DIY Mannequin heads..

Naturally as a student everybody knows funds are always tight and there are only so many packets of 11p basic noodles one individual can eat so for my mannequin styling I've tried to be as budget savvy as possible. Alongside my studies I also work as a seamstress and print designer at Obsession Dance Design which are a company that create bespoke freestyle dance costumes and head pieces, they're work is AMAZING by the way, will have to create a post soon enough that shows what they do! Luckily for me though they use polystyrene heads to work on whilst they create their head bands and because of the nature of the work the bases often snap or crumble which is where I've swooped in and asked to have the broken heads..

Unfortunately I've been a dimwit and failed to take any before pictures so I can only share with you the final product but all I've done is give each head a single layer of paper mache to prevent the spray paint dissolving the polystyrene and develop a smoother texture and then put enough layers of white spray on till the heads have even coverage before adding random burst of colour with other spray paint. In order to solve the base issue I've gone for beyond simple and used thin rods of wire bent into shape and pushed into the head then fixed with glue to keep them steady. Easy as that, have a crack at it!

Laser Cut Clothing Tags..

 Keeping the flow and continuity of the other VM pieces I've had a darn good play with some clothing tag designs to get to my finals for the Summer 13 collections. What I've used to make these bad boys is left over  scrap acrylic from around the University that otherwise would go to waste so again I'm trying to be as eco-friendly as possible and play on the concept of using waste and (what I believe to be) a synthetic medium weight Nylon that when burnt seals itself to eliminate the worry of fraying! Had this fabric left over from a long time ago so forgive my feeble brain for forgetting exactly what it is..

I've still got a variety of designs lurking in my sketchbook so it's possible that from time to time the design of the tags is going to be mixed up dependent on what materials I'm able to get my hands on but I'm hoping that this is a way of keeping the brand fresh and exciting? Below is just a snippet of my sketchbook development work that led me to this conclusion..

Finishing touches to the VM, I HAVE CARRIER BAGS!

So it's coming towards the end of the label launch now and it's surreal to see everything coming together and looking at a full brand. This morning I finished making my carrier bags and I'm a little impressed at the final thing! When considering the design of the carrier bag I had to consider the packaging must be easily replicated and not time consuming or expensive to produce which I found was pretty difficult! After getting in touch with a couple of independent companies I quickly realised the quantities that would be required to have the bags made for me was ridiculous (as was the pricing!) So I resorted back to making the bags myself and here is the result, VOILA! 

Trying to keep continuity from the business cards and window display I opted again for a water colour splash finish the the bag but unfortunately because of the type of card used the pigmentation of the colour seems a little more washed out which it a shame but something I'm sure can be rectified with a little bit of experimentation! The bag itself is check this LASER CUT! Like most of the other VM products I've been working on I've found this method to be a god send once you get to grips with it and it means extremely fast and cheap production which of course is every brands dream right? Took some working out to get the dimensions right but for anyone wanting to have a crack at this themselves the net I used for the design is just below..

Now I'm on to getting some clothing tags sorted.. Keep looking for updates! 

Cyrenians Charity Catwalk

This evening was the charity catwalk showcasing the collections created by students alongside Visual Merchandising space for each brand, credit can go to Rosie Billington and Chelsi Smith for organising the event and battling through after countless issues with location for the venue it has finally gone ahead and was brilliant! Below are just a few of my (VERY) amateur photography shots to give you an idea what the event was like!

I'd have to give an approximation that about seven or so collection went round the catwalk at the event all photographed and documented so I will be uploaded some more pictures when they do come through! All the collections shown will be available for purchase in the Refreshed store around mid June.

The I am Kayleigh Wright VM Space at the event.

The newly created mannequin heads, resin jewellery and denim gym bag! 

The summer 2013 window display.

Visual merchandising space by brand Good Grief, created by Emily Land.

A few of "sick" T-shirt designs produced by Miss Land.

This one below is my favourite..

Backstage mayhem!

Rehearsals pre-show.

Emily Land and Paige Ryan enjoying the evening! 

One of the models looking amazing in my favourite piece from the Summer 2013 Collection for I am Kayleigh Wright.

Excited students Angela Sanchez and Natalie Sexton waiting for the show to commence.

 

Look Book Preview!

So today in a nervous haze I sent the Summer 2013 Look Book of to print, had quite a few issues in terms of scale and positioning so fingers crossed it will turn out okay! Here's the JPEG version of front and back cover of the document, I'm hoping to get an interactive book posted on here soon but it's being a little tricky!

Knock, Knock Delivery!!

Only just got a chance to give this a mention but I had a wee excited moment yesterday morning as the postman delivered my order of business cards for the brand! Have to say they look fantastic and really represent the brand.. It's all getting a bit professional now!

Edited Shots!

So when reviewing the photo shoot images I felt it was apparent that although sharp they were also slightly bland so I've experimented with using an overlay sympathetic the colour palette of each image to enhance the pictures to make them more interesting upon first view. In all I'm so happy with the outcome of the photo shoot and can't praise Imogen Wall, photographer, and Paige Dawson, Model, enough as they were BRILLIANT! Just working on developing these shots into a full look book now to showcase the entire range and accessories, need to get a shimmy on to ensure it's sent to the printers in time for the deadline on Friday the 24th of May..

Wish me luck!

Every time I look at the two shots below I can't help but feel incredibly inflexible!! I vastly struggle to touch my toes, go Paige!! 

Raw Images for I am Kayleigh Wright for Refreshed! Photographer, Imogen Wall, Model, Paige Dawson

Got the first set of raw images through from photographer Imogen wall a short while ago and they are looking pretty darn good! Going to also put an overlay over the images after I've cleaned them up in a similar style to the Stella McCartney for Adidas range just to spice them up a little bit as I feel there's slightly too much white space but on the whole it's looking promising! Really enjoyed the entire experience and especially playing with the props! Having a sly game of Frisbee mid shoot is always fun right? As far as my look went Paige Dawson, featured model, couldn't have been anymore perfect! She completely communicated the concept I was looking for and was a dream to work with.

Massive thank you to both model and photographer!

Hopefully will getting the edited images on here pretty fast, hope you like what I've got so far!

Completely love the moody attitude in this shot!

So these necklaces were created by spray painting the ring pulls off old cans about to be recycled and then casting them in a shell of perspex, although not related to the materials from the Cyrenians I thought this was a good way to increase the continuity of the waste nothing concept..