Yesterday was the first day of spring. Battersea Park is beautiful, my city escape.

Our last whopper of a project is over, and easter break is in sight (3 days!!)

Our latest project was based on Romney Marsh, it was a social engagement project and our first live brief. Romney has very high unemployment rates and with the nuclear power station closing down, more jobs are being lost. A company called Romney Tweeds, are starting up this project with the aim to employ young people coming out of college and teaching them to weave. Romney, has a long history of weaving and the Romney sheep is a top class breed! 

We had to create tweeds based on the landscape. Whilst on the trip the weather was awful and we all got drenched, the sea front and little wooden shacks were deserted. I created my concept on the idea that everybody had left to hibernate through the winter and on the dawning of spring life will return. I had two very different colour pallets, and worked with some of the brightest brights. We had to dye all our own yarn for this project, as tweeds are 100% wool. To finish off the project we had to pitch our work and research to a panel of 16 people from industry from menswear designers to weavers and tailors, it was a pretty big ask - but i really enjoyed it and the adrenalin carried me through until i crashed in the pub after with warren! 

Colour graduation

Honeycomb brights

Contrasting weight

Shadow stripe

Stripe Trim

Large Check

Stripe Trim

Honeycomb 

Digital Shirting designs.

Tweed waistcoat illustration

Trousers with contrasting turn ups with my shirt design.

Collaged clash of tweeds!

Back in January we started off the term with a ribbons & trims project. 

Condensed little weaves, cause hard work. 

This was my attempt. Inspired by the motion of waves & land. 

There was a day, maybe mid way through? that was awful - i spent hours trying to make my salmon pink warp work. Disheartened, i found it hard to see past what was sitting in front of me, - 7 odd hours of weaving, and all i had to show was 4inches of ugly yarns and ugly patterns. 

Then, like a powerful punch i realised i need to know how to fail. For, that day i realised id worked out what didn't work and tomorrow - it can only get better. 

A friend told me that the creative team at 'apple' are expected to often fail. Without finding the freedom of failure, we are limiting ourselves to perfection - and creativity doesn't grown in an atmosphere of perfection. Creativity grows when your allowed to experiment and confidence grows when that journey is acknowledged. 

Its taken me 6 weeks to blog about this because i don't love my work. However, i love what i've learnt. I get pretty low at times whilst creating something, but usually its followed by the high of a discovery - now im learning to distinguish my emotions, so a few little threads don't absorb my heart. 

I am fascinated by this notion of perfection + failure + creativity, i feel it will work my brain for a few years to come.