Camden Market

When I was in London I spent a whole day at Camden Market. This was the first time I had ever been there and I found it so inspirational and I've never visited anywhere like it before.

Some of the people that were there were just so unique and quirky. I definitely want to visit some of the other famous markets in London and I will most certainly be returning to Camden in the near future. These are some of the images that I have gathered that I am going to use for inspiration and also that I am going to keep to remember how much of a good time I had when I was there.

Print Tank

Whilst I was in London I also visited the fashion design studio Print Tank. Rose Barber and Sian Evans are two of the designers from the company and they have been working together for 4 years. Companies that they sell to include Miss Selfridge, Oasis, Vera Wang, Calvin Klein, DKNY and Missoni. The company travels all over the work with trade shows including Indigo in Paris, New York and Japan.
I am currently in the middle of a fashion design brief for this company. I have been asked to create a collection of 10 designs based around the theme geometrics, flora and forna. The design company have given me four different themes to choose from,

• Smokey and neon
• Psychedelic
• Textured and Adorned
• Shibori and Tie Dye

I have chosen to go with the Psychedelic theme as I think this best suits my style. Once I have completed my collection I will have to present my designs to Sian Evans, one of the designers from Print Tank. This will be good experience for me and it will give me practice in how to present my own work.

Also whilst I was at the studio, I got a lot of information about how the company started and what backgrounds the designers came from before working together. I also got a chance to look and to feel some of the designs that they create and they were absolutely amazing. This now gives me an idea of the standard that I have to work towards with my collection.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

Last week I visited London with my degree class. One of the highlights of the trip was going to see Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo. It was on at Sadlers Wells Peacock Theatre in the centre of London.

I really enjoyed going to see this as it had a comical twist. It was an all male ballet show and it included acts from Swan lake, Pas De Deux, La Trovatiara and Majisimas. All the dancers in the ballet were males and their outfits and make up were just fantastic. They were absolutely amazing dancers and I could tell that it must have taken a lot of hard work and effort to train their bodies.

To me the outfits and the colours worked really well with each other. Also the music and the way the dancers moved so elegantly was really inspirational to me.

There was one part in the show which really stood out to me and that I will never forget. It was of the dying swan in Swan Lake. The swan gracefully moved from one side of the stage to the other and at the same time feathers were just falling to the ground. The lighting and the way that the feathers were falling to the floor was just amazing to watch.

Matthew Williamson 10 years in Fashion

Last weekend I visited the Matthew Williamson exhibition at the Urbis in Manchester. The exhibition looks at the process and use of pattern, print and colour which Matthew Williamson is famous for. I chose to visit this exhibition because I absolutely love his work and I wanted to gather as much inspiration as I could for my fashion print brief. His psychedelic approach is very similar to my style , also his use of colour and print really inspires me.

These are examples of some of the prints that he used in his collections.

Visit to London

Next Tuesday I am travelling to London with my degree class to visit Print Tank studios. I am currently researching towards a brief to design a range of fashion prints based around the themes Flora, Fauna, Geometric, Stain and Erode. The brief has been given to us by print tank studio and we are travelling down there to take a look at the studio and to ask them questions about their work.

Whilst in London I am going to visit the Tate modern and also to watch Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo at the Peacock theatre. Also whilst I am down there I will hope to visit some of the famous markets, where I can gather inspiration and influences for my designs.

Jeanette Appleton Sow:Sew Exhibition

I recently visited the Jeanette Appleton exhibition, SOW:SEW, at the Farfield Mill Arts and Heritage Centre in the Lake District.

The exhibition explores mark making and the relationship of making by hand and machine. It features over twenty pieces of work in felt and in paper. I really enjoyed looking at her work because I found it quite inspirational at the time, towards some research that I was doing on floral, forna, marking, staining and eroding.