5.8.11

Flower Power

I participated in a quick workshop beside the lake Balaton, in Hungary. I'm interested in sustainable techniques so mark making with plants made me very exited. Instead of jumping right into the water I spent a couple of hours on a bench but it worth it. Although the final piece isn't my kind of taste but this technique is very interesting and made me think how could I use it for something else.


First we collected some flowers, leaves, berries and put them between two sheets of 100% cotton fabrics. Then we hammered the top layer for ages...pretty hard work.


 separation



We cleaned the surfaces  with a sharp knife and ironed the back of the fabrics to make the 'dyes' more permanent.


With a special fine liner for textiles we drew the outlines of the forms.

And the ready pieces...they look like illustrations from a vintage tale book rather than textile designs but using flowers as a dye really made me think.

1.8.11

Up - cycling

http://vimeo.com/21766443

Assignment 5/B

Plans for the future

Book list for summer:

Blink – The power of thinking without thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
I really enjoyed the Tipping Point written by the same author and I also feel this book would be a good complement after I've read 'Change by Design' by Tim Brown. Gladwell's book is about making decisions or getting new ideas in a second. It explains what's going on in our head when we make instant conclusions and how to use 'intuition' in real life. Brown's book gave us many ideas how to research customers we design for, how to use brainstorming and how useful is to think together with people from different occupations. This book would help me understand the other way of thinking.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell's
This book investigates the reason why some people become rich and famous but on a different way. Gladwell looks at the environment of successful people instead of studying what they did to become who they are. How their birthday, their community or their family affect what they accomplished? Another interesting social study by Gladwell, I must read it.

The back of the napkin by Dan Roam
This book is about the power of visual thinking. The author says that any idea can be explained by a picture. It would be very useful for me because I was always wondering how to transmit messages with textiles. It would be a very powerful tool to know that.

Fashioning technology by Syuzi Pakhchyan
A fashion related book about innovative materials, fabrics and paints. It's full with good ideas how to make crafted functional things using electronic components. I love 'found' objects and it would be nice how to use them as part of clothes. It is also useful to know about new materials and get inspired by the technology.

Shaping Sustainable Fashion: Changing the Way We Make and Use Clothes by Alison Gwilt and Timo Rissanen
I've always been interested in sustainability so this book is a must read for me. Fashion industry faces with different challenges to become environmentally friendly. This book provides a wide range of essays to get an insight into these problems.


Designers to contact:

Craig Fellows
A successful, award winning designer with an informative blog which give us an insight into his inspirations and thinking process. I like the way his gathering the information for his designs. The colours, the unusual patterns and the geometric organization of them is just amazing. I would contact him by email.

Mariposa Vintage
The colours and the compositions of her designs are very successful. I like her style and her technique. She could also tell me about what are the advantages and disadvantages of using Etsy. I would contact her via her web shop.

Margo Selby
She created a unique 3- Dimensional fabric and since then she sells her products internationally in many shops and galleries. I like innovative approach, her pattern and her use of colour. I would contact her by email.

Sari Syväluoma
She's a successful freelance designer who worked on many different projects not just with textiles. She's open-minded with a playful attitude which makes her a real innovator. She worked in co-operation with architects in long-term projects which makes her work even more interesting for me. I would contact her by email.

Anna Sassi
Taking inspiration from the natural world, it’s colours, textures and naturally reoccurring patterns, I enjoy the challenge of interpreting my concepts into both printed and knitted textiles. “ I like to use nature as my inspiration and I was thinking about choosing knit as my main discipline. I choose print though but I still feel strongly about knitted fabrics. I like the 3D quality of her work and I'm really interested in her technique. I would contact her via her blog.

5 things to change in my blog:
- I will write a profile about my previous studies, my interests and my goals
- I will set up a flickr account because photography is essential for me and not just as an inspiration
- I will post more about my activities relating to textiles and interesting websites or articles I found on the internet
- I can't think of anything else I would change just now. Blogspot.com has limitations though so I might will change for wordpress.com