Friday 20 March 2015

That feeling the first time your art is professionally manufactured!

I have just finished a new collection of 32 designs. They are currently 3% transferred to the printer. I never get over the excitement, not should I, it's really magic to see your artwork professionally made.

I think every designer remembers the first time vividly. I was doing my work placement and MYB a wonderful Scottish lace manufacturer who had run a competition at my university for a week work placement there. As the winning student I was already riding high on success.

After I had been there a couple of days the small design team was all in a busstle of excitement, they bundled me down to the factory floor and stood grinning about a huge chugging machine. Abruptly I realised what they were so excited about the real actual lace appearing from out to the machine was my art!

It had a real professional lace look but also the feel and flavour of my own unique drawing style. Magic! I nearly cried. I think the lovely Margo Graham, (MYB's senior designer) nearly cried too, showing that after all her years she too had not forgotten the feeling you get the first time your artwork gets professionally made!

MYB Textiles have fabrics in the white house and in Stephen Spielberg films and they made me as welcome as you would expect in a Celtic nation, I am grateful.

Here is some madras lace I produced at MYB.




Here is a link to an article about Margo Graham and MYB.

http://makeworks.co.uk/articles/margo-graham-myb-interview

5 comments:

  1. This is so beautiful I the subtleness of devore and the abstract look of your design, what was the 'chugging machine' it was printed on, I think it would be flat bed printed?

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    2. Dear Sayonee, thank you so much. Actually although it really looks like devore it is Madras lace, which is a way of waving with an extra heavier weft that is only woven into some parts of the design. The result is transparent parts just like a devore. I then dyed it blue and hand painted a discharge agent into all the transparent parts of the design.

      Thank you for reading and your lovely comment. :)

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  2. ...so the chugging machine was a lace loom weaving it!

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  3. Amazing technique, I would really love to try it - just saw this reply now!

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