LONDON BOUND

So as part of my course at uni (of which I've been very busy with, hence the lack of posts- SORRY!!), we're expected to market research- which basically means having a nosey around the shops and flicking through the glossy mages every now and again! Nah, its more serious than that, though last week I did get to do the nosey round the shops bit.

And what shops they were...

Our lecturers organised a trip to London, to complete our market research and also have a gander around 'The Vulgar' exhibition at The Barbican. The exhibition was great, it was full of interesting fashion designs which many might consider unconventional or inappropriate (I can imagine my Nan would have a lot to say about certain pieces within the collection (the dress with pencils on it or "oh my gosh, that's barely a top")). I can't say I full understood the idea that the collection was 'vulgar' but nether the less there were some gorgeous work by some influential designers! With it being an exhibition, we weren't allowed to take any photos, so here's a picture of the stunning installation in the entrance to The Barbican!

As for the market research, we headed to Regent's Street! After a cheeky Nandos we headed off for a nosey around!

The first shop we visited was one recommended to us by our lecturer- ZARA Home. I visit Zara all the time (there's a fab one in Derby), but had never seen their home wear department. The smell as you walked in was gorge, and the beautiful Christmas displays, along with the Crimbo lights outside got us in a properly festive mood! The items on offer were beautifully organised, with neutral sections contrasting with bright pops if colour! I have to say, they had the most beautiful woven throw collection I've ever seen! And I had never thought they would be such a demand for hair rugs- checked, dyed, metallic foiled- you name it they'd got it! But my favourite part was the collection of slippers! I mean who wouldn't want a pair of silver metallic loafer-style slippers?

When I was younger I remember watching Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium (it was my fav...) and thinking 'why isn't there a toy shop like that by my house?' Now I'm older, its less about a toy shop, but the second shop we visited is basically the real life interior version. Well, that's how I felt anyway.

ANTHROPLOGY. Can't say I'd ever heard of it before, but what I can say now, is that I'll be visiting again as soon as I can! The Christmas themed window display drew us in, but inside the Christmas decoration was very dignified. I suppose it was the standard and quality of the shop, but there was no tacky tinsel or 'glittery tat' as my Dad would say... In fact their Christmassy displays were totally different to products (not too overbearing!). The organisation of the products within the shop was great! The shop itself is a bit of a trades, with the clothing being at the front, and the interior products split over the many other floors in the store. To be honest, I felt like I was in a bit of an art gallery, and that was just the interior décor of the shop itself! And I have to say... this shop smelt fab as well!

After popping into some of the other shops such as H&M and a random pub for a wee, we visited LIBERTY London.

I don't know what I was expecting from this one, but I can definitely say it wasn't what I saw! I was completely overwhelmed by the interior of the store! What a stunning shop?!

My favourite part of the shop, as a design student, was of course the haberdashery! Liberty stock a beautiful array of fabrics, in the beautiful array of prints! I was in owe, it was literally heaven!

Finally, we took a trip to Selfridges. I've been to the one in Birmingham multiple times, but there's nothing like an original! As this was the last shop we visited, we were all a little tired, and to be honest the only thing I really photographed was the Christmassy stuff!

So overall, a fab day of Market Researching!

Bethan Rose x

(PS- as you can tell, I'm not very good at regularly updating my blog... oops! But I do update my Instagram all the time- bethanperrytextiles  )

Weaving my way back in...

So this is my third week back of uni, and inbetween the freshers events, lectures and work, I've barely had any time to post anything on here! (That's kind of a lie- I have 3 half written posts in my draft box that I never got around to finishing and posting, and are now no longer relevant!) But anyway, I just thought I'd let you know what I've been up to!

 As a second year at UoD, we spend the first semester doing 4 week rotations of Weave, Print and Knit. Its relatively similar to last year, however this year, I'm being trusted with machinery! Looking at using the Jaccquard in the Weave rotation, and digital printing in the Print part! The above image has probably given it away, but I'm starting this year off with a bit of weave!

When I started Uni, I thought I was going to almost definitely going to become a printer, and go on to design a wallpaper range or something like that. The truth is, other than a few sessions with an WI lady, I'd never knitted on a domestic knitted machine, and the only weaving I'd ever done was a large abstract piece for my A-levels based on the lack of sustainability in my local area... The only thing I knew was printing!

The truth is, I'm not 100% sure I want to be a printer anymore- weave is becoming more and more appealing!

And last week we were taught how to thread our own looms! Its something I've never done before, and I'm not going to lie, it took me 3 attempts to get it right! But when I did, I was so proud! (And releaved- everyone else managed to do it straight away!)

The colour scheme I've chosen, is based both upon the African Artisan project completed over the summer, and the naturally dyed weaves I created. (The colours are a bit brighter than the natural dyes- but I like it that way!)

As you can see, I've only worked on this piece a little, but that's because we haven't started our pattern practicals yet! I've started drawing up a few patterns and I'm excited to get started!

Bethan Rose x

One week to go!

I LOVE being at home! Don't get me wrong, my brother annoys the hell out of me, and  Mom worries about me a tad too much about me when I'm on a night out, but I love being at home!

I love the home cooked meals, the fact that the house is always warm, and that if I fancy a custard cream, there's some in the biscuit box down stairs, and I haven't got to walk to Salisbury's Local, to then have to compromise with a Bourbon because they haven't got any Custard Cream's left- and even the its like 3 pound a packet!

I love the social aspect of it too- my Nan lives 5 minutes round the corner, most of my Aunties and Uncle's live within walking distance, and all of my friends are home for summer as well. And I also get to see Liv, Fin and Dyl, my brothers from another mother! (and sister..)

Oh, and Thumper, appropriately nicknamed "Dump" (I think you could work out why...), my lil house rabbit 

Despite all of this, I can't explain my level of excitement this morning when I realised that ITS ONLY ONE MORE WEEK UNTIL I MOVE BACK TO DERBY!

I can't wait to be reunited with the girls off my course! This time last year I thought I had it all- a good job, a car, a good friend circle- In fact I was in some delusional world where I thought I would keep in touch with EVERYONE I ever met at Sixth Form, and we'd be friends forever.

In truth, what I have learnt over the last year, is that I have more acquaintances than friends. Some of the people I used to spend everyday with, I now only see once every few months... But there are a few who I've stayed in touch with. 

It is true what people say though- you do meet friends for life at Uni. And although we've spoke, texted, Skyped or Snapchatted nearly every day since we've been off,  I can't wait to see them all face to face!

I'm excited to get back into the routine of WALKABOUT WEDNESDAY- out little traditional night out! Though this year I think I need to tone down the going out- 2/3 times a week isn't sustainable of a student budget- not on top of the Nandos, kebabs and midnight Maccies trips!

And the stupid photos!

I'm excited to see our new Textiles Studio! And get back into knitting (even though I hated it last year!), and weaving and printing and drawing and essay writing. OK, maybe not essay writing but still... I just want to get back into Textiles- I've enjoyed our little summer project but I want to get out of a sketchbook and into something a little more textural!

(This is Sean- the ONLY lad on our course! (had to get a pic of him in somewhere))

BUT MOST OF ALL, I'm looking forward to moving back in with some of the best friends you could ask for! We may have argued countless times, and fought over whose turn it was to wash up, but those negatives are outweighed by the film nights, the times we've just sat around drinking instead of writing important essays, and our pathetic attempt at a flat party- which resulted in 4/5 of us being drunk before the few people who bothered to turn up came... I had a great year, and because of our unorganized lifestyle, we left it too late to get a house for this year, so we're staying in halls again- meaning we can o it all again! Unfortunately, Lauren, who lived with us last year won't be coming back to live with us, cos' she's chosen to commute this year. She has agreed to pop round every so often, with the promise of the odd Nug Nug, for old times sake!

I have to admit, when I started writing this blog, I was going to talk about all the new sketchbook work I've done, not focus on the memories of last year. But then I suppose it still shows, THAT I CANT WAIT TO GET BACK TO UNI!!

Bethan Rose x

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...

The sea is one of my favourite things- from its calming rhythm to its beautiful blues... And there's nothing I love more than staring out to the horizon and wondering how many other people are doing the same around the world. One person who shares this passion with me is my Nan, who up until this weekend, hadn't seen the sea in over 5 years.

At the age of 76, she was recently asked what was on her bucket list- to which she replied with "a bucket what?". After a bit of explaining, we found out the one and only thing my Nan had on her bucket list, was to go to the beach. So off we went to Llandudno!

So whilst my Nan ticked off her bucket list to eat fish and chips once again by the sea, as she had done on many, many occasions when she was younger; I found the perfect opportunity to take some photos!

No I know I'm no Ansel Adams, but I thought I'd share a few snaps!

We also popped to Conwy!

My photos don't justify the natural beauty of the scenery! But it's not the photos I went for- it was the look on my Nans face when she ticked "fish n chips by the sea" off her Bucket List!

Bethan Rose x

All things African...

So after months and months of having finishing my first year at Uni (and attempting to write a regular blog- which you can see hasn't been going too well!), I decided it was about time to knuckle down with some serious work on our summer project. Whilst I wasn't feeling overly inspired by the task sheet given to us by our lecturers, the theme of AFRICAN ARTISAN intrigued me. I don't know much about African culture, or design, but been as I enjoy looking to other cultures for inspiration, this seemed like the perfect theme!

Whilst Google is all good and fine for research, you can't beat a bit of real life, first hand inspiration- and whilst I'm not the poorest, there's no way I could afford to go to Africa anytime soon! So after a cheeky bit of research (of which Google was very good for!), one of my course mates discovered an African Market in London. The Old Spitalfields Market to be precise.

It turns out the market is held on the last and first Saturday of every month, and is filled with authentic market stalls covered in beautiful bright colours and patterns! Whilst some of the stalls are ran by Africans, and sold beautiful designs and items hand crafted on the continent itself, others were designed by those living in the UK.

We were lucky enough to meet a fellow Textile Designer, called Rachael. I was initially drawn to her stall because of the beautiful lino printed tote bags lying on the table. Lino printing was something I always enjoyed trying at A-Level, and something I'm yet to explore at Uni! The bright colours and patterns are beautiful, and gave me loads of ideas for my own work! Give her an Instagram follow- @rachy_boos - she's defo worth checking out!

We also got to meet the lovely guys from Plush too! (They're also worth an Instagram follow- @plushventuresltd) Their designs are all original prints designed by ladies and gentlemen in Africa! I brought a gorgeous tote bag from them- not just because of the beautiful print, but also its perfect for all my sketchbooks!

The other stalls had a lot to offer as well- plenty of bright colours and bold designs.

So after an interesting morning inspo-gathering, it was only right we rewarded ourselves with a trip to Camden for a bit of street food...

So after a great day- all that's left now is to crack on with our sketchbook work!

Bethan Rose x

A little bit about me!

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 Hi!

So I'm new to all this blogger stuff, so I thought I'd begin by introducing myself!

My names Bethan Rose, I'm 18 years old and quite frankly the youngest of ALL my friends (everyone was 18 before me, and now everyone's 19 and I'm not!). I've just completed my first year at the University of Derby, studying Textiles Design! It's kind of mad I ended up there, I never really new what I wanted to do when I was growing up- as a child I've been a nurse, a zoo keeper, a mechanic, a chef- I even went through a period where I wanted a princess. Or a fairy. Or a dog....

I've always been arty though, my Nan was a Tailor in her 20s, and always had her sewing machine out when were growing up. Me and my brother and cousin used to stay with her in the summer holidays, and we've made some pretty hideous hand puppets and dolls clothes over the years! My Gran was quite crafty too- I think it's something to do with their 'make-do and mend' generation (as my nan would call it!). Between the two of them, I could use a sewing machine by the time I was 10, even getting a cute little purple sewing machine for Christmas- it sang when you pressed the foot paddle! I can remember being taught to knit as well, making my favourite teddy bear a brightly coloured stripped scarf!

                                              

Despite all the colouring books, make-your-own-pom-poms and fuzzy felt, I never took textiles at A-Level. Don't get me wrong, I loved Textiles Design at GCSE, but I'd always been an Art & Design kinda' girl! So I applied to do Fine Art, English Literature and Language, Biology and Psychology... LUCKILY, I changed English last minute and have absolutely no regrets! Ever since I started Textiles Design, I fell in love! I even began to make my own clothes- although I soon discovered it wasn't a career in Tailoring or Fashion I was heading for!

 I really enjoyed the few years I studies it (I've never been very academic- I can apply myself much more with fabrics and dyes and a sewing machine than with writing an essay) and if I'm being honest, it was the subject I excelled in the most! So there you go, one thing led to another, and my life long ambition of being a dog went out of the window!

So here I am, a year into my degree, and absolutely loving it! It's changed me so much as a designer! Now everything I see is a piece of inspo, every tree, every house, every little cupcake with the cute icing and sprinkles on! It amazes me now that I once didn't think I wanted a career in design...

So anyway, there's what you need to know about me! My blog, is looking to follow my journey through design, both at Uni, as well as my own little projects!

Bethan Rose x