Textile Blog week 2

This week we were visited by a panel of Textile design Pro's ranging from a seasoned vet right down to a shiny Smiley new graduate making a total of four knowledgeable souls for us to be inspired by or to at least learn some hot tip or two.

I was a little disappointed after the Panel had talked about their experiences and what they do on a day to day basis…………The only real glimmer of light was from Camilla who just seemed to be Camilla….always chirpy and driven.

To me personally they all seemed a little worn down by the huge expectations and work loads expected of them in the Textile Industry and I just wonder how long one can last at what seems to be a ridiculous amount of work for teams of only a few Crafty souls. I guess like in all commercial work the longer you stay the more you get paid until you find yourself disliking what you do but staying because of the money and fear of going backwards in Career and finance.

This has got me questioning myself where do I want to start? Even though I do see myself just going for it and starting my own Cycling Fashion label there's a part of me that is intrigued by what working in a large commercial company would be like and I also feel it could work as a bit of a security blanket if my Business failed and then at least I would have some work experience to fall back on and not just a degree and no experience.

I do feel quite lucky that through my cycling background and also my 2 years as a Remedial Massage therapist I have created quite a network that I don't think would of been possible at a young age otherwise. Through mainly cycling I have met a lot of people who I think I would never have met if there was not a fondness of the bicycle. I have found myself sitting next to people like Fashion designer Paul Smith who just wanted to talk to my about my Bike Frame or the guy (can't remember his name) who design Jeff's Shed who I thought was some Bum sitting on our table…oops!These are things that I know will help me in my business endeavours as I have discovered that successful people actually do like to help out people who are starting out and want to be in their position.

So to sum up this jargon I still feel myself floating to my direction but a quick stint in the commercial world would be a great way to get my feet wet and maybe steal all their Manufacturers.

Cam