We know this is an unusual time for everyone and thought you might be struggling to find things to do whilst you’re stuck at home. So, our Course Directors from the School of Fashion and Textiles have come up with some ideas that will not only keep you busy, but get you uni ready, too!
BA (Hons) Textile Design
Be creative and challenge yourself
- Keep an eye out on our Instagram page run by our technical demonstrators @bcu_createmakeparkside and get involved with live activities and quizzes!
- Capture exciting colour palettes, Explore Pantone for great colour inspiration! Take photographs, collect objects, papers, materials that have beautiful and exciting colour combinations.
- Test yourself in one hour contests on the Pattern Observer website.
- A great example includes ‘Texture Hunt’ and ‘Alternative Sketching Styles’.
Get your hands dirty
Learn a new skill, and embark on a home craft project. Selvedge magazine cover some great ideas!
Keep walking
It’s important to go out and get some fresh air, so make sure you continue to go on a ‘Mindful Walk,’ taking tips from Patternity! It’s key to take time to notice your surroundings, and will also help you in becoming a great Textile Designer. These tips from Patternity will change the way you look at the world!
Explore virtually
You may not be able to walk into a museum or gallery, but there’s no stopping you doing so virtually! From The Louvre in Paris to The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, why not explore your options?
Read
- Crafts magazine
- Selvedge Magazine
- Dezeen Online Magazine
- This is Colossal, online arts platform
- Drapers Online
- The Weave Shed
Watch
- BA (Hons) Textile Design alumni Chloe Frost gives an insight into her role in trend forecasting and discusses her experience on the course.
- Grayson’s Art Club - Channel 4 (available to watch back on All 4)
- TED talks
- Influential videos from expert speakers on ‘ideas worth spreading’ on the topics of education, business, science, tech and creativity. Start searching and get lost in the vast archive!
Listen
- Material Matters with Grant Gibson
- Thread Cult
- Tink!
Follow
@textilesbcu @mat_er.lab @craftscouncil @wgsn @patternity @designmilk @newdesigners @michelleogundehin @m_shillingford
BA (Hons) Fashion Design
Start a new project
It’s a great time to be creative, so why not start a sketchbook or scrapbook and use this to gather ideas of things that inspire you. Go a step further and start drawing designs that you feel are interesting.
Examine your own clothes
Look through your wardrobe and explore how your clothes were constructed. Which fabric(s) were used? Have they got plackets, zips, pockets? How are they finished inside?
Look at the craft projects on Selvedge magazine, and if one appeals, give it a go.
Try the one-hour challenges on the Pattern Observer; have a go at the ‘Texture Hunt’ and ‘Alternative Sketching Styles’.
Get social
@bcu_fashion
@bcu_createmakeparkside
Watch
Explore YouTube for fashion content and channels; take a look at your favourite brands. What do they tell you about the industry?
Read
Listen
Have a listen to The Business of Fashion Podcasts. This is a useful resource providing views on the fashion industry from a range of experts!
Foundation Fashion and Textiles
The most important thing that you need to be is curious, to keep an open mind and to research broadly around your chosen subject matters.
Get busy
Collate and record a visual record of your everyday life; photograph and document the people that live in your community and record the landscape; city / countryside that you live amongst. Take inspiration from photographer Martin Parr, whose aim was to capture the essence of life - in an instant, recording different storylines across the world: These photographs can then help to inform your first project, giving you a head start.
Look at some of the following websites and links to museums, and tune into fashion and art related documentaries (on Netflix or the BBC arts section).
