Mr Ross hasn't answered for our email so we decided to move on. We agreed to contact Judy R Clark since we loved her work and her business seemed to be interesting too. Katy send her an email and she applied almost immediately. We didn't have much time for research so we all head into the Media Lab and tried to find as much information as possible.
Judy R Clark at Urban Outfitters
Here are my additional notes for the previous research:
- appointed lead designer for new clothing label SPENCER
Spencer Collection
"It all started with a phone call from Mr Gilchrist and we haven't looked back. The company/manufacturer were looking for new brand manager/marketing expert to work with an innovative fashion designer so with a lot of work Spencer Clothing was born." Judy R Clark's blog
Under Creative Director Colin Gilchrist (The Social Tailor) in collaboration with the Couturier Judy R Clark (Ex-Alexander McQueen) our women’s wear collection is aimed at the 25 – 45yr city girl. Spencer is designed for the no-nonsense confident dresser at work, who enjoys a glass of wine at the end of a hard day in the office. Our gowns are not for the faint hearted, with curb sweeping hemlines and a body conscious cut.
The Social Tailor is a Digital Marketing business that design and build websites with social media strategy plans. We have a particular interest in fashion retail but also have experience in many other sectors.
A piece from the Spencer Collection
Notes about the collection:
- simple, sophisticated, beautiful (more ready to wear than Clark’s garments)
- colours: red, black, deep blue (different from Clark’s usual colour range)– elegant, luxurious
- European brand – although designed in Scotland they have sourced fabrics from England, France and Italy – they have a sales office in London city centre and their manufacturing base is in Kaunas - it is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life
Question ideas:
What was her benefit from Starter for 6?
How Mr Gilchrist found her, did they work together previously?
When she started online networking and did she find it useful?
How did she create her brand? Was it more like an intuitive process or based on some other source? (experience, cultural movement, fashion trend, family, etc.)
The colours of the Spencer Collection are amazingly luxurious but very different from her style. Does she have to compromise a lot?
How Mr Gilchrist found her, did they work together previously?
When she started online networking and did she find it useful?
How did she create her brand? Was it more like an intuitive process or based on some other source? (experience, cultural movement, fashion trend, family, etc.)
The colours of the Spencer Collection are amazingly luxurious but very different from her style. Does she have to compromise a lot?
Does she follow her competitors? Why is it important? (Do something different, or similar or find a different audience, etc.)
Seems like she has a good relationship with lots of fellow designers. Was she thinking about collaboration? Do they help each other or is it very competitive?
Seems like she has a good relationship with lots of fellow designers. Was she thinking about collaboration? Do they help each other or is it very competitive?
- She has been nominated as the best new Scottish artist or designer at this year’s Variety Awards.
- She successfully collaborated with Alison Macleod of Tiger Textiles. Results: The Gaelic Frock Coat made it s debut at the Scottish Style Awards and has since travelled internationally gracing the catwalks of Japan for the ‘Tweed goes to Tokyo’ exhibition, New York at ‘Dressed to Kilt’ and also at ‘Sachs on Fifth Avenue’. The jacket also represented the winners of textile manufacturer of the year, Harris Tweed Hebrides, at the Scottish Fashion Awards at Stirling Castle.
She participated in the Harris Tweed Bike Ride
After we collected enough information we sat down and discussed our findings. Sarah quickly made notes of all questions came into our mind and then we put them into categories. We ended up with about 20 questions, which we split up and reword them.
Sarah's notes
Categories and the numbers of the questions
Here are my three questions to reword:
8.What influenced your niche, are your family a factor, (uncle/sister)?
9.How do you keep your work fresh but maintain your personal style/niche.
10.Do you keep an eye on the competition, Is it important to?
9.How do you keep your work fresh but maintain your personal style/niche.
10.Do you keep an eye on the competition, Is it important to?
10. We think it's important to keep an eye on your competitors in the market? Why do you think it's useful for a designer?
Because Judy’s studio is tiny she preferred to have just two of us visiting her. Jenny redefined the consent form so everything was prepared for the big day. Katy and Sarah were happy to do the interview so they went to Edinburgh to meet up with her.