WIL project finished designs

I really enjoyed the Art, craft and cookery project…..It was great to work at my own pace and under my own direction.
It was interesting to create something directly for a certain type of cliental and also challenging to remember this while designing.

I think next time I would probably spend a little time researching more info about the history of the art, crafts and Cookery to more understand my Clients needs.

Sketches for WIL project

Starting the WIL placement project off with sketches of things that one who is crafty would use to be crafty.

I am looking at designing a Calender as the tea towel with quirky names like Jamuary and Cakemus to replace the typical months………………..

I have found this Freelance project quite fun as I can go to my scheduale which has been the thursday we have for class and I treat it as a 9-5 job which has been more like 9am - 10pm as i find that once I get into this project I don't wanna stop until security throw me out of Campus.

WIL Placement week 1 (cakes)

Finding myself with out a Internship this year by my own choosing I have embarked on the WIL placement 'Freelance' project. This year it is with the Royal Melbourne shows Art, Craft and Cookery group where our small group (9) will battle it out and create a design a tote bag and tea towel to be sold at their Pavilion in September at the show.
After being breifed we wrote a short research doc and proposal to be presented to staff at the RASV head quarters in Ascot Vale.
After all this it was now all on my shoulders to create what i invision for the tote bag and tea towel….going up against 9 girls in a female dominated area of the show i better think of something that will look different and stand out from the crowd.
This has got me thinking to what i would actually like my own studio to look like if I was a freelance textile designer.
What type of space, where would it be  and would it just be me or a shared space.
I think that I would most probably start out with a home based studio as not to spend to much money on my rent and more time on developing a solid foundation of clients and I think as most work will come in via On-line qoutes and client visits having a home studio wouldn't be a disadvantage.

Here's some photos of some interesting studio spaces.

A well oiled machine

Our Commercial group started with a bang and finished with a bang. I think we all worked well together and our commitment to our own personal tasks meant that everything was done on time without any dramas.

Maybe a few in the team started a little fast, which took a few of us a few weeks to catch up to what was going on and this was purely because they had previously interned at Megan Park and had intimate knowledge of what was already going on in the Company.

Looking back I have to say this group project was more efficient than any other previous groups I have been into and this just came down to great organisation.

I personally felt like I could have been more involved in the work…..but I think that because of my hot bikini bod making me the model for the Bikini Launch probably made the whole thing a raging success (self applaud).

Overall a good experience which has seen me intake some solid knowledge of how a successful small company like Megan Park runs and also a nice way to work on my relationship skill.

Leadership and Team Cactus

Great week in toe. Thursday class involved a brief leadership talk and quiz by the Conversant Company. It was interesting to see my quiz results that were ranked 1, Workability 2, Learning 3, Creativity 4, Relationships 5, Accountability.
The results didn't suprise me and only confirmed what I already thought. By coming from an athletic  background I have always been goal orientated and know the work and sacrifice needed to achieve those goals and that learning is an ever-ending circle that must be applied to all aspects of life otherwise you will just stop growing and ultimately dying.
I was happy with creativity sitting in the middle as I think that it shouldn't be the number one skill for one to have but something to compliment other areas if you want a professional team of designers because you can be the best designer in the world but if you don't know where you're going and not willing to learn anything then you will just remain where you are and never improve and grow.
Later in the week I had my very small launch of my new cycling brand 'Eddy Engels' and the team ' team cactus' at the Rapha Gentleman's race in Little River this was a non-sactioned race of 32 teams of 6 over 178km's and was part of Rapha's catalogue shoot and for their magazine.The ride was quite tough and during the ride I found myself as the strongest rider in my team with a lot of my team mates struggling to hold on, this made me think back to Thursdays class and what my quiz results said and this had me working on my 2 weak points of relationships and accountability. Through these lessons of self awareness I changed my riding style and rode to the weakest rider of the team and made myself accountable for the whole team which meant we all stayed together and finished together which would work on my 'relationship' issues and keep everyone feeling like they were part of a successful and united team which was achieved by all after 6 hours of pain.
Overall a good week in school and out.

a little tired but we all survived.

                                               looking quite eager before the start.

3 week round up

The first 3 weeks of the school year has been pretty interesting, starting off in a lathargic manner and trying to get back into a design mentality.
I have been pretty happy with the school year as it has got me thinking about my own future and what I want out of this course. The course has probably made me more independently minded which has probably been a negative thing while studying my last year as it has me more focused on my own goals and not school goals and has me also only taking in selected advice form selected lecturers that I think offer some value to my own goals and future.
I learnt a lot from the VMAFF business seminar and I think I grabbed some invaluable information for my future endeavours about financing and sourcing from new and unusual makers, artisans and manufacturers world wide.
Overall a positive and interesting start to the school year but also events that have had me re-examine my future and what I want out of it and who I want to be as a designer.

Textile Blog week 3

#VAMFF

POW!!! Wow what a day at the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival Business Seminar. The pow is for all the knowledge that was bestowed on my little noggin today. It was great to hear from many different sectors of the Fashion Industry and this one day seminar has really opened my eyes to more of whats actually possible for designers in the Fashion and Textile world.
This seminar got me thinking outside the box or more precisely looking beyond myself and how as a textile designer you can really have a positive impact on the world by just changing your approach and straying away from the norm and looking for alternative resources like Fair trade cottons from Africa instead of buying cheap bulk cotton form China or as they were more favouring using the expertise of the Artisans in remote regions of the world and promoting them and their skills to the world.
But one of the great things I like about the Speakers was that even though you are helping out communities and giving people the spot light needed, it is also OK to make money and charge a high price for an item created/crafted by a Artisan from somewhere like Africa or Portugal which I think is important to note as it seems a lot of people see making a lot of money from your craft or designs as a bad thing which was shown today not to be and which is something I agree with but see a lot of people in the industry being stubborn and mean to people that create wealth from being successful(seriously if i hear another person say Lisa Gorman's a sell out I'll….)which is simply not the case most times.
The seminar did show that contacts and knowing the right people is vital to growing your brand and that raising Capital for your business id important for growth or simply when you're just starting up.

Again like a tape recorder I thank my Cycling contacts for allowing me the contacts that will hopefully one day help my business reach the high goals I have set for it and won't be achievable with out some Cash investors. For my business I will go to the aid of my friend who's job is Capital raising for Companies such as Architectural firms, Air lines, Oil companies and new start ups, with this contact I feel very lucky to have this person on my side.
The only people I really lack in my business endeavours are the right manufacturers to make my products and this is why I think things like Internships and going to Seminars and trade shows are vital if you want to know where the best brands get their apparel made.



Cam