The state of the world: our love of 'stuff' and the isolation that comes with it.

I've been thinking about stuff recently....I'm not referring to deeply personal life reflections(they aren't for public viewing). I literally mean stuff; materialistic things. The things that make us feel comfortable but aren't life's essentials.  

One of the main reasons I've toned down the amount of blogging I do is because I feel like a complete hypocrite writing posts about fashion trends when I'm really questioning the importance of the whole industry. Fashion and retail provides a source of income for so many people, myself included, and in no way am I advocating that it is wrong but surely the climate it breeds of impulse purchases and excessive spending can't be right!? 

We spend an extortionate amount on things we are subliminally told will improve our quality of life. Large companies(Apple for example) create a problem, provide the solution and encourage us to buy the product- the product which conveniently breaks/stops being produced after a set amount of time meaning we have to replace aforementioned item. As the consumer, we are being sucked into a cycle of spending which, despite keeping the economy going, causes us to feel a toxic combination of chronic dissatisfaction and an insatiable desire to continue spending.

Taken from: http://superkevbo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/sign-171.jpg

Spending creates a quick fix for happiness. I am not denying the fact that every time I buy a new item of clothing/jewellery/whatever else I might think I need, I do feel a familiar fuzziness and a false certainty that this thing will solve all my problems. Alas it is short lived. All of my happiest memories, however, involve no money- they revolve around people not items as I'm sure is the case with most people. So why do we spend so much!Why do we put so much value on things and stuff?

 I look around at the state of the world and I just can't understand how there is so little alignment with what different people value as important. In years gone by people used to associate poverty with '3rd world' countries and abundance with the '1st world'. Now that we have finally realized there is just one world it is a lot harder to have a separatist attitude. Poverty is no longer confined to charity adverts of malnourished African children, poverty is now on the doorstep of every country and yet we still choose to ignore it and carry on spending.
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It's almost as though we use materialistic things as a form of escapism- this is hardly a ground breaking thought. We buy things that don't matter; we discuss things that are insignificant; we focus on things that have no depth and cause no negative emotions. ISIL(ISIS) are decapitating children in Iraq....but lets focus on the serious things of the last year- 'is this dress blue and black or white and gold'!I am aware that this may sound insensitive but I'm just drawing comparisons because we appear to all be completely desensitized to any issues that actually have significance. When did the human race lose it's morality and it's ability to have empathy?

I actually saw a news article fairly recently about the migration issues some Greek islands are experiencing.Some of the holiday makers reactions were astonishing(in the most negative way you can imagine) they claimed that the migrants were making their holidays 'awkward' .....apologies for the inconvenience holiday makers just fleeing for our lives here.  

Photo taken from 'The Independant' article below.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/british-tourists-complain-impoverished-boat-migrants-are-making-holidays-awkward-in-kos-10281398.html 

People are fleeing from war torn countries unable to bring any of their belongings and we're complaining that they're making us feel 'awkward' whilst posting videos about our holiday wardrobe and outfit choices! I find it hard to write about fashion trends when I'm aware of these other issues. 

The below video was first released in 2012 by Waterforlife charity to raise awareness about the importance of clean water in countries like India and Haiti. It perfectly portrays how disjointed the things we value really are by playing on the comparisons created with the trending #FirstWorldProblems complaints hashtag on social media. Although filmed several years ago it is so SO relevant in demonstrating how the things we view as problems and value enough to talk about on social media are so trivial that we shouldn't let them affect our happiness.

Notice how most of the 'complaints' relate to technology!We're spending money on iphones, ipads, ipods(Apple isn't entirely to blame of course) wide screen hi-res televisions and cars to name a few. Consumers are constantly encouraged to spend more and upgrade their products so they don't miss out on trends. Most of these technological devices encourage isolation and break down social interaction. We're all guilty of it! We have 'family' nights which revolve around a television screen, the family aspect is that we are all bonding by watching the same thing in silence- ironic silent bonding; we watch TV programs about people living life instead of living it ourselves; we even watch TV programs about people watching TV programs( this is a bad example as I absolutely love Gogglebox);we create group whatsapp messages instead of all meeting up and spending time together; we sit in our bedrooms on facebook(guilty of that one right now) stalking each other for life updates instead of going for a coffee and a catch up. What is going on!!!!

Real interaction seems to have been replaced with feeble attempts at online communication. I'm definitely guilty of this and have never really thought about it in depth before. Moving to a different country has been amazing but also really isolating. It got me thinking about loneliness and how technology plays such a big part in that!

Einstein would definitely be shaking his head at the current state of the world. We are the idiot generation. The generation that doesn't realize that the solution to a lot of emotional problems revolving around loneliness lies in tangible social communication not instagram posts and status updates.

On a different note, but still related to technology, this week I went back to Dusseldorf for a C&A trend presentation.  In which they featured the below spoken word film based on a poem by Gary Turk which perfectly describes the problems today's society has in relation to technology and its link to loneliness. The feeling of being in a room full of people but still feeling alone is maximized as we now have access to a world full of people and loneliness is heightened.

I loved this video so much and it was struck a chord with how I've been feeling since moving to Brussels. Since moving here I've been feeling pretty lonely, not sad depressive wallowing in self pity lonely...happy lonely if that's at all possible. I'm content with my life here; I love my new flat, I love my job, I get along with the people I work with and I finally earn enough money to not have to panic every time I try to pay on card. It's a new kind of loneliness that comes from not being near your friends and family. I'm still a Brussels newbie so I've yet to create a group of friends here and until I do I feel quite displaced. The UK isn't my home any more, neither is Germany, but I haven't quite made a home here yet either...I'm effectively emotionally homeless....moving countries once and creating a family of friends is tough...but moving again in the space of 3 months is even tougher and I'm only just realizing that!Although social media is a blessing, enabling me to talk to my friends back in the UK and Germany, people's attachments to their phones while walking down the street means it's borderline impossible to catch anyone's eye or start a conversation. People are so busy speaking to their online friends that they don't care about interacting with people in their direct vicinity. Problematic when you're a newbie in need of friends. 

I don't want this to seem like just an anger fuelled rant. I just wanted to get these thoughts out there. People don't like talking about heavier issues like this, they're viewed as taboo topics- you definitely wouldn't bring them up at a dinner party. We choose to ignore them to avoid feelings of guilt and powerlessness, but these things need to be acknowledged. If we don't acknowledge and start talking about issues such as loneliness; abandoned morals; refugees and discordant values how can we ever hope to make any positive changes.

Just a few thoughts on a Friday night....

My new life in Brussels...

The Grand place, Belgian moules(which I ate on my own with a glass of wine in a moment of bravery and independence) and some little side streets. One thing I love about Brussels is how narrow side streets can lead to vast intricately designed squares. 

I am now officially living in Brussels. Today I signed a 1 yr lease on a new flat which I will be moving into on Saturday- I AM SO EXCITED!!!

As you can see I am feeling quite enthusiastic about my new place. It's located near the Sablon area of Brussels in a quiet little backstreet with a cobbled road and trailing vines going up the side of the building. Somehow I have managed to find an affordable studio apartment with a central location that lives up to my romantic notion of living in Brussels- pretty miraculous! 

Quick summary of my new abode...It's an attic studio with whitewashed floorboards and wooden ceiling beams. It is rounded like a princess tower which gives more weight to my romantic fantasies of living in Europe. No doubt I will post hundreds of photos on here and on instagram (beckyloisburns) in the coming weeks but here are a few from the online advertisement as a little teaser..

My new job is also pretty amazing. I'm kept really busy designing prints for various different areas of menswear: formal, casual shirts and swimwear. The office itself is also a great space. The building itself is nothing particularly special but the interior has been styled in such a creative way that I just had to share it with you...

Apologies for this being so short but I have heaps to do before moving and I also need to check the catwalks and get working on some Pre-S/S 16 trend boards.

                                   

Relocation, Relocation, Relocation!!!

So..... oddly, and somewhat ironically, after broadcasting my new outlook on life about being "single and free and able to move around and blah blah blah" it seems that someone out there is calling my bluff.... on Friday I will, once again, be relocating- this time to Belgium.

I will still be working for C&A but will be transferring to their offices in Brussels. A the transfer involves moving to a different country(again!) I am getting a whole new relocation package  which includes another 3 months free rent. Finally I will be able to pay off the multiple overdrafts I procured while pursuing a design career in London- FYI to all employers in the fashion industry £15k is not a realistic salary to live in London! 

My path so far: London- Dusseldorf- Brussels.

Anyway, moving on from that slight jab at the fashion/retail industry, I am SO excited to move to Brussels. I've made a really great group of friends here in Dusseldorf who I will be sad to leave but moving countries doesn't break friendship bonds and I am in no doubt that we will stay in contact. A few of them are actually driving me to Brussels on Friday to help me move- such babes!

In preparation for the move I thought I would do some Brussels related research as all I know of Belgium is chocolate, waffles and Bruges. I was amazed to find that Brussels is home to so much amazing art nouveau architecture. Art nouveau has always been my favourite art/design movement with it's fairytale curvilinear architecture and it's loose lines/shapes. It actually surprised me to find that many of the doorways and buildings I have pinned on pinterest(yes I have a favourite architecture pinterest board) are actually located in Brussels. Geek that I am, I am already planning and Art nouveau architecture hunt around the city. At no point did I claim to be a chic fashionista type- I am an awkward geek through and through.

Brussels architecture!

Also the art. Oh the art! Rene Magritte, one of my favourite surrealist painters next to Salvador Dali, was Belgian and there is a museum of his work in Brussels. I, of course, cannot wait to go.

Magritte museum and a few of his paintings.

Seeing as I have reveled my, not so inner, geek side I can also share how excited I am to be moving to such a historical city. Brussels was founded in 969 so I am expecting it to be rich in exciting historical finds! As the capital of the EU  and home to NATO headquarters, I am hoping to meet a variety of international friends. 

So there's my most recent piece of news.....it appears I am accidentally working my way across Europe.

                                                                                 x

Bucket list and blog makeover

Once again I have not written a blog post in a really long time, since I moved to Germany actually which was almost 3 months ago. As a result my daily views have plummeted, which I completely understand- why would anyone want to look at a blog with no new content. Truth be told I haven't really felt like blogging since I arrived here. I wanted to live my life for a while without feeling any responsibility to posting regularly(not that I've ever been very good at that)and sometimes, especially recently, I question if there is even any point in me blogging at all. Although I get a lot of page views, I don't seem to have very many followers which can be quite disheartening. There are so many blogs out there nowadays that it is increasingly hard to stand out from the rest and create some form of blog identity. This is something I'm going to be working on over the coming months.

Anyway I have put these disheartening thoughts to one side.I miss blogging and enjoy writing- it's my guilty pleasure so regardless of who follows/doesn't follow me I'm going to get back into posting. I never get to write in my day job, it's mainly spent drawing and manipulating images on adobe photoshop, so blogging is my outlet. With this new/recycled(as I've definitely said this before)outlook I'm hoping that one day I will get into the habit of regularly posting- it's on my bucket list.

Speaking of which, I thought I would share some of my newly edited bucket list on here. I made one when I was 18 but it lay dormant in one of my many journals until it recently resurfaced in a spring/summer clean. Here's a teaser...

Recently I've been feeling fairly discouraged about being 24 and completely single. So many/almost all of my close friends are in long term relationships and one by one I am seeing girls I went to school with getting engaged/married/having children while I drift around dwelling on my marital status. I have decided it's time to change my outlook.

Society, Films(Disney in particular) and the media guides us to believe we need someone else to complete us. "You're nobody 'til somebody loves you", although just a song lyric this is an accepted idea despite being both ridiculous and detrimental when trying to live a happy, fulfilling life. I am not half a person. I am not incomplete. I do not need another person to make my life worth living. One day I will meet someone who has personality traits and attributes that compliment my own, someone who I can share my WHOLE and COMPLETE life with. Until then I am unattached; tied down to nothing and free to live the kind of selfish, guilt free life that can only be lived as a single 20 something year old. 

This is why I have written my bucket list- it will give me some direction and remind me that single life doesn't have to be a curse, it can be a blessing. I'm going to use the next however many years to see the world, soak up every possible experience and become a more knowledgeable and well rounded person. As part of this (No. 100) I have also decided to read 52 new books in a year- starting from 15.06.15.I'm currently getting stuck into George Orwell's '1984' but would love suggestions on what else to add to my list of 52! 

x

P.S. New outlook=new log design. Let me know your thoughts on the makeover!

So I moved to Deutschland

I have now been living in Germany for over a month, I am quite settled in my new apartment and have made a great group of friends but still can't quite get my head around the whole 'I live in Germany' thing. 

Although Dusseldorf isn't a huge distance from London there are still some differences that make it hard to adjust to like actually waiting for the green man before crossing the road; not going for a 'quiet' drink after work(a daily occurrence in London and never quiet); determining the difference between 1001 various types of sausage and not being able to go shopping on a Sunday. Little differences. 

Despite these I am so much happier here than I was in London. I am finally getting paid enough to afford proper food and a gym membership so I can have control over my diet- no more pot noodles and beans on toast for me. I even have a proper living space- all my previous homes have been questionable warehouse residencies. For the past 6 years of my life I have had tiny bedrooms with shred kitchens, toilets and living spaces. I now have my own living room, bathroom and kitchen. I cannot stress enough how much of a relief it is to come home and know that all the food in the fridge belongs to me, no-one can ever steal my milk again and I won't find surprise mouldy vegetables that someone else has left from the previous month *sigh of relief*. I thought I'd share some photos of my new place with you so here they are...

Left to right from top: Kitchen, bedroom, cherry blossom on my street, coat hangers in my hallway, bathroom, living room, herb garden(yes I have made myself a herb garden!), dining room, living room television, morning coffee on my living room balcony, view of church from my bedroom window, sofa close up, living room balcony.

It's been lovely and sunny here recently and so I've really been able to make use of my balconies- especially on the weekends. I he been so fortunate in finding this flat as the sun rises on one side, directing itself straight onto my living room balcony(perfect for morning coffee before work), and sets behind the church overlooked by my bedroom balcony.

Despite being only 10 minutes from the main station in Dusseldorf, the area I live in is so quiet- except from the church bells which seem to find it necessary to ring every hr....except on Sundays.... on Sundays they really go to town and ring relentlessly for 15 minutes. I kind of like it though!

Anyway, now that I have settled in and had a little break from blogging and freelancing I want to become more proactive again and build up my online presence. Partially for my own sanity as I have a build up of banter/monologues I just can't let out at work- apparently the dry British humour is quite difficult to translate into Spanish and German. Also because I finally have the free time to get properly involved with blogging. Hopefully I'll be able to get into a blogging routine so that I can become more consistent and get more followers etc. I'm also going to give the blog a little makeover to mark my fresh start and attempt to sync it with my instagram(@beckyloisburns) account and facebook(textilecandy) page...watch this space...

I've also had time to work on some pieces for myself, nothing major just some artwork for my apartment. Its really refreshing to have the chance to be able to work on pieces just for the pure enjoyment of it; no pressure, no deadlines and no certainty of the outcome I'm pretty certain that's how art should be.

Premiere Vision Spring/Summer 2016

As always I approached Premiere Vision with pent up excitement. I always find learning about upcoming trends extremely insightful, particularly when i have the opportunity to learn how they came into fruition.

Unfortunately I missed the Autumn/Winter 16/17 WGSN trend presentation due to being unable to locate the room. By the time my colleague and I had found the venue the doors had been closed which, as can be imagined, was a huge source of frustration for me.On the plus side, WGSN is so well organised that it uploads the same trends onto it's website within a few weeks of the event.

One of the parts of PV I was most excited for this year was the press club. This year is the first where I have been emailed a free press pass which enables me to take photographs without being frog marched into a corner and forced to delete the images. This has been a great way of refreshing my mind about the trends- it's always great to have a prompt to jog your memory. As you can see I have still made my usual trend response boards, but I have also been able to include photos of how the PV trend area was laid out.

The Premiere Vision trend area and Indigo.

Photos of the fabrics shown in the Premiere Vision trend area.

There were 17 trends for Spring/Summer 16 , titled as follows:

contrasting, blurry visions, automatic writing, freehand sketches, ethnic markings, milky blossoms, sketchy, sweets, animal chatter, little jokes,hatching,large geometrics, apache geometry,interlocked geometrics, comic book style, teeming flowers, in the bush. 

I have decided to merge some of these trends into one to create a smaller pack of 10 trends:

comic book florals, apache geometry, foliage(in the bush), ethnic markings, automatic writing and hatching, freehand sketches, milky blossoms, 80's floral(contrasting), conversationals, blurred visions.

From what I saw at PV, the majority of print trends(excluding the digital ones)have a strong freehand, handcrafted feel to them. Gaining immense popularity on the runway in recent seasons with prolific designers like Diane Von Furstenberg, Burberry and Antonio Marras jumping on board, it is unsurprising that we are now seeing a vast array of hand drawn/illustrative/painterly prints.

This girl can.....

Around September last year I created this piece of artwork..

Although not a particularly breathtaking piece of art, this quote from author R.S. Grey quickly became my motto. I am of the firm belief that you can achieve anything you set your mind to.

Towards the end of last year I became more aware of my increasing unhappiness in London, brought on by nothing in particular and everything in general. Common sense dictates that if you aren't happy with you life then you should change it. So that's what I sought out to do. One of/the only perk to not having a boyfriend is that I'm not restricted when considering possible job locations- I have no one else to consider in my decision making....selfish but true. In the spirit of this I applied for jobs in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, America, Australia- I was open to anything! I went to secret interviews on my days off work in a desperate attempt to satisfy my need for change(hence the lack of blogging). 2 months later and no news from the interviews. I gave up. I went for a freelance interview and decided I would move back to the North and freelance until I had found some balance in my life. 

Apparently this was against some divine plan as 4 days after making this decision I received a phone call to say I had been offered the job in Germany!!!! So... on the 10th March I will be uprooting my life for the second time and moving to Dusseldorf to be Print designer for girlswear  at C&A's Clockhouse brand. I AM SO EXCITED!!!! I speak no German and have never worked in childrenswear. This is such a challenging opportunity and I cannot wait. 

Anyway...I wanted to focus this blog post on the new Sport England 'This Girl Can' campaign and the increase we are seeing in motivating and empowering women particularly through social media. Which I guess ties in to the piece of artwork at the beginning of this post. 

'I jiggle, therefore I am' sounds about right for me :)

" This Girl Can is a national campaign developed by Sport England and a wide range of partnership organisations. It's a celebration of active women up and down the country who are doing their thing no matter how well they do it, how they look or even how red their face gets." (taken from the campaign website) 

The campaign challenges the way the media has portrayed women over the years. It avoids airbrushed images and shows women as they are regardless of sweat dripping and fat jiggling. Finally a realistic and empowering image of women, one that we can actually relate to.

Back in September last year Emma Watson became the face of the #HeforShe campaign which brought the issue of gender discrimination to the forefront of the worlds attention. For so many years feminism has been associated with a negative stereotype, the heforshe campaign not only encourages women to be feminist, but also encourages men to speak on the behalf of women. 

We seem to be experiencing a new wave of feminism, far removed from the days of fighting for women's suffrage. Over the recent years we have seen an increase in positive feminism- women standing up for their rights; for their education; for their freedom of speech. I have recently been reading 'I am Malala', an amazing account of how a young girl, Malala Yousafzai, made a stand for educating women in Afghanistan. Definitely worth a read if you haven't already.

With the mass kidnapping of 300 schoolgirls by Nigeria's Boko Haram in April last year and a resurgence of India's rape crisis in the headlines after the Badaun gang rape/murder, crimes against women constantly appeared in the headlines of 2014. It seems that, as a reaction to this, 2015 is a year of action; a year of motivating and empowering women; a year of encouraging feminism.  

Recently I saw the below poster for the design museum in a tube station. I could not love this more. It is so relevant to the industry I work in and I will be making sure I see the exhibition before I move to Germany.

So....2015 A year of female empowerment.. a year where this girl can, and she will!