Lou Lou: How did you get started?

Beci: I started out doing fashion design. But I didn’t love it. I like fashion, but I’m not like interested in the latest fashion shows. Well, some of them I am, do you know what I mean?
I feel like most of the people in fashion just want to like, work for Chanel or… yeah, that’s not really for me.

After I dropped out of fashion (after 1 semester) I went back and did a year 13 course. Which is like a bridging course between uni. And yeah, that was just cool because I… I don’t know, I just wanted to draw, and that’s what they let me do, and I had this really amazing teacher. And I actually ended up doing it for 2 years, even though you’re not meant to. And then by the end of the 2nd year I was like “ooh okay I’ve really got to find something” and my friend said I should look at textile design.

L: And what did you do after you finished at RMIT?

B: I know the course is really different now, but back then I was the only person in the course who was really interested in fashion, which gave me a point of difference. And then at my graduate show, I got my first freelance job, which was for Factory X.

And Factory X is a company that owns Gorman and Dangerfield and others. What happened actually, is my good friend Shauna was in fashion design, and we had worked with each other before, like I had helped her print fabric and designed some stuff for her fashion, and we just became friends doing that kind of collaborative stuff. And then she got a job there (at Factory X) and then she fired her graphic designer and hired me, to do freelance graphics!

L: Great!

B: So that’s how I got started!

L: So would you say it was more graphic design?

B: Yeah, yeah. Well it was designing t-shirts, so kind of both really. And so once I started working for her, in Factory X, you worked for a label called Revival, and then slowly I started working for other labels like Dangerfield and Alannah Hill. I didn’t leave uni thinking I would go freelance straight away.
But I won lots of the awards (at uni). I won Sheridan, which I don’t know if you still do…?

L: Yeah, well we do Linen House now, so same-same, but different.

B: Oh yeah cool! Yeah, so I won the Sheridan project, and I did work experience and stuff with them, and they were kind of sussing me out like “what do you want to do when you finish?” And I was just like “I don’t really know…” so like, I think I probably could have gotten a job, but I just sort of fell into freelance.

L: Would you have gone into commercial design do you think, if freelance didn’t come to you?

B: I’ve got no idea! (Laughs) I don’t know! It just sort of happened!
There was a company called Vixen at the time, who are also graduates from the program, and they made these sort of high end silk clothes, and they hand printed everything in Melbourne. So I got a job with them 2 days a week, screen-printing. That was awesome.
And I worked in a bookshop for like my whole student life, so I was still doing that. Oh, and I worked in a nightclub! I was at the Lounge! I ran Saturday nights at Lounge. And everything started to like… I know it sounds disconnected but, like I was able to use the screen-printing facilities at Vixen, they were really nice, and then I met heaps of people working at Lounge. That’s how I met Lisa Gorman, and I met so many people. And it just came really connected and it got me more work.
And I was doing all those things for like 5 years, until I got to a point were I was just doing freelance.

 Image:  Beci at work in her studio, courtesy Beci Orpin

L: How do you design? What is your process like?

B: (Laughs) Well, it’s pretty much the same all the time.
So I’m always collecting resources and inspiration and stuff, whether it is through Pinterest or just, I don’t know… I just look at shit all the time. So then I get a brief, and then I kind of work in my sketchbooks.

L: Do you carry one everywhere with you??

B: Yeah. I’ve got a few. Actually a lot of it is just writing and just, I don’t know… they don’t look that good (laughs). They used to be really big, but know they’re small. Um. But it’s just like messing around really. So I’ll always start with just writing stuff down. And if I have a luxurious amount of time, which I never do! (Laughs)

I always put all the relevant inspiration together, and I print it out and work in the sketchbook that way. Otherwise I’ll make a virtual sketchbook in illustrator, which more than often is what happens. I’ll just gather all the stuff I think is relevant and just make a weird storyboard. And the other thing I do is I always get recent work or old work, which I think is relevant and put that together.
And that’s how I start! A lot of writing, and sort of like, what people call ‘mind maps’ or something lame like that, I hate that term! (Laughs) I would never say that! And then, you know, just start.
I always produce lots of work, more than I need to. And I also present a lot of work for the first initial concept, unless they have asked for something very specific. Like for this (points to page in sketchbook), they only wanted 3 concepts… I showed 15… but they weren’t 15 different concepts, they were like, variations of a few concepts.
I never do working drawings. I think people aren’t design educated enough often, for you to show them an idea, and for them to visualise it… so I try to finish stuff off as much as possible or have it looking relatively final. And then feedback, and then blah blah blah.

L: So you’re freelancing at the moment?

B: Yep!

L: Cool, so how do you source clients? Do they come to you?

B: They come to me now.

 Image:  Beci installing exhibition work-  courtesy Beci Orpin

L: Do you think Instagram has a big impact on that?

B: Um, well I’ve been working for 20 years, so I think Instagram and just general reputation.
And I’ve found with freelance, I was definitely pro-active when I started. Like, this is pre-digital age; I used to print out these little mini pieces of my work and stick them on foam core and make little puzzles. And I literally took them to New York and slid them under my favourite designers door. And started working for her for 3 years!

L: Awesome, who was that???

B: Built by Wendy. And I worked for her for 10 years! Yeah!

L: Amazing!

B: Yeah, so stuff like that.
I just did my first kids book last year, which was something that I always wanted to do, but I tried to make that happen maybe 10 years ago, and it just didn’t happen! Things happen really organically for me. If I try to push something before the world is ready for it, its just not going to happen! (Laughs).

So I definitely promoted myself, but it was always really targeted. I never just sent out heaps of packages to everyone, it was really targeted like, “I really love this persons work, and I’m going to send them this!” I guess I was quite obsessive. I’m still quite obsessive about certain things. So, I definitely honed in on those things. And luckily it worked!
And then once that worked, I started working for Wendy in New York, and at a skateboard label in New York and that was through a mutual friend in Australia. And then that lead to a label in Japan, so its just word of mouth and general connections. And just being involved in something I really loved, which attracted likeminded people to like my work.

L: Who are 3 of your favourite designers/ sources of inspiration?

B: That’s a hard one!

L: Sorry!! I can’t do favourites myself, so I don’t know why I asked that (laughs) an awful question sorry!!

B: (Laughs) Um… Definitely there’s an artist called Bruno Munari, and he’s like incredible because he’s done all this amazing art theory stuff… which I’m not so into. But all this theory based on designers art. People always call me an artist and I’m like, “I’m not an artist I’m a designer!” So, he’s written lots of incredible children’s books, and he did all these incredible exhibitions, he’s just amazing. He would be one of my top, top, top ones. He just worked across everything, and nailed all of it! And was like, a genius.

L: I will be looking him up for sure!

B: Who else? Um, there’s definitely a lot in the early to mid 90’s, I was really influenced by that general movement.
There was a label called XLARGE that was run by the Beastie Boys and XGIRL, which was the girl version run by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth. So I was really obsessed by that whole movement. And there was one designer who worked for a lot of those people and his name was Mike Mills. And he’s gone on to make movies, so he’s definitely one. And he’s married to Miranda July. Do you know Miranda July?

L: Yes! Not well, but I definitely know of her.

B: Yeah, she’s an incredible author. So that’s another one. I was obsessed. Um, I don’t know!

L: You don’t have to name 3!! Sorry (laughs).

B: (Laughs) thanks! Nah! There’s just so many!
I always talk about males, but there are so many females! Like this women who illustrated this mug (picks up tea), Tove Jansson, she’s awesome! And was like a total rebel in her time! Like, she was a lesbian, and she isolated herself on this island and just lived this incredible life! She’s incredible!

L: Whoa! There too many great people in the world!

B: I know!!! Yeah, lots of illustrators! Dick Bruna, you know Miffy!

L: Yesssss!

B: One of my all time heros! He’s amazing! He still rides his bike through the forest everyday to his studio, and he’s in his 80s.

L: So cute, oh-my-gosh, imagine it!

B: Yep!! Just a lot of influences from my childhood…
Definitely that early 90s thing, and that’s what I kind of came out into when I started, and that’s what inspired me to do what I started doing.

 Image:  Find Me a Castle, published by Penguin Books, courtesy Beci Orpin

L: When you wrote your books, did you do any writing courses? Or just dive into it?

B: Nooooo (laughs)

L: Cool, my sister is currently writing a book, just thought I’d ask (laughs).

B: Oh really! Cool!
Nah, well I was writing a blog, and that was good practice. I’m not a very good writer; I’m not that amazing. Its only now that I’m writing my 5th book, that I’m like, I should probably sort this shit out (laughs).
But I’m going to do a grammar course. My friend runs it, and I’ll do it, just because I’m interested. But I wrote a blog, so when the publishers approached me they knew I could write, to certain level. I was approached because of my blog. I don’t write a blog anymore! People used to call me a “blogger”, and I never ever wanted to be known as a blogger! So I haven’t written a blog for at least 5 years now!
But I grew up in a very literary household. My mum was always reading one thousand books, and I grew up writing journals (laughs), I’ve got thousands of diaries that I’ve written! Ah!

L: No way! Keep them forever!

B: I’ve hidden them away!

L: Yeah, nightmares to read them (laughs). Do you manage everything by yourself? Like your Instagram, finances etc.?

B: Yep. Oh. Yeah-yeah-yeah, totally. Raff (my husband) helps with finances. It’s pretty simple though. My business is not hard. I was working for Arro Home, and I’ve resigned from that… L: What? Have you? When was that!?

B: Yep! Um officially like 2 weeks ago (mid 2016).
So that’s made things a little more complicated, because I was getting a wage. But yeah no it’s really simple. Yep. Its just like, invoice out. Money in… hopefully money in!

L: That’s the ideal aim of it!

B: Yeah! And I have an accountant who does the BAS and stuff. But that’s just kind of mixed in with Raff’s business. Which is like one hundred times bigger than my business, so mine just seems pretty insignificant. And it’s really simple! My business is not hard.

L: With freelancing, are there any pros and cons or just things to look out for?

B: Um. You definitely need to have a… well I pretty much could have ended up in jail… because I didn’t pay any tax for 5 years… (Laughs)

L:(Laughs) good!!!!!!

B: And that almost got me in a lot financial trouble. I ended up owing the tax department a shitload of money!

L: No! Was that when you were just getting started?

B: Yeah. I think it was the first few years. In that time my business kind of grew and I didn’t know… I wasn’t ready and I didn’t think it was really that important. Thank god Raff came along and was like “what the fuck are you doing!” (Laughs).

L: Oops!

B: He fixed it all. But I still paid the tax department so much money and it took me ages to pay it off, so definitely got to get that stuff sorted! But I didn’t ever set out with a business plan or anything, it just happened.
That stuff’s really important. That and, I mean, I wasn’t very picky, but I think as you develop a reputation you have to become more selective. I definitely made some regretful choices. Like there are things out there that I hate! Do you know what I mean?

L: Yeah totally, but there always is I think.

B: Of course! I think that’s all just learning.
I did shoes with a big US based skate company. And like, it was this weird situation where they were like “do you want to do a collaboration?” and I was like “oh I guess so”. And then they really directed what was on the shoe.

L: Oh what, so it was hardly even a collab!?

B: Yeah! And I hated it! It was so awful!
Like, I was really excited about the prospect of doing a shoe. (This was like so long ago. Like 15 years ago). And then it was so not… like it was so awful, I hated it. And it was a major U.S company. So I was like eeeeeee regrets. So stuff like that. If something is going to come out with your name on it, in that respect, you’re within you’re rights. In retrospect, I would much rather that shoe didn’t come out. Me argue, and the shoe not to have come out. I think its good to take a deposit or make it COD (cash on delivery) if it’s your first job with someone. That goes for if you’re running a label too, if it’s your first time selling to a certain shop, take a deposit or make it COD.
L: Have you had people stuff you around?

B: Yep. We had this one shop in the UK and they ordered like 15 grand worth. And never paid it…

L: So dodgy, wow! Well that’s about it! Thank you so much

B: No worries.

You can find Beci on instagram or visit her website www.beciorpin.com

The post Lou Lou Kitching interviews Beci Orpin appeared first on RMIT.

LORENA LAING: INTERVIEW

Designer/Maker Lorena Laing graduated with a fashion degree from RMIT in her early 20s. Adopting Australia as home coming from Chile as a child and settling in Australia she has brought with her a burning passion and love for quality, handmade fashion and accessories. Lorena is uncompromising and committed to using the best of Australian materials in her work. This has made her the toast of Melbourne taking home the Gold award at the Melbourne Design Awards in 2015 after re-launching her own label ‘Amano’ in the same year. Her collections are an outstanding testament to a true textile design artist who pours her passion into beautiful, hand knitted one of a kind pieces. Lorena is one of the pioneers of slow fashion here in Melbourne and I was interested in getting a ‘behind the scenes’ view of how it all works.

Sam: Why did you want to become a designer?

Lorena: That was a decision I made a long time ago. I was a junior when I went to Uni. My personal intention to be a designer changed along the way. Essentially it was the creativity. The decision was based on being creative because that was what fulfilled me I needed to find an avenue to be creative and work at the same time.

Sam: How did you get into textiles and Knitting?

Lorena: I don’t see them as separate things. It’s all just one and the same. It’s a component that I had played around with when I had my own label years back. I pretty much offered across the board everything including wovens, suiting, shirts, cut & sew knits, and hand knits.    Recently I made a decision that I wanted to go back to having my own thing again.

When I had my own brand, one of the elements was knitwear and that’s why I wanted to go back to that because I did enjoy it and felt like for me it was an element that I wanted to explore further and deeper. It had so much potential that it needed to be expressed.

Sam: Who taught you to knit?

Lorena: My mum. When I first picked up knitting needles I would’ve been maybe 6.

Currently Lorena is doing some weaving which she learned using YouTube. She wanted to offer that as part of her work. It was something she wanted to include. You gotta love Youtube!

Hand dyed woven Hoodie in Suri Alpaca

Sam: What challenges did you face starting your own brand?

Lorena: This is the second time I’ve launched my own fashion label. Because it was the second time round that I’m doing this I’ve come back in all the wiser. I know where my strengths lie and where my weaknesses are and how to plan it out properly so that I’m not faced with so many challenges and I can get on with it. This knowledge has come through the experience of working for others and having launched my own label before.

Sam: What would you consider to be your most successful piece of work and is it your favourite?

Lorena: It’s usually quite separate but usually my best seller is not necessarily always my favourite.

‘Kimono’ in Suri Alpaca

It’s important for me to include some pieces in there that I like but I don’t necessarily love. Right now in the collection my favourite being the kimono is my favourite and it has actually been picked up by most retailers. It’s also my most expensive. It’s always a concern because your favourite always ends up having everything in it and that’s why it’s the most expensive. People have surprised me (retailers) and taken it on board.

For me, the way I design I have to diffuse the pieces so that they become more commercial and something that people can relate to and not be scared by because often when designs are too strong unfortunately at a commercial level they freak out and think ‘I can never wear that’ so you have to make it a product.

Sam: Do your customers want to know more about the supply chain and who makes their garments?

Lorena: There’s an international movement that is taking place at the moment but it’s early days. There’s a small percentage of people who are looking to make that shift but it’s definitely moving in the right direction. In countries like Belgium it’s really embedded in their culture now. They’re real leaders in that area. Hopefully we’re not far behind in adopting those changes and being responsible people. You’re seeing this trend in the way people are buying their food and it’s becoming a trend for sure in more consumable goods and I think that will eventually catch up into the rag trade. There’s a few people who do my knitting for me including myself. These are mostly retired women that have been out of work and I’m constantly looking for new people as well.

Sam: What materials do you prefer to work with primarily?

Lorena: I always stick to natural fibres. I don’t have a compromise there. That’s part of my ethos and it’s also the best you can work with in my opinion. Alpaca is for a few reasons. In exploring alpaca there’s many variations like the Suri alpaca and different greys etc. Definitely alpaca because it’s a luxury fibre and a local resource. I’m really focused on that and working with that.

Alpaca is very new in Australia as opposed to the rest of the world where it’s already an established luxury yarn. Australians, in general, prefer disposable fashion. Working with luxury fibres and natural fibres is something that we need to educate our consumers on about their value.

Sam: Does that become a part of your marketing and your business strategy?

Lorena: I think definitely it’s an underlying thing for me. Certainly I’m always promoting it and always talking about it. It’s just because that’s also what I believe. I’m not trying to sell that product because I want you to have that product, it’s because I genuinely believe in it. It’s my life philosophy to be honest. It’s the way we live, what we apply, I’ve always chosen the better rather than the volume. That applies to everything. The food you eat, the way you dress your children, the way I decorate my home. Across everything quality over quantity. I’d rather save for things like a decent design that will last a lifetime as opposed to something that you buy at Target or wherever. It’s a lifestyle.

Sam: Would you say then that your work was trend driven?

Lorena: I don’t even look at trends. I’m not in that cycle at all and I don’t want to be. I think it’s important to be aware and be educated but I’m certainly not going out of my way to create the new thing that’s on trend. I think you’re influenced by your environment and your surrounds.

Sam: Do you have any design heroes?

Lorena: I used to but not so much anymore. I find it’s really nice to not have my head buried in magazines all day long because you’re just much fresher. I feel a lot fresher when I’m designing or coming up with any idea it just comes out. You just go with it. It’s not overworked it’s not overthought. I have had design heroes in the past. There’s nobody I’m really following. There’s a lot of beautiful things out there. I used to love McQueen and I love Vivian Westwood. They used to be the trend setters.

Sam: What advice would you give to future designer makers entering the market?

Lorena: The advice I would give is learn lots from other businesses you work for. The student never stops being a student. Stay humble and be the best you can be at all levels.

Lorena’s beautiful woollen pieces are available at her website  or you can follow her on facebook

Thank you Lorena for giving us an insight into your amazing slow fashion designed, beautifully handmade collections.

The information in this interview came from a conversation with Lorena Laing with light editing done in consultation with Lorena herself. Content and photographs are used with permission.

References:

Amano by Lorena Laing webpage, http://www.lorenalaing.com/ , Viewed on 2 March, 2016

Australian Alpaca Association Ltd magazine, ‘Alpacas Australia,’, Issue 76, Winter, 2015, pp11-12, ‘Lorena Laing: Amano by Lorena Laing’, Mitcham, Victoria, 2015

New Zealand Alpaca Association magazine, ‘New Zealand Alpaca’, August 2015, pp 21-22 ‘Amano by Lorena Laing’, AANZ, Christchurch, New Zealand, 2015

Super Suri Yarns Webpage, ‘Designers Information’, http://www.supersuri.com.au/, Amano by Lorena Laing, Viewed on 20^th March, 2016

The post Sam Harlow-Black interviews Designer/Maker Lorena Laing appeared first on RMIT.

This is the first of a series of posts and we are proud to start off by offering an interview that Teresa Chong Gum conducted with the wonderful Louise Saxton  – keep watching this space!

LOUISE SAXTON

INTERVIEW

Ellis’ Paradise 2011 after Ellis Rowan 1917 Reclaimed needlework, lace pins, nylon tulle H 142 x W 99cm Photo by Gavin Hansford

Teresa: You have said ‘needlework will never be done in the way that it was’ and that craft revival is on the rise. Do you believe you could be introducing a new form of this revival in your own visually spectacular way?

Louise: I hope that my work contributes to the re-evaluation of craft traditions in contemporary art. I refer to my work with reclaimed textiles as ‘assemblage’ and many people work in this way, but I am not aware of anyone else working with reclaimed needlework, on masse in the way that I am. I have what I believe is a unique collection of materials, built up over the past decade. However, I don’t make any of the textiles myself, as many “crafters” or traditional “textile artists” do.

Teresa: As many artists collaborate with other artists, your unique perspective of working with the original artists of your reclaimed textiles is as poetic as it sounds. Could you describe what you feel working with these anonymous artists, whom may sometimes be simply women at home who may have occasionally embroidered within the home?

Louise: I refer to my process as a “silent collaboration” as most of the original makers are no longer living, which is how I come to be working with their discarded and disinherited materials. I feel that my work gives voice, and new form, to their original handiwork and in that way it is a type of collaboration. Also, as I could never have created these exquisite and varied materials myself and, because they are all so unique, I feel the credit for my work does not just belong to me, it also belongs to the previous makers.

Teresa: As your profile has grown how have you processed people donating their treasured textiles to be transformed into your amazing designs?

Louise: Some of the beautiful family collections that have been donated to my collection for use in my art practice have come to me from friends and, now that I have a profile for working primarily with reclaimed textiles, I have also been given heirloom pieces from several complete strangers. These are people who have seen my work, either in exhibition or on-line, and have contacted me through my website. One woman, who is a clothes-designer and writer in Canada, with family in France, sent me a large parcel of 3 generations of French needlework, along with photos of the women who made it. Coincidentally, I also have several other people in France who look for unique pieces in markets there and have sent me two large parcels of antique lace and embroideries. They do this because they love what I do with the materials and they enjoy collecting.

Teresa: Similar to the feel of a ‘custodian of the material’ have you connected with owners of donated pieces once their piece has been used in a finished piece? Do people ask for any updates as a way to stay connected to their donated pieces?

Louise: This is a very good question. I have become close friends with some people, who were unknown to me before they knew of my work, and it was the materials and my use of them, that drew us together. I also communicate with several people in other countries who have given me things, via email and cards. If it is a significant piece or amount of donated material that I am using, I try to let people know when their donation has been incorporated into an artwork. This is usually greatly appreciated and I feel it’s important to honour their family member in that way. I also keep a ‘journal’ on my website which documents these gifts and some of the pieces that have come from them.

Teresa: Can you describe the feeling once a design has been finished, especially with the time and patience involved, which as you describe can take years to put together for a showcase?

Louise: I don’t often think of my work in terms of design, as I’m a visual artist. However, there is definitely an element of design in my process, which I developed during my drawing and printmaking training at art school. I often reinterpret historical imagery and by choosing one element from that artwork and making it my own, I am designing a new work.

A single work can take weeks or months to complete and there are several stages in each piece, including the added layer of painstaking work of mounting pieces for framing. It can take several years to develop a whole body of work for exhibition. Each piece is very labour intensive and so I often feel hugely relieved once it is finished. I try to work on different pieces at different stages of process if I can, to break up the intensely repetitive nature of the work.

Teresa: You have a quite a long process with any piece you tackle, how do you stay inspired to finish? Have there been difficult times?

Louise: This is also a very good question, as it is often the case that I begin a work with great excitement, about the image and about sourcing the right materials from my collection or elsewhere, but this can soon dissipate into a sense of struggle, especially at the final stages. The process is very physically demanding as I pin, unpin and repin and so, it takes commitment and love of the materials to keep going.

Teresa: Your colour palette is quite vibrant and lifts in itself with the textile art. Are these represented from the illustrated subject matter, which inspire you or your own visual perspective? Colour is difficult with paint alone how difficult is your colour process with your practise of finding the right one within an already made textile?

Louise: Part of the joy of working with reclaimed needlework is the colour and the way in which light refracts through the different threads. Also the particular dyes used, especially the luminous nature of silk threads, is very different to traditional art materials and adds to the vividness of the work. It’s true that I have made a lot of colourful work and this can be driven either by the imagery I’m choosing to work with, or by the materials themselves. However, I have also made work with more muted tones, such as the Lyrebird of 2010 called “Madeira’s Lyre after JW Lewin 1815 and an Emu of 2012, titled “Going to Jackson after George Raper 1791”.

Teresa: How incredibly lucky you must be to be living atop a discount shop which we students find ourselves in many times finding new mediums for our current textile projects. Do you find your space can reflect in your work in some form?

Louise: Actually the discount shop is a complete contrast to my studio as it mostly stocks bright and shiny imported goods, whereas my studio is like a haberdasher’s emporium, filled with vintage and antique objects from all around the world! But, the shop owner allows me to rent the “best room in the house”, which is upstairs with a lovely north-facing sunroom. I have been there for almost a decade and I love the domestic nature of the space, which was originally the living room of the 1800’s shop dwelling.

Teresa: You have trained in printmaking and painting through Visual Art, which I feel has similarities to my major in Print through textile design. Do you find your own illustrative handwriting is found within this recycled textile art form?

Louise: My training in painting and printmaking has definitely informed my approach to recycled/reclaimed materials. I feel I am still painting – just not with paint! I have used textiles (as stencils and for embossing) in both my prints and paintings in the past however; this was before I began using the needlework as an art material in its own right.

Teresa: As an established artist would you have any suggestions for an aspiring textile design student, on how to find their own unique practise as you have successfully demonstrated?

Louise: Being an artist is your own individual journey. My main advice is to allow your practice to develop and change as you do and when you find a process and material you really enjoy working with, explore it as much as possible. Also don’t feel pressured into feeling you have to be a particular way in the “art world” – be true to yourself and what feels right for you. It’s good to be involved with other artists in creating your own opportunities for exhibitions; enter your work into prizes and bit-by-bit you start to develop a career as a creative professional. I’ve always found that having a studio or a space, which is allocated to making art, is really important. It is always a juggle between working on your creative pursuits and other commitments and fortunately, I am now in the position of being able to work full-time as an artist.

Louise Saxton in studio pinning Feint Heart 2015 after Adrian Feint 1944 Photo by Gavin Hansford

Weep 2009 Reclaimed needlework, lace pins, nylon tulle Installation: H 300 x W 185cm Photo by Gavin Hansford

Louise Saxton in studio, pinning Weep 2009 Photo by Gavin Hansford

Last Gasp 2013 after Maria Sybilla Merian c.1670 Reclaimed needlework, lace pins, nylon tulle H 98 x W 106cm Photo by Gavin Hansford

Process photos of the making of Feint Heart 2015 after Adrian Feint 1944. ABOVE (left): Needlepoint birds and flowers, found at Camberwell Market. Backed with silk organza and vlizofix to prevent fraying. ABOVE (right): Needlepoint poppies found at an opportunity shop in Bairnsdale, ready for pinning to tulle. LEFT: Detail showing the edging lace construction of feint’s clam shell.

Feint Heart 2015 after Adrian Feint 1944 Reclaimed needlework, lace pins, nylon tulle H 210 x W 185cm Photo by Gavin Hansford

To see more of Louise’s work go to http://www.louisesaxton.com/

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Textile Professional Practice is a 3^rd Year course in our BATD program. The key focus is for students to develop skills in professional presentation and to showcase their skills upon graduation and we offer a range of practical activities to assist students to consider their future careers. One great way (we think) is to ask some of our wonderful Alumni to share their experiences.

Beci Orpin Presenting to class

Last week we were privileged to hear from 5 of our Alumni’s who have been and are still carving out exciting careers in the Textile Design Industry. Each offered a short presentation of their current and past activities followed by a Q & A session. Check out the links here –

Esther Sandler http://www.esthersandler.com/

Elise Cakebread http://www.elisecakebread.com/

Lyndall Watson http://www.lyndallwatson.com/

Sarah Strickland https://www.nancybird.com/

Beci Orpin – Beci’s site is currently under construction but check out her Instagram in the meantime  https://instagram.com/beciorpin/?hl=en

From Left to right – Beci Orpin, Esther Sandler, Elise Cakebread, Lyndall Watson and Sarah Strickland

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Third year students undertaking conceptual design development along with responding to Industry Briefs. Currently they are finalizing designs for Country Road and also exploring a ‘Collage’ brief which involves risk taking and material studies. The two projects offer a taste of the depth and diversity of contemporary textile design practice.

Second year students are extending their skills in the print, knit and weave workshops along with the computer labs. Projects range from design development for upholstery through to painting and drawing in the floral design style and traditional Indian block printing.

And our newbies – the first year students having been drawing up a storm to the sounds of music along with 3D form exploration using paper and clay.

Here are some examples of what they have been doing…

Observational Drawing with Mixed Media

A visit from 2nd year students giving 1st year students tips about the course

Different Mark Making Methods explored

Floral inspiration materials (aka flowers!) kindly provided by Casa Verde flowers

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