation can be the most stressful point in their student career. The initial stage of being given the unit brief is followed by the fear of not being able to write about something in great depth with totally understanding. Therefore the choosing of the datable question is a crucial decision to be made.

TO HAVE A CONSCIENCE COSTS MORE!

The above stance was my essay's starting point. I wanted to see if people thought about how and where their clothing is made and if the price was right, do they even care? Has the sale of cheaper, poorly made clothing effected the chance of success for the new generation of British textile designers?

For me it was important to have a stance that would involve my future within the textile industry and I believe I have written a dissertation with great depth having done a company comparisons between Primark and Toast of there ethical stance or lack of.

Abstracts from my Dissertation.

Many of us like consumer products whether it be for fashion or interiors, to indulge our need for material things. The inflation of the population within the UK means we are unable to produce all the goods we need here at a satisfactory price. Importing products from poorer countries seems to be the solution because material and labouring costs are lower.

Economically is this the best solution with the country’s current preoccupation with global warming and Carbon emissions. Importing foreign goods means more air traffic miles, resulting in a damaging carbon footprint. Should this continue to be a long term solution or should we in the UK set a standard for the rest of the world to follow, as we did during the industrial revolution, and end our wasteful ways? Should we not use products that are sustainable and made here in the UK?

To compete with the throw-away fashion society we now live in it is vital for the new generation of textile designers to have a unique selling point for their survival within the textile industry. The recession has caused people to think about the way they live and as a result of this spending cuts have been made. Therefore sustainable design would be the perfect selling point for the current market because people want things to last longer. To pay more for something that will last seems more reasonable than buying a cheaper version that will need replacing often.

The decision one makes as to where to buy their shirt is not to be judged as the reason for doing so will depend on different factors. The biggest deciding factor will be the cost because during a recession people need to be careful about the amount they spend on a basic wardrobe item. £59 as a sale price for a basic shirt would be an extreme self indulgence for a person on a minimum wage income. Therefore the £2.50 Primark option is a tempting offer that is hard to refuse even with knowledge of their unethical values.

What it all comes down to is the conscience of the individual. For some it is about supporting the cause of workers and the idea that people should be paid an equal and just amount regardless of their birthplace or nationality. These people are willing to sacrifice that extra bit more money for that peace of mind. Other people would buy from Toast purely based on the belief that a higher priced item equals a better quality one and so the

Toast shirt at £59 is what they would buy. However for others this choice is a luxury they cannot afford and they have no choice but to buy the £2.50 shirt from Primark. Then there are the ignorant consumers who have the attitude ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ and they do not think about the effect on the producers and therefore buy the £2.50 Primark shirt. Some may say it comes down to a persons class but just because a person of the upper classes can afford the Toast shirt does not mean they are buying the item for an ethical reason.

My Conclusion

After looking at all the facts it is true that having a conscience costs more. If you wish to buy ethically sound textiles it will cost you more money. This was proven with the comparisons between the price of the plain white shirt in both Primark and Toast. It depends on the conscience of the person who is buying which decision is made. We all have values but for some people their opinion of right and wrong are stronger than their urge to grab a bargain and they can say no to unethical textiles, no matter how much of a bargain it may be. Others find it hard to say no and so the temptation should not be available in the first place.

Who is to blame for unethical textiles being on sale? The producers, the retailers or us? Well, the sale of unethical textiles is a chain and without one party being involved it would not survive. All it takes is for one party to change, be it the producer who will demand more money and make products of better quality, or the retailer to refuse to have products that are made in unsatisfactory working conditions, or us to boycott companies that are unethical and support the exploitation of people in poorer countries.

Good ethical values are vital to the survival of the world as we know it. If we continue to consume in the wasteful way we have done in the past we will not be able to let the next generation inherit a worthwhile textile industry. Therefore change is needed now. Many feel they are doing their bit because they do a bit of recycling every week or because they have energy saving lightbulbs in their home and office but as the environment is continuing to suffer it seems we are being told that this is not enough. We need to think about living in a greener way. Maybe greener technology is needed for the future development of the textile industry but for now sustainable design is vital to limit the waste of throw-away fashion.

There is much advertising at the moment telling us to buy. Companies and brands spend a fortune on manufacturing a desire for products that are not a necessity. Is this why the economy is unstable and companies are in heavy debt, because we consume more than we need? If we were to rely on UK for the production of our textiles it would help the planet and the economy by reducing pollution and increasing jobs. Therefore a lifestyle change is necessary. If we were to listen to our conscience we would be living in a society that is beneficial to all.

Where is my life at?

My Great FEAR!

Well, life feels pretty mental at the moment. I am on my last ever project as a student and honestly the fear is kicking and my head is in over drive with thoughts about my future and the path I hope to go down. I am a very confident person on the outside and this is the person I always strive to show the world but often inside I feel like a shy child again. I need to strengthen my confidence in my abilities as the doubt of failure is kicking in often now with my graduation looming and my career path unknown. I say to the world I will make it, but I want to truly believe this myself. I guess what it all boils down to is fear, the fear of the unknown. I like to plan and not knowing where my life is heading scares me more then I would like to admit.

(Writing this feels strange, I would never be able to say this to anyone face to face but yet it seems easy to write it down for all to see.)

The one thing I can plan for is New Designers as I know I will be showing their this year. This is exciting as last year I helped out to see what all the fuss was about and felt deeply inspired and moved by the designers exhibiting. Many people I questioned about their work showed passion and enthusiasm for their creations. I think the key to having a successful career is having the ability to confidently speak about your work. Therefore this is a skill I hope to develop before I have to exhibit. My speaking skills are not always the best as I get nervous and my pale complexion tends to suffer the brunt of this with my blushing face. This should not be an issue as I should feel proud about my work and be able to speak out to the world about my achievements, but unfortunately I am not as confident as I would like. Therefore I am going to continue blogging my ideas and development pieces to gather ideas to speak about when it comes to New Designers. I will also be able to give people this blog address and they will be able to view my work, with my thoughts by themselves as I know people can often be too shy to approach and ask someone about there work.

(I guess we can all be a bit shy sometimes.)

It has been too long!

Apologies to the blogging world it has been to long since I have posted or even enter my Textile site. It is vital that I make the effort to post my thoughts, designs ideas and inspiration. This will hopefully clear my head and help me to chill out and sleep better without my head going in to over drive. Therefore I make a promise to myself and all people that follow and look to join my blog that I will be making the effort to post something everyday for the next month. Hopefully this will help me to plan my life out at this crucial time of year for a third year art student.