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Key post_ Reflection

This project has opened up a lot of new possibilities for me and has allowed me to explore different approaches and processes. I feel I have engaged well with group and workshop sessions. Having set out a clear concept and context at the beginning, the work I have produced feels more purposeful and directed. The manifesto is something I defiantly will use again and adapt to future projects as I sometimes feel my own work lacks direction. In terms of process I also found our working ideas wall really helpful and inspiring.

I have been lucky to work with such a good group, so have found collaborating really enjoyable and rewarding. We got on well and kept each other motivated throughout the project, we also had a lot of fun. Having a shared working space in 106 helped because we were in everyday and could keep momentum going and developing ideas. A lot of the time we were the only group in there though and it would have been nice to be able to communicate more with the other groups to build a wider support network.

Another aspect we have explored in this project is developing a brand identity and self publishing/ promoting our work. We have used the instagram page to document our progress and begin to make connections with the outside world. I think this was a really good idea and is something that I will take into next year for myself, as audience becomes much more important. We have also worked on posters and promotional material, which I had not done much of before but have a new confidence in this area from the positive feedback we received for them. As we have been working alongside Tamsyn who is a graphics student, we were inspired by the fantastic posters she created for the exhibition.

The exhibition was a success, it was dry so we could have the planter and jean bag out and we set up without any problems. There was a great atmosphere during the evening and it was nice to be able to chat to the other groups and enjoy the outcome of all our hard work. We had quite a lot of curiosity about our work, particularly the jean bag and people seemed to engage really well with our set up. We spoke again to Becca from the Curiosity Bureau, who was on the panel we pitched to and got some good feedback about our development since the pitch. We also discussed potential future projects for the rooftop, which would be really exciting to be involved with. I am so pleased that our work has been received well by the rooftop project team.

In terms of exhibiting our work, I think we did well, we wanted to keep it quite simple so that people could interact with the jean bag and samples. We created some information cards to go in the pockets of the planters and had a slide show playing during the evening, documenting our process. The only thing is we could have made these more obvious to provide people with a better understanding of our concept and motivations as I think people would have found this interesting and it would help make more sense of our work. We could have perhaps created a little working document book to really communicate our concept.

We also had a photographer for the night; Molly's friend Jonathan, who is a photography student came to take some pictures of the exhibition. It was good to have our work captured from a different perspective and I think Jonathan has benefited from having the opportunity to add to his portfolio.

(photo credit: instagram.com/jdrroberts)

Overall I feel very proud of what we have achieved this project. We have created innovative and original products that fulfil what we set out to do. I think we could have improved a bit with the finishing of the products to give a more refined look and take the upcycling process to another level. This is something I will push forward myself in my own work in the future as I am keen to keep exploring upcycling as a design solution. We could have also pushed our concept even further to make our work more site specific and potentially resolved the planter fully to support growing plants; as another area to develop.

KeyPost_ Investigations

Our project has been process and material led. We decided quite early on that we wanted to just use the materials provided to truly reflect the ideas of sustainability and up cycling outlined in our manifesto. We have had to adapt our usual approaches to accommodate the material; responding to and improvising as our work progressed.

Collaborating has helped us all to feel confident in working outside our comfort zones. I have certainly felt inspired by the others to work in a more industrial way and try new things. It was also really nice to share our skills, for example I taught Jade how to knit and Chloe and Molly showed me how to do the hand chain stitching.

We encountered a few problems along the way, namely how to fill the jean bag. We felt buying wadding or filling would be too expensive and also go against our ethos of using what was available. We looked to alternative sources, asking around the university for waste plastic wrapping and appealing for plastic bags, I also secured some old textiles from the environment team who I volunteer with. By thinking out of the box and being creative we have been able to fulfil our ambitions.

We also needed to consider how we would transport the jean bag. Mark suggested that it should be filled on site so we fitted a zip into it to make it fillable and portable. This also led to a clever idea for commercialisation in that the jean bag could be sold as a case to be filled with whatever soft, clean waste the customer had to put in. This alternative way of thinking about things or acquiring materials has been an unexpected triumph for me and I have began to notice other things I could work with in future.

Once we overcame the hurdles we found were able to get on quite quickly and through good team work finished the jean bag ahead of time.

The weekly tutorials have helped us progress well and refine our ideas from the suggestions made by our tutors. The planter has evolved and become much more refined, as we considered the tonal balance of the different denims and finishings.

We designed the final prototype to fit onto the railings around the skylight, where we imagined the planter would go when we first saw the rooftop space. Discussing the logistics of having plants growing in it, we realised this might not be feasible to resolve in the time we had. We decided to we would propose alternative storage uses for the pockets as well; such as gardening tools, magazines or mobile phones (for a peaceful rooftop experience). This also continues the themes of multifunctional and flexibility from the jean bag.

The two pieces work harmonusley together and I think we utilised the jeans really well, using the legs for the bean bag and the tops and pockets for the planter. We considered details carefully as a group thinking about durability and aesthetic, and trialled different versions of stitchings and fastenings to discover what worked best.

The use of the yellow chain stitch was a key way to tie the two products together and add a unique stamp onto the denim that otherwise could be quite generic. It again reflects the idea of upscaling textile techniques in an industrious way.

We managed our time well as we made good progress and have had time to review and expand on our ideas. Kate and Mark were keen for us to sample alternative designs and outcomes to offer, which we have done through cushion samples using both the denim and a waterproof material.

We have kept all our designs quite simple and focused on shape more than surface. This is quite different for me as my work tends to be quite detailed. I have enjoyed working in this way though and found it has been surprisingly successful; I now have greater confidence working more intuitively and on a larger scale.

As we go into the final stage of the project, we will look at how the jean bag might work in the space and think about the presentation of our work.

the Pitch

This week we presented our ideas to the clients.
I had never done a formal pitch before so I was quite nervous and unsure what to expect. However after a practice pitch to Kate and Mark I felt reassured that we had some strong ideas and we worked on  ironing out the pitch and visualising our process.

We decided that me and Molly would talk through our ideas and Chloe would hand round samples, I felt this format worked as we didn't over complicate things but we came across well as a collective and delivered a pitch that reflected our intentions. It also helped to have physical samples and the newly named 'jean bag' there for the panel to interact with.

At the same time Tamsyn, who has been a satellite group working alongside us, presented her ideas. I think the two pitches complimented one another and reflected the way we have been sharing ideas and supporting each other. Tamsyn was also really helpful in providing another opinion on our pitch.

The feedback was positive, the panel liked our concept and seemed to engage well with our products.
As we expected the issues of waterproofing and durability were raised and so we explained that if we were to commercialise we would be able to waterproof and flameproof the fabric. We were also asked how our ideas related to a rooftop space: how are they site specific? This took me aback a bit as I felt we had responded to the brief well. I think perhaps we needed to explain our concept more clearly and emphasis the connection with the rooftop.

Taking these points into consideration we will work on some waterproof prototypes to present as alternative solutions. We will also try the jean bag in different locations, including the art school rooftop, to see how it sits and if we could tweak anything to make it more site specific.

A slide show we prepared documenting our journey of making, using a mixture of the groups photos.

Contextual research_ Nudie Jeans co

This contextual reference was kindly shared with us by Tamsyn who has been working as a satellite group to ours.

A swedish Jeans brand that uses off cut denim to create bespoke furnishing pieces.
Its really encouraging to see a successful business working in a similar way to how we are. I am inspired by the simplicity but effectiveness of their work, and the finish they have achieved; which is something for us to aim for.

I also particularly like the fact that they are a fashion brand who are taking responsibility for their own waste stream.

http://www.nudiejeans.com/shop/camper-seat-and-recycled-rugs-presentation/

Key post_ Research

The research for this unit has pushed me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to take a different approach to the usual sketchbook work and visual research.
Beginning with the 'Un conference' in which we discussed ideas relating to design, we indentifyed key areas to explore and common motives. This was really good in that it got the group talking and we could begin to form connections with each other.

This consideration of our practice and intentions continued with a task on creating manifestos, where we formed groups with those with similar intentions. As we were quite a big group and had difficulty getting everyone together, four of us from textiles decided to form a smaller core group to work within. It would have been nice to work with people from other courses to get a broader input, however I have found it very easy and natural to work within my group. I think this is perhaps because we all have a similar approach to how we work that has been fostered by the TIP tutors. Making the manifesto as a group helped us develop a strong collective vision that we all had an input in.

During the first few weeks of this project it didn't feel like we were making much progress as we had not started making anything in the way we are used to. However, reflecting on the activities and the amount of time we spent researching and discussing ideas; I think these first few weeks were important for us to gain a better awareness of context and concept for the project.

We kept discussions going and built up an ideas wall that we kept evolving to reflect our thoughts and visions at that time. This helped us to know what we were aiming for and keep us on track. The group pinterest board also played a big part in idea generation and finding contextual references. As we all contributed to this we could begin to make connections between individuals ideas and bring them together.

Having picked out key themes from the rooftop project brief and our own manifesto we were able to identify the direction we wanted to take. We knew we wanted to make something that was playful and interactive, that instigated conversation with the audience and enabled a sense of community. We also wanted sustainability and up cycling to be a main component which is why we chose to use the jeans.

One of the key influences we found from our pinterest research was the 'Phat Knits' series by designer Bauke Knottnerus. We all loved his imaginative and humorous work that is part sculpture part furniture.  

http://baukeknottnerus.nl/index.php?/project/phat-knits/

We were inspired to push our textiles skills, up-scaling them to create our own fun and subversive designs.

I found it helpful to use a sketchbook to keep track of my thoughts and document when away from the group as we began sampling and exploring the potential of the materials.

Denim experiments

We experimented with lots of different ways of using the denim, including making it into yarn. I was particularly keen to explore the potential with this as I felt it would reflect my specialism of knit and play to my strengths.

We encountered several problems with this though. The denim obviously doesn't have as much stretch as a proper yarn so when cut too finely would snap; the edges also frayed like mad with some of the denim which looked messy. We trialled potential ways to overcome these issues, including stitching the yarn and bleaching it, I even tried to ply the yarn together although was unsuccessful.

The most positive outcome was to fold the yarn in half and stitch along with yellow thread. This produced a stronger yarn with one clean edge that contrasted nicely with the softer fray. The sample below is knitted on large needles with an open structure; it could become a blanket or covering for something.

(photo credit: Molly)

Although we all liked the knitted structures, we agreed it would be too time consuming to create a large scale piece, so decided to keep them as samples to visualise potential alternative outcomes. 

We also experimented with crochet and macrame knotting to create potential fastenings or details.