NEW BLOG!!

Yes that's right a new blog!



PCT INDEPENDENT DESIGNS is still going to be up and be used as my personal blog.


The new blog will be used for my second year where you will be able to see my journey further.


HOWEVER! posts may be slow on this blog so if You're interested then please follow my new blog , 'THIS IS DARK MATTER'

I hope to be posting soon on this blog.


http://thisisdarkmatter.blogspot.co.uk/

Knitting??

I can already imagine what everyone is thinking, a 19 year old knitting away instead of going out partying.

Truth be honest I'm not a party kind of girl so instead I keep myself busy by drawing, working and apparently knitting too.

I first started knitting when I was in school 11 years old when my teacher mentioned that she was starting a knitting club for students during our lunch hour, so I thought why not try it (I was in a lot of after school clubs so this was another addition to keep me busy). So I went and started to practice knitting, I brought my own knitting needles and yarn and started to do it from home. 

Baring in mind I haven't actually finished what I started knitting years ago but it would pop out of my draw and I would start knitting from time to time until I complete forgot about it.

So why take it up again??

One of the main reasons as to why I wanted to take it up again is because I saw this gorgeous scarf online that was roughly £200, it was long, thick and wide and I was in love with it. But obviously I don't have much money due to saving for london. So instead of forking out 200 for a scarf, I thought why not make one myself and I am.

I bought hayfield chunky with wool, 145m, black (obviously) from fenwick and it didn't take me long to finish my wool. Obviously it had been a really long time since I've last touch a knitting needle to which I turned to youtube to reteach myself how to cast on stitches and to join on more yarn. I found this very useful and I'm really impressed with my progress.

I'm guessing that I will need maybe 3 or 4 more bundles of wool depending on how long I want my scarf to be. 

The large image that displays my progress so far and how long a full bundle goes, this about just wraps around the neck and the wool is thick and very soft. Obviously when I've finished I will need to pull the scarf a little to make it seem longer and slightly stretch because at this minute when it's sat how it is now it looks short and thick. Stretching it will make the finished look longer and slightly thinner.

The following videos are the clips that have helped me restart my knitting are - 

Casting on - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWJQvsZ6kT0

Joining on - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy__eVIDshE

Casting off - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIhhAM5MFbQ

 <<<< Click to enlarge

It's been a while...

And it most certainly has.

So today I'm going to give an update and an inside look on what I've been up to.

So I guess I should start with my drape project, not going to lie I haven't done anything like this before so I am struggling in some areas such as the construction and creating a pattern piece.
Although it doesn't entirely help that my designs aren't exactly simple to make or recreate on the stand for the matter. But I must say I am enjoying what I am doing so far.

Some of the designs that I've made on the mannequins do look quite complex due to the way the fabric falls. The fabric that I had used in these images was hard cotton, grey which was a thick fabric that didn't entirely fall like silk instead it kept it's shape and created a 3D like effect.

I did experiment with a softer and lighter fabric which I didn't really like the feel off. Simply because I thought it made my design ideas look cheap and tacky So I decided to scrap the fabric and stick to the hard cotton.

My main inspiration for my designs were Gareth Pugh and Tainted Wool because they use a lot of over sizing to their best ability so I decided to use them in my designs.

In further posting I will show progression on my sketchbook and the collection that had inspired me with my designs.

Tainted Wool

Knitted texture and winter inspirations???

So it seems as though the summer is coming to an end, the weather is cooling, the boots are returning and so are the leather jackets which can only mean that winter is slowly approaching.

Although they say that summer is going to last a real long time, can anyone really see that happening??

So why not start looking for winter wear now so you can be be stylish as ever against the cold winds. And the perfect place to look first is 'Tainted Wool'.

Tainted wool is unique knitwear brand located in New York that produces yarn clothing and heavy accessories. 

                      

The brand produce a mixture of shapes, textures and colours that help blend and intertwine within the piece. Looking at the end produce you can see full mobility within the pieces such as the over sized scarves that take shape of a spine and an alien like effect. The work captures both softness and roughness of knitwear which creates the texture in the pieces.

'My work creates representations of how fiber and textile designs give voice to these symbiotic relationships'

The works of these creations are a total must have and would intertwine with everyones outfits during the cold weather. These are such massive and inspiring items to come across, giving me wants to change up my style again and to develop my own thoughts and aspirations.

House Of Malakai

Instagram is probably one of my favorite places to find new and creative things like Malakia.

Looking at some of his work and his bio it is noted that he is a self taught artist who comes from Bali.
He started with hard jewelry and decor in 1999. Malakai started the lable 'House Of Malakai' in 2013 which allowed him to express his artistic style and develop them into dramatic styles. The brand focuses on accessories and head wear, which has been supported by celebrities such as Beyonce and Rihanna.

His work pays particular attention to detail and a combination of hand craft and modern digital craftsmanship.

It is said that his influences are from high fashion, science and underground movements.

"Ancient tribal culture weaves seamlessly with cutting edge technology in the hands of this multi media artist. His work transcends our time – a familiar memory of something we've never seen before."

His work in my point of view is sex, edgy, inspirational and dramatic. Some of his work can look alienated and very artistic. With the photographs he hasn't just thought about the presentation of the accessory but the placement and the story of the image would tell. It is this that shows the artistic flare in the designs as well as the designs themselves.
His work is very inspirational and will come in use for future research and design ideas.

 

 

Update on the self project and personal update

It's been a while since I've posted about the self project that I have set myself but there has been some major complications.

Laptop broke and being walked over with trying to get t-shirts printed. So perfect!
Now that I have my laptop back I can now say that my self project has been put on hold for the mean time till catch up with my coursework.

I also had my first job interview on Sunday just gone, someone actually responded and gotten back to me after months of trying to get a job and it does look promising. But I have been told that if I do get the job then i may have to dye my hair, I'm not going to lie this is going to be hard for me to do as it will mean me looking and feeling like everyone else but at the end of the day I will be representing the company so if I have to I guess I will.
The reason as to why I say that this will be hard for me to do will be because not that I see my hair as everything but i love looking different from everyone, it's how i express myself. Personally being asked to change for a job or for a person to the matter is like taking away my independence but saying this I would be working in a store that is surrounded by top designer labels and brands, I would be bang on trend and it would benefit me so much with news reports and my course work.
So... I wont dye my hair till I know for sure that I have the job and maybe do one more last green top up just to say goodbye to my hair before going all black :P

This will be very hard for me to do and it will make me feel uncomfortable for a while but as time goes on I will get used to it.

So this is as much as i have to say for today/tonight so I will be posting tomorrow to show some of the drawings that I have been doing by ready to be edited but until then I will be doing my coursework and other things.

Fox and Shriek

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to help out back stage of the Fox and Shriek show as well as seeing the show.
I can not describe how much fun and an honour it was for me to be able to see and do what I had experience that day. The whole day was very surreal and I couldn't come to grips that I was backstage running errands for Paul and Matt. There's nothing like running across the street in your platforms for a pair of tights.

My day started at 11am and I was greeted by Matt and Paul and then straight away I was put to work, making 150 gift bags and running errands. I learned very quickly that things needed to be done as quickly as possible and not to be hesitance to ask if there is anything else that needs to be done. I was pinning patches to the back of bright red professor coats, moving empty boxes to a hidden area away from the show, placing stickers on the bag making sure that they all were facing the right direction, looking for a bright red bracelet to go with one of the outfits and running across the street for a pair of tights.
The day went by so fast and the next thing I new it was show time!

Although I was there all day I did get to see the outfits throughout the day but seeing it all together with the music, the make-up and the attitude it made the look complete.
The show had a dark twist with a raven portrayed by a ballerina, opening the show, dancing in between models and showing off Fox and shriek to the audience.

The garments displayed had dark and bright patterns which was shown throughout each garment. The models who displayed them wore them with attitude and sex, showing the audience that they own that piece. The show featured wips, feathers and masks showing a slight bondage side to the clothes.

One thing I will say about my experience is that I would love to start as an assistant, I loved the idea of being busy all the time, having something to do right after another task and meeting a lot of new people. I was able to see what it was like back stage and to see all the effort at the end by watching the show.

One thing that is for sure is that I am ready to work in this field and I would love to experience something like this again!

This months ELLE, time warp GUCCI and CHANEL advertising??

This months issue of ELLE seems to be very retro and bursting with colour, including the collections.
 Flicking through the pages past Diors' bold purple jacket, the heavy patterns and textures from Chanel there was one page in particular that stuck out the most.
And that was the leather on leather ensemble by Gucci.

(Leather on leather ensemble on the right)

The colour hasn't exactly shown properly on my camera due to the lighting in the room but too describe it, the shade of green just works phenomenally well against the brown which is pair with the bag in the same shade but made with different leather. The style it self is very retro and the colours fit perfectly well with the era of style, it looks as though Gucci has updated the 60's style by showing softer tones of colour rather than the harsher tones we are used to.

Keeping with the trend that went on during the era they've presented garements paired with accessories and shoes in the same tone, some have been kept plane whilst others have patterns and textures like the image shown to the right.

Another thing that I wanted to mention was the Chanel advertising that was presented in ELLE. It did take me a while to understand what was going on but I will let you see for yourself.

Have you figured it out yet??

The hands on the watches matched the photographs in the left. 

This is probably one of the few best ways to promote and advertise, it's clever, creative and the black and white against the watches? It just goes well and intertwines with each other. They work as a positive and negative!

Not as 'love' and 'hate' But as negative imagery. What I mean by this is when you take a photograph using a film camera and you develop it it comes out black and white, this being a positive image. To create a negative image you place a piece of photographic paper underneath the original and blast the light for about 30 seconds to a minute depending how dark the photo is and you will end up two photos that are of the same image but the complete opposite!

It will appear black and white but a way to describe the outcome of the two would be:

Positive - Black background and white objects.

Negative - White background and black objects

The complete opposite of each other!

The negative and positive may not have been intentional but it may be as well but it's just something that I've noticed.

Update!

Here's an update on my mini project!

So I've taken my drawings and placed them into GIMP (gimp is a free and legal version of photoshop) where I was able to experiment.

Today I've experimented with my drawing 'Garfield' and what I've done in these images is highlighting the lines with the lasso tool and copying them on to a new document. Copying and pasting with the lasso tool doesn't allow you to see what you have copied till you have filled in the areas with colour. (This usually happens when you are copying from an image and not from a digital drawing)

By doing this you're able to see the outline as a digital piece.

Digital VS Original     

(click to enlarge)    

You can't really see much detail of the bodice of the drawing in the digital image but with the lasso tool it does pick up the shading and allows you to have white areas in the image.

WHAT DID I DO AFTER???

So what I've decided to do with this is to duplicate it a numerous amount of times to view it as a pattern that could be used as a print. To make sure that they were all aligned and straight in their columns I pulled down the top grid to create a ruler which would be used as a guideline. Once I had a row I pulled another ruler but this time from the left hand side, this again would be used as a guide but down the left hand side. I then copied and paste a few more times to have a repetitive pattern.

(click to enlarge)

The outcome of this was very impressive which then gave me a thought of how this would be used on a t-shirt. Well, it could be used a centre piece of the top or it could be a repetitive pattern all over, using dyes.

Looking at the outcome of this then gave me another idea for another pattern.

Using the same method with the lasso tool, I decided to paste on to a black background and fill with a different colour. I went for a mustard yellow, I was going to opt for a brighter yellow but this seemed more suited and easy on the eyes. It seems blurry and fuzzy but that may be due to it being copied from a drawing.

WHAT DID I DO AFTER???

Just like the other pattern I used the grid and rulers as a guide but this time rather than having the full image on show, why not make a continuous pattern going across.

I made one row and copied below a few more times. 

The out come was indescribable and change the perspective of the drawing completely.

(click to enlarge)

Again this could be used as an overall pattern or as a centre piece. But what we could do here is change the centre piece, narrow it down to maybe just one or two rows long the chest.

(click to enlarge)

The difference between the first and the second print is clearly noted, although there are a pair of eyes in the drawing. Joining them together has made 'Garfield' have large eyes and becomes more alienated than the original drawing.

There is more to do! What I need to do now is create a flat  of a t-shirt and place this pattern on to the flat, thus giving the idea for my very first t-shirt.

Summer project to myself, for myself

A few may know that I am a surreal artist as well as a young designer. SO! I've decided to set myself a project to do over the summer.

What I want to do is to be able to view my art pieces and see what they look like as prints on t-shirt designs and or on jackets ie; denim and leather.

This will and may be a long process in getting everything done. Of course experimenting with my drawings and bringing them into Photoshop, then there's making flats, buying a a cheap t-shirt for a rough idea or placements, ect, ect. Then there's finding a place who would allow me to print and have it done professionally, models to wear them, promoting them and selling them. This would all be in the near future obviously but it's best to think of this now because you never know if it goes well or if it goes badly.

But this is what I'm wanting to do, it may take time, I may not even get to the stage of getting my ideas made but I wont know unless I try. Which I'm doing today!

One step at a time....

The Beckerman Blog

The Beckerman girls Calli and Sam are the two girls that I love to follow Via Instagram and on Blogspot. The girls show their quirky personality with some of their home made and DIY garments and adventuring around the world to important events.

These girls have been involved in some amazing collaborations, such as Raulph Lauren, H&M, Juicy Couture and TeenVogue.

Their blog is always up to date with the latest trends and they are definetly not afraid of colour.
What I love about these girls is that they can turn a dull top or a jacket and style it up with patches,dying their denims and creating patterns on an old leather jacket with paints.
They are an absolute inspiration and they have driven me to create more and have inspired me to style my clothing more.

http://beckermanbiteplate.blogspot.co.uk/

Outfits for Italy.

If you wish to see the short vlog that I made whilst in Italy then feel free to check it out!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAVOo_x0izc

This outfit here was one of my favourite ones to wear and I think I wore this on the first day as well.

Here I'm wearing a maxi dress that I bought last minute on ebay for about £7.99, from buzy collection.

Waist coat was a hand me down from my sister from a while back, from atmosphere.

Lace through over was from Newlook which was £10.99.

Shoes are from George for £8.

Clock necklace was from razzberry bazaar for £5.45

Glass were £4.50.

 This outfit I wore on my way to the leather school.

Dress was from H&M which was £10.99

Blazer was from a local charity shop in South Shields that went for roughly £8

Shoes were from George, £8.

Belt was from George as well, £3.99.

Fringed bag was from H&M as well that went for £19.

Wiccan choker necklace was £3.99 from ebay.

 

 This outfit was the last outfit that I wore on whilst in Italy.

Belt was from George for £3.99.

Long front cardigan as from H&M for about £12.

Black skirt and black tank top were all from H&M both costing roughly £4.99.

White top was from Zara costing £25.95.

Platform sandals were from Schuh which we £50.

 

Recent findings pt 2

This week I'm presenting to you more of my recent findings. Like the last post I will mention the prices and include a web link if you are interested.

I will note that what I'm doing is not a promotion, I'm not getting paid to do this. This is just an outlook of what I like and what I want to share with others.

So what's this weeks findings??

KILLSTAR

Killstar is bold store with busy patterns and also holds dark clothing.

They produce a wide range of things and some are unisex. 

What I do like about this store are the looks on their dresses, some are plain and others a bold like their tops. They can be long and detailed to short with a hippy like style.

 

The price range for this store can be between £14.99 to £300 at the most.

They do have sales regularly and they've recently came out with some new jumpers which are a mixture of bright bold colours and crazy patterns.

If you are interested in these items or interested in the store then feel free to check them out.

http://www.killstar.com/

VALLEY EYEWEAR

Valley Eyewear are a small company that create amazing sunglasses. They've recently been worn by the likes of Kat Von D and are quite popular for their wolf frames. I love these glasses, the frames and designs are always different, they're used amazingly as an accessory and they frame the face perfectly.
The frames are usually large and come in a variety of styles and shapes.

Valley's can cost up to $300. Also with them being from the US if you are wanting to order then you may need to pay more for shipping.

These collections are absolutely beautiful and they can run out very quickly, they do however release mew collections all the time and update regularly. For the size of the frames and the look of them it is worth the money, however they have upped their pricing so if you are wanting a pair I would strongly suggest buying them now!!

If you are interested then feel free to visit their site at...

http://www.valleyeyewear.com/

LIP SERVICE

Lip service are a multi store, they produce gothic and hippy like styles. They do use bright colours but they also use the dark side. They can produce all types products, from flared pants to harnesses, this store has a lot to offer and this is what I like about it.
The models that they use for the site do bring a slight expression to the garments.

 
 


This store does have both men and womens each with it's different price range.
Mens vary between 40 and 120 dollars.
Womens vary between between 20 and 260 dollars.
It is a US store so delivery to the UK will be more.
Looking at the styles you can see the difference between the looks from the mens to the womens, ALTHOUGH!!! There are some garments that are similar to each other.
They also do bright coloured garments so don't be put off by the darkness of these items, they are the ones that caught my eye.
If you are interested then check out their site at...

http://www.lip-service.com/


I will mention again that this is not a promotion! And I'm not getting paid for it, this id just for fun :)

I hope you've enjoyed this post and I will keep you posted!

This week/next week will be about my outfits that I wore in Italy. I will be posting the link to the video of Florence which will be included in the next post.