As a former teacher of arts and crafts, I love working with creatives who are just starting out. We’ve worked on many projects with Arts University Plymouth in recent years, having interns to help with marketing, merchandising and making — since I believe that nothing beats real on-the-job experience. Last autumn we embarked on our most ambitious collaboration yet.
Creating A New Collection With Students
I wanted to give students on the BA Hons Textile Design course a live brief to design a new print that we could apply to our existing products, with the aim of launching it in autumn 2023.
Since my work has always been inspired by the flora and fauna of the Cornish countryside and coastline, students were encouraged to keep close to nature while creating something new and exciting. Using the natural inspiration of the local area, they were asked to create a design that could be screen printed in a single colour, working with our existing linen fabric colours and onto a range of existing products. The design could be figurative or lean towards abstraction, but it must have its roots in nature and a strong connection to the British countryside.
Collaborations Are So Rewarding
It was amazing to work with the textiles students and staff. I have a background in teaching and although I now run my own business, I sometimes miss the inspiration and fresh ideas that come from being surrounded by creatives. I love to collaborate with students and other creative businesses alongside my wonderful staff to keep the new ideas flowing!
Arts University Plymouth’s textiles degree gives a thorough grounding in design and different techniques. The students are always keen to supplement this with work experience, putting their ideas into practice. It’s been fun and inspiring to work with them on this live project.
The incentive for the successful student was to have their work featured in our journal, newsletter and social media pages, plus a one-week work experience opportunity to find out about all aspects of our business — from print and cutting, to making and sales.
It was lovely to receive feedback from Emma Gribble, subject leader for BA (Hons) Textile Design, who said: “Industry-led projects such as Helen Round’s play an essential role in the education of our textile design students, helping them develop their skills and creativity. Helen’s insights have been invaluable. The British textile industry is a world leader in innovation and design, and it’s vital that students are exposed to the latest trends and developments, preparing them for a successful career in the industry.”
The Winning Design
Created by second-year student Boo Crispin, the winning design was both simple and flexible.
Boo demonstrated a good understanding of our brand and came up with a range of simple designs, from which we chose a leaf pattern that met the brief perfectly. She was also open to challenge and worked with us to modify her original designs as our plans evolved during the project.
We are super excited to launch Boo’s design repeating on our new rust-coloured linen across our product range.
We anticipate that the design will match the autumn/winter season perfectly and we may translate it to a spring colour too.
To see the full range, visit the Leaf Collection on our website.
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