Adamley Silk - live brief

This week I started on my design work for the Adamley project, starting with paisley designs I played around a bit with basic designs to get the feel and general aesthetic before making it more complex. I think this was helpful for the simplest of reasons, for example, giving me the chance to understand the amount of different paisley shapes, different width and lengths along with the design used to fill the shape all contribute to creating exciting patterns.

I started gaining a little confidence in my drawing skills, after having not drawn any form of intricate details or patterns for a while, the practice was refreshing and I have found it exciting to be pushing off my usual path. From this I decided to move forward and start bringing in some exciting new elements. Knowing it is for men’s pocket squares, I started to consider what design elements I could bring in. One idea I had was exploring the stereotype, which links men with fishing. I figured giving myself a theme and drawing some more paisley shapes would mean I’d start to produce something more unusual. I found it a little hard at first, just focusing on fishing, so I broadened my theme to the sea and fish in general. So I started to intertwine elements such as fish scales, fishing reels and fish net. I then started to think about using various fish and turning them into a paisley shape. So like in the picture below I decided to use the shape of a seahorse and manipulate it to fit a paisley shape within. I’m pleased with this idea as it allowed me to start bringing in more shapes, providing a wider ground for my designs.

From these drawings, I started to produce a repeat design, and this was my first time really creating a repeat design that uses a combination of elements and motifs, so figuring out a design that creates a seamless repeat was really rewarding for me on this project. 

Adamley Silk - Live Brief

I have chosen to take on the task of responding to a second live brief, simply because I think it will really help to widen my range of work. The Adamley brief required us to visit the silk printing mill and create designs in response to the mill and all of their design archives. My tutor and I agreed that it would be an interesting opportunity for me to branch out into something new, knowing that the design outcomes were intended for menswear.  Whilst on the trip to the mill we were able to see the complete industrial workings, from dying sourced fabric, to the studio designing all the way through to printing and final production. It was really interesting and exciting to see that they still use some traditional hand screen printing methods, and seeing the structure of print in industry. After the tour of the mill we had a chance to look through the Adamley archives, all of the past design work that they have collected over many years, dating as far back as the 1900’s with traditional carved wooden blocks.

Whilst looking through the archives I noticed that paisley was a strong consistent design element that ran throughout.  It seemed to be a timeless classic that moved with them through the years, therefore I think I would like to stick to the idea of working with paisley, however my aim is going to be to put a modern twist on it. For example, one design they showed us during the visit comprised of a paisley design but using different elements from a bike, such as the wheel and bike chain etc.  This is the kind of refreshing edge I think I need to include in my designs to create something new and exciting.

Michael Kidner - live brief

Using my designs I then had to figure out how to transfer them onto a fabric that could possess paper like qualities, so that I could return back to my folding technique. The best solution I found was transfer printing onto a rough synthetic fabric, I then used interfacing to back the fabric, this helped give the fabric a paper like structure, meaning it was easier to fold and held a strong shape once folded. I was satisfied to achieve this, simply knowing that there is a way to manipulate fabrics to make them possess qualities of other materials, it helped me realise that there is many more possibilities within textiles in general, you just have to push, experiment and you will find a way to achieve what you want to achieve. 

One I started creating samples I saw my samples heading toward an interior context, I thought they would be exciting as unusual interior accessories, for example feature cushions, lampshades, or even on a larger scale as room dividers. I decided to create a sample using a folding technique I found online which created a lantern shaped sample. Seeing it in 3D form inspired me to create visuals of an entire range of lampshade ideas.

Overall I like the final idea I headed towards and I think it would be an interesting way of interpreting Kidner’s work and an exciting way to distribute his work to a more accessible audience. However given the chance I would like to build on the project and refine my ideas more, perhaps looking more into the context, designing more interior accessories and exploring other possibilities, possibly in a fashion context also.