BA (Hons) Textiles & Surface Design showcase at New Designers 2024!
Students on our BA (Hons) Textiles & Surface Design degree recently packed up their final year work and journeyed to London to feature in the first-week of the annual New Designers 2024 showcase!
New Designers “is an annual exhibition that showcases the work of emerging design talent across a wide range of disciplines. The exhibition provides a platform for these young designers to showcase their innovative and creative work to a wide audience, including industry professionals and potential employers. New Designers is a highly anticipated event in the design calendar, offering a glimpse into the future of design and showcasing the latest trends and techniques.”
Our graduates featured in the first week of the event which showcases graduate work from across textiles, fashion, jewellery, ceramics, and more. Students that featured at this years stand included: Clare Bell, Scarlet Bentley-Fox, Rachel Creevy, Jaime Cura, Stacie Guest, Katie Hammond, Ellana Hancock, Karen Harker, Kieran Harper, Elissa Kinnersley, Laura Mcilveen, Daisy Mulcahy, Eve Quincey, Jess Shaw, Megan Stoddart, Marlee Taylor, Charlotte Tupling, Chloe White and Laura Wigham.
Speaking of the experience student Ellana Hancock said “When first arriving in London we were all super excited to get started with building our display and bringing our work together. I knew that this was going to be an amazing opportunity for me to communicate and showcase my practice to industry experts and like-minded individuals. Coming to new designers allowed me to gain lots of experience and the confidence to communicate with industry experts and the public. This helped me develop a higher level of thinking when talking about my work and my process as an artist.”
New Designers offers students exposure to employers, designers, industry experts and brands. Some students even had the opportunity to meet designer and industry legend Zandra Rhodes! Other brands that offered interest and feedback to our students included: Boots no. 7 (for packaging), Amanda Kelly Design Studio, Green Grads, White Stuff, The Evening Standard, Jimmy Choo Academy, Tesco Home, Anstey Wallpapers, Standfast & Barracks, Silk Road Fashion, UK Greetings, American Vintage, AVA CAD CAM (Top 10 to watch), Skinny Dip, ASOS, Bay & Brown, Patterncloud, Museums & Galleries Ltd.
Student Daisy reflected, “every day I spoke to so many people from various walks of life from stylists to designers, to historians! Chatting to everyone and talking through your work is such a massive confidence boost which is perfect timing as we’re all about to step into our careers. Everyone is in the same boat, there’s nerves, excitement but I met so many amazing graduate designers from all over the world!”
Ellana also had the opportunity to connect with professionals she said, “I had quite a bit of interest from independent artists and a few companies who wanted to know more about my concept and particular processes I had used such as Cyanotype printing and eco printing. It was encouraging to know that my work was being recognised by companies such as ASOS and Green Grads!”
“A key element within the textiles industry that I have always been told, is that people will most likely know what they are looking for within a design collection or a particular style of art. However, I feel that as creatives we have to persevere through the opinions and judgement that people will have on our work. Not everyone is going to love the art you make and that is okay. This does not give it any less value. Making art that resonates to you is what matters the most and sharing it with the world is only a small portion of the process. We are individuals that are able to showcase our talents, creative thoughts and emotion through art. That is a skill in itself”
Speaking of curating the exhibition, student Daisy Mulcahy said, “The set up for new designers was more or less smooth sailing as we had already planned our set up and whole stand prior to heading to London which was most definitely a huge bonus.”
Ellana added; “We had already planned out our spacing by creating a mock build of our exhibit space in a previous week. This helped us prepare for the build on the actual day as we all knew how we wanted our spaces to look. The lectures and technicians gave us continuous support throughout the upcoming weeks to New Designers with plenty of information that guided us throughout the event.
I chose to include a large selection of my artwork and designs within my wall space and portfolio so that people could view the various types of processes I have developed and experimented with. This included wall hangings of hand-stitch and machine-embroidered imagery, digital manipulation, cyanotype print and naturally dyed materials. My portfolio showcased a range of the techniques and research I had used throughout my first, second and third year studying BA (Hons) Textiles & Surface Design. Within my collection of design work there were various drawing sheets, drypoint print, surface print with clay and natural anthotype print.”
Daisy exhibited “Eight A1 digital designs on a variety of fabric and also a digitally designed polyester satin dress. My final year project was definitely my most favourite project of my time at university, so I went with my strongest work. Alongside our work we each brought an A1 portfolio to narrate our final pieces and display to whoever asked to see more! I also created some business cards and CVs in which anyone was welcome to take.”
Speaking of her time on the course Ellana said, “my experience on the BA (Hons) Textiles & Surface Design degree course has been a truly inspiring and amazing journey. The ongoing support and encouragement from both the lecturers and technicians have been outstanding. Throughout this course, I have learnt so many new skills, techniques and ways of critical thinking. As a creative, I have gained the confidence, independence and communicative ability to pursue my goals of becoming a textile artist and exhibitor.”
Daisy agreed that her time on the degree “as a whole has been amazing.” Further stating “our tutors and technicians have such a wide variety of skills and experience within the industry and are there all the time to answer any questions! The best part about our degree in my opinion is the freedom to create whatever we like. Whether that be fashion, interior, gift, textile art, the university and course support that in every way.”
Daisy complimented the degree programmes staff team too, “I absolutely loved my time studying Textiles & Surface Design at the Northern School of Art and I cannot thank the supportive team of tutors and technicians enough for encouraging me to be the designer I am today. I have met some amazing people along the way and have made friends for life.”
Speaking of next steps Daisy, mentioned an opportunity she gained from exhibiting at New Designers, “from networking at New Designers I have been invited back to London to a well renowned fashion studio to show my work and portfolio! As well as being given an internship opportunity with a fashion company! After all of my studying I am so excited for the next chapter in my career and again I am so grateful for my 3 years at The Northern School of Art.”
New Designers has been a rite of passage for our final year students over the years, speaking of the event Senior Lecturer Jayne Hemmins said “The BA (Hons) Textiles & Surface Design programme has exhibited at New Designers, at The Business Design Centre, in London for over twenty years, winning awards, and securing contacts, agents, internships and jobs in a range of industries to include fashion textiles, interior surface design and gift, along with textile art and related areas. Our students specialise in print, embroidery, mixed media and digital design.”
Of the show and students she commented, “We are incredibly proud of our 2024 graduates who absolutely smashed it! They individually received a huge range of offers for the future, as well as massive amounts of love for the stand as a whole, which the students and staff team worked on collaboratively prior to the exhibition. Many visitors to the show told us that they loved the colour, quality of drawing, technical expertise and diversity of our graduates work, and felt that our stand was best in show. It was an absolute delight to see the students receiving such positive feedback on their work and real progression opportunities.”
If you are interested in studying textiles and surface design at degree level, make sure you check out our dynamic well-established programme. BA (Hons) Textiles & Surface Design offers graduates a diverse range of career pathways and opportunities to ensure that they have everything they need to take their first steps into their career after graduation. Make sure you find out more here.
Keep up to date with Elanna’s work on her Instagram check out her LinkedIn here. You can also see more of Daisy’s work on her Instagram.
During New Designers students Ada Malegowska and Kieran Harper were both interviewed on Shoutout Radio, to chat about their LGBTQ+ identities, their work, education and exhibiting at ND! Listen to the episode here.
