tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54701026625659359462024-03-13T22:07:23.628-07:00 Textile CandyPrint/Textile design- Illustration- Trend forecasting www.textilecandy.comBecky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.comBlogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-69728706978391689772018-06-21T04:40:00.002-07:002018-06-21T04:40:21.854-07:00A little business update<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It will surprise none of you to find that my well intentioned promise of writing more frequently didn't happen. I thought quitting my job would free up a lot of my time. Oh how wrong I was!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the 3 months since my last post I am happy to announce that I haven't given up on start up life- although I've definitely considered it more than once! I'm still here plugging away in my colourful little shop(I painted it bright yellow!)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tY_wbcGSdUg/Wyt39c1cipI/AAAAAAAAEwk/jWX-eMi3BMAAmN8pmz2l5W6IrnaMZoAlwCLcBGAs/s1600/exterior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="846" data-original-width="808" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tY_wbcGSdUg/Wyt39c1cipI/AAAAAAAAEwk/jWX-eMi3BMAAmN8pmz2l5W6IrnaMZoAlwCLcBGAs/s400/exterior.jpg" width="381" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me outside my shop</i></td></tr>
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<br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; text-align: center;">I now have a bunch of followers who seem to really like the brand I'm creating and I have to keep reminding myself that quality outweighs quantity, both in products and in social media following. I am a little impatient for the future when I have a larger audience which, hopefully, brings in more sales, but until then I'm enjoying getting to know my customers and being able to reply to all of the comments and feedback I get.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm slowly learning which products people like the most and am starting to experiment with a few new design ideas, including some more delicate pieces. I've been trying to gauge what my target audience likes the most and having some more simple/minimal pieces is a popular request. So here is a little snapshot of some of the pieces in the new collection!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mx-NUoytxXY/Wyt9i2D-YII/AAAAAAAAEw0/KOV2gwL6TN01kFFLAQO2wYAjKE82y3nRQCLcBGAs/s1600/hnn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="recycled glass jewellery, Ghanaian bead earrings, Krobo bead earrings, ethically made earrings, ethical glass earrings" border="0" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="1600" height="450" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mx-NUoytxXY/Wyt9i2D-YII/AAAAAAAAEw0/KOV2gwL6TN01kFFLAQO2wYAjKE82y3nRQCLcBGAs/s640/hnn.jpg" title="Textile Candy ethically made recycled glass Ghanaian bead earrings" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <i>The minimalist, contemporary recycled glass earrings.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fBDgVTwSwWI/Wyt9iU6MuMI/AAAAAAAAEww/oke0Xvjru5ALEhMT0LtfA7LUQSmBSjgdACLcBGAs/s1600/n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="recycled glass jewellery, Ghanaian bead necklace, African bead necklace, African glass necklace, Minimalist glass bead necklace, Krobo bead necklace, ethically made necklaces, ethical glass necklace" border="0" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="1600" height="450" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fBDgVTwSwWI/Wyt9iU6MuMI/AAAAAAAAEww/oke0Xvjru5ALEhMT0LtfA7LUQSmBSjgdACLcBGAs/s640/n.jpg" title="Textile Candy jewellery minimalist recycled glass Ghanaian bead necklace" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The minimalist, contemporary recycled glass necklaces.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">All of these, and many more, can be bought on my brand new website!!! You might have seen it to get to this page- if not you should definitely check it out: www.textilecandy.com . I've done it with shopify so that people can buy online, as much as I've tried to be a web designing genius(and i really have) my brain is just not wired that way. One of the great things about shopify is that it automatically optimises your website for mobile viewing which, lets be honest, nowadays is how the majority of people view a website. It makes my life a lot easier too as my website connects to my facebook shop and automatically updates itself instead of me having to list items on multiple platforms, if only Etsy were as simple. I've also listed a few items on ebay to see how that compares, but I'm not too convinced that ebay is the right platform for handmade mid-price products. It would be great if all you blog readers/followers could let me know which they use the most? Etsy, Ebay, Amazon or others?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Alongside the recycled glass jewellery I've also been working with some local seamstresses to start a collection of soft accessories; cushions, hairbands and fabric storage baskets, hopefully this will expand as time goes on.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TjPCwPh0UHQ/WyuDllRfY6I/AAAAAAAAExI/ldcqkoUbptwi8Wqfj6XC6mBcLRQYOG7LACLcBGAs/s1600/home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="African print cushions, wax print cushions, fabric planters, fabric storage baskets, fabric storage bins, stacking baskets, stacking bins, decorative throw pillow, african cushion, Vlisco cushion, Ankara cushion" border="0" data-original-height="1061" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TjPCwPh0UHQ/WyuDllRfY6I/AAAAAAAAExI/ldcqkoUbptwi8Wqfj6XC6mBcLRQYOG7LACLcBGAs/s640/home.jpg" title="Textile Candy boho style home decor, African wax print cushions and Fabric storage baskets" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Locally handmade African wax print cushions and handmade fabric stacking storage baskets.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RezjQ85tZ3c/WyuDX8cD54I/AAAAAAAAExE/F2ugCwpVHWYEwdynDguv2jKW0cRMSBAkQCLcBGAs/s1600/headbands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Festival hair accessories, Summer hairstyles, Turban headband, headwrap" border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="1600" height="210" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RezjQ85tZ3c/WyuDX8cD54I/AAAAAAAAExE/F2ugCwpVHWYEwdynDguv2jKW0cRMSBAkQCLcBGAs/s640/headbands.jpg" title="Textile Candy boho style festival headband" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bohemian style locally made fabric turban headbands.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When I first opened the shop I only had a really small collection of jewellery that I'd made while living in Switzerland and just a few artworks to sell. I had to find some stock pretty quickly and, to avoid burning myself out by trying to make everything, I decided to start selling the work of other local makers. I now stock local photography, driftwood houses, chemical free soaps, hand knitted stuffed animals, handpainted cards, printed scarves, ceramic ornaments, glass stud earrings and fused glass coasters. Here are a few of the locally made things I have in the shop at the moment- you can also buy all of these online through my website/facebook/etsy/instagram!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3WsqTBDawNk/WyuJ00C2WJI/AAAAAAAAExY/5zagBTWNiCwCnzVhY3N6hudzQ44vPXSYwCLcBGAs/s1600/nmm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Driftwood houses, Knitted toys, Vegan soap, gift shop, lifestyle brand" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1571" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3WsqTBDawNk/WyuJ00C2WJI/AAAAAAAAExY/5zagBTWNiCwCnzVhY3N6hudzQ44vPXSYwCLcBGAs/s640/nmm.jpg" title="Textile Candy gift shop Morecambe" width="628" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Local makers currently in stock.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Oh and I have a new stockist!!!!!You can now pick up your own Textile Candy jewellery at Arteria in Lancaster and KittyBrown boutique in Carnforth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So that is a concise version of the last 3 months :) I think doing smaller blog posts might be the way forward for me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading! x</span></div>
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<br />Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-51977025413101066292018-03-14T09:30:00.002-07:002018-03-14T09:30:33.306-07:005 months later...<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So what have I been doing in the 5 months of no posting?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I moved all my worldy belongings back to the UK, I celebrated Christmas, I started renovating the shop, I travelled to Ghana, I came back and then I OPENED THE SHOP :) So its been quite a busy few months....and what am I doing now?I'm processing all of that information while having sporadic mental breakdowns!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Seriously though I should probably introduce you to my shop and show you some photos of how I got there.....</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HHWgAIeltwM/WqkcB0YPbOI/AAAAAAAAEtk/g6-iL0WwcWEHfK2uSsszVaa9lVq7PfDnQCLcBGAs/s1600/etsy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="small business, startup business, brick and mortar, concept store, flagship store, Morecambe business, small business UK, Morecambe Bay business, Yorkshire St. Morecambe, Textile Candy Studio, Textile Candy, The REstore, The Exchange community Morecambe, Steeple for the People, Westend Million, renovation, make do and mend, DIY project, start small, handmade business, etsy business, Etsy store, etsy UK, etsy success, first shop, start up diary, start up journey, how to start up a start up, jewellery start up, creative startup, ethical brand, ethical start up, ethical jewellery, made in Ghana, lancashire life, lancashire business, lancashire shopping, creative north west, creative business, westendbestend, morecambe artists, things to do in Morecambe, Morecambe visitor information, Morecambe shopping, Textile Candy, Textile Candy Studio, West St. Morecambe" border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="760" height="394" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HHWgAIeltwM/WqkcB0YPbOI/AAAAAAAAEtk/g6-iL0WwcWEHfK2uSsszVaa9lVq7PfDnQCLcBGAs/s640/etsy.jpg" title="Textile Candy shop" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At first I was really excited about getting my very own shop, the kind of excitement you get when you rent a new apartment. Then I moved home and started working on it and I LOVED that. I fancy myself as a bit of a DIY queen and, after watching far too many episodes of 'Grand Designs' and 'the Restoration man', special thanks to ma boyssssss George Clarke and Kevin McCloud, I was pretty convinced that 'doing up' an old shop space would be really fun and easy. I had ambitions of moving all my stock(which I had not yet made) into the shop ready for a grand opening at Christmas where local newspaper journalists would come and marvel at my beautiful bohemian showroom leading to me being inundated with customers....*breathe*....needless to say it didn't happen quite like that... but I did have a lovely shop opening with lots of people attending and I have had some customers since so still pretty good!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here are a few of the before photos...</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MiafVauXZIc/WqkgeyEnGAI/AAAAAAAAEtw/cYyiZySR8q88U9pagFJI0UX0tcOWC3dKwCLcBGAs/s1600/Untitled-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="small business, startup business, brick and mortar, concept store, flagship store, Morecambe business, small business UK, Morecambe Bay business, Yorkshire St. Morecambe, Textile Candy Studio, Textile Candy, The REstore, The Exchange community Morecambe, Steeple for the People, Westend Million, renovation, make do and mend, DIY project, start small, handmade business, etsy business, Etsy store, etsy UK, etsy success, first shop, start up diary, start up journey, how to start up a start up, jewellery start up, creative startup, ethical brand, ethical start up, ethical jewellery, made in Ghana, lancashire life, lancashire business, lancashire shopping, creative north west, creative business, westendbestend, morecambe artists, things to do in Morecambe, Morecambe visitor information, Morecambe shopping" border="0" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="1600" height="372" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MiafVauXZIc/WqkgeyEnGAI/AAAAAAAAEtw/cYyiZySR8q88U9pagFJI0UX0tcOWC3dKwCLcBGAs/s640/Untitled-11.jpg" title="My first shop" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As you can see the shop is cute, small and very basic. In its original state it was exactly what you would expect to get for just £35/week. Cheap laminated fake wood floor in quite a cold wood colour, dusty looking duck egg blue walls, damp EVERYWHERE! A basement so cold that you could literally see your own breath in front of you. It was pretty dingy to be honest.....but I had decided the basement would become my studio space... much to the amusement of my family.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This is the before shot, all I'd done in these photos was sweep the floor and clean away a few cobwebs. As you can see it doesn't even slightly resemble a studio space!</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Post damp paint....this was my favourite bit as it actually starting looking like a potential workspace.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Getting the basement that white was no small feat. I had to cover up some holes, with the help of Daddy Burns, and coat EVERYTHING-floor, walls and stairs- with thick layers of damp paint.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I will share some photos of the current studio space in my next post as it's a little bit on the 'creative' side at the moment!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Then I started on the upstairs.... painting the walls white only to come back the next day to find that the paint hadn't dried at all because the shop was so damp and cold. The windows were always so full of condensation that the paint around them constantly dripped and slid around instead of drying. Then I discovered an absolute miracle worker- damp bags. I attached one on each side of my shop door and within a few days all the condensation had gone and the bags had soaked up enough moisture for me to be able to coat the walls with damp paint. If you want to buy some here's a link: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/171271771237?chn=ps&adgroupid=47842945425&rlsatarget=pla-380312377891&abcId=1129946&adtype=pla&merchantid=115019311&poi=&googleloc=9046578&device=c&campaignid=974959912&crdt=0</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They really are amazing!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iEdF0ScSFZE/WqklNfOpVrI/AAAAAAAAEuU/OhIbT1aPJ_YeSKF6DlBNyKyIoKnDGpYPQCLcBGAs/s1600/floor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="1600" height="234" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iEdF0ScSFZE/WqklNfOpVrI/AAAAAAAAEuU/OhIbT1aPJ_YeSKF6DlBNyKyIoKnDGpYPQCLcBGAs/s640/floor.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The shop floor before, during fitting and after OSB board. A definite improvement in my opinion!</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Next on my shop list was the floor. I pretty much had my heart set on an OSB/chipboard floor. I love the rough, creative look and think it creates a really welcoming atmosphere in the shop so I purchased a few sections and asked my dad to help me lay them. Then came the exciting bit of the renovation(ish) project....making the furniture and fixtures!I had a very clear idea of what I wanted the interiors of the shop to be like, I've had a 'business:interiors' pinterest board for goodness knows how long. I wanted unfinished rough wood, rope, industrial piping and most importantly NO PLASTIC. I wanted everything to look quite rugged and natural, because that's reflected in the products I sell- handpainted wood and recycled glass.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>You can see how happy I was doing my driftwood scavenger hunt!The bottom photo is a close up of the driftwood texture- isn't it beautiful!Then there's the ladder and scaffolding boards before and after sanding.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I made:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">- a counter from two old palette boxes and some scaffolding board,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">- a shelving display from scaffolding board and old found rope,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">- a hanging display from some patterned driftwood and old rope</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">- a necklace display from an old wooden scaffolding ladder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">- earring displays using leftover OSB board from the floor</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">- another earring display using garden fence</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">- earring wall displays using frames bought in charity shops</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">- and a window display using repurposed apple crates.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">None of the fixtures in my shop are new. Everything is either salvaged, repurposed or bought from a charity shop. It just goes to show that you don't need money for everything, you just need a bit of creativity and an electric sander ;) I'm not gonna pretend it was super easy and I don't think my hands will ever recover but it was so worth it to be able to sit in my shop with pride and say that I created everything inside.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V_OVF72rCj0/Wqkg6UI0rVI/AAAAAAAAEt0/E_sSiTp46_MsrJ-G8aXp1dc27d9MzeQkACLcBGAs/s1600/inside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="concept store, shop interior, shop decor, pom pom decor, window display, pom pom window, pom pom garland, decor ideas, DIY, DIY furniture, scaffolding furniture, scaffolding boards, independant shop, morecambe shopping, morecambe bay, lancashire shopping, independant morecambe, west end morecambe, westend million, Yorkshire St, Morecambe, Pet portraits, creative shop, handmade jewellery, jewellery boutique, shopping st, British brand, British high st, rope shelves, scaffold shelving, OSB floor, chipboard floor, repurposed, recycled decor, salvaged, driftwood decor, gallery wall" border="0" data-original-height="930" data-original-width="1600" height="370" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V_OVF72rCj0/Wqkg6UI0rVI/AAAAAAAAEt0/E_sSiTp46_MsrJ-G8aXp1dc27d9MzeQkACLcBGAs/s640/inside.jpg" title="Renovation" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My completed shop, inside and out!Quite a difference from the original photos dontcha think!?</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I really did love turning the shop into my own- it felt a little bit like a fun DIY project that I was doing for someone else. I basically separated the reality of what I was doing from the actual doing of it- does that make sense? I tend to process information quite slowly, especially when its something I will no doubt have an emotional reaction to. I chose, instead, to completely ignore the fact that I had quit my job to become a shop owner despite having no knowledge/experience in setting up a business and with only 30 necklaces and 20 keyrings to sell. In fact, I ignored this until 2 hrs before the shop opening where my poor dad found me crying in a corner of the basement... because I couldn't get the windows clean.....I kid you not!The simple frustration of not being able to clean my windows properly overwhelmed me so much that it led to a downward spiral of doubt and panic. This culminated in me sobbing "I can't do this, this was a mistake, this is impossible, I can't run a business, what if it fails"(with intermingled sobs and sniffles).... it sounds ridiculous I know. Obviously it wasn't really the windows I was crying about ...more an overwhelming awareness of my incapability.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">.....I told you this blog would be an honest one.....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway I pulled myself together and the launch actually went well. There was prosecco, people bought my products and I felt, for the first time, like I had made the right decision.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since the launch 3 weeks ago I have had a few customers and been to a stall in Manchester's Northern Quarter. I have a few more things in the pipeline as I want to start doing some workshops in April but need to make myself a flat pack trestle table first- obviously this will be made from scaffolding boards and old ladders once again ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So there's a little update of what's actually been going on with my shop. ALSO I promised myself I would keep providing tips on here so my tip of the day is:</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-McizYQe3ic0/Wqks5j2BdWI/AAAAAAAAEuw/QK96NOcCxpguDbpm6x-P4jJup4pKgF8SwCLcBGAs/s1600/Untitled-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="comparison kills,textile candy, textile candy studio, tip of the day, start up business, startup life, startup tips, small business tips, business motivation, business advice, creative startup, creative uk, creative biz, small business uk, made in England, started from the bottom, build your brand, small business motivation, life tips, business tips, business growth, business motivation, quote of the day, business quote, motivational quote, tips for success, branding, small business, startup life, startup grind" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-McizYQe3ic0/Wqks5j2BdWI/AAAAAAAAEuw/QK96NOcCxpguDbpm6x-P4jJup4pKgF8SwCLcBGAs/s400/Untitled-16.jpg" title="Tip of the day" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-66820563121956571812018-03-14T08:27:00.001-07:002018-03-14T08:27:22.509-07:00Starting up a start up!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today I realised how much I miss blogging. It's my only outlet that doesn't require me to make any money from it, which means I can fully enjoy it. Starting up my own business and spending so much time on my own is causing me to spend far too much time inside my own head.....so instead I'm going to get it out of my head and into virtual space for you lovely people to read instead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I actually considered starting a new blog to document my start up journey, I thought about calling it 'start up diary' or something painfully cliche but then I remembered this old thing. It seems fitting that I blog about my start up on the blog that started my start up!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Going forward my posts are going to be a bit more honest, personal, start up/business oriented and have very little to do with fashion and textiles so if you follow me for that reason you might wanna hit the unsubscribe button now haha- there's my disclaimer done!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you are landing on my blog as a total newcomer then welcome :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've noticed that startup life, like anything, has its peaks and troughs.... unfortunately I'm finding that my peaks are Mt. Everest and the troughs are comparable to the Mariana trench. I'm constantly giving myself pep talks and advice and thought it could be useful to make a note of them...for other people in a similar situation and also for myself- as a much needed reminder.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kOk1o_Usxd4/Wqk8U0ciLkI/AAAAAAAAEvw/c7vSNswag2MU35Y8ICcIOqIKnr17IbgsACLcBGAs/s1600/peaks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="startup grind, start up business, creative start up, breakdown point, small business, startup illustration, startup humour" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kOk1o_Usxd4/Wqk8U0ciLkI/AAAAAAAAEvw/c7vSNswag2MU35Y8ICcIOqIKnr17IbgsACLcBGAs/s400/peaks.jpg" title="Start up life" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The peaks and troughs of Startup life</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've always said to myself that <b>'if I had my own business I'd...' my life would be better/I would be happier/ I would spend all my time drawing in creative bliss...' </b>and blah blah blah.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don't know if that was naive, hopeful or just plain delusional. Quite honestly I have no idea what I'm doing half of the time and there are moments....oh so many moments.....that I think I've made a colossal mistake. </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zTHvJACpzIQ/Wqkt9fJzc5I/AAAAAAAAEu8/Yy7-dUyoC5U-RHnTDSDKyMZLcfL480iZwCLcBGAs/s1600/entrepreneurfail-A-Day-in-the-LIfe-of.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="296" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zTHvJACpzIQ/Wqkt9fJzc5I/AAAAAAAAEu8/Yy7-dUyoC5U-RHnTDSDKyMZLcfL480iZwCLcBGAs/s400/entrepreneurfail-A-Day-in-the-LIfe-of.png" width="400" /></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This is not my illustration but depicts perfectly how I feel a lot of the time!I thought about doing all of my own illustrations for this post but simply typing in 'start up illustrations' on google images provided me with exactly the illustrations I was looking for- kinda reassuring to know I'm not the only one feeling like this<br /></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Until December last year I was earning a substantial amount of money as a Senior print designer, moving around Europe working for various companies. I had my own beautiful rented apartments full of my own things, my own fridge full of my own food,my own bathroom with my own candles and plants in and a lovely double bed. I also had enough money to go on weekend city breaks around Europe and permanently have nice new clothes in my wardrobe. Great life huh!?I would be a complete liar if I said I didn't miss all of these things. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now I'm living back at my parents house in a small overcrowded/messy space(that's what happens when you move an apartments worth of stuff back into your childhood room) with a single bed, relying on my parents for food and earning very little. My clothes are completely worn out, I have no financial independance and have yet to develop anything resembling a routine. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Despite these complaints, most of which are materialistic and only temporary(fingers crossed),I am so SO grateful for having such amazing parents that have welcomed me home like the prodigal daughter. They're letting me live rent free and providing me with meals while wholeheartedly believing that I can make this business work and offering me endless necessary encouragement. Massive shout out to Mama and Papa Burns(if you're reading this) without you guys I wouldn't have the confidence to do any of this/I would be homeless haha! Also thank you so much to my Nan ho I know will definitely be reading this- providing me with endless takeaway coffee and advertising ideas!</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v45qstVtHUQ/Wqk9bTElS2I/AAAAAAAAEv8/C96sLU0XtbEg_G1XElUBkcbyY6s9uq53gCLcBGAs/s1600/followers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="start up grind, how to get more followers, start up diary, small business, startup, creative business, creative biz, small business startup, startup uk" border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="638" height="293" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v45qstVtHUQ/Wqk9bTElS2I/AAAAAAAAEv8/C96sLU0XtbEg_G1XElUBkcbyY6s9uq53gCLcBGAs/s400/followers.jpg" title="Start up life" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the other things I'm finding SO VERY HARD is not comparing myself to other small businesses/instagram profiles that started around the same time as me. I am not the most confident at social media. I find it difficult to post things that happened in a staged photoshoot I did weeks before while pretending they're from today(it feels like lying), I don't know what to say in captions and I'm not particularly engaging a lot of the time. I seriously don't understand how to get people to follow a business page or how people find the time to take and edit all of these perfectly lit photos. I am currently stuck at 350 followers and a little bit stumped about how to do the whole business instagram thing....but I'm working on a plan....again...haha!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm going to start using my blog to document how I'm finding starting up a start up. I'm going to let you know when good things happen and when things go wrong. Whoever reads this can be my accountability buddy, which I've heard is an essential thing for freelancers and start ups. I'll be sharing tips I've found useful, podcasts I find inspirational and everything from my favourite background movies to my music playlists.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">SO lets get started with 3 useful tips I have discovered for when you are feeling like you're never gonna get there:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>No.1</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Comparison is the thief of joy!</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d4olpZ_cAAw/Wqky7QRXL_I/AAAAAAAAEvM/2gtC0HItIGcUDwiGIeNQOwvi-Pg-5vqxACLcBGAs/s1600/Untitled-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="comparison kills,textile candy, textile candy studio, tip of the day, start up business, startup life, startup tips, small business tips, business motivation, business advice, creative startup, creative uk, creative biz, small business uk, made in England, started from the bottom, build your brand, small business motivation, life tips, business tips, business growth, business motivation, quote of the day, business quote, motivational quote, tips for success" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d4olpZ_cAAw/Wqky7QRXL_I/AAAAAAAAEvM/2gtC0HItIGcUDwiGIeNQOwvi-Pg-5vqxACLcBGAs/s400/Untitled-17.jpg" title="Do not compare" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>No.2</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Look how far you've already come!</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2TZppuq9HUQ/Wqk188MvRmI/AAAAAAAAEvY/z4ppbaNC1_EafgoWKli3ZO0mABRk_pYTQCLcBGAs/s1600/Untitled-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="comparison kills,textile candy, textile candy studio, tip of the day, start up business, startup life, startup tips, small business tips, business motivation, business advice, creative startup, creative uk, creative biz, small business uk, made in England, started from the bottom, build your brand, small business motivation, life tips, business tips, business growth, business motivation, quote of the day, business quote, motivational quote, tips for success" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2TZppuq9HUQ/Wqk188MvRmI/AAAAAAAAEvY/z4ppbaNC1_EafgoWKli3ZO0mABRk_pYTQCLcBGAs/s400/Untitled-18.jpg" title="Look how far you've already come" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To quote the infinite wisdom of Drake:</span></div>
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<img alt="Image result for started from the bottom now we here" height="227" src="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAM4AAAAJGRlNmJhM2JlLTJhNWMtNDhhMC1iMjJlLTM1Yjk0YTZmMDQ5MQ.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>No.3</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Make a to do list every day!</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ucy5YpMgxHE/Wqk384AZAZI/AAAAAAAAEvk/rHeaA7aM4L8KjJqqY_z4eP0DWDyRUsmJwCLcBGAs/s1600/Untitled-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="comparison kills,textile candy, textile candy studio, tip of the day, start up business, startup life, startup tips, small business tips, business motivation, business advice, creative startup, creative uk, creative biz, small business uk, made in England, started from the bottom, build your brand, small business motivation, life tips, business tips, business growth, business motivation, quote of the day, business quote, motivational quote, tips for success" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ucy5YpMgxHE/Wqk384AZAZI/AAAAAAAAEvk/rHeaA7aM4L8KjJqqY_z4eP0DWDyRUsmJwCLcBGAs/s400/Untitled-19.jpg" title="Make to do lists" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Quite honestly one of the main things that keeps me going a lot is a bible verse.... for those of you who aren't familiar with the bible its just a really good piece of advice:</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/38/5d/20/385d201bc0ae51b59213159c6563a738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="See the source image, bible verse, christian motivation, bible advice, bible tips, bible motivation, bible wisdom, small beginngins" border="0" height="400" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/38/5d/20/385d201bc0ae51b59213159c6563a738.jpg" title="Do not despise these small beginnings" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>P.s This is not my artwork- I found it on pinterest.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's so easy when near the beginning of a small business/start up journey to focus on how small the business is; how small an instagram following you have, how small an impact you're having on the people around you, how small your sales count is on Etsy BUT, no matter how small your beginning is, at least you've begun!</span></div>
Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-46945951663612706902017-10-04T07:31:00.002-07:002017-10-04T07:31:34.099-07:00Trading fast fashion for a slow future<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyone who has read the post preceding this will be aware that I have officially quit my job. I've shared my reasons for making this decision and have drawn a line underneath it ready to start a new and exciting chapter of my life. So what am I going to do next? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #454545;">A while ago I posted about my trip to Ghana and the 100%recycled glass beads I bought while I was there(</span><span style="color: #454545;">http://textilecandy.blogspot.ch/2017/02/krobo-odumase-market-traditional-bead.html</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #454545;">) I shared a few photos of the jewellery I had created from the beads and then nothing more(</span><span style="color: #454545;">http://textilecandy.blogspot.ch/2017/06/my-reasons-for-blogging-abandonment.html).</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #454545;"> Since then I have delved a little deeper into jewellery making and designed my first Textile Candy jewellery collection. Half of the collection will be made from handpainted wooden beads and the remaining half(which I am so very excited about) will be made from the handcrafted Ghanaian beads. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #454545;">I have decided to really fully commit to trying to start a business and believe that making and selling jewellery is a good launch point. One day I would love to branch out into home accessories and clothing, but that's a little further down the line.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--XaL-WLRRYE/WdTXGfDYHCI/AAAAAAAAErk/gCBvRKIpL3w8yJ4D3WcJiidQVcg2t5o6QCLcBGAs/s1600/wooden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="handpainted beads, wooden necklace, statement necklace, chunky necklace, handmade necklace, etsy necklace, etsy jewellery, ribbon necklace, colourful necklace, wooden bead necklace, wooden keyring, wooden keychain, necklace design, jewellery brand, jewellery business, ethical brand, ethical jewellery" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1593" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--XaL-WLRRYE/WdTXGfDYHCI/AAAAAAAAErk/gCBvRKIpL3w8yJ4D3WcJiidQVcg2t5o6QCLcBGAs/s640/wooden.jpg" title="Textile Candy wooden collection" width="636" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Above are some of the products that I have been working on: statement necklaces, simple necklaces, earrings and keyrings. They won't be available to purchase until I launch the Etsy store on 1st November but if you do see anything you love I can stick a reserve note on it so just send me an email at <a href="mailto:textilecandy@gmail.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">textilecandy@gmail.com</a> or a facebook/instagram message!I am also doing some custom orders for people so if you see something you like but would prefer in a different colour combination just let me know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now is as good a time as any to provide you with some more information about the products and the process.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The wooden items all start out as unfinished, unpainted and unvarnished wooden beads made from a Samak/China berry tree from a Chinese supplier I have found on Etsy. He delivers really promptly, gives me a great deal on pricing and always throws in a few new samples for me to check out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After receiving the beads I play around with structure and figure out what new pieces I can make and then the painting begins. I use acrylic paint for the wooden beads, I tried experimenting with some inks, oil and water based paints but the wood is quite porous and soaks up a lot of the colour, this doesn't allow any margin for error as once a bead is painted in ink it is very difficult to repaint- I have learnt this the hard way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the things I love about the wooden collection is that it has enabled me to be really experimental with colour. I've tried to paint all of the necklaces and earrings in quite an abstract way as I think these make them easier to wear. There are also a few different necklace styles in the mix as I want to use my first collection to test out which designs people find the most appealing. Some are on chain, some suede chord and the larger pieces are on satin ribbon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Statement earrings are a huge trend at the moment, filling out retail stores and taking over the runway shows so I have added some tassel earrings to the collection. I also have some more simple handpainted studs and drop earrings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Ghana bead half of the collection is still in its development stage but I can share a few of the pieces I have been working on! It will be made from the 100% recycled glass beads I have sourced while on my trips to Ghana combined with some metal fixtures I have bought from a Turkish supplier(also sourced on Etsy). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #454545;">One of the reasons I am so excited about the Ghana collection is because I finally feel like I am able to do something good and have a positive impact on the world. The items in this collection promote recycled goods and raise awareness about the Ghanaian beadmaking artisans and traditional craft. Also I have decided that, for every item from the 'made in Ghana' collection, I will donate 10% of the profits to the Baobab children's' foundation (</span><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #454545;">http://www.baobab-children-foundation.de/)</span></span><span style="color: #454545;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From the offset I knew I wanted to make sure this business was socially conscious with a completely transparent production line. After working in fast fashion for most of my career I now want to do some good in some way, however small that may be. My first visit to Ghana introduced me to the beadmaking process and I realised how painstaking it is to create something so beautifully handmade. It is my firm opinion that we need to start celebrating traditional crafts like this and support the artisans involved in making them. So I decided I wanted to use some of the profits to give back to the communities that create the products I will be using. As can be imagined there are a lot of charitable organisations based in Ghana and, as much as I think what they're doing is great, I am only a baby business/small start up at the moment and so I want to build a relationship with a small foundation. I want to know who the money is going to, I want to know what it is being used for and I want it to go to a cause I feel really passionate about. This is why I chose Baobab School of Trades and Traditional Arts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They are a small NGO registered in Freiburg, Germany(which is actually conveniently close to Basel), it was founded in 2001 and now has around 100 pupils at the school it supports. I first became aware of the Baobab school and childrens foundation on my first trip to Ghana in February. I was volunteering and living in Cape Coast at the time where they have a guest house and restaurant which helps support the school. They also sell all the products created at the school in their Cape Coast store including, batik fabric and garments, jewellery and paintings created by the students. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Baobab school is an extremely special place as it focuses on a creative education and teaching the children vocational courses that they will be able to use to provide for themselves in the future. The thing that makes it even more fantastic is that it is a school for disadvantaged children from lower economic backgrounds, orphans and children with learning/physical disabilities. Outside of this school these children would struggle to stay in education and learn to be self sufficient.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The children are still provided with an academic education and have morning lessons in English, Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Entrepreneurship but in the afternoon they focus on 2 vocational courses that combine well to ensure they can earn money post education. Vocational courses include: </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">carpentry, bicycle repair, sewing, batik, cane and bamboo furniture making, kente weaving, beadmaking, painting, basket weaving, organic farming, oyster mushroom cultivation, production of medicine from medicinal plants and catering. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am currently in conversation with the founder, Edith de Vos, and am hoping to find out more information regarding the prices of equipment for the students at the school, the cost of each child's education and how much it would cost to sponsor a child's education. Should any of you lovely readers want to get involved- I will keep you all updated with the information I receive.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This half of the collection will also be packaged with a FREE wax print cotton gift bag. The fabric was hand printed in Ghana using the traditional batik process, half of the fabric used in the gift bags was created at the Baobab school and the other half has been created by the independent batik mamas employed by Global Mamas. While in Ghana last week I contracted Debora, a local seamstress in the Cape Coast area, to sew the gift bags using the fabric I had selected. This was important for me as part of creating a transparent production line.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hopefully this has been a useful update for you all to see what I'm working on and what I have quit my job to do. I'm really excited about this and am praying extremely hard that it goes well. Please check out the Etsy store when it launches on 1st November, until then I am posting product updates and inspiration images on my business instagram: @textilecandy </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It would be really great to drum up as much support as possible for this baby business of mine, especially while it is in it's initial growth stage so please feel free(No pressure at all) to share this post/share images on pinterest/facebook/instagram I would love to be able to sell most of the 'Made in Ghana' collection and raise some money for the Baobab Childrens foundation!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Gone is the van plan of last November, this time it's for real.</b></span></span></div>
Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-15188661777183195522017-10-04T00:26:00.004-07:002017-10-04T00:26:48.181-07:00Farewell fast fashion<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oRrA6eGDgPA/WdOKwpAOcZI/AAAAAAAAEp0/c92Kq8BVMRA6rChncdMiNU1gbMjYiQsxgCLcBGAs/s1600/Untitled-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="1517" height="132" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oRrA6eGDgPA/WdOKwpAOcZI/AAAAAAAAEp0/c92Kq8BVMRA6rChncdMiNU1gbMjYiQsxgCLcBGAs/s640/Untitled-14.jpg" title="I quit, quit my job" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It will come as no surprise to many of you that I have, once again, made the decision to quit my job. As Facebook and LinkedIn have both kindly reminded me my career seems to be cyclical. I sub consciously work on a 6 month tolerance cycle between March and August- I start new jobs in march and quit them in August. Maybe 6 months is my standard length of time to figure out whether I enjoy a position and the company and, if not, whether I can tolerate them regardless. This was the case with my most recent company. I worked the probation period(3 months), hated it, decided I could tolerate it, lasted 3 more months and then decided I couldn't...Once again I will be leaving my job at the end of November, exactly the same as last year.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><i>2017 World Happiness chart.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #454545;"><br />So why? Why am I quitting my position as Senior Graphic designer for a 'trend led fast fashion brand' in Switzerland "the 4th happiest country in the world" (according to the World Happiness report of 2017: </span><span style="color: #454545;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report#2017_report</span><span style="color: #454545;">) As I am spending 5 out of 7 days of the week at work I don't want my job to cause any unhappiness...no job, no matter how well paid, is worth sacrificing your happiness and health for. So when I start feeling miserable 2 out of the 5 working days a red flag goes up in my mind...when I get to 3 out of 5 days a week then I start working on my exit plan. Once I have affixed my mind on something I am quite fast at actioning it, this is exactly how I approach job happiness. To me there is no sense in staying in the same position if you know it is making you unhappy, if you don't like something in your life- change it. So thats what I've decided to do....again. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When drafting this post it was getting a little lengthy so I've split it into two parts:the rant and the plan! This post is the rant.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As with all fast fashion jobs a certain amount of stress is to be expected- we are working with fast productions speeds and short lead times, but when that stress is exasperated by a disorganised system and egotistical, indecisive colleagues the design process becomes extremely difficult and unenjoyable. Being creative on demand in an environment like this becomes borderline impossible. Once a company causes me to loath the thing I love the most(the thing that enables me to express myself properly) I know thats another indication for me to leave.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In order to achieve the fast production speeds we are encouraged to opt for quantity over quality, this goes against everything I believe and everything I have ever been taught. I produce designs architected by someone else, I am only required to carry out someone else vision, therefore I can take no pride in my work and have no accountability for it. After months of doing this I begin to become creatively brain dead, incapable of coming up with my own ideas as I'm so accustomed to not having to. A further reason to leave. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One of the biggest problems I have concerning my current(soon to be recent) position is the ethical side of fast fashion, not just in this company but in the industry as a whole. There are printed tops on the website for 6.99 euros, I can't see how it is ethically possible to produce a garment like this without someone somewhere being drastically screwed over to achieve the necessary profit margins. The manufacturing line isn't very transparent and I have no knowledge of who the suppliers are, which factories they are working with, whether they are subcontracting work to get the lowest price or what the health and safety regulations are in each factory. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> I also have a huge issue with the copyright infringements I am expected to make on a daily basis. People higher up in the company go on shopping 'research' trips to Seoul and Tokyo, visit suppliers and factories, take photos of garments and come back requesting that we copy the graphics or the slogans "exactly as it is". With all fast fashion competitors doing this exact same thing the retail industry becomes saturated with imitations of the same thing in every store. Not only is copying designs illegal, it also makes the high street dull with no new innovative, creative ideas....how long can we sustain this for!?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At the interview the job I am currently doing was sold to me as being 'trend led, young, exciting, fast fashion where I could create fun placement prints for a growing brand'...or something along those lines....in reality I spend most of my time stealing photos of tumblr girls from google images/pinterest/tumblr/instagram...mixing their faces together to make a new, unrecognisable girl(for copyright evasion) and then re-touching the photos to make a more 'beautiful' girl for a photoprint t-shirt. These are the images we are selling to young girls, these are the girls we are inadvertently telling them they should look like. We are fabricating faces, slimming thighs, stretching proportions and spoon feeding these images them to impressionable teens. After 6 months of scrolling through images trying to find young girls "attractive enough" to meet the company beauty standards, I was left feeling self conscious and dejected. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To give you a further understanding of why I can't align myself with the ethos of this company, here are some of the absurd and offensive statements I have over heard:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">- Upon suggestion of having a mixed ethnicity model in the branding someone high up in the company claimed she looked "dirty" and couldn't be used. Models used in company branding and on photoprints are all caucasian, I have tried on countless occasions to use a variety of models and all have been rejected.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">- When designing a photoprint of a young girl I was told that her hair was "the wrong sort of blonde"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">- When designing a photoprint of 2 young girls(around16) I refused to make one thinner...so the image was taken from my file and distorted to change her body proportions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">- When suggesting we use words like "ambition" and "positivity" I was told that this isn't the message we want to give our customers. Instead slogans and words like "cute", "rebel", "sorry if I look interested, I'm not". Aspirational messages and those promoting body positivity are a no go.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Those are just a few snippets from everyday conversations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Aside from this Switzerland is UBER expensive. I knew this before I moved here but had thought that my salary increase would cover the increase in cost of living...it does not. Basel is so expensive that the majority of citizens travel to Germany to get their groceries...I have to go to a different country to buy food- laughable. Add this to the multitude of fees and fines that the country like to throw at you: for putting paper in your trash, for engineering work being done on a road near your house, for a mandatory metal label for your doorbell, for the release of small items from Swiss customs. I don't mean to put anyone off visiting Switzerland in this post, as a country Switzerland is an amazing and beautiful place to visit. When I went for a weekend in St. Moritz last year I completely loved it...as a holiday...but, as is to be expected, a holiday is not representational of everyday life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I would definitely visit Switzerland again for a weekend- the alps are astonishing, the architecture is beautiful and quaint and the transport is efficient, but I would not choose to live here. Of the 3 countries I have lived in outside of the UK I have found Switzerland the most difficult and the most isolating. Maybe visiting Ghana before relocating here contributed to my growing dislike for la vie en Suisse, the wealth disparity and the difference in value of money in these two countries is astonishing and something I really struggle to get my head around. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> To be completely truthful I should never have taken this job. I accepted the offer due to a lethal concoction of fear, financial insecurity and future uncertainty. If I could offer any advice to a graphic designer/designer just starting out in the fashion industry it would be to never take a job for these reasons. I had quit my previous position to start up my own business but, after realising I had no idea how to do this, I got scared and fled back to the safety of a full time job with a monthly salary. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After moving back home to the UK last November I had planned a few freelance projects/illustration commissions and my 2 month volunteer trip to Ghana(the best decision of my life for many reasons) but I had not planned further than that and the uncertainty of having no fixed income, the future being completely unknown and out of my control really scared me. So, just before leaving for Ghana, I decided to accept the job offer because then at least I had a plan. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I pushed my intuition to one side, and moved to Switzerland anyway because I was scared of starting something on my own. Bad decision Becky- I had never even visited Basel before and now I was moving my entire life there. 1 month into my probation period was enough to know that I did not fit in well within the company. I was in shared accommodation for the first 3 months with people I didn't know- I felt extremely isolated and with slow internet was unable to easily contact my family and friends back home. However, I decided to stick it out until the end of the probation period hoping that when I moved out of the shared accommodation and had all of my belongings in one place in my own home all would be fine. I gave it 3 more months after moving out and then made the decision that I would hand my 3 months notice into my apartment in August and my 2 months for my job in September. So here I am.....finally listening to what my soul is telling me to do and I am so very happy with the decision.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My mum likes to remind me that I feel like this at some point in all of my fashion based jobs. In truth, the company and the position make very little difference if there are fundamental problems within the industry and fast fashion is flawed to its core. I have often questioned whether I have chronic job dissatisfaction but have come to the conclusion that until I am working for myself, executing my own dreams instead of helping someone else achieve theirs I will not be happy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So what will I be doing next? Well one thing is for certain- I will NOT be taking another job in fast fashion, no matter what the financial benefits are and no matter what exciting country an opportunity might be in. When I accepted this job I promised myself that it would be the last job I had before starting up my own business and daring to try my hand at freelancing.... I guess I'm calling my own bluff. I have secured a freelance job that, hopefully, will provide me with enough money to live off and I will be opening an Etsy store in early November as my first step into starting my own business.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You might recall that last time I quit my job I had a very obscure plan of buying an old van and converting it into a mobile boutique(I am still so very keen on this idea)....so what ambitious plan do I have this time? What will I be flogging on my new Etsy store?That will be revealed in the next post :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext" , serif , "emojifont";"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>NB: The txt based images were all taken from pinterest, if you created them/know the creator please let me know so that I can properly credit them.</i></span></span></div>
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Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-31181909286184659652017-09-21T07:58:00.005-07:002017-09-21T07:58:59.296-07:00Premiere Vision Autumn/Winter 2018-19 trend report<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Some photos from inside the Premiere Vision trade show.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's that time of year again- the Premiere vision print trend report! As I was in Ghana in February this year I wasn't able to attend the Spring/summer 2018 trade show and had to wait until all of the information and photos were released onto WGSN. Of course I was extremely happy to be in Ghana, but I really missed my seasonal trend update.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After skipping Spring I was extra excited to be going back this week and this time I was able to fill out all the necessary paperwork in order to get a press wristband enabling me to take much better, less blurred and rushed, photos for this blog post. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As always I thoroughly enjoyed the show this season, but this time was particularly great as I was free to roam and speak to the studio owners and meet some of the people I will be freelancing for. It's so inspirational hearing first hand how people have made the decision to go it alone, as it is something I have always dreamed of doing, hearing how others have taken the plunge fills me with hope and confidence that it is not impossible. Being around so many designers who have grown their own businesses from nothing and truly love what they do creates a really exciting and inspirational atmosphere-its contagious!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I remember last year I was a little disappointed with the forecasted trends for Autumn/Winter 2017-18... this year I had the opposite reaction- I can't wait to get started on some print designs! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I always try and stick to around 12 print trends in the trend report so this involves condensing some of the PV trends, I still want to provide you all with a list of all of the trends given at the trade show so here are the original 14:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>- Brush stroke sketches</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>- Dandy graphics</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>- Twirling</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>- Flower Power</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>-Cosmic landscapes</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>- Melancholic</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>-Nordic animals</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>-Mini gaudy</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>-Idealised gardens</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>- Orientalist</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>- Playful polka dots</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>-Artsy puzzles</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I have combined 'Dandy graphics' with 'Mini gaudy' as they are essentially the same aesthetic- mini geometric shirting style patterns and foulard designs. I have also combined the 'Orientalist' trend with 'Twirling' to make a floral chintz trend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Some of the images in these trend boards are extremely blurred and for that I can only apologise. I will replace them when the proper photographs are released onto WGSN but I wanted to do the Textile Candy PV trend report post before I leave for Ghana tomorrow. The trend report isn't completely perfect but it gives an essence of what we can all expect for Autumn/Winter 2018-19. I will be making some amendments when I return from Ghana at the beginning of October as I have not yet had enough time to label the images in the trend boards but if you are a studio and see your print on here before I return from my holiday please email me at textilecandy@gmail.com and I will make sure you are properly credited!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">'Nordic Animals' and 'Twirling' will be added when I get back along with all of the correct labels :)</span></div>
Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-2937863378414825232017-07-31T09:21:00.000-07:002017-07-31T09:21:23.141-07:00Designing for the future: trends we need to consider now<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a print designer working for a fast fashion brand, designing for the future is a daily dilemma of mine. In the fashion industry we are expected to present garments to consumers, predicting what they will like in 4-12 months time. If designing for a fast fashion market has taught me anything it is that fashion consumers at the relatively inexpensive end of retail are fickle. Brand loyalty doesn't exist- they want the best design for the cheapest price- a bestselling garment in February could be repeated in March and cause a monetary loss. So how can we design for a fickle future? </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xMRQ9bREBJg/WX9QNlARlKI/AAAAAAAAEnA/mQ3TwUxOQwct9oH5cqt1O5GI3_DPNZySQCLcBGAs/s1600/fastfashion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Fast fashion, cgtrader, blogging competition, fashion retailers, ethical fashion, slow fashion, future fashion trends" border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="1478" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xMRQ9bREBJg/WX9QNlARlKI/AAAAAAAAEnA/mQ3TwUxOQwct9oH5cqt1O5GI3_DPNZySQCLcBGAs/s640/fastfashion.jpg" title="Fast fashion, cgtrader, blogging competition, fashion retailers, ethical fashion, slow fashion, future fashion trends" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the many fast fashion brands on our high streets. Photo taken from: https://www.trustedclothes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/fastfashion.jpg</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The more time I spend working at this end of the fashion chain, the more I question whether the speed of the fast fashion manufacturing chain and this level of mass consumerism is sustainable? In short...it isn't.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JYY8W5e5P_Q/WX84mPRhJjI/AAAAAAAAEmg/8IB17vLgddA_84VihslSi6nenTJ6_jCEwCLcBGAs/s1600/infographic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1466" data-original-width="564" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JYY8W5e5P_Q/WX84mPRhJjI/AAAAAAAAEmg/8IB17vLgddA_84VihslSi6nenTJ6_jCEwCLcBGAs/s640/infographic.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fast fashion infographic borrowed from ecouterre.com</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ours is the generation that wants everything at lightening speed, we have grown up in the digital revolution where we can expand our horizons, and our wardrobes, at the click of a button. Millenials have been raised to be the ultimate consumer. We see, we want, we buy(on credit) and on and on it goes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To understand the future of fashion design we have to have a firm grasp on how fashion trends were dictated in the past. With our ever changing society this is becoming increasingly difficult. Gone are the days of 'make do and mend', we now dispose of garments as readily as we dispose of leftover food scraps. In fact only 15% of consumer used clothing is recycled, this is disgusting (https://www.thebalance.com/textile-recycling-facts-and-figures-2878122).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The world our grandparents lived in has all but faded away- a society based on the rules and guidance of the 10 commandments, has been replaced by hedonism and consumerism. Bygone generations revered and rejected the '7 cardinal sins', we have entire industries, fast fashion included, embracing them and exploiting them as a business strategy. As the consumer we are taught to <b>lust</b> after new products we can't afford, we <b>hate</b> and <b>envy</b> others who have the lifestyle and material possessions we yearn for, then become <b>greedy</b> in an attempt to amass enough of these products to appear successful. After obtaining the things we so desired we have <b>pride</b> in our possessions and then, after a short time, we become <b>despondent</b> and in a state of despair when the products fail to give us the satisfaction we had expected....and repeat...The only 'deadly sin' exempt from this chain is <b>sloth</b> and, looking at the Western society I have grown up in, there is no shortage of laziness and misused talent.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Barbara Krugers' famous comment on fashion consumerism and how we use material possessions to create our identity and validate our existence.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Modern consumerism has sub-consciously conditioned us to believe that we need things; garments, products, technology and that this will provide us with a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction so that we can post photos of our material lifestyle on instagram and gain validation from our peers. The little buzz we get when we go onto instagram to find out how many 'likes' we have soon fades and we continue the search for something that will reignite that feeling. This is very basic psychology, but the media has been so effective in ingraining this into the modern human psyche that changing the cycle is no small feat. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In an effort to keep up with this cycle, manufacturing industries have been exported to distant countries, China and Bangladesh being the main culprits. Very few garments in the fast fashion industry are locally produced, the closest production hub is probably Turkey. Not only is this bad for Western clothing manufacturers, who are being constantly undercut by 'competitive' prices in the East, it also has devastating effects both on the climate and on the workers whose rights are undergoing constant violations. Is this to be the future of fashion and textile design? Will we continue to design in the West and source in the East showing little regard for the workers and environments that are being affected? This is the present state of the fast fashion industry but it doesn't have to be the future.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lW5N2JoLNXQ/WX9SX95Ts6I/AAAAAAAAEnM/ALz_jBubEKc5iBDEc17ftPKwP5f0sYclACLcBGAs/s1600/In-Text-Photo-1-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="fast fashion, slow fashion, ethical fashion, fashion revolution, who made my clothes" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lW5N2JoLNXQ/WX9SX95Ts6I/AAAAAAAAEnM/ALz_jBubEKc5iBDEc17ftPKwP5f0sYclACLcBGAs/s640/In-Text-Photo-1-16.jpg" title="fast fashion, slow fashion, ethical fashion, fashion revolution, who made my clothes" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo taken from: http://www.sleek-mag.com</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Finally we are seeing individuals starting companies that raise the profiles of these problems, forcing the consumer to care about the creation of their garments and the consequences of their consumerism. Ever since the Rana Plaza disaster of 2013 we have seen a huge increase of people championing ethical fashion and a massive push encouraging the public to question the origin of their clothes. The fashion revolution movement(featured above) has been a huge social media motivator for this. Perhaps the future of fashion design will embrace a huge shift towards ethically sourced fabrics and products? Hopefully we will see an increasing number of small, independent brands offering collections that use organic and sustainably sourced products, manufactured in a way that has no human rights infringements without compromising style/design aesthetic. I sincerely hope this happens.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_w2KLp-haIQ/WX9TAJou3_I/AAAAAAAAEnQ/7rGI26kT64MXen1-YVFUSzKbzdoH4PRNQCLcBGAs/s1600/1105-9362-sustainability-wire-visual.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_w2KLp-haIQ/WX9TAJou3_I/AAAAAAAAEnQ/7rGI26kT64MXen1-YVFUSzKbzdoH4PRNQCLcBGAs/s640/1105-9362-sustainability-wire-visual.jpg" width="638" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I<i>nfographic showing Millenial statistics. Image taken from: http://www.nielsen.com/eu/en/insights/news/2015/green-generation-millennials-say-sustainability-is-a-shopping-priority.html</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I stumbled across this amazing infographic while researching this post which shows that, when asked a series of questions in relation to fashion, 66% of millenials asked(of 30,000 across the globe) said that they would be willing to pay more for products and services that come from companies <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">that are committed to positive social and environmental impact (</span>http://www.nielsen.com/eu/en/insights/news/2015/green-generation-millennials-say-sustainability-is-a-shopping-priority.html).<span style="background-color: white;"> 58% said that they would be willing to pay more if the product came from a company known for being environmentally friendly. This demonstrates that the Millenial generation of consumers like to think that they place ethics over aesthetics. If this is so then it renders fast fashion a dying industry- how can the future generation of consumers be ethically minded and follow fast fashion when these two aspects of the fashion industry are mutually exclusive?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Personally I see two viable trend directions the long term fashion and textile industry could move towards- both include a massive downscale in wardrobe size. There will be those of us who move towards a more ethical and sustainable form of fashion where we either shop locally and independently or we pay more for quality items produced overseas- slow fashion. On the flip side there will be the fast fashion remnant who have aged but retained the mentality of fast fashion and opt for advanced technological fashion. How far into the future this split will be is something I am completely uncertain of!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gender neutral high street collections, left to right: Zara, H&M, Selfridges. Photos taken from google images.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It pains me to say that this is the path I see current fashion veering towards. With the advent of gender neutral clothing we are seeing shapeless garments and neutral colours gaining traction. Practicality takes precedence over aesthetics. This is a print designers worst nightmare. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Perhaps this is a fad, perhaps not. What will be interesting to see in the future of fashion and textiles is how smart textiles will begin to play a role in design. Gender neutral clothing creates the perfect blank canvas for this. For a generation raised to fight for equality, creating uniformity in clothing is just another extension of achieving this. Every sci-fi movie/book/vision of a dystopian future that I can recall has guided us to expect that the future of fashion will be a bland, minimalist, functional collection of garments, it has, in essence, promoted the idea of uniformity. Void of personality, geared for practicality. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Clockwise left to right: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Ex Machina, Passengers, The Matrix. (All photos taken from google images).</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />As I am tentatively making steps towards setting up my own business I am very aware of how the production decisions I am making at this stage will affect the business later on. I do not want to start a business which contributes in anyway to mass consumerism, I am keen to be on the ethical side. I want people to buy my products because they appreciate and treasure them as a hand crafted item. I want to create heirlooms not disposable goods.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When discussing future design trends there is a huge veil of uncertainty....but one thing we can be sure of - the power of the people. The consumer can make or break the fast fashion chain. Maybe one of the trends we need to consider for the future of fashion/textile design is how we shop, who we are supporting and what future we are creating?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The way I see it we have two options for the future of fashion and textiles: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>- shop independantly, shop locally, support small business and celebrate traditional methods of manufacture...OR...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>-follow fast fashion and watch it advance into digital fashion.</b></span></div>
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Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-35370353615473123532017-06-19T10:06:00.000-07:002017-06-19T10:06:01.281-07:00My reasons for blogging abandonment...<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I seem to have inadvertently taken a really long blogging break and I'm finding it very hard trying to get back into it. As a result of the abandonment of the Textile Candy blog, my page views have fallen from around 1000 views per day to only double figures.....yeah...that sucks. So I'm going to try again....I need to give the Textile Candy blog a new lease of life and actually commit to it properly- I am well aware that this is something I've said before but this time I'm serious!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've wanted to write so many posts commenting on; the terrorist attacks that seem to be becoming a monthly occurrence, the UK elections, global politics, new fashion technology and future fashion trends..... getting the motivation to do this, however, seems to be becoming more difficult. I have observed people on social media becoming increasingly less tolerant with opinions that differ from their own and increasingly more obsessed with political correctness. So this is one of the reasons I have been avoiding blogging. I do not like confrontation, particularly when it involves political aggression, but going forward I am going to try and write about what I want, and if people don't agree with it then they don't have to read it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As it's Monday I'm going to avoid writing about anything too heavy, because who really wants that on the first day after the weekend! Instead, I'm going to do a little update post of whats going on in my life and the new direction I'm trying to move into...a lighter topic than political discussion and a lot more palatable for a Monday afternoon!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So....when I move countries I always do a little post about my new home but, because I was living in company owned shared accommodation for my first 3 months here, I haven't able to do this. However, I have now been living in my new apartment for a whole month, all of my belongings have been delivered from the UK and I have bought a sufficient amount of candles and plants from IKEA to make me feel at home.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hxfh7c6kmLw/WUe1ZuMEJzI/AAAAAAAAElo/EjEC0ygWZtElG-kPx3D8deJfpac6uvoJACLcBGAs/s1600/new%2Bhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="New home, welcome home, Expat, Switzerland, Basel, life in Basel, Swiss home" border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="1600" height="438" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hxfh7c6kmLw/WUe1ZuMEJzI/AAAAAAAAElo/EjEC0ygWZtElG-kPx3D8deJfpac6uvoJACLcBGAs/s640/new%2Bhouse.jpg" title="New home, welcome home, Expat, Switzerland, Basel, life in Basel, Swiss home" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The apartment pre removal van arrival.<br /></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> As you can see from the above image even the empty apartment looks quite beautiful. It has; really high ceilings, large windows, beautiful wooden parquet flooring and a big bright kitchen. It is a corner apartment on the ground floor of a yellow art deco building with a rounded exterior. One of my favourite things about this apartment is that, because it is on a rounded corner, I can stand in the entrance area and turn 270 degrees and see outside through all of the rooms- when all of the windows are open there's a lovely breeze. Sometimes places give people vibes(I know I sound like a hippy here) and when I had my first viewing of this apartment I immediately felt like it was my home- I felt the same way when I found my loft in Brussels.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Despite the initial feeling of comfort, an apartment doesn't feel like a home until your belongings are all inside. Unpacking and organising my things is one of my favourite things to do, it helps my brain understand the relocation process and ensures that I don't feel displaced in my new surroundings. Prior to the move, even before Ghana, I had been quite organised in sorting out some cheap furniture which I then up cycled to look a bit more shabby-chic(see the DIY blog post I did here). I was so excited to finally see how all of the furniture looked in situ and here is the final result....my super cosy, colourful apartment.....</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ma maison</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The smaller room is the one I chose as my studio. I've put the pallet sofa, coffee table and bookcase I made using the old scaffolding planks and ladders in there along with all of my crafting bits. I make sure my laptop and work materials don't leave this room, so that when I go into my bedroom its a completely work free, relaxing space. My bedroom is my little colourful haven :) I found a bargain Moroccan boucheroutie rug on etsy which sits nicely alongside my fluffy ikea rug. I also bought a black and white patterned kantha quilt from India on eBay, similar to the one which I have on my studio sofa. There are freestanding clothes rails down the right side of the room with all of my clothes and jewellery hanging on them and I have floor length, white, cotton curtains that let just the right amount of sunlight in. I also have the free standing mirror I bought in the UK which was a steal at only 10GBP, one of my furniture upcycle babies. I've decided not to purchase an internet package for my apartment, partially because Switzerland is mega expensive but also because, since I haven't had the internet at home, I have been so much more productive and have been having far less sleeping problems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: start;">One of the things I really love about my new home is that I can compartmentalise my life, as the apartment has two rooms(as well as the separate rooms for the kitchen and bathroom) I can finally have my own studio space and when I'm done working I can close the door. Why do I need a studio you ask? WELL.... I have a new, borderline crazy, venture to rival the 'van plan'. I have spoken to a few friends/family members </span>about this to check that it isn't a completely insane idea but haven't really broadcasted it on social media/on my blog yet so here goes.....</span></div>
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....<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I want to start a jewellery business. Just a small side thing to begin with, maybe sell a few bits on Etsy but the 'new plan'(as I am calling it) extends far beyond Etsy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As you all know my trip to Ghana had a lasting effect on me, having a taste of slow, ethical fashion and then having to come back to a fast fashion career was something I found really difficult. While in Ghana I was fortunate enough to see how the small businesses that work with Global Mamas make the beautiful glass beads that are then sold at Krobo bead market and elsewhere. I loved seeing this process and couldn't help myself from buying a stack of beads from the artisans, despite not having any idea what I would use them for. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shortly after I moved to Switzerland I began doodling some designs for some earrings, I didn't take them too seriously to begin with but then the creative cogs finally started turning...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have always been obsessed with statement jewellery, all those who know me will testify to this. I have also always wanted to start a small business. I am also so sick of fast fashion and want to move into the ethical side. My main problem has been that there are so many different creative areas I want to involve in my small business that I have never been able to find a starting point. I would love to start an ethical fashion and accessories brand but, realistically, the financial start up cost of this is way above my budget. An ethical jewellery start up, however, is manageable....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So the plan is to use the handmade beads I sourced in Ghana and some unfinished wooden beads I have purchased from a small wood factory in China(via Etsy) and use them to create a collection of colourful patterned statement pieces. If they turn out well then I will pursue this idea further.....if they turn out awfully then I will wear them myself and we shall never speak of this plan again ;) </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Wooden beads from China and a selection of the colourful Krobo beads from Ghana.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Above you can see a selection of the wooden beads and Ghana beads I have purchased and some of the design development I have been doing on photoshop to decide how to paint the beads. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Design development boards in my studio room.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Here are the noticeboards in my studio, filled with necklace and keyring prototypes. Obviously none of these pieces are finished yet as they are still at the design development stage..... but, as you can see, I intend for them to be very colourful.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Some of the designs I have been working on, including the earrings I'm wearing in the bottom right image.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am really hoping that this works out, that the designs are popular and that this idea is received well and not dismissed as another of Becky's hare-brained schemes. It might be like the 'van plan' and never become more than a pipe dream but I'm going to give it a try anyway!If all goes to plan I am hoping to launch the first collection on an Etsy store around the end of October, just in time to hit the Christmas shoppers....hopefully!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I would love to get to a stage where I can sell a jewellery line, produce it ethically in Ghana and expand into textiles and home accessories. This would be amazing and then maybe my van plan can also happen.....first things first...I need to make some products that will sell......this is where your feedback(whoever reads this) will come in really useful!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So that's what has been stealing my attention away from the blog :)</span></div>
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<br />Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-80820037564690491102017-04-07T12:14:00.000-07:002017-04-07T12:53:54.626-07:00Belated Premiere Vision trend report!<div align="center" class="separator" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Due to my being
in Ghana, this year I didn’t attend the Premiere Vision trade show in Paris.
Absolute geek that I am, I actually really missed it! Despite not being able to
attend, I have still attempted to put together a trend report for you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Normally I just
use the Premiere vision trend report and dilute it down to trends that I think are
the most commercial, This usually involves me changing trend names and merging
a few trends together. Needless to say I have done the same thing for SS18, but,
as I didn’t actually attend this year, I have been using WGSN as my main source
of research. As anyone who works in Printed textiles/design/ WGSN subscriber
will know, Premiere Vision is not the only Print trend show out there; Comocrea
in Italy, the London print design fair and Mare di Moda(France).
This year I have tried to look at the different print trade shows and merge the
trends they have put forward to create 12 print trends for SS18. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I merged Premiere
Visions ‘abstract marks’ and ‘organic shapes’ trends as I felt they were quite
similar, both consisting of hand painted loose brushstroke markings. I also
renamed the PV trend ‘retro eccentric’ and used the Comocrea trend ‘psychedelic
yesteryear’ as I preferred the name. The ‘vintage bloom’ PV trend was dropped
from my trend pack as I feel that the content is hinted at in the other floral
trends(Eastern Chintz, Painted meadows, garden botanical).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2 trends I am
particularly excited about are the ‘Artists impression’ trend and the ‘1980’s
revival’. An 80's throwback in fashion has been looming for a while now, we have
just about exhausted 90’s style and prints and, naturally, designers are
leafing through the historical archives to find a ‘new’ trend. We have seen a
return to 80’s punk as fashion designers raise their political voice through
their collections, 80's romanticism returned last year, so is it really that
much of a shock that we might see a return to the borderline garish and colourful
prints of the 80's in SS18?(No doubt I will attempt to write an 80's fashion history post at some point!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I know it's a bit
later than I would normally post this trend report but I thought better late
than never right? So here it is....the Textile Candy Premiere Vision print
trend report for Spring/Summer 2018.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6mw1eBEOsFg/WOLHoR_y7KI/AAAAAAAAElA/QYaO60nBt2AwXhSWn3mx1ReXai9NHFuogCLcB/s1600/front%2Bpage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Textile Candy, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" border="0" height="452" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6mw1eBEOsFg/WOLHoR_y7KI/AAAAAAAAElA/QYaO60nBt2AwXhSWn3mx1ReXai9NHFuogCLcB/s640/front%2Bpage.jpg" title="Textile Candy, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The trend forecasters seem to have stuck with what they know works for this season: ikats, floral chintz, botanicals, abstract safari and animal conversationals....Nothing particularly groundbreaking. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Looking at the WGSN coverage of the various trade shows it seems like the trends could do with an additional placement print section, analysing whether slogan/photographic/abstract placement prints are increasing in popularity. Although, I guess, this is more fad trend driven and not really a trend forecasted print direction. All I know is that there has been such an increase in designers using fashion as a political canvas, both on and off the runway, that I am surprised it hasn't leaked into the trend predictions in some wacky conversational print.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But with no further ado...here are the trend boards...</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Kf243hLMXY/WOLEawOQTyI/AAAAAAAAEkI/PTwBU8s5zOomrooStQtdXLjVRFRuLh8xwCLcB/s1600/GARDEN%2BBOTANICALS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Textile Candy, Garden botanicals, botanical floral, Cake studios, V&A, Baxter fawcett, Gucci, Karolina York, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" border="0" height="452" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Kf243hLMXY/WOLEawOQTyI/AAAAAAAAEkI/PTwBU8s5zOomrooStQtdXLjVRFRuLh8xwCLcB/s640/GARDEN%2BBOTANICALS.jpg" title="Textile Candy, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18,Textile Candy, Garden botanicals, botanical floral, Cake studios, V&A, Baxter fawcett, Gucci, Karolina York, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6yMiDJaAT2Q/WOLEqKEz_RI/AAAAAAAAEkQ/iiY3NyN0RRQ_V0iY59Q-FM-kMPh0aOe5wCLcB/s1600/MIDNIGHT%2BTROPICS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Textile Candy, midnight tropics, tropical print, Collect Scotland, Mirjam Rouden, Ensell and Hall, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" border="0" height="452" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6yMiDJaAT2Q/WOLEqKEz_RI/AAAAAAAAEkQ/iiY3NyN0RRQ_V0iY59Q-FM-kMPh0aOe5wCLcB/s640/MIDNIGHT%2BTROPICS.jpg" title="Textile Candy, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting,midnight tropics, tropical print, Collect Scotland, Mirjam Rouden, Ensell and Hall, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OIaK93kaIm8/WOLGwXAFE1I/AAAAAAAAEk0/nEflJsA7TYkT3STxB0mmxeifl2GjsHTZwCLcB/s1600/THE%2BSILK%2BROAD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Textile Candy, The Silk road, irate prints, watercolour irate, painted irate, ethnic print, Vooprint, Talulah by fusion, Barbara Igntiev, karolin York, Luli Sanchez, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" border="0" height="452" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OIaK93kaIm8/WOLGwXAFE1I/AAAAAAAAEk0/nEflJsA7TYkT3STxB0mmxeifl2GjsHTZwCLcB/s640/THE%2BSILK%2BROAD.jpg" title="Textile Candy, Premiere vision,The Silk road, irate prints, watercolour irate, painted irate, ethnic print, Vooprint, Talulah by fusion, Barbara Igntiev, karolin York, Luli Sanchez, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mf56jpzSHkw/WOLDSnrOTZI/AAAAAAAAEj8/zWV8AmRp0yQfnbNfXFuKjFtQwWls_fsxwCLcB/s1600/ANIMATED%2BANIMALS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Textile Candy, Animated animals, animal pattern, animal print, conversational prints, Robert Vernet, Ensell and Hall, Mustic style, Miu Miu, Collect Scotland, Esteban Cortazar, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" border="0" height="452" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mf56jpzSHkw/WOLDSnrOTZI/AAAAAAAAEj8/zWV8AmRp0yQfnbNfXFuKjFtQwWls_fsxwCLcB/s640/ANIMATED%2BANIMALS.jpg" title="Textile Candy, Premiere vision, Animated animals, animal pattern, animal print, conversational prints, Robert Vernet, Ensell and Hall, Mustic style, Miu Miu, Collect Scotland, Esteban Cortazar, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7fg8NQ659EQ/WOLEb-BVxsI/AAAAAAAAEkM/wWn8yHTc49IZeIsj9xFjDptDcIihUjNJACLcB/s1600/EASTERN%2BCHINTZ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Textile Candy, eastern chintz, chintz floral, liz Casella, Etro, Westwood, Mirjam Rouden, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" border="0" height="452" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7fg8NQ659EQ/WOLEb-BVxsI/AAAAAAAAEkM/wWn8yHTc49IZeIsj9xFjDptDcIihUjNJACLcB/s640/EASTERN%2BCHINTZ.jpg" title="Textile Candy, Premiere vision, trend report, eastern chintz, chintz floral, liz Casella, Etro, Westwood, Mirjam Rouden, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CBjnhpc7Ys0/WOLGl67f_JI/AAAAAAAAEks/oNkNoxk0GRUN8PRR-k53IInTOiulSRnbACLcB/s1600/PSYCHEDELIC%2BYESTERYEAR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Textile Candy, Psychedelic yesteryear, comocrea, retro eccentric, Baxter Fawcett, Cake studios, Blue studio, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" border="0" height="452" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CBjnhpc7Ys0/WOLGl67f_JI/AAAAAAAAEks/oNkNoxk0GRUN8PRR-k53IInTOiulSRnbACLcB/s640/PSYCHEDELIC%2BYESTERYEAR.jpg" title="Textile Candy, Premiere vision,Psychedelic yesteryear, comocrea, retro eccentric, Baxter Fawcett, Cake studios, Blue studio, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TNS2C5XTAh8/WOLF6gG9DDI/AAAAAAAAEkk/YoHflA4ZovY2Z8zu2uF1BLN5BbjyaemcACLcB/s1600/PAINTED%2BMEADOW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Textile Candy, painted meadow, painted florals, hand painted flowers, floral fashion, watercolour print, cake studios, Camilla Frances, Paul and joe, Liberty art prints, Balenziaga, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" border="0" height="452" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TNS2C5XTAh8/WOLF6gG9DDI/AAAAAAAAEkk/YoHflA4ZovY2Z8zu2uF1BLN5BbjyaemcACLcB/s640/PAINTED%2BMEADOW.jpg" title="Textile Candy, Premiere vision, painted meadow, painted florals, hand painted flowers, floral fashion, watercolour print, cake studios, Camilla Frances, Paul and joe, Liberty art prints, Balenziaga, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-khUtIP1c2k4/WOLFfPmYfwI/AAAAAAAAEkc/hsbe4DTu3IsD1P6xz33oK3DDU0HwcWQ9QCLcB/s1600/ON%2BSAFARI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Textile Candy, On safari, Andrew GN, Sukhanlee, Fusion CPH, Talulah by fusion, Bamileke mask, elephant mask, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" border="0" height="452" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-khUtIP1c2k4/WOLFfPmYfwI/AAAAAAAAEkc/hsbe4DTu3IsD1P6xz33oK3DDU0HwcWQ9QCLcB/s640/ON%2BSAFARI.jpg" title="Textile Candy, Premiere vision,On safari, Andrew GN, Sukhanlee, Fusion CPH, Talulah by fusion, Bamileke mask, elephant mask, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zkHJpqXv3y0/WOLFfH_fS-I/AAAAAAAAEkg/mUohreNs1_Ul9xv2YHJkEFRny0No149lQCLcB/s1600/ORGANIC%2BSHAPES.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Textile Candy, Organic shapes, Abstract markings, paint strokes, Talulah by Fusion, Camilla frances, karolina york, fusion cph, fairbairn and wolf studio, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" border="0" height="452" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zkHJpqXv3y0/WOLFfH_fS-I/AAAAAAAAEkg/mUohreNs1_Ul9xv2YHJkEFRny0No149lQCLcB/s640/ORGANIC%2BSHAPES.jpg" title="Textile Candy, Premiere vision,Organic shapes, Abstract markings, paint strokes, Talulah by Fusion, Camilla frances, karolina york, fusion cph, fairbairn and wolf studio, Premiere vision, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18, trend report, trend forecasting, Spring/Summer 2018, SS18" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As always this
pack is downloadable with the front cover to be used as a reference report, but
please tag/let me know if you are using it! It does take a fair amount of time
to put together and, although I don’t mind providing this for free, it does
motivate me to know people are actually using it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I also wanted to
do a Fall 2017 trend report as usual, but my WGSN access is quite limited at
the moment, if anyone has any other user friendly websites for the runway
shows, which also has a good image zoom on it I would be eternally grateful! I
used to use Style.com, but that seems to have disappeared and the only alternative
I know of is the Vogue runway but I don't find it very user friendly- the zoom
isn't great, and a lot of shows are missed out. I basically would like a free
WGSN access haha....is there a photoshop-esque hack for that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With any luck I
will hopefully be attending the next Premiere Vision trade show in September so
my next PV installment will have a much faster turnaround.....rather than being
2 months late...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-51364327467207906262017-03-18T18:56:00.001-07:002017-03-18T18:56:31.128-07:00La vie en Suisse- how I'm finding Basel so far!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hello from Switzerland. Yes, I am once again in a different country. I thought I'd give you all a quick update on how I'm enjoying life in Basel. As you know, 2 weeks ago I moved here to start my new job as Graphic designer at Tally Weijl.....here is a borderline cringey photo of me enjoying my new office:</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PZsS-ZMi-g8/WMW9OI5c07I/AAAAAAAAEh0/SWdBUZqXHJ4rd0A5vSCZ2-dKQjt6aD3RwCLcB/s1600/first%2Bday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="new job, graphic designer, textile designer, print designer, how to get a textile design job, life as a textile designer, print designer" border="0" height="434" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PZsS-ZMi-g8/WMW9OI5c07I/AAAAAAAAEh0/SWdBUZqXHJ4rd0A5vSCZ2-dKQjt6aD3RwCLcB/s640/first%2Bday.jpg" title="Tally Weijl" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I realise I didn't write a blog post in between Ghana and Switzerland and now I wish I had, not only is it a great way of keeping my friends and family in the loop of whats going on in my life, it also helps me understand my thoughts a bit more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Before arriving here I was quite nervous, not about starting the job or moving countries(this I am starting to get used to)...I was nervous about how I would feel about working in commercial retail after having a taste of working for a fairtrade company. Ghana was definitely one of the benchmark moments in my life, I found it very hard to leave. There are some moments in life where you feel completely content, as though you are, at that moment, exactly where you are meant to be- this is how I felt throughout my 6 weeks in Ghana. Being able to do the job I love while empowering entrepreneurial women and supporting local businesses provides a level of job satisfaction that commercial retail can never fulfill. Despite being a relatively brief visit I am determined to go back to Ghana(this time I will be armed with a working camera) and forge stronger links with the people I met there, the friends I made and the small business owners I spoke to. I don't know how this will link into my hopes to one day start an ethical business but stepping outside of my 'safe' little commercial retail bubble into ethical fashion was definitely the first step towards this. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Below are just a few of my favourite photos from the last few weeks in Ghana. </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XtwxwP6jr5k/WM3VblJuYzI/AAAAAAAAEjY/MvXj48JbEpkhTtT3Nm1zooeq5Dd69fHAACLcB/s1600/ghana%2Bfaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="548" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XtwxwP6jr5k/WM3VblJuYzI/AAAAAAAAEjY/MvXj48JbEpkhTtT3Nm1zooeq5Dd69fHAACLcB/s640/ghana%2Bfaves.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Just a few of the things I miss from Ghana: batik printing, the amount women can carry on their heads, colourful boats, Herb Afrik spot crawls, Beach weekends, limitless coconuts to devour.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before moving to Basel I returned to the UK for a week and in this time I was constantly asked if I was excited for my new job and for my 'new life' in Basel..... 'no' was the answer....the answer I wasn't meant to give and the answer people weren't prepared to acknowledge.I know it's not something I should broadcast on my blog, especially in case it gets read by current/future employers, but I pride myself on being transparent and honest when I write. It's not that I wasn't overjoyed that I had been given the position and the opportunity to move to Switzerland- I was/am.....and it wasn't that I didn't want to move to Basel- I love experiencing and living in different cities.... I just felt under prepared.I hadn't had chance to process what was happening to me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">SO.....with all of this playing on my mind before the move you can imagine how I approached my first week at work, almost with a sense of trepidation. Now I am 2 weeks in and I actually think I'm really going to enjoy working here! The job is extremely fast paced, but a lot more creative than my previous role at C&A. I am now working on a fast turnaround which is highly trend driven and reactive to current fads meaning that I have to be constantly producing new proposals and graphics. In my first week I was definitely thrown in at the deep end and, after having been out of commercial retail for a few months, I felt like I was drowning in the deep end. I had the classic creative block problem where your thoughts go a little bit like this....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now, at the end of my second working week, I am feeling a lot more comfortable and in control of the situation. I've figured out what my job role is and what is expected of me(I am now in charge of placement graphics on t-shirts and sweaters- very exciting for me as I have never been in charge of anything before) and I've had chance to make some pretty cool artworks already.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So that's enough about the work side....how about the actual city of Basel!? WELL...I arrived at an odd time of year where Basel has several days of carnival called 'fasnacht'. It involves people dressing up in masks, mainly creepy looking ones, and parading the streets both day and night playing pips and drums and throwing colourful confetti at people. A very odd experience for someone who has only been in Basel for one night.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Please note that none of the photos in this collage are mine, they were all *borrowed* from instagram.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mE_2BHOemvM/WMW9OHsfXXI/AAAAAAAAEhw/zgRAaA0X6sQd4KHQYA3GlEFJDiAR8F_ZgCLcB/s1600/fastnacht.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Expat life, life in Switzerland,Swiss expat, Basel, life in Basel, living in Basel, fasnacht, carnival" border="0" height="280" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mE_2BHOemvM/WMW9OHsfXXI/AAAAAAAAEhw/zgRAaA0X6sQd4KHQYA3GlEFJDiAR8F_ZgCLcB/s640/fastnacht.jpg" title="Fasnacht" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me post confetti ambush.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In my first week I didn't really get to see any of Basel- I literally went from home to work to the supermarket next to work then back home again. This probably helps to explain why I felt a little overwhelmed and unsettled in my first few days. Normally when I have moved to work in other countries/cities I have a weekend or a few days to better acquaint myself with the city before starting work. Here I arrived late Sunday evening and started work on Monday morning, so when my new colleagues were asking me if I liked Basel so far my answer was "I don't know yet, I haven't seen any of it!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the tricky things that can really get your head in a spin when you move to a new city is adapting to the small cultural/social differences of a place. Everywhere has unspoken social etiquette and, once again, upon arrival in Switzerland I realised I didn't know the unwritten rules. They really should consider providing every newcomer with a manual of what to do/not to do in social situations. In my first few days, my processing days, I actually became so overwhelmed by everything that I nearly cried in the supermarket- yes I am aware that this is rather pathetic. A supermarket trip shouldn't be a particularly emotional event BUT walking into a supermarket on your first day in a new country, realising you can't actually communicate with anyone, you don't have enough money to afford groceries (as everything is so expensive in Switzerland), the thing you wanted to buy isn't there, you can't read the ingredients of any of the alternatives and you can't use google translate because you don't have any internet access....you can see how that situation almost ended in tears. Apologies for the tiring length of that sentence, maybe it helps to demonstrate how exhausting my brain is!Anyway....how did I avoid having an emotional breakdown in the supermarket you ask....?...I bought a bottle of red wine(the cheapest I could find with the highest alcohol percentage) and I went home and cried there instead.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That doesn't mean I'm sad/unhappy by the way, on the contrary I actually really like it here. Unfortunately I'm not very good at processing information so there's usually a backlog for my mind to deal with....in this case my brain decided to process quitting my job in Belgium, going to Ghana, getting a new job and moving to Switzerland all at once. Now my mini breakdown seems completely understandable doesn't it!? :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the biggest hurdles I have had to deal with so far is apartment hunting. I am quickly learning that Switzerland is not at all like the UK. In England we have idioms like "first up, best dressed" and "the early bird catches the worm" basically meaning that getting there first will give you an advantage...apparently this does not apply to the Swiss housing market. I found my perfect dream flat here and I arrived 15 MINUTES EARLY(anyone who knows me will understand this is a miraculous feat for me) thinking that if I arrived before everyone else and told them I wanted the apartment they would sign it over to me.....oh how naive I was/am. You have to apply for accommodation here in a similar way to applying for a job-you view the house,then you fill out an application,then you have to be shortlisted,.then you have to be chosen. I JUST WANT A HOME!!!!! Anyway, regardless of me not actually getting my 'perfect' apartment I thought I'd still share the photos with you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was up in the attic of the house with exposed wooden beams and white painted brickwork and had beautiful wooden floorboards and was just oh so beautifully bohemian. I would have felt very at home here...something about living at the top of the house makes me feel extremely safe....alas....it was obviously not meant to be mine and I am really hoping I find another even more 'perfect for me' place soon. Ideally I wanted to have found my new home before I return to the UK next week but that's not looking too likely. Although I have two apartment viewings next week so my fingers are firmly crossed. Here are the other two I will be looking at:</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This one looks beautiful from the outside and is really close to the river but there weren't any other photos of it online other than the photo of the stairwell.....this one is my lucky dip apartment.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This one is a bit more modern than what I would normally go for but I love the wooden parquet flooring and the double window corner.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As you can tell from my choices I love a good wooden floor. I have a little checklist I made of what I'm looking for in an apartment and I don't really want to deviate from it, particularly as my apartment in Brussels was so lovely and homely, now I don't want to settle for anything less.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just in case anyone reading this happens to work in the Swiss property market in Basel here's a few sample images from my 'ideal house' pinterest board(https://uk.pinterest.com/beckyloisburns/)to give you a solid idea of what I'm looking for ;)</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My dreamy house inspiration.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I can imagine nothing worse than living in a super modern, shiny, square/rectangular roomed, laminated floored apartment......sadly Basel has a lot more of this type of building than the old, wooden, soft, quirky look I'm searching for. I can be swayed on some of my desirable criteria but I cannot live in an apartment that has no character!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the major things I have noticed about myself when moving countries for work is that, if I don't establish a home in the first few weeks of being there, I feel restless and temporary and find it difficult to settle. I don't know if this is an emotional response but I can't properly start to love a city until I feel a sense of permanence. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At the moment I am living in a shared apartment owned by the company, the apartment is nice enough and my room is quite large but I feel as though I am back at university again. I am one of those oddly extroverted introvert types and I really need my own space. As lovely as it is that the company have provided accommodation to ease the pressure of flat hunting, I don't think I will feel settled for as long as I am living in shared accommodation. The people I am sharing with seem lovely, I hardly see them throughout the week as we are all at work and then at the weekends they are all either going to visit their partners back in Italy(they're all Italian) or having their partners come and visit them here. I miss being able to roam around my own home scantily clad without the fear of someone witnessing it. I miss being able to listen to loud music while I'm cooking. Above all I miss the sense of being at home in my surroundings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In other news- Basel is a really beautiful city, the Altstadt ('old town') in particular. It has such quaint historical buildings, some of them were built as long ago as the 1400s. As a bit of a history geek this really excites me. I took a few photos walking around Basel last weekend, here are a few from the old town and along the River Rhine where everyone seems to hang out enjoying drinks and picnics in the sun.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hl2dBaRETlY/WMW9RV_GnUI/AAAAAAAAEh4/NVGcCbfZS2QLSMZFrUxppTW26ayc1n7FQCLcB/s1600/aldstadt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Expat life, life in Switzerland,Swiss expat, Basel, life in Basel, living in Basel, Altstadt, Basel old town, Rhine, Basel Rhine, River Rhine, wine on the rhine" border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hl2dBaRETlY/WMW9RV_GnUI/AAAAAAAAEh4/NVGcCbfZS2QLSMZFrUxppTW26ayc1n7FQCLcB/s640/aldstadt.jpg" title="Textile Candy- Swiss life" width="405" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I ventured away from the Aldstadt to three country point where you can stand on the border of Switzerland, France and Germany- technically meaning that you are in 3 places at once. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I also came across a really alternative side to Basel on the Kleinbasel side of the river towards the industrial section that looked like it would be a really cool pop up bar area in the summer months. Everything there was a bit shut down but I took some photos of the amazing colourful graffiti they hvae there.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A small sample of the street art in the Kleinbasel area.<br /></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So that is my experience so far. Two weeks in and I'm warming to my new city quite nicely, I only wish I had secured a new home. Tomorrow I will venture out for a walk along the Rhine and see what I stumble accross.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have a few more meaty article posts in the pipeline at the moment and I am also working on a belated Premiere Visions Spring/Summer 2018 trend report that I will hopefully have finished within the next week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ciao for now x</span></div>
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<br />Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-73253286414904830982017-02-16T02:31:00.000-08:002017-02-16T02:33:13.222-08:00Krobo-Odumase market/ traditional bead making workshop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Last Wednesday I went on a short trip to Krobo-Odumase to visit the local market which is known for it's amazing traditional, handcrafted bead stalls. The bead market area is open only on Wednesdays and Saturdays but, after doing some research online, I found out that on Saturdays there are a lot of funerals and so sometimes the stalls are empty. We arrived around 2.30pm after setting off from Cape Coast at 7am, travelling firstly to Accra then onwards to Madina where we changed onto a Tro-tro heading towards Somanya. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Upon arrival we had to walk through the bustling Krobo-Odumase market, I had expected the bead market to be in a separate location to the rest of the stalls but it was nestled in the centre in an open brick area, like a small bead island. The surrounding market sold everything from wax print fabric and traditional batik to vegetables, spices, smoked fish and even chicken feet. Everything was packed so tightly together that, to the untrained eye of a tourist, the stalls were almost indistinguishable from each other. At one point we got so lost trying to get back from the bead market that our only point of reference was a woman who kept calling "Jackie Chan" after us...because evidently we look Asian and male...</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Krobo-Odumase market</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The market so much of a sensory assault (not necessarily in a bad way) that I found it extremely hard to process all of the new information my brain was receiving. When there are so many new sensory experiences coming at you from every angle it becomes very hard to decipher which information you need to pay attention to. There are new smells, many of them verging on unpleasant(smoked fish, open sewer, dust), new visual experiences including all of the women carrying an assortment of objects on their heads and all of the colourful garments you are walking past, there are people surrounding you on all sides and cars squeezing past you through impossibly small gaps while young boys with wheelbarrows hurry along next to you. All the while you are being exposed to so much noise; market traders selling their wares, Ghanaian music, car horns,and small children constantly greeting you because of your skin colour.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A few photos of me shopping for beads and negotiating prices in the market.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It sounds like I'm complaining with the description I gave above, but I actually absolutely loved it. Bartering with the traders on the price of a string of beads and envisaging what I could turn each of them into. They were so colourful and some of them were so very old, "older than my grandmother" as one trader proudly told us! I ended up getting quite carried away and buying quite a lot .....however I still came away feeling like I didn't quite get enough. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the future I hope to have my own business, perhaps part of that will involve selling jewellery, I would love to come back to Ghana and visit Krobo-Odumase bead market once again with a bigger spending budget!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here are the beads I ended up buying:</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hVHRnfbgRCM/WKVuEJY6AGI/AAAAAAAAEhU/Ri5xcIfljbYzKHLQ4ikbHMM_OhEH6l_xgCLcB/s1600/my%2Bbeads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hVHRnfbgRCM/WKVuEJY6AGI/AAAAAAAAEhU/Ri5xcIfljbYzKHLQ4ikbHMM_OhEH6l_xgCLcB/s400/my%2Bbeads.jpg" width="396" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On the Thursday we had arranged to go to a bead workshop run by Moses and Grace, two bead makers employed by Global Mamas. They were both such lovely, gentle people and seemed to really love what they do- Moses told me he has been making beads for 14 years, making him a true artisan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Despite the lack of iphone, I have managed to compile enough photos to show you the whole bead making process- YAY!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are very few adjectives strong enough to describe how amazing watching this process was. It is so artisanal and there are so many complex stages, I also didn't realise how laborious bead making actually is!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6Sf-YJKG9rM/WKRvvjk41nI/AAAAAAAAEgE/PEKBrKtpQk0ID6tAQcJx8qzWn5x3zRsRwCLcB/s1600/moses%2Band%2Bgrace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bead making workshop, handmade beads, handcrafted, Ghana craft" border="0" height="292" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6Sf-YJKG9rM/WKRvvjk41nI/AAAAAAAAEgE/PEKBrKtpQk0ID6tAQcJx8qzWn5x3zRsRwCLcB/s640/moses%2Band%2Bgrace.jpg" title="Bead makers, Krobo, Global Mamas" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Moses and Grace, their bead kiln and workshop.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The workshop was located in the most peaceful area, shaded by mango trees and banana palms, there was one bamboo thatched structure housing the kiln and another used for grinding/shaping and smoothing/polishing the beads.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">While at the workshop I saw the full extent to which everything in Ghana is recycled and how all raw materials are produced locally- it's so resourceful. I wish we were more like this in the UK, instead of our throwaway society where most things are sent to the dustbin instead of being fixed or up-cycled.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The glass grinding process, from the gathered glass bottles to the fine glass powder produced at the end.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Recycled glass bottles are separated by colour and then ground down with a large pestle and mortar type of equipment until they become a fine glass powder. The powder is then sieved to separate the larger pieces from the finer grains, the larger pieces are then re-ground. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I even gave the glass pounding a go and after a few minutes I was extremely sweaty and tired, it is so impressive how Moses manages to do that on a daily basis. I asked him how long he pounds glass each day and he said 4 hrs.... I couldn't even keep it up for 4 minutes!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vyLd2GyXIwU/WKRhaQnZMSI/AAAAAAAAEew/Xp38BAtXHG4j5TwKPALZ6n36rI1tm5VqACLcB/s1600/holes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vyLd2GyXIwU/WKRhaQnZMSI/AAAAAAAAEew/Xp38BAtXHG4j5TwKPALZ6n36rI1tm5VqACLcB/s640/holes.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The clay molds used to make the beads.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The beads are made using these clay molds, holes have been carved out of the clay and a small hole indented into the bottom of each hole. Stems from the locally grown Cassava plant are poked into the holes and cut down (with a razor blade attached to a stick) so that they don't rise above the surface level of the clay. These are to create the holes in the glass beads-as the beads are put into the hot kiln the cassava stem burns and disintegrates leaving a hole in the bead. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's quite an amazing process with minimal wastage. The clay molds are then used until they break, they are then ground down and the clay re-used to make new molds.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I3-Vwgko-Hw/WKRru3h-9KI/AAAAAAAAEfg/zyUnMeZjAKAT6vIdbqIKBTMT-83SVA_xgCLcB/s1600/Untitled-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I3-Vwgko-Hw/WKRru3h-9KI/AAAAAAAAEfg/zyUnMeZjAKAT6vIdbqIKBTMT-83SVA_xgCLcB/s640/Untitled-14.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The next step is to add the glass to the mold to make the beads. Dye powder is mixed with the fine glass powder to create a coloured glass powder mixture. The powder is then used to fill in the holes of the clay mold and then a feather is used to brush down the mold, ensuring no powder is wasted or left on the exterior of the mold. See what I mean about being resourceful- they used A FEATHER to brush off the excess powder....it's just WOW!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fZ3UN4gPAOg/WKRrz3gb-UI/AAAAAAAAEfk/9TQbUugbNjAT7_4s8qqhgOu8CX9A1luTQCLcB/s1600/Untitled-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fZ3UN4gPAOg/WKRrz3gb-UI/AAAAAAAAEfk/9TQbUugbNjAT7_4s8qqhgOu8CX9A1luTQCLcB/s640/Untitled-15.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Adding the dye to colour the glass powder</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After preparing the molds and filling them with glass powder they are ready to put in the kiln.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The kiln is heated by wooden poles and palm trunks inserted into the back which are then pushed further into the oven as they burn. It was so hot around the kiln that it almost made the African weather feel cool.....almost! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lBnIRZkylSE/WKRuoD7L-WI/AAAAAAAAEf0/8x4TMKC34NEPQPPB3xvpVoAo16GiG2JHACLcB/s1600/kk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="handmade beads, glass kiln, bead baking" border="0" height="308" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lBnIRZkylSE/WKRuoD7L-WI/AAAAAAAAEf0/8x4TMKC34NEPQPPB3xvpVoAo16GiG2JHACLcB/s640/kk.jpg" title="Glass beads, bead making workshop, Global Mamas" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Moses placing the clay molds into the kiln.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After around 30 minutes the beads were ready to be removed from the kiln, in the absence of a thermometer or any way of telling the exact temperature of the kiln, the bead makers really need to know their craft well to get the timings right. It was amazing to see how the beads had changed colour in the heat, they became so much brighter than the powder had been.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QQSSeOpWBX8/WKRy6-oS7wI/AAAAAAAAEgU/Am1sEnNLslo3sAjzpZR9PFWuGWCFwxEWgCLcB/s1600/colour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="500" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QQSSeOpWBX8/WKRy6-oS7wI/AAAAAAAAEgU/Am1sEnNLslo3sAjzpZR9PFWuGWCFwxEWgCLcB/s640/colour.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The final beads</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The beads were dropped into a bucket of cold water to be cleaned and then palm oil was added to make the beads nice and glossy.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Me trying to poke some of the beads out of the molds and onto the wire string for them to be shipped.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We also had the opportunity to see how some of the more complicated beads are created and how they are ground down from being a rough almost cube shape to being rounded with smoother edges. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The bead grinding and polishing process.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I think my favourite part of the whole process had to be watching the beads being cleaned/polished- they are placed on a big smooth grinding rock that has had its centre smoothed with the constant grinding. Water and sand is added and the beads are repeatedly rolled around until all of the excess hardened glass is removed from the surface of the beads leaving a smooth exterior. The noise the beads make as they are being rolled around in the water was so relaxing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I managed to use the animoto website once again to marge all of my photos and video clips into a video showing the krobo bead market and then the bead workshop. As with the batik video, the animoto watermark is still on the link but this will be removed once I commit to upgrading my subscription!</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxrT0jYbg_AIckG5zVjf6bUeuvS4KKiVupoWMdv6tSnblDOs4TyHoxrO2E3_JvC8d6iHIgDF5KEzfJAnwB4AA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I hope you've all enjoyed watching this video/reading this post as much as I enjoyed taking part in the workshop! :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">P.S The song in the video is one of my new favourites! It's a Ghanaian dancehall artist called Shatta Wale who I will hopefully be seeing perfom this Saturday ;)</span></div>
Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-12190937003728349792017-02-16T00:45:00.002-08:002017-02-16T00:45:42.557-08:00Phone loss, Birthday and African mask carving<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Generally I’m a relatively calm person but
last week I felt like Ghana was really trying to push me to my breaking point.
Since arriving here my laptop has broken once(after becoming waterlogged in a tropical storm that leaked through my window) and my phone has had to be
repaired twice, each incurring unplanned expenditure. My phone has now
completely self destructed by bouncing into a fan and being sliced into pieces,
if you were ever curious to know the cross sectional segments of an iphone see
the photo below.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L2Jbq3CyEnQ/WKRAyDSQ4PI/AAAAAAAAEdo/ZjkIDsx5K7cnm1Xw9SQCM7rvjsKXSPOfwCLcB/s1600/Untitled-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L2Jbq3CyEnQ/WKRAyDSQ4PI/AAAAAAAAEdo/ZjkIDsx5K7cnm1Xw9SQCM7rvjsKXSPOfwCLcB/s640/Untitled-15.jpg" title="iphone, broken iphone, iphone shattered, fix my iphone, apple, accident, disaster, smashed" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Although it’s just a phone I can’t begin to explain how
irritated I am by the fact that it has now broken. I had memories on there that
I can now never get back, and photos from this trip along with the promise of
being able to get more photos while in Ghana. Now I have to rely on other people for more photos.
I’m in a really inspirational place with so many colours and patterns in
contrasting combinations and I can’t document any of it. I can’t begin to
explain how frustrating this is for me, especially seeing as I wanted to
document my travels on my blog…..without photos it seems a bit pointless. I
have a temporary camera phone while I’m here but it functions so
slowly that no spontaneous shots can be taken and the colours are all a little
off. It’s just so frustrating. Combine that to the fact that I have had severe
travellers stomach since I arrived here and I’m not exactly in a happy state
right now. That’s 3 weeks of having a grim stomach… 3 WEEKS!!! Every few hrs in the night I am woken up by some new and
odd noise- the 3.30am sound of the nearby mosque(why 3.30 am I will never
know), the cockerel that has no concept of time and crows from 4 am onwards,
and the preacher/furniture seller that goes by the house at 5.40am every single
morning screaming down a megaphone….I am very close to running after him with a
carefully selected Bible quote…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nry5n9Pjsl4/WKRCV1WfaTI/AAAAAAAAEd0/7cvbaaS5wrkZXXj175jU_A70HbmOEScVQCLcB/s1600/2017-02-01%2B12.15.13-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="424" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nry5n9Pjsl4/WKRCV1WfaTI/AAAAAAAAEd0/7cvbaaS5wrkZXXj175jU_A70HbmOEScVQCLcB/s640/2017-02-01%2B12.15.13-1.jpg" title="birthday boat" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In other news…I have now had my 26<sup>th</sup>
Birthday. In true Ghanaian style I was forced to celebrate by being doused
repeatedly in water and made to dance around the office. The soaking continued
when we went across the road to Peace ghetto ‘spot’ for a Birthday shot of the
local liquor. Here the wetting got worse as one of the locals found out and ran
to the back room, returning with a giant bucket full to the brim with water. My
friend/colleague caught the moment on his camera….</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Needless to say after being soaked to that
extent I definitely needed the shot….they gave me a double…I spent the day wet
and intoxicated….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Last
Saturday we continued with some Birthday celebrations, by going to an African
mask carving workshop at Stumble Inn. It was amazing!!!I had taken a lot of
really great photos to show a step by step process on the blog, including a
pretty amazing timelapse video but my phone evidently had other ideas.
ANYWAY…here are a few photos I did manage to salvage from other people’s
cameras.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The wood we were carving from was soft
mahogany and it had been pre-shaped by Malik(the workshop man and mask
master)into a pointed, stretched oval shape. We had originally been led to
believe we would be doing the decorating and polishing of the mask but, upon
arrival, realised we would be carving them ourselves too. I couldn’t have been
more excited at the prospect of this, as you can plainly see in the photos. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was amazing watching Malik at work, he
was so fast and skilled with the carving tools, except for the part where one
rolled off the bench and dropped onto my foot…that was slightly less skillful. I
didn’t realise how much work goes into the making of the masks. They are drawn
onto with pencil to establish where the facial features will be placed, then
hacked into to remove all of the excess wood. Then the features are shaped with
more detail, then further decorative details are added. The mask is then sanded down to create a
smooth surface and sealed with a potassium mixture before being polished with
shoe polish to give its final colour- INSANE!!!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’ll upload a photo of my
final mask when it’s done…..I have yet to sand and polish it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On a sidenote, I forgot to post photos of the dress I had made by one of the Global Mama seamstresses for the wedding I was invited to. It fit really well and I will definitely be using it for future events, here are a few snaps from the day!</span></div>
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Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-78607254612451888392017-01-26T06:19:00.001-08:002017-01-26T06:31:01.463-08:00'Akɔaba'/ Welcome<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hello from Ghana!!!!!I have been here for 4 days so thought it was about time I gave you all an update on what's going on, what I'm doing here and how I'm finding it! <span style="text-align: start;">In a very irritating turn of events both my laptop and phone became waterlogged so I have had to delay posting anything on my blog for a while, this also means I have lost most of the photos I had taken in my first week so apologies if the photo quality is a bit rubbish. The laptop became waterlogged in an unexpected storm and the phone suffered the same fate when a rogue wave hit me on the beach and attempted to take my bag out to sea. Ironically I had just written this sentence in my travel journal before the technology failed me..."I love it here, it's so strange feeling so indifferent to my material posessions"...this was then put to the test. In a fortunate turn of events,and the skills of a fabulous IT guy, my laptop has been brought back to life and I am SO happy. I really hope he can also fix my phone so that I can start taking photos as the temporary phone I bought is fairly awful!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So....life in Ghana...I am absolutely loving it and really can't quite get my head around the fact that I will be here for 5 more weeks. As you all know I will be moving to Switzerland shortly after getting back from Ghana so, because I was so busy organising things for Switzerland, I hardly had any time to think about travelling here before my arrival. Knowing very little about Ghana I had no real expectations of what this trip would be like/what Ghanaian people are like but soon after boarding the flight I realised that, as a general rule, everyone is so friendly and happy to talk to you. I was sat in between two lovely guys on my flight here, one helped me with my luggage(I'm too short to reach the overhead compartment) and gave me advice on how not to get scammed in the markets. The other showed me how the currency conversion works out and advised me about how to get a phone and sim card out here(this came in very useful when my phone got damaged). They were both so friendly! I honestly had the best flight- full of free wine and snacks and great in-flight movies. Without trying to sound like I'm advertising for them, I will definitely be flying with KLM as often as possible going forward. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Some of the photos I had taken before my iphone became waterlogged. Taken in and around Cape coast.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">When we landed I was overwhelmed to say the least. As it was pretty cold in the UK, with the standard amount of drizzle, I had dressed for the weather so when I landed in Accra I basically overheated. Coming out of the airport was also overwhelming....there were so many people with signs at the arrival area that I honestly had no idea what to do, fortunately a lovely but very reserved taxi driver rescued me and ushered me into his taxi. I gave him the 'Somewhere nice' hostel address(genuine name-what can I say...I'm a sucker for advertising) and just had to trust that he would get me all the way there and not extort an unnecessary amount of money from me. I got there safely and I absolutely loved the hostel. I would definitely recommend it to anyone staying in Accra. The interior was decorated with reclaimed wood and furniture and the bed was HUUUUUGE, I had booked a Private superior room as I had anticipated sharing a room at the volunteer house for the next 6 weeks and thought I'd treat myself to some space. Here's the link should anyone want to stay there: http://hostelaccra.com/</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Some photos taken at 'Somewhere nice' hostel in Accra.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The next morning the other volunteer and I were picked up by one of the Global Mamas workers and transported by several different vehicles to Cape Coast where we are based for the duration of the trip. As we were making the 2 hr journey I can remember being quite surprised by how green Ghana is, evidently I have been brainwashed over the years by how Africa has been portrayed to Westerners through TV advertisements. Another thing that shocked me on the journey was the realisation that I had left my passport at the hostel. Well done Becky once again. We eventually arrived at the Global Mamas head office and, after a quick introduction, we were taken to the volunteer house which would be home for the next few weeks. It was the most beautiful taxi journey to the house and I didn't realise at the time that it would be our daily commute, one long straight road running parallel to the coast, lined with palms. Everyday we see the fishermen pulling in their catch on our commute. Just WOW.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Upon arrival at the house we were told that we would be able to have a room each as we have visited at a time when there aren't heaps of volunteers- JOY. The room I have here is actually double the size of my room at home and it's painted in a bright yellow/lime colour so that when the light hits it in the morning it is wonderfully bright.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Global Mamas volunteer house and a few photos from the pool where I go for a swim before work.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The only complaint I have regarding our volunteer house is the damn cockerel that insists on beginning it's crowing at 3am, interspersed between the local mosques call to prayer which also, oddly, starts at 3.30 am. The rest of the time the volunteer house sounds pretty tranquil....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In my first few days in Ghana I attended a batik workshop with one of the Batik Mamas. I can't even begin to describe in words what an amazing experience this was so I'm going to do it through a video/photo collage instead. This video still has the watermark of Animoto as I didn't want to commit to paying for a whole year just for one video, but if it works nicely in this blog post I might think about starting a subscription and making more videos.....please try and ignore the watermark for now :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'll give you a short text run through of what this video is showing as I couldn't quite figure out how to caption/add text to it...I am a video editing beginner after all but I did manage to figure out how to add a Ghanaian song playing over the video! The first few slides show the wooden hut the workshop was held in and its' interior; big colourful plastic containers filled with different dyes, metal containers filled with wax, and foam stamps lining the walls. </span></div>
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<b><u>Step 1:</u> Make the batik stamp/choose your stamp. Batik stamps at Global Mamas are carved into upholstery foam using razors and following a pre-designed stencil.</b></div>
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<u>Step 2:</u> Lay out the fabric onto a flat surface, we used white kaliko.</div>
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<u>Step 3:</u> Boil the wax until it is bubbling.</div>
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<u>Step 4:</u> Dip batik stamp into the wax.</div>
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<u>Step 5:</u> Print wax onto fabric </div>
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<u>Step 6:</u> Mix dye (I'm not sure exactly what chemicals go into this but I will find out and add this later)</div>
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<u>Step 7:</u> Dye waxed fabric in your chosen colour. I chose a vibrant yellow.</div>
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<u>Step 8:</u> Hang fabric outside to dry- this enables the chemicals in the dye to react with the oxygen in the air.</div>
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<u>Step 9:</u> Once dry, dip fabric repeatedly in boiling water to remove hardened wax. This reveals the white fabric underneath that has resisted the dye.</div>
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<u>Step 10:</u> Dip fabric in cold water once wax is removed.</div>
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<u>Step 11:</u>Hang out to dry and admire the final fabric.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">....and that is the African batik process.... it is so much more labour intensive than I had ever imagined, particularly when removing the wax with the boiling water. I also found it pretty amazing how the colour of the fabric changes as the dye reacts with the oxygen in the air, I am keen to do a timelapse video of this as soon as I have a working iphone again(which will hopefully be tomorrow). I imagine this batik technique is extremely different to Indonesian batik as they can achieve a lot more finer details, I would love to do a similar volunteer project in the future to explore this a bit more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Other than the batik workshop I've been doing some research for the Autumn/Winter 2017 collection and creating some rough batik stamp designs. Hopefully I will get to see some of them being printed before I leave Ghana, that would be amazing!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> On Saturday I have been invited to go to the wedding of one of the girls at the office. A GHANAIAN wedding- I am finding it hard to contain my excitement. Obviously I didn't anticipate going to a wedding and didn't pack for one so one of the seamstresses at Global Mamas is making a dress for me. I have bought some amazing abstract black and white printed fabric which I bought at one of the market stalls in Cape Coast. If the currency is converted it works out to have only cost around £13 for 2.75 metres, which I thought was pretty good. Can't wait to see what the dress ends up looking like but here's the design I have my eye on, something mid length, off shoulder and 50's-esque.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hopefully I'll do another update next week with some more photos from the wedding and everyday life etc x</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">P.S. My passport has now been safely returned, my laptop is completely fixed and I'm hoping and praying my phone soon will be too!</span>Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-41093954237344587092017-01-11T12:49:00.003-08:002017-01-11T12:49:43.640-08:00Shabby-chic-y-fying furniture<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don't know if people on instagram check out my blog much, or if blog readers look at my instagram(@beckyloisburns) BUT recently I have been doing a lot of DIY/upcycling and posting about it on instagram.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've heard that Switzerland is ridiculously expensive, I also experienced this when I went to St Moritz with my friend, so I decided it would be best to get all of my furniture sorted while I'm still in England. Unfortunately I made this decision just 2 weeks ago and then had the challenge of sourcing/making/upcycling all of my furniture before going to Ghana, not as easy as it sounds. I will be staying in accommodation provided by the company for the first 3 months(March-May) but then I will have to fend for myself and most Swiss apartments seem to come unfurnished.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Being the thrifty person I am I have managed to get a sofa bed for £40(facebook marketplace is a dream of upcyclable bits) a dining table for £10, 2 dining chairs for £5 and a coffee table and bookcase for free(because I made them myself). I have also shabby-chic-y-fied a beautiful free standing pine mirror and an old hat stand.....and I have made them all wonderfully white.... after living in my lovely white attic studio in Brussels I really can't imagine living in a flat that isn't whitewashed....I now have fairly high maintenance housing needs!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway, I thought I'd share my DIY week with you all as I'm actually quite proud of my sanding/shabbying skills and found a pretty good technique that people might want to try out.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A few photos of the table process, as you can see it was pretty grubby and green to start with.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So this is the table I got for £10 from a junkyard.....as you can see it wasn't in the best state to start with. It looked like it had been left outside for a while and the varnish layer had gone an algae green colour. As you can see on the left I tried to sand it by hand to start with, after an hr of making very little progress my dad offered me his electrical sander. It is now my favourite tool and I want to buy one for myself. It made life so much easier!!! The 3rd column of images here show the colour of the table legs before and after sanding, as you can see there's quite a difference. I really love the shabby chic style and natural pine furniture and, although I understand that putting a lacquer/wax coat over the top keeps furniture watertight, I hate the way it looks with a coating on. I think, subliminally, that chestnut coated furniture effect reminds me of school. In the bottom right you can see how they look with the white coat on.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My lovely dad sawing the wooden stepladder for my shelves and coffee table. The middle images show the pieces of my furniture in their initial dirty stage, and on the right a sneak peak inside a scaffolding yard.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Next challenge.....a lot more challenging....I decided it would be a GREAT idea to try and make my own furniture because I have so much free time on my hands/example of really extreme procrastination. So I took a trip to my dad's scaffolding yard to see what bits of wooden scaffolding planks I could get- he owns a scaffolding business so it was all free. There's a pile of smaller pieces that they throw away because they can no longer be walked on or hold any substantial weight so I could take my pick from those. My lovely dad also helped me cut down the planks and an old wooden scaffolding ladder I wanted to use to make my bookcase. Being the independent young woman I am, I could have definitely managed cutting the wood myself. I thought I proved my proficiency with power tools quite nicely while sanding the table, however my father does not trust me with a power tool that is used for cutting.....fair enough. So as you can see from the above photo....the boards were pretty grubby. Walked on by scaffolders, exposed to the British elements(a lot of rain) and painted in the bright blue and yellow colours of L&H Scaffolding.....like I said 'a lot more challenging than sanding and painting a table.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So the sanding begins!!!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pre-painting photos of my coffee table development from the sanding to the assembling.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The above photo collection shows the beginnings of my, now lovely, coffee table. I used 2 old scaffolding planks and 4 rungs of a wooden stepladder(2 on each side). I wanted to keep the furniture looking quite old and rustic so I purposefully chose misshapen wood. I actually love the way the sanding worked out as the pine looked so beautiful underneath all of the dirt, as did the step ladders. The pine in the stepladders actually had the most beautiful grain pattern after sanding that I was reluctant to paint over it. I also wanted to keep some of the blue and yellow on the stepladder so I chose not to completely sand it off. As I'm moving away from home I wanted something to remind me of my dad- I'm quite sentimental like that! Anyway....I finally assembled all the pieces together after hours of tirelessly sanding in my parents garage and covering everything in a thin layer of dust and this is what it looked like. At the beginning of the project I showed my mum the grubby planks of wood and told her my plans for them....she gave me the standard "Becky you're insane" look(which I'm immune to as people give me this a lot)and I could tell she could not quite see how I could possibly make two dirty scaffolding planks and two bits of wooden stepladder into an acceptable coffee table...I can completely understand her qualms BUT add a layer of white emulsion paint and 10,000 layers of white spirit and ta-daaahhhhh.....</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My finished coffee table and a close up of the white emulsion wash I did over the top.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So there is my new coffee table. I understand that a lot of people will think it's ridiculous to have an item of furniture in their house made of scaffolding planks and bits of stepladder, and I know there will be others of you who will tell me I should have left it at the sanded pine stage and not whitewashed it BUT I absolutely love it! After a great deal of trial and error I even got the whitewash effect right. I really loved the way the sanded pine looked after the dirt was removed and felt like there was something poetic in the way there was beauty underneath the grime. I wanted to retain the pure pine underneath the whitewash and this meant making sure the white paint was super thinned out. My mum was in despair that week as I basically went to town on white spirit and insisted on whitewashing all of my furniture....if anyone is about to try out shabby-chic-ing furniture OPEN ALL OF YOUR WINDOWS- white spirit smells strong.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Before and after sanding photos.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I took a few before and after photos to show the difference a little sanding can make. The photos really don't do it justice but you can see how much difference it made and how beautiful the natural pine is underneath. I'd be very curious to see what scaffolding planks look like when they're initially purchased. The ladders brightened up nicely too!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My scaffolding bookcase.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So this is my bookcase- the rest of the wooden scaffolding ladders and 4 1metre scaffolding planks. I also left the metal scaffolding plaques with my dads logo on the plank shelves to add to the rustic effect. I guess it's quite a masculine piece of furniture, but it's free, handmade and flat pack which is extremely useful when you're shipping your life to Switzerland in a Luton van.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The chaos surrounding my DIY attempts.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just a little taster of what my poor parents have had to put up with over the last week! I have occupied the garage, expanded into the driveway, and used the living room as a furniture storage facility. I have covered every inch of the garage in a layer of sawdust and have accidentally created a white version of Jackson Pollock on the floor where I have been painting, combine this with the constant smell of white spirit over the past week and a half and I am genuinely surprised our neighbours haven't reported us for re-enacting a budget version of breaking bad.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Before and after shot of the free-standing mirror</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here is my new shabbyfied mirror. Half of my blog readers probably prefer it in the original pine state....but I am hoping for a whitewashed flat so I'm matching my furniture to the flat I hope to find..fingers crossed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I also intend on making a sofa from pallet boxes and have designed one in a way that it can also be used as a spare bed for guests....that is yet to be made...and I'm going to Ghana in 6 days so realistically it's looking like a post-Ghana challenge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now I just need to find a beautiful whitewashed flat that is perfectly located, affordable, possibly with beams but not on the top floor with no lift...oh and a balcony/terrace overlooking Basel but not overlooking neighbours so that I can sunbathe without leaving my flat........not that I'm being picky... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'll do another post next week when I arrive in Ghana!</span></div>
Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-65945556419697563142016-12-31T12:18:00.001-08:002016-12-31T12:25:03.633-08:002016 reflections<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I know I know...3 posts in just as many days...I'd like to say that this is me starting a new years blogging resolution early but, in actual fact, I'm just trying to put off all of the packing I have to do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121;">Obviously a New Years eve reflective blog post is mandatory... this is, after all, the LAST DAY of a very tumultuous year...so here it is...</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121;">apparently people are trying to remember 2016 for the good parts and so</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121;"> 'best 9' is a proper thing now, so I thought I'd jump on this trend and give you a few of my own: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-size: 15px;"></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Firstly my best 9 Textile Candy/illustration/work posts of 2016</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Some of my best 9 photos with friends-such a happy year.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Finally this #bestnine collection represents my favourite moments/memories from the year. Top to bottom and Left to right: taken from my Italian road trip in Florence, sunshine picnic in the park with my lovely Brussels family, my first ever website- probably one of my proudest moments, my friend Charlotte's wedding(her love story completely fills me with hope for the future), me at the top of one of the Alps in Switzerland, a country walk with my siblings when I moved back home, screen printing my own products for my Christmas stall, my Brussels birthday celebrations back in February, and finally another shot taken on my Italian roadtrip in Venice.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2016 was a year that many people will be happy to see the back of; there seemed to be so much trauma, sadness and tragedy. From the deaths of some of our famous favourites to multiple terrorist attacks, from zika virus outbreaks to political debate and turmoil, 2016 is definitely a year that will be remembered.</span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="color: #212121; font-size: 13.3333px;">Oddly</span><span style="color: #212121; font-size: 13.3333px;"> I have actually had the best year of my life! Here's a few of the reasons I have loved 2016:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #212121;">- While living in Belgium I made some of the closest friends I have ever had- thank you to my little family there who made living abroad so easy and filled my life with so much joy!</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121;">- I have travelled around Europe a lot more and visited: Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Bruges, Prague, Budapest, Stockholm, St Moritz, Naples, Rome, Venice, Florence</span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;"><b>- I have crossed some things off my bucket list- climb a volcano, go to Italy, save some money, live abroad for longer than 6 months.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;"><b>- I committed to starting a business and created(all by myself) my first proper website</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In preparation for writing this New Year's Eve post I looked at what I had written last year and it turns out I had actually listed some New Years resolutions for 2016 on my blog....here's a screenshot of them...surprisingly I actually did the majority of them!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>-learn a new language...more than partially...</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>- save 5-10k so that in 2018 I can either put down a deposit on a house, spend it on travelling, or set up a business(setting 2018's resolutions already haha!)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>-carry on visiting new places</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>-learn to cook/bake</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>- keep creating new work</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>-read more, watch tv less</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>- write my business plan</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>- live a healthier lifestyle- eat well and stay active!</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">As I already mentioned, in 2016 I got the chance to travel a lot more and it made me realise what a spectacular world we live in. It's been amazing to see areas of both natural and man-made beauty and experience other cultures, foods and traditions. I think my top 3 moments have been: being on top of the alps in Switzerland, seeing an opera performance in Rome and going to colourful Burano island. There's the cliche saying, which I embarassingly love, <b>"travel is the only thing you buy that will make you richer."</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Some of the cities I've been fortunate enough to visit this year: Amsterdam, Prague, Bruges, Rome, Budapest, Venice, Burano island, Stockholm and St Moritz(top to bottom and left to right).</i></td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Although I've had a great year personally, I have also felt a huge deal of sadness about the state of the world. One of the things I really despaired of was the lack of toleration we showed towards one another after Brexit and the Presidential campaign. Politics in 2016 has driven an even greater wedge into already existing divisions and the name-calling and hostility(on both sides)shown following these elections has been horrible to witness. I am not a politician, I know enough about politics to form my own opinions but not enough to patronize anyone else about theirs. This may be my political naivety speaking but, in the grand scheme of things, surely the way we treat each other matters far more than political opinion!Hopefully in 2017 we all make an effort to be more open-minded, understanding and patient with each other- I know that I definitely will!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">I will be ending 2016 with hope, both for my own life in 2017 and for our lovely little earth. I have hope that we will avoid destroying it more in 2017 than we did in 2016. Hope that our governments will learn from history and stop making the same mistakes and hope that the new US government will stop using Syria as their own personal battleground to fight with Russia. I have hope that Theresa May will negotiate a good Brexit deal and will do so before things turn sour, and that the outcome of the different European elections set for 2017 will increase the security and stability of Europe. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #212121; font-size: 13.3333px;">One more thing I have hope for is that the world will stop focusing on gender and sexuality above people and personality. I understand the need for equality and inclusion but 2016's hyped up political correctness seemed to only cause animosity and over-sensitivity. The media pushed feminism with tags like #supportyourlocalgirlgang meant for good but, in an attempt to reach gender equality, we surpassed it and ended with what seems like an anti-male mafia. 2016 saw a lot of real issues losing their impact after being softened by social media. We turn problems into 'trending hashtags' to 'join in on the conversation' and</span><span style="color: #212121; font-size: 13.3333px;"> we put opaque flags over our profile photos to show 'solidarity' with countries that have experienced terrorism, completely selective of the countries that are deserving of this. Why did we do this- because in 2016 it's 'on trend' to appear to be humanitarian. I know the new year is meant to be a time of celebration, where we all get fairly drunk and have fireworks and champagne but I think it's important for people to understand the gravity of what actually happened in 2016. While the world appeared to be having a meltdown the mainstream media chose to focus on our favourite stars and cultural figures that died(I've tried to keep this list to one person/month to avoid us feel down).</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Other famous figures lost in 2016 include: Victoria Wood, Alan Rickman, Terry Wogan and Bill Cunningham.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #212121; font-size: 13.3333px;">Yes these are all sad but what about the countless other lives that have been lost this year- are they less deserving of a headline? </span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard;">Terrorism,once again, has been a consistency of the year. We witnessed attacks in Brussels, Nice and Germany but these had a small loss of life in comparison to the death toll in Iraq and Syria where suicide bombings and beheadings are now commonplace.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #212121; font-size: 13.3333px;">When blogging I often try and avoid talking about real issues as they aren't popular and I usually get less page views/followers- shallow, I know, but that's the nature of the (blogging) beast. One of my resolutions for 2017 is to include more posts of depth as I have noticed this year that the mainstream news has refrained from showing us anything that might induce fear or panic. I will of course still be doing trend posts and writing about print design/fashion, but I'm going to try and provide more articles of substance too</span><span style="color: #212121; font-size: 13.3333px;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #212121; font-size: 13.3333px;">I've been thinking a lot recently about why I started this blog, why I continue posting and where I see it going in the future. I always wanted to use it to show people how interesting fashion/design history can be and how it is reactive to the economy, politics and social culture- I have somewhat abandoned this in 2016. Reading through my comments and messages I've received about the blog I</span><span style="color: #212121;"> seem to have quite a wide audience with some readers wanting the print/fashion trendboards as a resource to aid with research whereas others prefer the more personal, deeper articles and I'm quite keen to keep these two groups of followers. I would love any suggestions people have of what material they like most on my blog and what they would like to see more of so that </span><span style="color: #212121;">I can do my best to provide content that people actually want to read.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Anyway....I don't want to leave this post on a depressing note about the state of the world so here are a few things I found hilarious about this backwards, illogical and completely ironic year! 2016 was a year that confused the Instagramming public so much that #quittinginstagram became the most common Instagram hashtag...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">...2016 was such an illogical year the the British public were overruled on the name Boaty Mcboatface, but not on their decision to leave the EU....ha!!!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-size: 13.3333px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The past year saw global politics spiraling into disaster, everything escalated so quickly that we all felt the need to be still, so still that the mannequin challenge really took off. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In times of trauma we all need escapism....some people have chosen to escape by dressing up as creepy clowns......others by changing their persona completely through various celebrity endorsed snapchat filters...if the global news is getting you down you can now change your face to be: a dog, a bunny, a deer, a strawberry, a piece of toast, or whoever else's face you would like to swap with...</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KRssWF30Yr0/WGf34JN2wjI/AAAAAAAAEZI/N_Kck2DcbRsWcFI8T5GikIQwVt8mHUECACLcB/s1600/Untitled-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KRssWF30Yr0/WGf34JN2wjI/AAAAAAAAEZI/N_Kck2DcbRsWcFI8T5GikIQwVt8mHUECACLcB/s640/Untitled-5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #212121;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">....but we've made it out the other end ...just about....</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>yeah apparently this is an actual real website....</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #212121; font-size: 13.3333px;">I'll be completely honest in saying that I usually spend New Year's Eve, as does most of the U.K, getting pretty drunk in a, usually overpriced, nightclub.... this year I'm opting out and staying at home. Next year I will be relocating AGAIN, and no matter how many times you leave your family it doesn't get any easier. </span><span style="color: #212121; font-size: 13.3333px;">I want to welcome in the new year with some of the people I'm close to</span><span style="color: #212121; font-size: 13.3333px;">.....I only hope that my parents will stay awake until midnight....failing that I will spend tonight celebrating with our little westie and a glass of bubbly!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My hot New Years eve date ;)</i></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #212121;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #454545; text-align: start;">I have a few things to look forward to already next year: my volunteering trip to Ghana, my new job in Switzerland and several of my close friends are getting married!Hopefully 2017 will be even better than 2016!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #212121;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I hope you all have a lovely New Year's eve celebrating!</span></span></div>
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Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-27443590089603494992016-12-27T16:51:00.002-08:002016-12-27T17:16:02.858-08:00 Relocation time once again!<div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I ended my last post with <b>"</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;"><b>I have no post Ghana plans at all and I'm actually quite fine with that"</b>.....I need to retract that statement as things have already changed. I am now moving to Switzerland.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Summary of my relocations so far: Heysham- London - Dusseldorf(Germany) - Brussels(Belgium) - Briefly back to Heysham - Accra(Ghana) - Basel(Switzerland).</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When I returned to the UK at the beginning of November one of my main fears was that my life was about to become incredibly dull so, in true Becky style, I fired a haphazard prayer up to the big man requesting an interesting life.....hilariously enough I have got exactly what I wished for but now have 2 weeks to pack all of my worldly possessions into boxes to relocate to Switzerland the day after I return from Ghana. Challenging to say the least.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So...why am I relocating AGAIN? I have been offered a job- a 9-5pm in fashion retail, as a graphic/print designer.....I am fully aware that this post is completely contradictory to those previously written. As the famous Robbie Burns- who I like to pretend is my distant relative- once said: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">"the best laid schemes o' mice an' men, gang aft a-gley"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">(in other words all my greatest plans have gone to shit hahaha)</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">... this seems to be the story of my life. I had planned a life of independancy and self funded success as a wildly creative, incredibly humanitarian, bohemian frequenting festivals in my beautifully decorated van boutique, owner of a thriving creative business where I would spend all of my days creating artworks and prints and getting gloriously rich from it*breathe*.... Yeah, yeah I know it's an overly romanticised borderline impossible idea... but I'm a bit of an idealist so, in my head, this idea was completely credible and definitely beat working a 9-5 in Belgium. What I did not anticipate is that starting a business is actually quite difficult and I am not remotely ready/prepared to start something like a mobile boutique. I still want to, and I am vehemently interested in setting up a sustainable and ethical illustration/printed fashion business ...but I should probably figure out how to go about it before quitting stability and stepping into the unknown! Basically I have chickened out a little bit, apparently you also need something called money to set up a business- who knew!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To set the scene a little here... I knew I wanted to quit my job in Belgium back in March and I started looking for other jobs, I had a few interviews for various places, got extremely annoyed with the recruitment process and promptly gave up looking. I managed to hold out until August and then handed my notice in despite having no job offers - I couldn't spend my life doing something I didn't enjoy just for monetary reasons(ironic seeing as my main reason for applying for a new job is for money). One of the companies I had interviewed for back in July was Tally Weijl- to those of you based outside of mainland Europe this is a young brand similar to New look and is sold as a concession in Lipsy and Next. At the time of my first interview the company was moving it's head offices from Paris to Switzerland so a few jobs were opening up. I had initially been recruited for a Graphic design role and this then became a shape design role, which I was asked to interview separately for and so another interview project was needed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>First Project- Shape design</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Second project- Shape design with technical files</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Having little to no shape design experience I obviously didn't get the position, this didn't come as a surprise to me. I was, however, surprised to have got down to the last two candidates...Anyway, at the end of November, I was contacted by the company again saying they had another Graphic design role they wanted me to apply for and they weren't going to advertise it until I had interviewed...so I did. After having spoken to the company about numerous different positions, I didn't really have high hopes of getting the job....I did a project for them(with only 2 days to work on it) and they got back to me within a day offering me the position. So as of March 2017 I will be the new Graphic designer at Tally Weijl based in Basel, Switzerland. YAY!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Third(and final) project</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Despite my idealistic 'tex can' van plan not quite working out, I am looking forward to the adventure of living in another different country. It has actually come with perfect timing- as always! If I had been offered the job when I applied on the 2 previous occasions I would not have been able to do any personal design work; I wouldn't have been able to do the Christmas card designs or the new artworks for the market stall and I wouldn't have had the opportunity to volunteer in Ghana. As part of the job negotiations I have made sure I am still able to do the volunteer project, which is absolutely amazing! Obviously I am a little disappointed in myself for not being able to start a business right now, but I strongly believe in there being "a time for everything"(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). In my experience, the longer something takes to come to fruition, the more longevity it has. So I am willing to wait to start my business; to keep trying out my own designs to see if people like them, to spend time learning and engaging with my audience until I am ready, confident and credible enough to turn it into something successful. American businessman and motivational speaker, Farrah Gray, once said "build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs", I have decided that I don't mind helping build someone else's dreams- as long as they pay me well and I can set up my own business on the side. After all....</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In my previous 'plan' post I said:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I tried, I opened myself up to the idea of setting up a business alone and it didn't fail, I have just had to mark it as 'pending'. The artworks and products all sold, people loved the Christmas cards and the illustrations so I've got a bit more confidence in myself and in my ability to create something commercial and unique. This being said, it made me realise that I have absolutely no idea how to set up a business, I don't know where to get my products manufactured and I don't know what products I even want to create, on top of this I also have no money. I know that in the same blog post I also mocked myself about how I always say, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"the timing hasn't been right"or "I don't have enough savings" or "I don't know where to make a start" these aren't things that should hold you back from starting a business......but not having any idea how to start a business or what to sell is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Many of you will remember the recent post where I laid out my plans to go to Ghana and volunteer with Global mamas, I've referred to it often enough in this post haha (http://textilecandy.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/the-plan.html) .....I now have less than 3 weeks before I embark on this adventure and I am underprepared to say the least. Having never been to this part of Africa before, I've only ever been to Egypt, I have no idea what to pack. I have yet to finalise my Visa, I still have 2 vaccinations to get before leaving along with my malaria prescription. There is so much to do that I haven't really had time to get properly excited about it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I know I seem like a bit of a sellout by complaining about the fashion industry, quitting it, boasting about my new plan and then taking a new job effectively doing the same thing, BUT this time I'm going to use it as a springboard...hopefully. I'm going to save money and research starting a new business properly, attempt to make a business plan and learn all I can from the new company I'll be working for. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So there's my up to date plan for 2017....If anyone who reads this little old blog of mine has any advice for moving to Switzerland/hotpsots to visit/ nice little eateries there I would love to hear about them!!!I would also really appreciate any information people can give me on places to visit in/around Ghana as I will be there for 6 weeks and will have free weekends to explore!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm hopefully going to do one more post before the New year, a summary of my year type post so you will all be hearing from me soon :) x</span></div>
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Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-69964541392100847682016-12-27T07:14:00.000-08:002016-12-27T07:14:36.120-08:00A little life update...<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hey lovely blog followers- a very Merry Christmas to you all!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I thought i'd give you an update on how living at home is treating me....the prospect of moving home aged 25, after years of living on my own, was something I found extremely daunting. I was worried that I would feel like a failure having given up a "good"fashion job, like I would lose my independency by living with my parents and that having no job would mean I completely lacked direction which would end in me spiralling into a depressive state(drama queen that I am). I am happy to say that, after living back at home for almost 2 months, none of the above has happened. I think it was quite well timed actually as I've almost been able to treat it like an extended Christmas holiday.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HJI5wCwVmlE/WGJ6iXG-Q4I/AAAAAAAAEVA/_XuAO0rUrdoGtjpAb5-1CFqAam5vqK0egCLcB/s1600/sibs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HJI5wCwVmlE/WGJ6iXG-Q4I/AAAAAAAAEVA/_XuAO0rUrdoGtjpAb5-1CFqAam5vqK0egCLcB/s640/sibs.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have really loved spending time with my family, not doing anything in particular...just being around them. I had such an amazing and fortunate upbringing thanks to my lovely parents and they have created an environment of safety and chaotic peace(anyone who has visited my family home can vouch for this). My family home is completely real- no pretences and no facades. We get annoyed with each other, we cuddle, we shout and we laugh and there's something really soothing about being in an environment where you are completely known and understood. While I've been away from home I have taken all of this for granted, communication with my family has been lax-partially because talking to those at home when you're away makes you more homesick. This seems to be quite an emotive little paragraph so while I'm at it I'm going to give a little shout-out out to my parents- Mama and Papa Burns, without whom I would basically be screwed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway enough of the festive induced emotion and back to my little life update....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In my first week at home I tried working part time in a bar, adamant that I had to earn some money and this was the easiest way I could figure out how to do that. I lasted for 10 whole hrs, in which I was given only two ten minute breaks, and then I quit. Some of you may think that I gave up too soon, which is a fair point but I don't like feeling like my life is going backwards. I did the whole waitressing thing from the age of 16-22 and I just couldn't justify quitting a well paid job in Brussels to be a waitress. I have complete respect for anyone who can do bar work full time but it was definitely not for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Instead, with the encouragement of my amazing parents, I decided to design a range of Christmas cards(I've included photos of them below). I actually really enjoyed creating them and seeing rough artworks turned into final products and they actually sold really well- particularly the animals! It's the first time I've sold anything to people outside my family and friendship groups and it gives you a certain type of satisfaction knowing that people are buying things from you because they love the products and not just because they love and support you!</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LmLXwm217eo/WGJlO6vtdHI/AAAAAAAAEUI/5ozpbhMPYVwhFfwfB4sNW1rG0_hWbc_UQCLcB/s1600/mock%2Bup%2Bfor%2Bchristmas%2Bletters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="textile candy, Christmas cards, www.textilecandy.com, Merry Christmas, handmade Christmas cards, Christmas illustration, Christmas animal, Christmas penguin, fairy lights bear, polar bear illustration, fox with coffee, Christmas fox, winter warmer illustration, Christmas deer, Christmas turkey, illustration, hand drawn, joy to the world, jingle all the way, merry & bright, baby it's cold outside" border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LmLXwm217eo/WGJlO6vtdHI/AAAAAAAAEUI/5ozpbhMPYVwhFfwfB4sNW1rG0_hWbc_UQCLcB/s640/mock%2Bup%2Bfor%2Bchristmas%2Bletters.jpg" title="Textile Candy Christmas cards" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As anyone who knows me will be aware, I'm a bit of a gypsy and love to travel- in fact I get a little bit fidgety if I stay in one place for too long. When I made the decision to quit C&A and life in Belgium, I knew I would need a weekend getaway to ease me back in to life in little old Lancaster so my friend and I booked a trip to St Moritz(Switzerland) as part of her hen party/wedding preparations! It was AMAZING! We were staying in a small village called Celerina, just 5 minutes from St Moritz and I can honestly say it was the most beautiful and peaceful weekend I have ever had. It was just before the busy ski season so most shops and restaurants were closed making it extremely quiet. The scenery there was absolutely breathtaking, there's something about untouched white snow and blue sky that makes your heart feel so happy! We went to the top of an alp and made snow angels(because I'm mature like that), flagged down a train at a teeny tiny request stop, got lost in a Swiss alp pine forest and had the most amazing food in a local restaurant while it snowed outside......it was basically like being in a film.! Obviously I took a lot of photos so I'll share a few of them here...</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nlimJE1pZoM/WGJw5nIfO5I/AAAAAAAAEUY/Aimpsn4VQbcp4LjQNvdoKEPpW7022ABDgCLcB/s1600/switzerland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="574" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nlimJE1pZoM/WGJw5nIfO5I/AAAAAAAAEUY/Aimpsn4VQbcp4LjQNvdoKEPpW7022ABDgCLcB/s640/switzerland.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Post Alpine adventure I signed up to have a stall at a local Christmas market in the building where I have my studio which was also pretty successful!I was so ridiculously nervous at first with the standard "what if no-one likes/buys anything", "what if it's a waste of time" type doubts that I was actually physically shaking with nerves but I took myself into a corner and gave myself a fairly strict talking to and returned to the stall. I got some really great feedback about the artworks I had and sold quite a few of them, I've also had some follow up artwork requests which is great! Prior to the stall, I managed, quite miraculously, to find a local screenprinter where I got some of my designs exposed onto screens so that I could print some tote bags I had bought on ebay. I was even able to print the bags myself, which I absolutely loved. There's something about printing your own products that gives you so much more fulfilment than sending designs to a distant factory. Here are a few photos of the stall and artworks!</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--yqU-tnsh0E/WGJx18e4U_I/AAAAAAAAEUg/i8u0ISEyQQI20_a7R7deF2pKHGYV915mwCLcB/s1600/stall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Handmade and vintage market, christmas market stall, christmas stall, illustration stall, the storey institute lancaster, printed tote bag, custom tote bag, custom shopper bag, screen printed bag" border="0" height="424" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--yqU-tnsh0E/WGJx18e4U_I/AAAAAAAAEUg/i8u0ISEyQQI20_a7R7deF2pKHGYV915mwCLcB/s640/stall.jpg" title="Textile candy stall" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here are some of the new artworks I created for the tote bags and framed illustrations. All of my illustrations(including the Christmas cards) are hand drawn and then digitally cleaned up/re-coloured. When sitting on the stall and talking to customers it came to light that a lot of people don't realise that all of the artworks are my own and completely hand drawn, so I'm trying to make a point of letting people know in future!</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aNoDLVnx43c/WGJ1XwuADDI/AAAAAAAAEUw/Dleo22sXjwI9uuLWCNzJFRgjiRnyP-_iwCLcB/s1600/new%2Bartworks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="textilecandy, Textile Candy, www.textilecandy.com, think lovely thoughts, no rain no flowers, illustration, quote artwork, wall decor, wall quote, audrey hepburn art, audrey hepburn poster, audrey illustration, strength quote, illustrated quote, you are stronger than you think, rainbow umberella, crop circle illustration," border="0" height="504" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aNoDLVnx43c/WGJ1XwuADDI/AAAAAAAAEUw/Dleo22sXjwI9uuLWCNzJFRgjiRnyP-_iwCLcB/s640/new%2Bartworks.jpg" title="New artworks" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As well as the new artworks, I re-coloured two images I'd worked on a while ago. I've been trying to start adding a bit more colour to my artworks as I have a tendency to leave them all black and white. The good thing about digitally re-colouring images is that I can always alter the colours depending on what the customer wants.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vBU58nMMuD8/WGJ1W0In6xI/AAAAAAAAEUs/xlpFfGCvvskKtaaD-v_CagXic9CLBnoxwCLcB/s1600/artworks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Textile candy, www.textilecandy.com, textile candy blog, zentangle illustrations, girl drinking coffee, tea girl, mermaid in bath, mermaid illustration, mermaid tattoo, mermaid artwork" border="0" height="262" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vBU58nMMuD8/WGJ1W0In6xI/AAAAAAAAEUs/xlpFfGCvvskKtaaD-v_CagXic9CLBnoxwCLcB/s640/artworks.jpg" title="Textile Candy new illustrations" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In other news....I am starting to look forward to my travels to Ghana a bit more now as they are only 3 weeks away. I have started getting my vaccinations and there is nothing like being treated as human pincushion to make you realise what you're embarking on. I haven't really had chance to get excited yet because of how busy I was in the lead up to the stall and Christmas celebrations etc but I'm hoping the excitement will kick in over the next few days.I'm also now completely penniless- who knew vaccinations could cost almost as much as the flights!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've also put my plans of a mobile van boutique on hold until I figure a few things out, so this is something I will probably look into more post Ghana. I'm trying out a new lifestyle(which my mum hates) where I don't plan, I just go with it. It seems to be working out okay, I've always claimed to be the type of person who is on a non plan plan.....now I actually am, I have no post Ghana plans at all and I'm actually quite fine with that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'll post again soon x</span></div>
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Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-81971082607681564512016-11-16T17:08:00.000-08:002016-11-16T17:08:25.051-08:00Spring/Summer 2017 runway report: florals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I know I KNOWWW I've been promising to post the Spring/Summer 2017 runway trend report basically since October and still haven't delivered results. In my defense I have been rather busy- I relocated back to the UK, set up my new studio, got a bar job(and quit), have been planning my adventure to Ghana in January and quite honestly have been far too caught up in current affairs and the general election to even think about doing a runway blog post. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway with no further ado here is the first installment....the florals...in a lovely new trend pack layout too ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">More trend boards to follow. These are all high resolution A4 formatted images so can be printed as a trend pack, if you do decide to save/print/pin any of these images please let me know as it's rewarding for me to find out who uses them for inspiration! x</span></div>
Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-60449751803919373432016-10-22T06:51:00.002-07:002016-10-22T07:00:37.063-07:00The Plan...<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I know I have yet to post the Spring/Summer 2017 report but I'm working on it. I was going to wait until after I had finished the report to post this life update but I just couldn't hold it in anymore!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As you will be aware, if you read my blog or have me on social media, in August I quit my job. Although I have always been quite a spontaneous(borderline flighty) person I would never have considered leaving one job without having a replacement, my need for financial security is something I generally seem to prioritise above my actual happiness. With a 3 month notice period and several job applications still being processed I had assumed that by the end of my notice I would have been offered one of the jobs and would not have to go with my back up plan.........my 3 months is up and now I am, quite literally, thanking God for my back up plan as I still have no job.....but I have come to the conclusion that it's okay to not have a complete plan...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am the kind of person who finds it very hard to ignore my gut instincts, call it intuition, call it divine intervention, call it what you what, when I feel something strongly I find it hard to ignore it and that is exactly why I had to quit. I have been aware for several years that I want to work for myself and set up my own business, maybe one day own a shop and sell my own creations....but "the timing hasn't been right"or "I don't have enough savings" or "I don't know where to make a start" It has very much been a pipe dream that I have found excuses not to get started.....a non committal vision of the future I guess. I have often caught myself saying things like "if I had my own business I'd do this'' and "if it was up to me I'd design/sell this" and "everything would be different if i was a freelancer/more in charge of my life" so I'm calling my own bluff..... I don't think it's ever going to be the right time to try and start up your own business and I don't think you ever feel like you have enough finances to get going, but I would rather try it out now when I have little to risk(no savings/relationship/family obligations)than spend the rest of my life wondering 'what if'. Although I know very little about the economy I have a niggling feeling that Brexit might turn out to be a positive thing for small businesses, so I'm gonna give it a go and if it goes wrong fewer people will notice because they will be preoccupied with our impending global recession.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I pride myself in being very honest in my blogging and in that spirit I will quite openly tell you all that I am petrified!!!This new plan(which I will tell you bout in a moment) scares me more than moving to Germany or Brussels ever did. I have responded to this fear by being in complete denial about moving...but now I only have 10 days to pack up, arrange a relocation and get my brain to process whats happening. I think one of the things I'm finding most difficult to cope with is the sacrifice I'm making of leaving my lovely apartment in the centre of Brussels in the middle of Europe to move back in with my parents in a single bedroom in Heysham, a tiny village in the North West of England which very few people know exist. I am so SO fortunate to even have this as an option and I can't thank my parents enough for letting me move back in, but when I'm assessing things I find it quite difficult to see the positive side. The last time I lived at home I had just left university, couldn't find a design job, was working night shifts in a textiles factory and as a result was suffering from depression.....now I'm giving up a financially secure design position abroad to go back home WHAT MADNESS IS THIS!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EdyjY3ob1Jc/WAtwl_HIxlI/AAAAAAAAERI/wmxcbdF1jUUvn7DkGzl20QHsYYEAozUXwCLcB/s1600/maps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EdyjY3ob1Jc/WAtwl_HIxlI/AAAAAAAAERI/wmxcbdF1jUUvn7DkGzl20QHsYYEAozUXwCLcB/s640/maps.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Brussels to Heysham- a move I never thought I would be making!</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On the plus side I had a successful interview a few months ago for a freelance job at a Print design studio in London and I think I have also found myself a nice, fairly inexpensive, little studio at the Storey institute in Lancaster (http://www.thestorey.co.uk/page/57/Spaces.htm)in a beautiful old Victorian building which was built in 1898. I have also been putting out feelers for a part time bar job in my hometown so, hopefully, I will be able to work on my freelance designs in my new studio while doing shifts in a bar to make some extra cash.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SvxWRmpIxyY/WAtQ-kCxgUI/AAAAAAAAEQs/6N4KHMkbvQYEDuYw2v33Lr96d3H0aFZ7ACLcB/s1600/jjfj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lancaster, studio space, art studio, freelance designer, print designer, lancaster artists" border="0" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SvxWRmpIxyY/WAtQ-kCxgUI/AAAAAAAAEQs/6N4KHMkbvQYEDuYw2v33Lr96d3H0aFZ7ACLcB/s640/jjfj.jpg" title="The Storey institute" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Storey Institute, Lancaster- where my new studio is located. Here are photos taken from their website of the building, gallery spaces and studio space.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So that's where I'm at with the move but this post was meant to be for me sharing my new plan with you. It's a bit of a whacky one which involves two parts....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Part one-</b> in January I will be going to Ghana for a 6 weeks volunteering program working with local women to set up ethical fashion businesses.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c9B8E0RN_IU/WArXjVT8ekI/AAAAAAAAEQI/VWJxzXbTxy4eXRMpOojY0hdUkC8xPrsJACLcB/s1600/ghana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c9B8E0RN_IU/WArXjVT8ekI/AAAAAAAAEQI/VWJxzXbTxy4eXRMpOojY0hdUkC8xPrsJACLcB/s640/ghana.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The volunteering project will be split with me spending 4 weeks doing textile design and 2 weeks doing jewellery making. For the textiles section I will be helping to design new batik stamps, creating new dye colour combinations and introducing local designers to new textile design techniques and for the jewellery making part of the projects I will be learning how to make glass beads, developing new bead design options and designing new jewellery products. I am SO excited!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KFbyOAWm1Co/WArWr_g3F5I/AAAAAAAAEQA/LvwD5YDAwxIiTG4j76Gwn57ZA7R2Gva5gCLcB/s1600/globalmamas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="global mamas, volunteer project, textiles volunteer, jewellery making, fairtrade products, fairtrade business, ethical fashion, ghana" border="0" height="452" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KFbyOAWm1Co/WArWr_g3F5I/AAAAAAAAEQA/LvwD5YDAwxIiTG4j76Gwn57ZA7R2Gva5gCLcB/s640/globalmamas.jpg" title="Global mamas" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Global mamas current range of stock available at: http://www.shopglobalmamas.com . These are some of the products I want to stock in the 2nd part of my plan(scroll down for more info).</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What I love about this opportunity is that it is beneficial for both sides, I will gain as much knowledge from this as I am passing on. One thing i have really struggled with when working in commercial fashion is the absence of creativity and the lack of connection we have to the clothes we are producing. So often I have been told by a buyer/manager to copy a bought sample as closely as I can legally get away with, NB to any buyers that might read this blog post- this is a surefire way to crush the soul of a graphic/print designer. Everything is mass produced. everything is copied. there is no creativity. biblical quotes are rarely used alongside fashion but I feel like in Ecclesiastes(1 vs 9) Solomon perfectly summarises commercial fashion;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; text-align: justify;">What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Oh the truth in that!Mechanical printing methods, new technology and quality control checks, although amazingly beneficial have removed human error from the design process and along with it we have lost all of the accidental quirks and happy mistakes that make unique items. Instead we have uniformity, creativity's adversary. I'm really hoping that Ghana will give me the opportunity to connect with the creative process again and remind me why I chose to work in fashion and textiles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So that is the first plan.....which ties into the second even crazier part of my plan....</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">Part 2</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J2TJhc5izCs/WArNvoZZuOI/AAAAAAAAEPg/pAPjB5rqy0Mjmpm5p0Z2cho2R4wJciz3wCLcB/s1600/van.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="LDV convoy, minibus conversion, camper conversion" border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J2TJhc5izCs/WArNvoZZuOI/AAAAAAAAEPg/pAPjB5rqy0Mjmpm5p0Z2cho2R4wJciz3wCLcB/s640/van.jpg" title="LDV conversion" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My new van, yet to be bought but this is the make I'm going for!</i></td></tr>
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I<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> will be buying one of these LDV convoy minibuses(hopefully for under £1000) and converting it into a mobile boutique...by hand....pause for dramatic effect. The thought process behind this idea was pretty simple- I want a store...I can't afford a store...how can I have a cheap store without having to choose one location to base it in and without paying rent.....AHA- a store in a van! It will be like a food truck for clothes, accessories and artwork. It will need to have:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>- A high roof so that people can comfortably stand inside, including people taller than me(which is the majority of people)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>- A studio area for me to do work in</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>- A concealed sleeping compartment for me to sleep in when driving to places</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>- A changing room area for when I stock clothing</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>- A strong battery/power system so that I'm not dependant on a hook up, perhaps solr powered?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>- It also needs to be light enough for people to feel comfortable inside, I don't want it to feel like a van.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The 'fashion truck' idea is actually something that has become increasingly popular in the US recently with over 500 mobile boutiques in 50 states. So why not bring it over to the UK, maybe there's a reason people don't do it in the UK but I'm going to try it and find out the difficult way.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kYwa88FM4lI/WArPIpdX_fI/AAAAAAAAEPw/C5Dcq4U-V0MGilmj3LaytxaWHJEFUwKhACLcB/s1600/fashion%2Btrucks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Fashion truck, shop conversion, mobile shop, clothes truck, van conversion, conversion project, pop up shop" border="0" height="460" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kYwa88FM4lI/WArPIpdX_fI/AAAAAAAAEPw/C5Dcq4U-V0MGilmj3LaytxaWHJEFUwKhACLcB/s640/fashion%2Btrucks.jpg" title="Mobile boutique" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Existing mobile fashion boutiques in the US. The bottom right photo is more the type of decor I want to go for.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I know it sounds a little bit mental but I have this idea that I can fill my mobile boutique with a range of products combining my own designs with products I source in Ghana(scroll up) and sell them to the public as a fairtrade/independent design company. Hopefully while I am in Ghana I can make some business partnerships with the local women and work with them to create products that I can sell in my van. In this dream scenario I will drive my van to local craft fairs/art fairs and festivals and sell my wares.... a little bit like a gypsy tradeswoman.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l6bLanH5m90/WArI67AkJEI/AAAAAAAAEPQ/pNns6spxV4gMqcOUnYRxOyVMRu9cET6pwCLcB/s1600/products.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="product range, fairtrade products, business plan, printed clothing, printed homeware, business start up, creative startup" border="0" height="452" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l6bLanH5m90/WArI67AkJEI/AAAAAAAAEPQ/pNns6spxV4gMqcOUnYRxOyVMRu9cET6pwCLcB/s640/products.jpg" title="Textile candy product range" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>These are the type of products I want to sell, some are more high end so would be more expensive and more for online customers. Product list: Silk scarves, printed clutch bags, simple printed garments, painted/printed anoraks, patterned phone cases, framed illustrations, printed notebooks and stationary, fairtrade jewellery, handmade rag rugs, hand knitted chunky blankets, embroidered cushions sourced overseas, painted homeware, printed cushions. I have yet to find anywhere to manufacture all of these things so if you are a manufacturer reading this please contact me.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At the moment this plan seems fairly doable, I think this is mainly because I have been spending my time watching a helluvalot of 'George Clarke's amazing spaces', 'Grand designs', and 'Tiny house movement' videos and they just make van conversions look so easy. I have, of course, been avoiding thinking about the actual conversion side of things but have the interior of my van completely planned out....I thought I'd share a little personal moodboard I made so that you can see I'm actually being serious about this...nothing says serious like a photographic moodboard right ;)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cSoOiel2-e0/WArOEyu6p7I/AAAAAAAAEPk/EOWIJkko0IMMKN0G6UiOB94RxFxkj6CWgCLcB/s1600/decor2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="decor ideas, shabby chic, whitewashed, white wood, white bedroom, scandinavian bedroom, clean white" border="0" height="428" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cSoOiel2-e0/WArOEyu6p7I/AAAAAAAAEPk/EOWIJkko0IMMKN0G6UiOB94RxFxkj6CWgCLcB/s640/decor2.jpg" title="Shabby chic decor" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My Brussels apartment is beautiful and wooden and whitewashed and I want to use this as the decor inspiration for my mobile boutique. I want it to have a clean but comfortable aesthetic, with old whitewashed wood and a cosy, homely feel. All of these images have been sourced on pinterest.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fVITdosWOys/WArOFV157YI/AAAAAAAAEPo/kGd4W0uOHxY25rq-dK0ZlZK21nEont8hwCLcB/s1600/decor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="van conversion, store decor, decor ideas, scaffolding shelves, ladder hanger" border="0" height="452" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fVITdosWOys/WArOFV157YI/AAAAAAAAEPo/kGd4W0uOHxY25rq-dK0ZlZK21nEont8hwCLcB/s640/decor.jpg" title="DIY" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This moodboard gives a bit more detail into my decor ideas all photos are once again sourced on pinterest. I want to use old wooden pallets to clad the van interior and use antique mirrors to get a shabby chic aesthetic. I will use white washed driftwood and old wooden ladders to hang products from and will paint parts of these with bright patterns(bottom right) to separate different collections. The homeware and framed illustrations will be displayed on shelves made from old scaffolding boards which I will get from my dad- I quite like the idea of having something in my van to link back to my parents because they've been so supportive of my crazy plan!</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To demonstrate my committment to this project I have started a business plan sketchbook, obviously I know that no-one presents a business plan in a sketchbook, this is more for me to iron out my thoughts and decide how to get started but here are a few snapshots from it of my ideas and brand development etc...</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yf6fB6JoqTM/WAttUdC_Y3I/AAAAAAAAEQ8/8EZnk-9lfcw0b6N05aGsJbflzQuysDxGQCLcB/s1600/Untitled-20-Recovered.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="504" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yf6fB6JoqTM/WAttUdC_Y3I/AAAAAAAAEQ8/8EZnk-9lfcw0b6N05aGsJbflzQuysDxGQCLcB/s640/Untitled-20-Recovered.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My oh-so-professional business plan sketchbook. I thought it would be a good idea to keep track of my business planning and brand development.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So all I need now is an LDV convoy minibus...a small business loan/grant....some magical power tools......a large amount of free wooden pallets and a few tins of white paint hahaha. On a more serious note if anyone knows of a small brand/sole trader that has done something similar please let me know because I need all of the advice I can get. Similarly if anyone has any advice on how to go about getting small business loans without using a bank please comment with your details! I am considering trying to set up a crowdfund to see if anyone wants to donate to this venture, whether it be for the van or the Ghana trip so help/advice on this would also be great!Also if you are manufacturer reading this and supply any of the products on my moodboards please don't hesitate to contact me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now you're all up to date on my plan for the next year or so it would be nice to know what you all think or if you have any advice. Obviously if you think its an awful idea that is doomed to fail I'd rather you didn't tell me haha! Ciao for now(I promise to have the Spring/Summer 2017 runway report up in the next week!!!) x</span></div>
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<br />Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-59244766757962901492016-10-07T11:40:00.000-07:002016-10-07T11:40:07.825-07:00Paris fashion week: collection favourites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">SO, the fashion weeks are over and now I am left with the chore of sifting through images, identifying trends, organising boards and a hefty amount of image labelling. I say chore but I actually quite enjoy it...I just wish it was less time consuming. This being said, very soon I will have no job(due to my aforementioned resignation)and will have all of the time in the world to make trend boards, write blog posts and hopefully create a beautiful collection of prints that will sell well and enable me to create my own independent business...ha!No pressure there then!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have some things in the pipeline and a VERY vague plan of what I will be doing post relocation but I will leave that shrouded in mystery until I've had some confirmation. I also want to start a youtube channel at some point..soonish...not to be a vlogger as I don't really know how personable I am on video and I just don't have the level of narcissism required to be able to constantly film myself... I'm more interested in recording on video what I do at work, life in Brussels(before I leave) and capturing memories with my friends in my favourite hangouts. More like a memory archive than a vlog. The problem, however, is that I have no clue how to edit videos....so if anyone has any tips/advice/app knowledge I would hugely appreciate a comment to let me know!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway, here are my Paris favourites:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uRZKqW_v9bY/V_dj60uchJI/AAAAAAAAEM0/f9BlB3JEdws-Wgk4XdykTkG31v-NwG49wCLcB/s1600/PARAS%2BMARANT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="452" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uRZKqW_v9bY/V_dj60uchJI/AAAAAAAAEM0/f9BlB3JEdws-Wgk4XdykTkG31v-NwG49wCLcB/s640/PARAS%2BMARANT.jpg" title="Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, Paris fashion week, Parisian fashion,Isabel Marant, Paris fashion, fashion week" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The reason I liked this collection o much was the dotwork in the ground of the florals, the prints are really intricate and I'm definitely keen to do a few versions of these.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>McQueen has combined a tough punk aesthetic through leather and plaid with soft romanticism in floral prints and chiffon layers. Although the prints aren't particularly ground breaking/inspiring, the balance in the soft/tough mashup is perfect.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LSo-CPlt1nY/V_dj7VVFA7I/AAAAAAAAEM8/CWNqX9ndmw0hv5-7x3PD_LPfRkTLGkqVACLcB/s1600/PARIS%2BACNE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="452" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LSo-CPlt1nY/V_dj7VVFA7I/AAAAAAAAEM8/CWNqX9ndmw0hv5-7x3PD_LPfRkTLGkqVACLcB/s640/PARIS%2BACNE.jpg" title="Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, Paris fashion week, Parisian fashion, Paris fashion, fashion week, Acne studios" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Although I know that this is not a collection I would ever be able to wear(oversized loose clothes tend to make me look more fat hippy than relaxed chic) I love the paisley prints, the colour combinations and the relaxed aesthetic- particularly how patchwork has been introduced without the garments looking shabby or makeshift.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jIsUVQzSPFo/V_dj7Yp5RiI/AAAAAAAAEM4/oWWC8OnNo-ol5arqIQKIN6MMKwnmj0gLwCLcB/s1600/PARIS%2BCHANEL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="452" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jIsUVQzSPFo/V_dj7Yp5RiI/AAAAAAAAEM4/oWWC8OnNo-ol5arqIQKIN6MMKwnmj0gLwCLcB/s640/PARIS%2BCHANEL.jpg" title="Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, Paris fashion week, Parisian fashion, Paris fashion, fashion week, Chanel" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Well hellllooooo Chanel! Gone are the days when Chanel was only associated with tweed twinsets. Spring/Summer 2017 saw models dressed as daft punk-esque robots wearing colourful new tweeds and slow shutter speed photography prints. Once again Karl Lagerfeld has shown us how to make a couture house contemporary. </i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wWVL00HSOmo/V_dj74c9zEI/AAAAAAAAENE/nieXf6hDAvEbTlg_dBoH3XE61y48yq0LQCLcB/s1600/PARIS%2BMIYAKE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="452" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wWVL00HSOmo/V_dj74c9zEI/AAAAAAAAENE/nieXf6hDAvEbTlg_dBoH3XE61y48yq0LQCLcB/s640/PARIS%2BMIYAKE.jpg" title="Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, Paris fashion week, Parisian fashion, Paris fashion, fashion week, Issey Miyake" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>LOVE! I think the thing I like the most about the Issey Miyake collection is the clour combinations used; blue and brown, deep purple and lime, teal and flame red....I just love it!</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That is the last of my favourite collections for Spring/Summer 2017. Watch out over the next week for my Spring/Summer 2017 trend report- just finalising the boards at the moment and making sure all of the labelling is correct but it should be up soon! x</span></div>
Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-14737786487566805242016-09-30T01:01:00.000-07:002016-09-30T01:01:17.055-07:00Milan fashion week favourites!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Normally I am not a huge fan of Milan fashion week and struggle to find 5 favourite collections, this time I struggled to ONLY select 5 collections. I'm going to restrain myself and stick to 5 but here is a list of the others I love too: San Andres Milano, Alberta Ferreti, Ports 1961 and Stella Jean.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, Milan fashion Week, Summer fashion, textile candy, www.textilecandy.blogspot.co.uk, fashion week, Emilio Pucci, rainbow fashion, colourful fashion, bright colours, rainbow style, new collection" border="0" height="452" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OMo_N7xyTkY/V-pk7q6890I/AAAAAAAAEMU/v_-FbAOZ910B5pqWX7zHy6-RlM0VUMaqwCLcB/s640/MILAN%2BPUCCI.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, Milan fashion Week, Summer fashion, textile candy, Emilio Pucci, www.textilecandy.blogspot.co.uk, fashion week, new collection" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I actually loved the colour palette of the SS17 Pucci collection so much that I featured it on instagram as well. It isn't the most inspiring collection for print, but the colours....WOW!</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>It was the fresh floral prints on white grounds that caught my attention in the Ferragamo collection.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, Milan fashion Week, Summer fashion, textile candy, www.textilecandy.blogspot.co.uk, outline floral print, abstract print, fashion week, new collection" border="0" height="452" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-20hkrC1LbqU/V-pk6wYWseI/AAAAAAAAEMM/77r9eE57NyQYWJFL2nmggcM-S1pocYNtgCLcB/s640/MILAN%2BMARNI.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, Milan fashion Week, Summer fashion, textile candy, www.textilecandy.blogspot.co.uk, Marni, fashion week, new collection" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The new Marni collection is just amazing!From the outline floral and abstract prints to the on trend styling of the garments all finished off with a utility twist- I loved it!</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mzG0l_3SRnc/V-pk7Ksn_VI/AAAAAAAAEMI/W2jr5CjhfBkrghNt8nZkevYhcPgScbGkQCLcB/s1600/MILAN%2BMARRAS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, Milan fashion Week, Summer fashion, textile candy, www.textilecandy.blogspot.co.uk, Antonio Marras, soft punk, eclectic fashion, gingham, fashion week, new collection" border="0" height="452" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mzG0l_3SRnc/V-pk7Ksn_VI/AAAAAAAAEMI/W2jr5CjhfBkrghNt8nZkevYhcPgScbGkQCLcB/s640/MILAN%2BMARRAS.jpg" title="Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, Milan fashion Week, Summer fashion, textile candy, www.textilecandy.blogspot.co.uk, Antonio Marras, fashion week, new collection" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I think the Antonio Marras collection might be my favourite from Milan fashion week. It offered a softened version of the new 'eclectic' trend that has taken the SS17 collections by storm(I will be positing about this next week) and combined beautiful loosely coloured hand drawn floral prints with black and white gingham and pale botanical prints.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z0xzpO9sbU4/V-pk7YX79pI/AAAAAAAAEMQ/UJ1gYXTtPOI3Gqp4VWL1ZrtG1eU_gxXDgCLcB/s1600/MILAN%2BETRO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, Milan fashion Week, Summer fashion, textile candy, www.textilecandy.blogspot.co.uk, Etro, fashion week, new collection" border="0" height="452" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z0xzpO9sbU4/V-pk7YX79pI/AAAAAAAAEMQ/UJ1gYXTtPOI3Gqp4VWL1ZrtG1eU_gxXDgCLcB/s640/MILAN%2BETRO.jpg" title="Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, Milan fashion Week, Summer fashion, textile candy, www.textilecandy.blogspot.co.uk,Etro, fashion week, new collection" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Etro always seems to make it into my top 5 posts, I think it is mainly because they are consistently good and they have a niche(paisley and 'ethnic' prints) and have really become artisans in that area. Their SS17 collection offered another range of beautiful paisley designs and loose garments.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Milan is now over and I'm trying to get through the Paris collections and organize all the images into a half decent trend report. Hopefully I will have compiled and labelled everything to put into a post at the end of next week. This season I won't be doing colour boards, I've decided just to focus on the prints(this is a print blog after all) and any new shape/trim details that I pick up on. I also have new trend board design layouts so I'm interested to see what you all think of them and hopefully get some feedback! x</span></div>
<br />Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-25073435655029235892016-09-22T06:00:00.002-07:002016-09-22T06:00:10.771-07:00London fashion week: collection favourites<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My favourites from the London collections...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f8gkAeD0V4E/V-JsZk-jGhI/AAAAAAAAELo/b4HvCjfAygknRPdweBrd6Jd9jMuwZIc_gCLcB/s1600/LDN%2BBURBERRY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Textile Candy, fashion blog, runway collections, catwalk collections, Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, runway favourites, Burberry Prorsum, London fashion week" border="0" height="452" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f8gkAeD0V4E/V-JsZk-jGhI/AAAAAAAAELo/b4HvCjfAygknRPdweBrd6Jd9jMuwZIc_gCLcB/s640/LDN%2BBURBERRY.jpg" title="Burberry Prorsum Spring/Summer 2017" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I love how this heritage brand has completely remade itself. Until fairly recently it was only seen in the outerwear of the upper classes and as rip off market stall caps, but it has completely turned itself around to reach it's current 'could-not-be-more-on-trend' status. One of the main reasons this collection is one of my favourites is probably because there are SO many prints. </i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a5fp2hAoOM4/V-JsZjns-SI/AAAAAAAAELk/h_aRmCchUEUUCAnU-_m2TS2YYFVrdak5wCLcB/s1600/LDN%2BERDEM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Textile Candy, fashion blog, runway collections, catwalk collections, Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, runway favourites, Erdem, London fashion week" border="0" height="452" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a5fp2hAoOM4/V-JsZjns-SI/AAAAAAAAELk/h_aRmCchUEUUCAnU-_m2TS2YYFVrdak5wCLcB/s640/LDN%2BERDEM.jpg" title="ERDEM Spring/Summer 2017" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I honestly haven't been a huge fan of Erdem's recent collections but this one I LOVED! It actually might be my favourite collection from London fashion week. The relaxed styling, chintz prints, lace up/tie details and tight oriental inspired colour palette made this collection bang on trend.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LhxCp2MiJFY/V-JsZiz_qjI/AAAAAAAAELg/Cg-vcMA6LXQCK9aPb1bcTvPzNqpaNlYBgCLcB/s1600/LDN%2BPETER%2BPILOTTO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Textile Candy, fashion blog, runway collections, catwalk collections, Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, runway favourites, Peter Pilotto, London fashion week" border="0" height="452" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LhxCp2MiJFY/V-JsZiz_qjI/AAAAAAAAELg/Cg-vcMA6LXQCK9aPb1bcTvPzNqpaNlYBgCLcB/s640/LDN%2BPETER%2BPILOTTO.jpg" title="Peter Pilotto Spring/Summer 2017" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Acid brights, gingham checks and painterly florals are all popular trends in the SS17 collections and the Peter Pilotto collection combined them all perfectly.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NRv58qszSKc/V-JsaDoYLDI/AAAAAAAAELs/3cMu-Td_AOcT_cJ0QmMidilzFpu4c5zgQCLcB/s1600/LDN%2BSHARON%2BWAUCHOB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Textile Candy, fashion blog, runway collections, catwalk collections, Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, runway favourites, Sharon Wauchob, London fashion week" border="0" height="452" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NRv58qszSKc/V-JsaDoYLDI/AAAAAAAAELs/3cMu-Td_AOcT_cJ0QmMidilzFpu4c5zgQCLcB/s640/LDN%2BSHARON%2BWAUCHOB.jpg" title="Sharon Wauchob Spring/Summer 2017" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>It was mainly the styling of the Sharon Wauchob collection that peaked my interest, I am a huge fan of the long, relaxed pyjama shirt and skirt combination and think this could work perfectly if combined with the 'Dandy robes' prints in the Autumn/Winter 2017-18 PV print trend report(http://textilecandy.blogspot.de/2016/09/premiere-vision-autumnwinter-2017-18.html)</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KhCwKI4BYbA/V-JsaQZJ-8I/AAAAAAAAELw/B3ouAB-Js0MspJAXk1pQipXipUywYPAAgCLcB/s1600/LDN%2BTEMPERLEY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Textile Candy, fashion blog, runway collections, catwalk collections, Spring/Summer 2017, SS17, runway favourites, Temperley, London fashion week" border="0" height="452" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KhCwKI4BYbA/V-JsaQZJ-8I/AAAAAAAAELw/B3ouAB-Js0MspJAXk1pQipXipUywYPAAgCLcB/s640/LDN%2BTEMPERLEY.jpg" title="Temperley London" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I love how bright the colour palette of this collection is, also really excited about using acid bright embroidery on sheer fabric.</i></td></tr>
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<br />Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-56012054934020515872016-09-20T08:42:00.002-07:002016-09-20T08:42:52.750-07:00New York fashion week: Collection favourites<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I want to do a quick round up of my favourite collections from each fashion week as a bit of a teaser to the actual trend reports so here is the first installment- New York. I would have posted it sooner but completing the Premiere Vision Autumn/Winter 2017-18 print trend report has been my priority(you can check it out here: http://textilecandy.blogspot.de/2016/09/premiere-vision-autumnwinter-2017-18.html)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> I've written a little caption under each board to let you know why I like each collection but will keep these "runway favourite" posts as text free as possible!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I absolutely love how colourful this collection is, giving a nod to the new garish 'eclectic' trend(keep checking the Textile Candy blog to hear more about this trend)without being too overpowering. I also love how the Delpozo collections are consistently smooth and sculptural, you can always tell a Delpozo collection by this signature style and I think that's really important in creating a brand</i>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hello Sports luxe!!! Boss women has absolutely nailed the sports aesthetic in this collection with cutout bodycon details, utility pockets and contrast straps and trims. I also love how tight the colour palette is: blue, black, red, green, white....simple and clean.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Generally I wouldn't look twice at this small 26 look collection because I am always so print focussed but I chose Adeam for the styling, garment shape and details- they're just so easy and relaxed. The whole collection hints at a lot of the main styling trends for the season(cutout, ties, exposed shoulders, layering) without overpowering you with them.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Always a favourite, I am always keen to see the Nicole Miller collection as it always promises a lot of print. This season is no different, inspired by craftmanship in Panama, it boasts a range of intricate patterns and embroidery. </i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I have been anticipating a punk comeback for quite a while now and here it is! The Coach collection embodies the perfect combination of hard punk rock and soft translucent romance with sheer layers and floral chiffons combined with studded biker jackets and heavy duty boots. </i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">That's all for New York fashion week! London finishes today so I should have another 5 favourites from the London collections for you tomorrow....stay tuned ;) x</span></div>
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Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-88247096596410308932016-09-20T03:17:00.001-07:002016-09-20T03:48:34.652-07:00Premiere Vision Autumn/Winter 2017-18<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> HERE IT IS!!!The Textile Candy Premiere Vision trend report for Autumn/Winter 2018, not completed as fast as I would have liked but still completed and up on the blog within1 week of the event...not too bad ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Last week, September 13th-15th, Premiere Vision Paris took place and I, along with several thousand other textiles/fashion professionals and students, descended on the Parc des Expositions eager to see what the new fabric mills, design studios and trend forecasters were offering for AW17-18. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As always I have taken the forecasted print trends shown at PV and amalgamated them to create a smaller collection of boards.Here is the full list of 16 trends given at the trade show-I've given the French names as well as I always feel a bit like the names get a little lost in translation:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>+ INHABITED FLOWERS</b>/<i>fleurs habité</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>+ LITTLE DOTS.../</b><i>des petits points</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>+ DECIDEDLY HERRINGBONE/</b><i>assurément chevron</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>+ FUNNY ANIMALS</b>/<i>drôles d'animaux</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>+ GEOMETRIC CONSTRUCTIONS</b>/<i>constructions géometriques</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">+<b> STRANGE GLEAMS/</b><i>luers étranges</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>+ THICK LINES/</b><i>à gros traits</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>+ JAPANESE NIGHTS</b>/<i>nuits Japonaises</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>+ BOUQUETS IN THE SHADOW</b>/<i>bouquets dans l'ombre</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>+ GRATING FLOWERINGS<i>/</i></b><i>floraisons grinçantes</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>+ ORIENTAL COMPOSITIONS/</b><i>compositions à l'orientale</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>+ DANDY ROBES/</b><i>peignoir d'homme</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>+ STYLISED ART DECO/</b><i>stylisé art déco</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>+ ALL OVER FLAKES</b>/<i>semis de flocons</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>+ TO BE COLOURED</b><i>/à colorier</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>+ EASTWARD HO!</b>/ <i>à L'Est, lié </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As you can see from these titles there is a VERY obvious Eastern/Oriental theme here; delicate florals, dark grounds, silk pyjama patterns, kimono inspired fabrics and art deco geometrics working together to create an altogether opulent feel. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">While writing this post I have been flicking through the Spring/Summer 2017 runway collections and already there is an obvious movement towards more opulent fabrics(silks and crushed velvets) for SS17 combined with a lot of relaxed pyjama style draping -you can definitely begin to see how this style will work brilliantly with these print trends.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OPXd3dGIgVE/V-D5ZhZwn1I/AAAAAAAAEKM/jhlVDVDKILgRt4RSTJHE6koNUAwLKgD1gCLcB/s1600/Untitled-599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Premiere Vision Paris, Premiere Vision AW17-18, Autumn/Winter 2017-18 fashion trends, textile trends, print design fair, textile fair, fashion trade show, Paris, Fabrics fair, Bouquets in the shadow, dark florals, dark ground floral, japanese floral, japanese nights, to be coloured, thick lines, thick outlines, strange gleams, eastward ho!, dandy robes, little dots, all over flakes, funny animals, geometric constructions, stylised art deco" border="0" height="554" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OPXd3dGIgVE/V-D5ZhZwn1I/AAAAAAAAEKM/jhlVDVDKILgRt4RSTJHE6koNUAwLKgD1gCLcB/s640/Untitled-599.jpg" title="Premiere Vision Paris" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I decided to combine the above trends into 13. I combined "All over flakes" with "Little dots" under the header "Dots and flakes" as I feel they sit well together and can often appear to be the same thin. I also combined "Geometric constructions" with "Decidedly herringbone" under the title "Chevrons and geometry" as I, personally, don't think these two work as stand alone trends and would be better together as they are both quite geometric. One further amalgamation I made was to merge "Inhabited florals" with "Grating flowerings" I will admit that this is partially because I couldn't really understand either of these trends from the fabric samples provided at PV, but I surmised that Inhabited florals were flowers with fill effects/imagery in the flower silhouettes and grating flowerings had a texture layer over the top/a watercolour effect in the petals. Other than combining these boards the only other change I made was to the title of "Eastward, ho!", which I renamed as "Eastbound", translated from the French it means basically the same thing but I just feel like the word "ho" has far too many other connotations nowadays!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So with no further ado here are the boards...</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TZuIc5qH3ZY/V-ETs8zMHzI/AAAAAAAAEKk/TXqfWQL2b945Fhc3laIkWGEaJ7rZXNbIwCLcB/s1600/front%2Bpage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Premiere Vision Paris, AW 17-18, Autumn/Winter 2017-18, Print design, Textile Candy, www.textilecandy.blogspot.co.uk, Trend report" border="0" height="452" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TZuIc5qH3ZY/V-ETs8zMHzI/AAAAAAAAEKk/TXqfWQL2b945Fhc3laIkWGEaJ7rZXNbIwCLcB/s640/front%2Bpage.jpg" title="Premiere Vision Paris, AW 17-18, Autumn/Winter 2017-18, Print design, Textile Candy, www.textilecandy.blogspot.co.uk, Trend report" width="640" /></a></div>
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<img alt="Adult colouring book, coloring book, coloring pages, to be coloured, colouring book illustrations, Johanna Basford, The secret garden, half coloured, unfinished illustration, Premiere Vision, colouring book fad, trend, fashion, teextiles, print design, textile design" border="0" height="452" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7cs3j8GP1_A/V-Bw2AuLIOI/AAAAAAAAEJI/DkU8NKq0RK8AHpSzDXDwbEPLgkqd-jo-QCLcB/s640/COLOURING%2BBOOK.jpg" title="Premiere Vision Paris, AW 17-18, Autumn/Winter 2017-18, Print design, Textile Candy, www.textilecandy.blogspot.co.uk, Trend report" width="640" /> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I've included a front page with the trend boards this time and they're all formatted as A4 landscape pages so that they can be printed off easily. If anyone uses them for business purposes please let me know in a comment at the bottom of this post, it's great to get feedback when people are finding my trend reports useful. Alternatively, if you do print them off, feel free to tag me on instagram in a photo of the printouts <a href="https://www.instagram.com/beckyloisburns/">@</a></span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/beckyloisburns/"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">beckyloisburns</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Also keep checking on the Textile Candy blog as I have a pretty awesome Spring/Summer 2017 Runway trend report coming soon ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Enjoy x</span></div>
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<br />Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470102662565935946.post-10982096233063685102016-08-30T12:42:00.002-07:002016-08-30T12:42:52.459-07:00Italian road trip: the hunt for my 'joie de vivre'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As all of you who read my blog know, I recently handed in my notice at work. I had intended to do this in September so that I could leave in December and enter the new year with a clean slate. This did not happen,instead I moved the decision forward to before my holiday. I didn't want to leave for my Italian road trip with my resignation hanging over my head and thought Italy would be the perfect time to come up with a plan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am now back from my trip and still planless and feeling a little lost.....but very inspired. I have never been on a more painful, tiring, exciting, amazing and inspiring holiday in my life. I have been feeling so creatively flat for most of 2016 and Italy really reignited my 'joie de vivre'(see- I have picked up a little French while living in Brussels). I have consumed delicious food and wine, marvelled at beautiful architecture, hiked through the hills/villages of Cinqueterre and soaked up ample amounts of Vitamin D. This was my first trip to Italy but will definitely not be my last, I threw my coin into the Trevvi fountain and will definitely be returning. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Some of my favourite photos from the trip!</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Anyway I thought I would share a little bit about my holiday and hopefully it will be of use to anyone thinking of travelling to Italy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So... firstly, I have always dreamed of visting, so many things on my bucket list revolve around this country. This year, my 25th, is the last time I qualify for a cheaper "youth" interrail ticket and the Scottish heritage in me means I always go for the cheapest option. Italy is supposedly one of the most romantic countries to travel round, I can now confirm this. However, I am currently experiencing a (long) gap in relationships and I refuse to put an Italian trip on hold until I find a guy..... so I enlisted my younger brother to come along with me. It was actually extremely well timed for him as he has just finished his A-levels.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We both wanted to see as much of Italy as possible on the trip and so planned to visit: Naples, Pompei, Rome, Florence, Cinqueterre and Venice- in just over a week. In hindsight this was a terrible idea as there is so much to see in each city that you could happily stay in each for 3-5 days. Anyway, in our naivity, we stuck to this plan and booked our Air b&bs. I'm going to list and post photos of all the places we stayed below as we really couldn't fault any of them and Air b&b is definitely a great way to get around as you feel like you're experiencing local life in each city .</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Our Air B&B's. Top to bottom: Rome, Florence, La Spezia and Venice.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Our trip began in Naples. I flew back to the UK for the weekend and we left from Manchester airport on Monday. I can honestly say that, regardless of what I thought was good planning, it was an absolute nightmare... all thanks to Monarch airlines. Our flight was delayed by 45 minutes which meant we missed our check in time for the apartment and had to panic book a groggy room in a fairly average hotel. Not the best start, stress levels rose and our holiday budget was cut into.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Naples is not a city I have ever been particularly interested in, I hadn't heard great reviews about it and, now that I have been, I doubt I will visit again.Walking around the central station of Naples felt like walking around a council estate, apologies to anyone reading this who might live there- this is just my opinion of the area we stayed in. I am not really aware of how the recent refugee crisis has affected Italy but after traveling between cities it seems that Naples has been affected the most.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Anyway...the real reason we were in Naples was to tick off something on my bucket list and climb a volcano, so off to Mt. Vesuvius we went. I was pretty excited for this, as was my brother, I'm a bit of a not-so-secret history geek and I have always been fascinated by the 79AD eruption that reduced Pompei and Herculaneum to ash and stone. It didn't disappoint. I would definitely recommend a visit to anyone doing an Italian roadtrip. it was really interesting seeing the distance between Vesuvius and Pompei and the panoramic views from the summit across the Bay of Naples were breathtaking. Naples definitely looks much better from afar. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After the climb we went back down the volcano, we didn't have time to visit both Pompei and Herculaneum so, as all tourists do, we opted for the site we had heard most about. We had started quite early in the morning, a theme throughout the holiday, which meant we arrived at Pompei around 10am and avoided peak tourist time. I have few words to describe the impact of seeing the excavation site, it really transports you back in time, I felt like I was on the set of Jason and the Argonauts. I had never realised how huge Pompei actually was, in its day it was the main city in the area, the amount of times we got lost around the excavation site is testament to this. The site seems to be an ongoing excavation and there were a lot of fenced off areas still being worked on but it was amazing seeing how well preserved some of the ancient roman houses were! It must have been a really spectacular place in its heyday with mosaic tiled floors, carefully painted murals and bronze sculptures everywhere. Another thing I loved about Pompei is how they have used the original stone water containers to create fountains of drinking water for the visitors.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Drinking water at Pompei. NB: these photos are taken from google images</i>.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The next leg of the journey was Rome, a city I was particularly excited about visiting because of the rich ancient history. We arrived in the evening and our airb&b apartment was lovely, set up in the eaves of a Roman townhouse in Trastavere, surrounded by lovely little restaurants, vine covered bars and gelateria's- perfection. It was also right next to the river which became our main point of navigation. Tip to anyone airb&b'ing their way around Italy- always choose a place near a landmark/geographical point of interest then, regardless of how much wine you consume, you will always find your way back. This being said, I would have spent my time constantly lost if it weren't for my little brother- his orienteering skills and internal navigation never ceased to amaze me on this trip. The only times we found ourselves lost was when I took the lead, even his drunken navigation was better than mine sober.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Having only allotted 2 days to exploring Rome, definitely not enough to do it justice, we had to be very strict with our timing and decisive about what we wanted to see. We decided to see the Roman forum, Colosseum, Spanish steps, Trevvi fountain and the 'Bone church'/ crypt of the Cpauchin monks on the first day and the Vatican on the second day. Once again we started super early and arrived at the Roman forum around 8.30am, ahead of the majority of the tourists, which meant that we could take some pretty great photos without other people in the background and without having to join a selfie queue. The Roman forum was definitely one of my favourite parts of our Italian trip, I think its partially because of the time of day we visited, it was surprisingly tranquil and well signposted with information placards everywhere so that you understood what you were looking at. The Colosseum, however, was an anticlimax. Too many tourists, which is a fairly obvious thing to say, but in contrast to the forum it just didn't measure up- although it is a spectacular building solely based on size. To think that gladiators arrived there knowing they might never come out is a pretty overwhelming thought.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Next was the Trevvi fountain and Spanish steps, we had decided to skip public transport and do everything by foot, that way you get to see a lot more and explore the side streets on the way. In theory this was a great idea, in practice...not so much. After scaling a volcano the day before in below par footwear, my feet were ripped to shreads...blisters EVERYWHERE. Note to self, do not wear previously unworn New Look pumps when walking large distances/up volcanoes. Needless to say, while in Rome I was in a great deal of pain, only one pair of trusty shoes actually fit me as the others had ankle straps and my ankles had swollen up in the heat, I could almost have been confused with someone with elephantitis. Anyway, I'm a pretty determined person and we still took on Rome by foot. I threw 3 coins into the Trevvi fountain(as you can see in the video above) so I will be returning to Italy hand in hand with my beautiful Italian husband(yet to be discovered,but I'll keep you posted on that haha). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We then went to the bone church which I had actually really been looking forward to as I had wanted to visit the Paris catacombs earlier in the year but didn't have time and had attempted to do this again in Budapest but they were closed. Despite my excitement I really didn't enjoy it. Firstly the man at the ticket desk was exceptionally rude to my brother and I, then walking around it felt more like we had entered into a cult than a museum. There were oddly painted portraits of monks everywhere and the instruments they use for self-flagellation in glass cases. When we finally got to the bone crypt we were unable to take photos, which was disappointing as I hadn't been aware of this. The crypt itself was both interesting and extremely creepy, definitely the creepiest place I have ever visited!Patterns imitating ornamental plaster moulding were created from bones in a tromp l'oeuil way. It was both exquisite and disgusting. I've put some images of the interiors below so you can get a sense of what it was like, although they are all taken from google. Despite my mixed emotions about this, I think it would make for a great source of inspiration for a project.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Details from the bone church.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After a lot of walking during the day we went home to get ready to cross another thing off my bucket list- opera. Where better to experience your first opera than in Rome! It was my little brother's 18th while we were in Italy and I had bought him the opera tickets for his birthday present- I had given him the choice between opera and a crazy night out and he chose opera. So we got dressed up fairly fancy and hopped into a taxi to the small, beautiful church 'Chiesa de S Paulo entro le mura/St Paul's within the walls' and tucked into a few glasses of wine and complimentary pasta while we were waiting. The 3 Tenors, minus Pavarotti(who died in 2007) stepped out and began their performance. It wasn't a busy venue, there were about 50 people there and the church was so small with such good accoustics that no microphones were needed and it felt quite personal. They performed so many of my favourite pieces of classical music including "volare", "o sole mio" and "funniculi funnicula" and, at one point, I actually felt my eyes dampening a little. I can honestly say that it was one of the best nights of my life, here is a video clip from the night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We continued the merriment with some cocktails, a lot of cocktails. My brother decided that, now that he had finally turned 18, he was obligated to decide what his signature drink would be....so, of course, to make an informed decision we had to try all of the drinks....error....huge HUGE error. When it came to waking up to go to the Vatican the next day we both struggled. Neither of us had actually made it into our beds the night before and had fallen asleep in random locations around the apartment, needless to say there were a few aches and pains and upset stomachs on the way to the Vatican. We managed to pull ourselves together enough to walk there in time for our 10.30am group tour which was to take 3 hrs walking around St Peters square, the basilica and the Sistine chapel. The Vatican is a phenomenal building, so much detail has gone into it, seeing as it took 123 years to complete I would expect nothing less(little fact from our group tour). There is so much gold on the interior of St Peters basilica, it's such an extravagantly decorated place of worship that, although I marvelled at it architecturally, it sickened me. to think that this building was brought into being through taxes and money given to the catholic church- money that could/should have been used to help those in need ...I'm fairly sure this wouldn't have been something god wanted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">While visiting I also got to see the Sistene chapel, which I am sure I would have enjoyed had it not been for the Vatican security claustrophobically herding everyone to the centre of the room and repeatedly shouting "silencio!no phones!" down a microphone every 3 minutes, ruined the ambience a little. I did get a chance to marvel at Michaelangelo's amazing sense of perspective in 'final judgement' and 'creation of adam', he painted with such depth that he managed to make the ceiling look twice as high. The tour finished around 2pm and our intention was to go to the pantheon but, after climbing versvius and tackling the entirety of Rome on foot, I really couldnt walk any further so sadly we had to skip it.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>The Sistene chapel ceiling, 'The creation of Adam' and 'The final judgement'- all photos borrowed from google images.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Onwards to Florence. My brother was particularly excited for this one as I had found an airb&b with a huge terrace and an amazing view of Il Duomo. We arrived and it didn't disappoint. The view was amazing, so, of course, I used it as a photo opp...</span></div>
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After so much walking we decided to take it easy in Florence, indulging ourselves with sunbathing/reading on the terrace in the day with an amazing bottle of Tuscan wine and a beautiful meal in the evening- probably up there with the best food I have ever eaten. The place was called 'La Menagere' and I really would recommend it to anyone visting Florence. The portions were teeny, the menu pricy, but the food was worth every penny. I had a candied lemon and poppy seed risotto with aubergine for my main meal and a creamy tiramisu for dessert, here's a link to their website and menu in case you fancy a look :) http://www.lamenagere.it/food-2-2/ <br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The next day was probably the one I had been most excited for- Cinqueterre. We had stayed overnight in La Spezia at another Airb&b which I would definitely recommend as our host was extremely friendly and helpful and the location was perfect. From there we got on the train at 7am to Riomaggiore to get a glimpse of the Cinqueterre trail and the quaint little fishermans villages before the tourists rolled in. From Riomaggiore we went on to Manarola where I managed to catch a video of the sun rising over the village- it was a pretty glorious moment. Manarola to Corniglia was next and from there we jumped onto the hiking trail between Corniglia and Vernazza.</span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Map of the Cinqueterre villages, taken from google images.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> For anyone thinking of visiting Cinqueterre I would definitely recommend hiking one of the trails as you get to see the beauty of the area a lot more than by train as most of the track is through tunnels. If you do this though please proper shoes and carry a lot of water. The shortest trip is around 1 hr on uneven surfaces with jagged steps that seem to have been made for giants/people with very long legs, I wasn't warned of this. The views from the trail were so breathtaking, the only way I could flaw the experience is that you can see places along the trail where you would like to head down the cliffs and swim but there is no trail down. I loved this day so much and I even managed to get a mini beach and swimming fix too. This was quite a rushed day unfortunately as we had to get a train from La Spezia to Florence at 2.15pm then Florence to Venice at 5.30pm. In hindsight I wish I had allotted more time to exploring Cinqueterre, 5-6 hrs was definitely not enough.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The last few days of our Italian road trip were spent in Venice, a city I had made absolutely no plans for but felt the need to visit anyway. It was beautiful in a forgotten historical kind of way. I don't think I have ever been anywhere where I have sensed the history of the city so strongly, I was particularly interested in its history of plague as it seems to have left such an impact on Venetian culture, particularly in the design of the carnival masks that line the streets.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Venice is a beautiful place but I felt like the macabre history combined with the murky green waters made it feel quite eerie. My brother and I did a little bit of research into this and found that, in November of 1630, 16000 people died of plague IN ONE MONTH!!!!The Venetian government of the time created quarantine islands in the lagoon in an attempt to control the deadly outbreak where anyone even suspected of having the plague was sent to die. Lazaretto vecchio and Povoglia are two such islands where quarantine colonies were created. Walking around in the evening as the sun was setting, passing by dark doorways with steps down to the canals as silent gondolas pass under the old iron bridges, the history was almost tangible. Oddly, I really enjoyed the eeriness perhaps I will combine the venetian history with the bone church and make a sinister Italian inspired project....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We had one day in Venice and two evenings, which actually felt like the perfect amount of time, I can see how if you were visiting as a couple you could happily stay longer though. On our solo Venice day we woke up early, as usual, and got on a water bus to Burano island, something I have been looking forward to for a long time. Constantly featured on bloggers' instagram feeds and in travel guides, I couldn't wait to visit this colourful little island. Among my friends I am known for dressing quite/very colourfully and if I ever turn up to work wearing black they assume I am either in a foul mood or that it is laundry week-perfectly valid assumptions. When I arrived on Burano island I literally felt like, if I was a village, Burano would be me. So, of course, I took a thousand photos.Ii took a photo of me against every coloured wall I could find(well....I made my brother do it which is almost the same thing) and made a Becky on Burano colour palette...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I don't think I have ever seen so many colours in one pace, I felt like I had just stepped over the rainbow like Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz'. I read somewhere that, traditionally, the fisherman painted their houses in bright colours to distinguish between different properties because they are so tightly packed together- why don't we do this in the terraced mill/factory houses in the North of England. We actually saw one man painting his house and he was taking so much time and care while doing it, his house was next to a blue painted church and he was painting each brick in his wall a different colour, it was really inspiring to see someone taking so much pride in making their house beautiful. I loved the contrast between the different streets and that the only part of the village to be in black and white were the striped poles for mooring boats on the canal. Looking around that island truly made my heart feel glad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Next stop Murano island, where they make the most beautiful glass. I think its amazing that this is such an artisanal island, dedicated to one craft. I felt quite reflective on this part of the trip and it made me think that instead of trying to be good at everything, surely its better to become an artisan of one thing...I just need to explore what that one thing will be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here are a few photo collages of some architectural details I came across on the trip :)</span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I think this would make a pretty nice colour palette for my Macabre and eerie Italian project!</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This Italian trip came at a really necessary junction in my life. For pretty much the entirety of 2016 I have been feeling like my 'joie de vivre' has been dissipating, my creativity has been waning and I have been struggling to find the motivation needed to reset it- I think this has become increasingly obvious through my blog posts...or lack of. I needed to marvel at something, to experience beautiful art and architecture, to eat delicious food and drink rich wine and to find my 'raison d'etre'(seeeee the French language isn't completely lost on me, Brussels has taught me some things). I'm not saying I'm completely there yet but Italy has definitely helped. I finally feel the buzz of new inspiration and ideas seeping back in to me and I definitely have Italy to thank for this. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am very keen to return, Italian people are some of the warmest and friendliest souls I have ever encountered. Their culture is rich in history, both modern and ancient, and their lifestyle, in my opinion, is exactly how life should be- full of passion and the pursuit of things that bring them enjoyment while maintaining traditional family values. I prefer it to the U.K very much, and I definitely prefer it to Brussels. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So there's my holiday summary. I can only apologise for its length but I wanted to be able to remember it fully and writing it down on here is a good way for me to do that. I was hoping to use the trip to figure out what i want to do now that I have handed in my resignation at work but I honestly didn't have the time. I am no closer to deciding and the 31st October(my last day) is looming-wish me luck and, as always, I am very open to any freelance opportunities people know of.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ciao for now ;) x</span></div>
Becky Burnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06028318372818209298noreply@blogger.com0