print & pattern: EXHIBITION – marcus walters

thanks to print & pattern: EXHIBITION – marcus walters. for this link

“‘unplanned magic’ is a new exhibition by marcus walters currently taking place at the material gallery in ludlow, UK. ‘unplanned magic’ is also running concurrently at blackbough (also in ludlow) and featuring work by marcus’ fellow screen print artist kate gibb. they have created some collaborative prints by over-printing each others work and they have also produced a limited range of hand sewn notebooks and hand printed tea towels which are available in store at the exhibition and online in marcus’ shop.”

 

 

Top draw! Graduate’s design skills wow major store chain

“The design flair of a talented University of Huddersfield student has caught the eye of one of the biggest names on the high street.

Not only has retail giant Wilkinson’s awarded a £1,000 prize to new graduate Laura Davenport, after she exhibited her work at a major show in London, but it has also begun talks with the 22-year-old, aiming to use her designs and develop new ideas.

It means that within months, Laura could see designs from her award-winning portfolio reproduced on fabrics and ceramics in some of the UK’s most popular stores.

“It would be absolutely fantastic to go into a branch of Wilkinson’s and see some of my designs on sale. It feels great to be recognised and rewarded at the same time!” said Laura.

She describes her style as illustrative with a quirky edge and likes to incorporate different themes into her designs – nautical and floral influences have recently found their way into her work.

Laura has just graduated from one of the University’s most popular courses, in textile design for fashion and interiors. It might be a cutting edge course, using computer technology, but it has deep roots in Huddersfield’s long tradition of education and training in textiles, to meet the needs of local industry.

Every year, a group of the most promising students on the course are chosen to take their work to a London showcase event named New Designers. Laura had some of her latest designs on display, in a category sponsored by Wilkinson’s. She was awarded the first prize and the company immediately began to discuss future projects.

“Laura has beautiful drawing skills, which Wilkinson’s immediately picked up on,” said her course leader, Nicola Redmore. “She had a lovely, fresh collection on display and Laura is a very commercial designer, in the best sense of the term. She is very grounded and knows what will appeal to the public. She is definitely one of our most promising students”.

A feature of the textile design for fashion and interiors course is that students create their designs – using both computers and traditional skills – and then follow them through to production and accompany the finished product with a marketing statement.

Also, the majority of the students take up the opportunity to go on work placement for part of the course. Laura Davenport had placements with two Cheshire-based textile firms and she is convinced that the experience is a factor in her success.

Nicola Redmore said that the emphasis on work placement was an important element in high employability rates among ex-students and those who took up the option tended to come out with the best degrees.

Laura, who lives in her native Stockport and comes from an artistic family, is now embarking on her career as a designer and after her early taste of  success she might consider working as a freelance designer.”

via.hud.ac.uk  see also the report on the New Designers Website 

Fabric trends at Textile Forum

“Fabric trends at Textile Forum August 09, 2011.
UKTextile Forum is staged at The Music Room in London during October 19-20. Fabrics woven and knitted from natural fibres will be even more evident at the October Textile Forum as new exhibitors British Alpaca Fashion, Johnstons of Elgin and The Merino Company join for the first time. “This season the emphasis is very much on natural and fancy fabrics with lace particularly prominent as the impact of the Royal Wedding shows no signs of abating. Visitors will also be able to see the upcoming trend for fabrics with a 3D effect,” says organiser Linda Laderman. “Textile Forum will also capitalise on the resurgence in demand for British-made fabrics, popular for their heritage status.”At Filtex the 3D effect is created with embroidery and Michaels Bridal Fabrics also has fabrics with this effect. According to Alan Litman in the aftermath of the Royal Wedding crochet still continues to be incredibly popular and floral laces with brushed lace is defining the new winter bridal collections.A strong range of cottons from Acorn and Ringhart, fine mens and womens wools and cashmeres from Holland & Sherry, tweeds from Marling & Evans, merino wool knits from JT Knitting and The Merino Company, buttons from R & B Accessories and exotic leathers from G H Leathers are among the extensive collections available at the October exhibition.”

via UK : Fabric trends at Textile Forum – Textile News UK.

Art, Design and Architecture » ‘Twist’ reports on Huddersfield success

The June issue of Twist: The International Magazine for Luxury Fabrics, Yarns and Fibres, reported that the University of Huddersfield has recently been identified as a centre of excellence by the Worshipful Company of Weavers.  One of the benefits of this, is that the University will receive a grant to improve and update materials and machinery in the Weave area.

I’ll certainly be keeping an eye on Twist for more reports on the University of Huddersfield, as well as other articles of local interest.  Twist is published on a monthly basis by the World Textile Information Network WTIN, along with titles such as Future Materials, International Dyer, and Knitting International. Copies of all of these magazines can be found in the Art and Design area on floor 3:

For Students and Staff, University of Huddersfield, It’s also possible to keep up to date with new articles appearing in these titles, or search for previously published reports by using the Textile Technology Index- an International database of journal articles in the field of Textiles. For more information about how to access and search this database, take a look at the entry on our A-Z List of Resources. you can also access  WTIN via  our Electronic Resources

via Art, Design and Architecture » ‘Twist’ reports on Huddersfield success.

New Designers 2011 – New Designers Wilkinson Award for Commercial Surface Design

New Designers Wilkinson Award for Commercial Surface Design

Photography by www.editphoto.net

Winner: Laura Jean Davenport, University of Huddersfield

Read their interview with Laura Jean here

Award Prize: £1000 cash

Judges Comments: An intricate and quality design. Good use of illustration and colour, with an original mix of subject matters which will translate effectively onto a range of textiles and ceramics.

via New Designers 2011 – New Designers Wilkinson Award for Commercial Surface Design.

Talking Textiles exhibition

Trend forecasting and design guru, Lidewij Edelkoort, will be promoting young textile design talent from the UK and Europe at her Talking Textiles exhibition at the Salone Satellite 2011 Milan Furniture Fair which will be celebrating its 50th anniversary and will be expecting around 300,000 visitors from 12th to 17th April.

‎”Exhibition curator Li said, “It is so important to take notice again of contemporary textile designers who are becoming an endangered species. With the expenditure at colleges and art schools rising, the textile ateliers are the first to be downsized or removed.”

A selection of young graduate designers will be showcased as part of Edelkoort’s ongoing initiative to promote textile design education, bringing the freshest European design talent to public attention. Supporting the graduate designers exhibiting and Li’s quest to save the endangered discipline of textile design are Skillset, British Fashion Council, UKFT and Texprint.

The designs on show will include textiles, rugs, curtains, lighting, accessories and upholstered furniture, but also multimedia installations, digital animations and film projections.”

Smart textiles survive the spin cycle

New ‘smart’ fibres could be woven into your clothes to give them special properties, such as the ability to clean themselves, or recharge your mp3 player. It’s the fist time these kinds of fibres have been designed to survive washing at high temperatures. “Until now, such multifunctional applications have been limited by the ability to spin important materials into yarns and make sure they stay there even after washing,” says Ray Baughman of the Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute at the University of Texas in Dallas.

 

To solve this problem, his team set about making a yarn that could be peppered with “guest” particles of interest – titanium dioxide to create self-cleaning fabrics, for instance – and hold onto them through a hot dunking in detergent.To find out more about this technology, you can read the full news story via the link below  -from the New Scientist –

via Nanotube yarns let smart clothing survive the laundry – tech – 06 January 2011 – New Scientist.

Textile World Increased Global Organic Cotton Production

According to a new report released by the Lubbock, Texas-based Textile Exchange — a nonprofit organization, formerly known as the Organic Exchange, that facilitates expansion of the global organic cotton and sustainable fiber marketplace — global organic cotton production steadily increased in 2009-2010. …..

According to Textile Exchange, some $4.3 billion worth of organic cotton and home textiles products were sold globally in 2009. “Manufacturers, retailers and consumers, and most importantly, farmers, all signaled their continued interest in supporting organic cotton production and the risks that came with it despite the recession,” said LaRhea Pepper, senior director, Textile Exchange.

Read the full report @ Textile World – Textile Exchange Report Shows Increased Global Organic Cotton Production.

A Flickriver badge from the Textile blog

SmartFiber project will add intelligence to composites :: WTiN – Executive Intelligence from World Textile Information Network

SmartFiber project will add intelligence to composites
for ADA students Huddersfield , don’t forget you can get the full report and more via our electronic resource subscription to WTin via the library see http://library.hud.ac.uk/wiki/World_Text ile_Information_Network_(WTIN)

“By integrating micro-technologies, the SmartFiber project plans to demonstrate a smart system so small – on the milimetre scale – that it can be embedded into a fibre-reinforced polymer.”