critical studies and enterprise catch up.

i must say i am pleasantly surprised about how critical studies has gone this year. i feel like i am understanding the concepts a lot easier than i did last year, which is great, and i also feel like i want to learn this stuff a lot more than i used to to. i don't just want to be a fashion air head, i want it to mean something. i like the way it is taught this year, with lectures in the morning and then the more personal, and discussion based seminar in the afternoon with James. he basically explains things to us that we didn't quite get in the morning lecture and gives us something extra to talk about. my writing skills aren't very good, but i am hoping to improve them with the tasks he sets us. over the christmas break i need to think of a theme to write my essay on, at the moment i'm thinking of something to do with sustainability, but i have to narrow it down a little more really! 

also its been a while since i've updated this with stuff about the enterprise and innovation project. its going much better than i thought! i think our idea is really good, and we have made sure all our branding is strong, i feel like i have neglected the written work though, so thats something i need to catch up on!  we have called our label 'dolly mixture clothing' and we recycle old clothes sent to us by the customer, make them into something and send the garment back to them at a cost. recycled fashion!! and the sweet reference comes from the pick and mix styling of the website where you pick what neck line, hem line, sleeve styles you want your garment to have.

Tailoring tutorial.

so i had my tailoring tutorial today with Sue, and i was a little bit nervous. i didn't think this project was my strongest, and with the course leader marking it and giving me feedback i think i was allowed to be! But it actually went really well, better than i thought it would by far, she was really positive and supportive of my work, and she told me that i need to work on my drawing skills to lift my designs off the page a little, and to experiment with more media in my next project. i much prefer the mew way of giving feedback straight after the project has finished, as its all fresh in my mind and i can consciously work on correcting things straight away on the next project.

Millinery mark.

I got my mark back for my elective in millinery today, and to be honest i am really disappointed. i got a 62, which is Ok, its still a 2:1 but i felt i had put so much more effort in this year as i already knew she was a harsh marker from last year, but to achieve the SAME mark the second time, when i had worked harder and feel like i came up with a much fresher concept is a little upsetting. Its also hard to figure out where i went wrong exactly, because in the feedback i was given, only really positive words were used, such as 'amazing, fantastic, brilliant...' etc. i do want my mark to average out as a first in the second year, and this has brought my average down quite a bit, so i will have to work harder in other projects and push myself further to achieve this, which is only a good thing anyway. 

Wild Rose Seamstresses

the design fair at RED ERIC studios was yesterday with Jess, and it really brought me down a few pegs. i had this image in my head that it was going to go amazingly, and that i would sell a fair few things, but in fact it didn't go very well at all. i only sold one purse, and it was to my old house mate! oh joy! i think the way we laid out our stall was amazing, and the product was good, (even if there was not much choice with sizes) and i think me and Jess acted very professionally, but the customers were just not coming through the doors! i think this was because of the poor location of the studio and the lack of advertising. It was a shame as we both put so much work in before hand to make this as perfect as we could, which unfortunately has made me spend less time on my current tailoring project (but i will catch up i promise!!). I will continue to try with this little sideline project as i have really enjoyed designing and making clothes to sell in my own style, but i will have to work even harder in future to make it work!