Preparation for Dissertation...

Reflective Writing

From watching 8 individual interviews from 8 different tutors/lecturers around the country these are notes I have made that I feel will help me with reflective writing for my dissertation.


Taking notes after each day of work experience shows more honest reflections.

Less descriptive - more ideas and thoughts presented.

Reorganise learning I have recieved, what i have learnt from everything I have done, analyse evaluate and synthesise - problem solve

Collect things and then interact with them to create innovative outcomes.

Learn what i need to improve upone, and celebrate acheivments, do not leave dissertation to last minute.

Reflection can help to capture snippets of experience, look back and find patterns and strategies - what, why, when, how, who. where - symbols.

Talking about work but in a written form, doesn't necessarily have to have a beggining a middle and an end, more subjective, be able to articulate to others, this is important for personal development, I need to formalise my thought process. Me on Paper!

Ask myself what I have learnt form each project, personal developement, exploratory examination, sense making, individual personal journeys, what changes have these things made to me.

An example of the free-est possible way of writing could be a double entry journal, put item in, and then on second half of page reflect upon it - what it felt like and making sense of it.

Note mistakes and be critical - acknowledge things didnt go to plan - make strategies and plans. Don't be afraid to write feelings.

Keep note of what goes right and what goes wrong, improvements that need to be made at first does not seem useful, but it is a release, getting it on to paper, there is a pressure of getting things right, sometimes get down all your thoughts first. Notemaking.

Lets Go To BARCELONA!

Its off to Spain we go.......

Click image to see detail!

Here is a collection of photos I have collaged that I found summed up the whole atmosphere of Barcelona.

Just a few of the things that really stood out...

- Bright colours - Markets, Mosaics, Park Guell (Gaudis creations!)
- Gothic gaudi architecture scattered around the city
- Culture - contemporary art museum
- Lively atmosphere - new up and coming areas such as El Raval,
La Ramblas with performances from street artists.
- Spanish traditions and history - Sagrada Famillia

Work Placement

Belle and Bunty

Over the summer I took part in a four week work placement with the womenswear fashion label 'Belle and Bunty', at their studio and beautiful little shop situated in Kentish Town.



http://www.belleandbunty.co.uk/


The two designers Hannah and Alice also co-own 'The Four-Factory' and 'Three's Company' which sort out the Marketing, PR and Promotions side of the business. As well as this they design for the menswear label 'Pose London' which has its suave shop along the cobbled streets of Covent Garden.


www.poselondon.co.uk


Over the four weeks I managed to take part in a various different projects, along with running a few different errands all around London.



First of all I was given a list of different male celebrities who would promote Pose London well and added more to the list that I though also suited the brand. I took on a PR role for this, and searched out agents and contacted them about delivering a goodie bag with either a shirt or T-shirt and look book. As 'Pose London' is quite a new brand they are looking for more promotion to boost their sales and there status in the fashion industry!

Dan from the Noissettes wears a 'Pose London' shirt.

Friendly Fires on their latest photoshoot - 'Pose London' shirt worn on the left.

My next task was to work on a couple of the newsletters with the themes of 'Festival Fun', 'Flower Power' which promoted the Spring/Summer collection for 'Belle and Bunty'. This was one of the parts I most enjoyed, as I could get my hands on photoshop and play around with layout, colour schemes, typography and the varieties of patterns within each newsletter.

Here is the completed 'Flower Power' newsletter...

As well as this I was asked to arrange the garments for 'Pose London' and 'Belle and Bunty' flat in the studio to be photographed for the websites. I also dressed mannequins in different outfits so that the viewer can look at the garment as part of the whole outfit. Although quite a simple task I liked the freedom that they gave me to put together individual items, styling them in my own way, and making changes that they felt were neccessary afterwards. I also looked into trend research for 'Pose London' and printed off images and descriptions for the next season, this I enjoyed as I have previously based projects on fashion forecasting.

Along with running errands such as the goodie bags to the celebrities, a wedding dress to a little spanish lady who hand sews on little silk flowers, and picking up various ribbons, beads etc from shops, I also minded the shop occasionally. Although these jobs are quite small, during my time there I had a really useful overall view of what it is like to run a business and the many different areas there are to focus on that make it successful. Working alongside a girl doing a graphics work placement there, we both found it useful discussing what we thought worked best, and what needed to change with our individual tasks. At the end of the placement I found that they would be grateful for any furthur help me, and they even gave me a pretty Belle and Bunty silk cushion as a thank you!