F-W-S Industry Project with Printed Textiles

This semester London and Shanghai based design studio F-W-S came in to work with the second year Printed Textiles students. The brief required the students to develop design ideas quickly and creatively using the print workshop as a place to generate ideas rather than just as a place to produced finished designs.

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Tali Furman, creative director, and Alex Poyner, designer and WSA alumni, came in to give an all-day workshop at the beginning of the brief. The students then had to independently develop a large selection of design ideas and resolved outcomes for critical review, working in the ethos of the studio.

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At critical review Tali Furman joined academic staff and to give feedback and select students for potential summer internships. At the end of the project Tali invited 4 students for interview – Cassie MacDonald, Aleks Lund, Vivian Ge and Paulina Nieduzak. 

Knitted Textiles Student Hannah Brabon tells us about the wealth of Industry Experience she has gained this year

During her second year at WSA studying Knitted Textiles for Fashion, Hannah Brabon has managed to gain of wealth of Industry Experience from a combination of Live Projects and Internships, all setting her in excellent stead for her final year.

Here she tells us about her internship with Sophie Steller and her opportunity to go to Shanghai as part of a Live Project with Spinexpo.

“Whilst on work placement at Sophie Steller, I carried out a variety of different studio tasks such as organising fabrics and trimmings, as well as assisting with deliveries. I was also involved with selecting yarn from the extensive collection at the studio, for various trend and colour stories. It was a fantastic opportunity to be able to work with yarn that is of such a high industry standard and improve my awareness of yarn suppliers.

Experiencing working in such a fast paced environment was very exciting as I was able to see projects develop from initial research through to final sampling. I was also lucky enough to be involved in plotting designs on Photoshop for Shima Seiki sampling and embellishing knitted fabrics. I learnt a huge amount from the team of designers in the studio; for example Photoshop techniques and interesting ways of photographing knitted samples.”

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“At the studio I also learnt new techniques on the dubied knitting machines, such as various ways of creating interesting cable designs. It was such a privilege to be able to use the machinery to develop sample ideas for the studio, whilst at the same time developing my skills in the area. I feel very lucky to have been able to experience working in a knitwear design studio, and everything that I have learnt will be so useful for my future studies.”

“During the year, I was also given the opportunity to go to Shanghai in February for the yarn and trend tradeshow ‘Spinexpo’. I had an active role in setting up both the Winchester School of Art display and ‘The Red Room’. It was such a fantastic opportunity to see the work that we created on display and to be able to see how an international tradeshow works. I was able get a further insight into the industry by making contacts with designers, buyers and spinners.”

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“I learnt so much from both of these experiences and have become more confident as a result. It has shown me how important getting industry experience is and how beneficial it can be.”

Holly Fulton looking for a Studio Intern

The Holly Fulton Studio is looking for interns to assist across both sampling and production. The candidates will experience various elements of developing high end womenswear collections.
Daily tasks will include…
  • general studio organisation
  • assisting pattern cutters with tracing and alterations
  • toiling
  • hand sewing and embellishments
  • preparing and delivering materials to our London based manufacturers
  • quality checking fabrics, prints and embroideries
  • assisting with print placements and lay plans basic studio errands
Skills required…
  • Basic knowledge of pattern cutting
  • Strong attention to detail is essential
  • Ability to work efficiently to meet deadlines
  • Hand / machine sewing
  • Applicants must have a professional attitude and operate well as part of a team.
We are looking for interns to work for 3-6 months starting immediately. To apply please send your cv and work examples along with a brief cover letter stating your availability via the form here.

Sophie Steller visits WSA for industry project

Sophie Steller with WSA Students

Second year Knitwear for Fashion and Woven Textile Design students have been working on an industry project for Knitwear Design Studio Sophie Steller. The students developed designs for a past/modern collection, using drawings from museum collections as a starting point for their textile swatches. After the project review with Sophie Steller, 8 students were selected for interviews.

From Knit:
Anna Bateman
Amy Fuller
Isabel Worth
Hannah Brabon
Alice Bracken

From Weave:
Danielle Gill
Rebecca Lickley
Rebecca Moore

Sophie will be offering placements to successful interviewees.

Woven Textiles student Leah Ashton tells us about her summer internships

Final year Woven Textiles student, Leah Ashton, spent her summer at two exciting internships one with Anna Champeney in Northern Spain and the other with Christopher Farr Cloth in London. She tells us about her very different experiences at both learning about their design process and how each company is run.

Anna Champeney Textile Studio 

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“In June this summer I spent three weeks at Anna Champeney Textile Studio, learning about local weaving techniques and natural dyeing. AC Textiles is an independent studio based in the remote village of Cristosende, Northern Spain. I applied for the internship because I wanted to gain even more weaving experience; this internship allowed me to weave myself, which very few others gave me the opportunity to do.

During my internship I wove a linen scarf which was sold online as part of AC Textiles summer collection as well as some linen towels for a customer commission. I also learnt some techniques for dyeing using plants and other natural sources, many of which were grown locally on site; I found this a very interesting experience.

It was such a great opportunity to travel to Northern Spain and be able to weave with a freelance designer. Not only because of the textile knowledge that I gained but also because I got to learn about the culture of a remote Spanish village and how a designer markets herself in such an area.”

http://annachampeney.com

Anna Champeney will be running the same internship next year so considering applying if you’re interested in Leah’s experience. You can read more about Leah’s internship here – http://www.textilesnaturales.com/archives/16718

Christopher Farr Cloth

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“My next internship was at Christopher Farr Cloth in Chelsea, London. I was there from the beginning of July to the end of August. Christopher Farr cloth is the fabric division of Christopher Farr (Rugs). Their collection has over 60 designs of prints and weaves, designed by a range of designers and artists. The printed collection is still produced in the UK, and I was lucky enough to visit the family-owned company and see how the designs were printed; both by hand and using a rotary.

My main role consisted of dealing with sample requests, whether that was sending sample refreshers to the showrooms abroad or to independent interiors designers. During my internship they were developing a new printed outdoor fabric line, I got to sit in on meetings with the international printers and work on colour ways for the new prints. Recently, Christopher Farr have brought out a new wallpaper collection. Each wallpaper comes in an assortment of colours and I helped to create a wallpaper colour collection book that allows clients to pick designs and colour ways.”

http://christopherfarr.com