London College of Fashion presents Made in Britain

Drapers’ highlights from the debate chaired by writer and broadcaster Caryn Franklin

Fair Trade Bag Design Competition - I won :)

A big thank you to everyone who voted for my design in the Fair Trade bag design competition, your votes were very much appreciated and I am very happy to announce that I won. If you want one of the 100 limited edition bags with my 'I knit India' print you can pre-order them from the HotHive Textile website next week, they are priced at £4 plus £1 postage and £1 from each bag is donated to The Fairtrade Foundation to support the wonderful work they do.

A big Thank you again for all your support :)

Slogan t-shirts... built to last...?

A clip from Notting Hill (1999) where the character Spike is trying to decide what to wear for a date. He comes down with a series of slogan t-shirts on... while they reflect his personality perfectly, what are they saying to the outside world? They are statement pieces created to wear to a certain event or for comic value, a one off joke, but where is the longevity in them?




T-shirts like this maybe funny for a one off occasion but there are specific times and places where they might not be appropriate. Temporary printing methods would be perfect for these types of slogan t-shirts. All the impact without the shirt going to landfill the week after when the point has been made.

If you cant wait till temporary printing inks are an actual possibility then maybe these t-shirts by Katharine Hamnett are a good compromise, ethically made and make good clear political statements... maybe slogan t-shirts arn't all bad after all.

Vote for me please :)

Hi, here is a bag design I have put together for the 'Design a Bag Competition to celebrate World Fair Trade Day. The theme of the competition was India and people were invited to submit entries based on their interpretation of this theme.'

Please follow the link and if you like my entry vote for me :) Thank you! (My entry is called I Knit India)


You can find out more information about the competition and the cause here.

Connected Communities The End

The presentations are finished, the proposal, project plan and costings have all been submitted, so looking back, what have I learned?
Since starting the Masters course in September last year I think that my thinking and understanding about what design actually is and means has changed dramatically. I remember one of the first few days in first semester we were all given the task of writing out on big sheets of paper what we think design is. I was worried and nervous to get my description wright, although now I really cannot remember what I wrote. I think my answer to what design is would change on a daily basis, and would depend on what was influencing me at the time or who I was speaking to. But one thing is certain, I would never have imagined that we would have been given a brief like the connected community one, or that I would have had the first clue of how to tackle the problem. How do you pluck a tangible project out of thin air, especially if little or nothing is known about the subject matter...? With all the tools, techniques and methods we have been learning along the way of our Masters year so far (mostly I have been soaking them up like a sponge without realising) through all the workshops, interesting and diverse speakers and team working projects. I now feel like a fully fledged designer with a good insight into the world of the ethnographer (thanks to working very closely with two on this most recent project) and feel that I have the knowledge and skill sets to tackle any problem and help come up with possible solutions through my design thinking.
Who knew that designers didn't just make the world pretty, they also have the potential to make a huge difference in many different fields with their diverse skill sets and ability to adapt to changing situations. I for one am proud to be part of the design community and happy in the knowledge that I could use myself as a designer in many different ways to add to an array of different projects.

Connected Communities week 9

A name change and shift of focus has occurred this week. We were still not convinced with our intended outcomes and felt we needed something more tangible if our intended research proposal was to be successful.
Our new title is Expanding Understanding which seems to embody what our research project is about. Helping to facilitate communication through or research by the outcome 'packs' and other outputs such as conference talks and papers. This seems like the best and most rounded way to spread the word of what has been achieved throughout the intended project.


Paper chain dollies seemed to be a good way of visualising our title of 'expanding understanding'. The imagery attempts to show that by the research body and new knowledge and tools created through the project, that people and indeed communities could become better connected. This has the possibility to have knock a on effect and expand to aid communication through all aspects of the participants lives. Broadening the reach of communication. While our main focus for the project is on people with eating disorders and how to help aid their recovery by strengthening communication in face to face situations, it is hoped that this model for communication could be adapted into other vulnerable groups.

Connected Communities week 8

A spectrum of support. This is what we intend to call our research proposal and the title our research group will operate under. Sounds slightly 80's... maybe it needs more thought so as to convey the correct attitude and stance that our research is based in.
Our research proposal seems to be coming together nicely even though we seem to change focus every time we meet, instead of moving the project on further. Confusion sets in into what will be the actual outcomes... this is a real challenge with team working as everyone has their own ideas and expectations. Even when things seem like a solid agreed upon entity, details and meanings can be confused leading to crossed wires and a lack of understanding. This could lead to communication break downs and disconnection from the project. However even though this process can be frustrating at times, and sometimes our methods and processes are different, having a good team that is willing to listen, communicate and understand others points of view while able to make their points in a clear way is essential if things are to be agreed upon.
Within our team we collaborated on all aspects of the project, from concept to proposal to presentation. This was a good way to make sure we were all aware of what was going on and essential so we could grasp the particulars of the project.
While it can be stressful and frustrating working to compromise so as to encompass everyone schedule into meetings, the benefits of this type of cross disciplinary team working far outweigh the negatives.
A project or idea is enriched greatly by having several different perspectives imputed into it. Alternate angles or methods for completion are also transferred which contributes new knowledge to the individual, helping to facilitate learning, broadening perspectives and opening up the individual to ways of thinking. Core skills can also be utilised in the best possible way when a multi disciplined team works together, each member bringing different abilities and issues to the group.

bYOB (build Your Own Bag)

The bYOB concept was the creation of the Object-Based Media Group at the MIT Media Lab, Gauri Nanda, Adrian Cable and V. Michael Bove Jr (2004)



via Jen's blog

This is a fantastic mix of different technologies coming together in what I can only describe as a 'flat pack' furniture model, without the need for confusing instructions or wondering where the three screws that you always seem to be left with go. A real DIY piece of kit that offers endless possibilities for the co-creation of garments and accessories. I especially like that all the pieces are interchangeable, so when a piece of technology is rendered obsolete it can be easily substituted for a new one without having to throw away the whole thing. Like carpet tiles... when one becomes worn, that one can simply be replaced without having to re-carpet your whole floor.
A fantastic idea that could be adapted for the clothing industry...?

Connected communities week 7

Team working, can be a lot of fun and a good way to generate and move on ideas quickly, it can also cause the opposite to happen, a thick fog descends and you wander around trying to grab onto one coherent thread that will hopefully be spun and woven into something a bit more tangible. This can be a problem when there are a few team members as even though you are all working with the same brief in mind and have a similar endpoint or outcome ingrained into your thoughts, everyone thinks about things and tackles problems in different ways, we all have our own unique sets of 'methods' to get the job done, this can mean a lot of confusion and pushing and pulling to find a common ground or 'thinking space' between everyone. It is very difficult to work as one harmonious team, we each engage and become disenchanted by different points along the way so the challenge is to help each other through and each of us working to our strengths.
This connected communities project has been a real challenge, I think for the most part for me because it is not a real pitch we are making. While the call for projects under this umbrella title of connected communities exists, what we are creating does not so I have found it difficult to keep focused and to foresee exact expenditure over the three year project. Probably in the most part due to the subject matter, while I find it to be a very engaging and worthwhile piece of research I have found it hard to see where I might position myself within the team of researchers. While this (for the purpose of the assignment) doesn't seem to be a big issue, to me it is. I have no real expertise within the medical or psychological fields, I wouldn't even say I have particularly strong ethnographic skills, so what can I bring? I have learned that it is my design thinking and my process that are important and useful to projects not the little shiny,polished pieces of perfection I might produce. In this sense I feel that I have the potential to be very useful in this type of research as it might not be the first place you would expect to find a designer. Still the dilemma continues of costing... what do things cost? On researching costings of simple websites it seems are not so simple, you have to pay a web designer to actually design it, costs depends on the number of pages and features, you need to register and pay for a domain name, then pay the hosting fees, considerations of how it will be updated, who will update it are all thrown into the mix... perhaps having a blog integrated into it is the easiest and most accessible way of doing this...? Over all costs of a seemingly simple website... around £1000.

Connected communities week 6

The search for a title continues. It is one small and seemingly insignificant part of a project but a title or name can have such a big impact on a product service or person. Certain celebrities maintain that they would not be as successful if they hadn't reinvented themselves with a new name. If a title doesn't fit people will not engage with it. There was a public out cry when Kellogg's decided to change coco pops to choco rocks or something along those lines. Why? because people all over identified and loved the name? Was it down to habit and recognition? I am doubtful, I do not remember the same reaction when marathon bars changed to snickers, maybe because I had no love for the chocolate bar I didn't really care, that being said I had no great affiliation with opalfruits, but remember being very annoyed when they turned into starburst overnight. I don't think I have bought a packet since, not on purpose, it hasn't been a conscious decision to boycott the new branding, it is just that maybe somewhere deep inside my subconscious I do not see myself as a starburst person, I'm more of an opalfruit?
What I am trying to get at is that a project title is just as important as a persons name or brand of sweets. Branding, slogan and tag lines have become so important that in order to get anyone to sit up and take notice of anything you do it must be packaged in the correct way. To secure funding or proposed project must be branded and packaged in the correct way if it is going to stand out and be memorable. A snappy title with a stickiness factor is a good start.

Colour it inn and Assembly dresses

There's nothing I enjoyed more as a child than sitting down at my little desk with a big handful of chunky pens and crayons in one hand and my colouring inn book in the other. Well thanks to a collaboration between Michiel Schuurman a graphic designer and Berber Soepboer a fashion designer you can now re-live the childhood fun in this amazing colour-it-yourself dress, just wonderful...


Imagine all the different looks you could achieve with one dress and pattern, especially if temporary inks could be achieved in a real world workable model. This type of technology could work fantastically well within this sort of framework. The pattern would always be there but a multitude of looks could be achieved by different colour proportions and harmonious hues, or if you weren't feeling in the mood perhaps just leave it black and white for once.


There is a lot to be said for simple black and white prints my favorite of all time being the collections by Johanna Basford (above), if you haven't seen these amazing timeless floral pieces already check out her website and you can keep updated on all her goings on with her blog. Johanna's beautiful inky prints debuted at London fashion week in February, this is a joint venture between Johanna and fashion designer Graeme Armour. Stunning. (below)



Above is another fantastic dress from the collaboration of Michiel Schuurman and Berber Soepboer, entitled Assembly Dress, these wonderful pieces can be taken apart and reconstructed in countless ways, again another possibility for temporary printing methods, this would work exceptionally well as garments shape, size and fit could all be altered on a daily basis, producing the 'chameleon effect' on a daily basis by how the garment is constructed so changing how the print is viewed. If images could be temporally fixed onto the cloth then fade out or be washed for example to be removed, a new dimension to the look could be achieved.


This type of garment construction could hold many possibilities of the future of DIY fashion, no longer would you have to rush out and buy a sewing machine and pattern cutting books to hown up on your sewing skills, anyone would have the freedom to create interesting and one off garments that could be deconstructed at the end of the day and made into something else the next. This type of garment construction would give everyone the chance to be involved in the designing of their garments and could be the right solution to give exceptional fit. A modern day tailoring service if you like that can be achieved from the comfort of your own arm chair... just wonderful.

Concept Products 2009

Some of my favorite Concept Products 2009 :)

Poster Lamp - Designed by Rachel Hevicon

Using thermochromatic ink the pattern on the lamp shade reacts to heat. As the light element (the lamp) produces warmth, the visual pattern on the lamp shade disappears, acting as a subtle reminder to the user that they are using energy, and to consider their environmental responsibility as much as their specific light requirement. The lampshade pattern displays a map of the world to emphasise the global environmental message.

Peek-a-boo Radiator - Designed by Samuel Sheard

The radiators are decorated with images from nature and the rural landscape, ‘painted’ in thermochromatic ink. When the radiator is turned off (cold) the graphics are displayed but when the radiator is turned on (hot) the graphics start to disappear, reminding the user of the energy that they are using.

Pixelate - Designed by Alison Edwards

Pixelate is simultaneously a wall-mounted light and an interchangeable illuminated picture. Consumers purchase a pixelated card which fits into a wallmounted frame installed in front of a low energy lamp. Using the designer’s recommendations, or their own inspiration, the user pops out pre-cut perforations to create a decorative wall light. Pixelate comes with 5 card inserts so when you fancy a change you can pop out another picture.

Note Table - Designed by Danielle Quinn

The Note Table takes away the frustration of looking for a pen/paper when leaving a message or reminder. The surface of the oak table incorporates a magnetic filings board and a magnetic pen with which to write. A sliding eraser deletes the previous message and the Note Table is ready for the next one.

To vote for these producst and many more go to Concept Products 2009 Vote

Connected communities week 5

Whilst flicking through Real World Research by Colin Robson today in search of a rationalle of what techniques I should use to interiew and examine the data and feedback I will receive when I collect in my cultural probe packs in a week. I came across some very interesting and relevant facts about what types of obsevational studies can be used and are best to use to gather data while avoiding some of the more problematic and uncomfortable ethical issues that could be thrown up by the likes of intergrating yourself into a group as a complete participant. This is where you are pretending to be someone your not to fit in and gain the information you want. You are building up trust and relationships with people in the hopes they will share with you the information you require. I feel that while this would be very efficient to gain the data it is not ethical in the slightest, what could be the ramifications of miss-using peoples trust and the psychological damage they might face when the find out that the relationship you had bilt up was under false pretences and fictional? This is not the only problem that arrises from this type of observational study, you might end up lousing your objectivity and 'go native'. Because you are living the life, you need to talk the talk and walk the walk, you might louse your own identity and viewpoint and be assylimilated into the group. Your data then would be tainted and possibly worthless. If you are no longer impartial then clear aims and objectives cannot be achieved without there being an underlying agenda for the work and findings, data could possibly be manipulated to suite the skuewed desired outcome.
This approach seems to be best avoided within our conneted community project... back to the drawing board.

Electronic Tattoo

If only patterns and prints could appear and dissapear like this...

Connected communities week 4

After being lost in the fog of what we were trying to achieve with this proposal, we have eventually managed to clarify a focus to our subject area, instead of trying to find important points to hold onto in our very vague aim.
We have decided to focus on a health care aspect with the focus's being on how online and offline communities are embodied and work around eating disorders. What are the perceived benefits and negative effects that online communities or support networks might offer. We felt that this was an area where more focus should be put upon as it is a very real and dangerous lifestyle more and more people are adopting to deal with whatever stresses or problems they encounter. Why do people enter into this form of self harm and what type of support networks in forms of on and offline communities exist to support in the recovery or in the furthering of the illness.
This is not an area I had ever thought I would be looking into for a design project. It seems a million miles away from my undergraduate days, but I am up for the challenge and hopefully comming at the problem with a designers perspective we should come up with some very diverse and interesting ideas and proposed outcomes.

Memory Rich Clothing

Textiles of the future

Connected Communities week 3

Social dynamics of online communities and their effect on offline communities is the very snappy title for our group project. I think that we need to come up with one that rolls of the tongue a bit better while encapsulating what we propose to do within this project. It is interesting putting a project plan together when the possibility of you actually undertaking the project is slim. I think that it has the possibility to hinder the creative process and imaginings of what is actually possible. For me however I think it is rather freeing and opens up the possibilities for all sorts of weird and wonderful ideas. I feel that this sort of 'free thinking' helps facilitate different sorts of thinking and can substantiate alternative ideas. What do people actually want out of a community? Are they happy with the types of social interaction that they participate on a daily basis? What could be gained from further study in this field? I guess just what is the actual point in it all? In this world of virtual communication it is becoming ever more difficult to communicate with people on a face to face basis. I have found this the case, while I can put down in an email or text what I am thinking, feeling, views on certain subjects professional and personal the balance to be able to verbalise and communicate this is becoming ever more difficult. Why would you meet up with someone to discuss a certain topic when you can send an email, which would probably get your point across faster and in a more understandable way(in some case) not to mention save on your carbon footprint (you can communicate with people all over the world from the comfort of your own home) but what effect will this sort of 'distance' communication have on people psychologically. People are social creatures, loneliness and depression can become a major problem when we become isolated from physical contact or interactions. However online communities cold offer comfort to people separated by vast distances, when actual physical contact is not possible. There are issues however of children getting upset because they do not understand technologies such as skype who seem to offer the solution to bridge the gap giving people separated by distance an actual face to talk to. The emotions and mannerisms of your nearest and dearest can be seen so you do not in theory feel as disconnected. In some instances this becomes more distressing for users, especially the young as they cannot understand why they can see but not touch, like a cruel trick being played, it can make the separation more painful.
What then is the answer...?

Connected Communities week 2

It is clear to me after today's lecture that I have no idea what things cost... I now see that a £600,000 grant doesn't stretch very far. I see this as a vast amount of money but by the time you factor in wages, overheads and contingency costs there seems to be little left for anything else. I now have a clearer understanding of why research grants are so hard to obtain and there are so many hoops to jump through, research costs a lot of money and it has to be proven that it will be spent in the right places. Underestimating costs are a huge hazard as shows you have no real concept of what you are going to need to achieve your goals.
It has opened my eyes up to how much things actually cost and the importance of choosing the right conferences to attend and speak at... as it could cost you up to £2,000 for travel, accommodation etc things have to be a good fit or you are simply buying a scratch card with little hope of a decent result.

Connected Communities

How can we build connected communities with all the fragmentation of society today? I am hoping through this team project entitled connected communities to find some sort of solution or at least to better understand why society today is so disconnected.
At my first Transition Town Tayport meeting last night,(no I have not moved to Tayport. I ventured across the water to a meeting as I am entering into a collaboration with the guys over there, to help design some reusable recyclable bags and t-shirts, to promote their cause), and I learned what they are trying to do is to reconnect their community. Their motivations are at a slight juxta position to this brief but the methods are the same. They intend on creating close knit communities which will in turn help them to live more sustainably. Not only do they intend on sharing land to grow food and are hoping to arrange annual litter picking days they have been interviewing older members of the community who have seen it fall apart in the hopes that they can understand what went wrong and gain an insight on how to 'rebuild'.
I think a lot of value can be gained by using participatory exercises such as the litter picking to facilitate community wide conversation, that in turn would hopefully lead to bonding, and a build up of trust. This would mean not only would you feel safer in your environment, have someone to chat to on the bus but your day could also be brightened by a smile or a hello, making you feel less alone in the digital world we inhabit today, where everyone communicates buy text and email and constantly have earphones in there ears listening to their newest download and ignoring the world round them as it crumbles.
I'm not sure what the Creative Communities project will unearth but I am looking forward to whatever comes next.