Portfolio

As I recently said, I've been given a place on the HNC Millinery course at Leeds College of Art.  (Yay!)

I thought I'd share the portfolio I took to the interview, so I've taken some pictures of it.

I should preface by saying that I was probably pushing the limits in terms of number of things to include, but when you've made as much as I have, and when it's as varied, it's extraordinarily hard to break that down into a small selection of your best (or favourite) stuff, while still making it a representative sample!

Obviously, the material is copyright, and design right, me, 2011, (or the year in the image!)

I presented the whole lot in an A3 sized display book, of the kind you get at stationery shops.  That was mainly because I already had it on the shelf, and I don't have a 'proper' portfolio at the moment.

The ribbon is added partly for looks, and partly practicality - it would be so completely like me to have picked up the folder upside down, and to have spilled all the work out all over the floor...  Probably on the train...  Or in the middle of the road when walking to the college...  Or going through the ticket barrier at leeds station...  (Not that I'm a clutz or anything.)

The front page is done with a sheet of tracing paper, textured with pastels on the back, and with the sketch and names done using a dip ink pen, then mounted onto card.

Then onto the actual work!  (Prepare for lots and lots of pictures.)

Made for Select Society, and the pictures of the outfit in use are copyright Select Society http://www.selectsociety.co.uk/

Ignore that they're awful pictures of me, since I'm possibly the least photogenic person on the planet!!

The two above hats originally designed on the back of an envelope.

A last minute design, because I had a page to fill.  Pastels on textured paper.

 

Anyway, starting in September, two years of hat making here I come (one day a week at least)!

Heraldic Wedding Cloaks

I made these as a wedding present for some friends.

They were married at a (mostly) ruined 14th century castle in Scotland. 

The groom's cloak is in his family 'colours'.  The bride's cloak is reversible - her 'colours' on one side, and the groom's on the other.

The groom's cloak in black and white:

 The bride's own family colours in red and white:

(Photos taken on the spare bed in our hotel room!! Sorry!)

When she arrived for the ceremony, the bride was wearing the cloak with her colours exposed.  After the ceremony, she turned the cloak around, so that her new husband's colours were visible.

The 'badges', or motifs on the cloaks (on both sides) were cut from white wool (Hainsworths again).  The black detail on the badges is sewn on in black thread.  I originally stated doing this by hand, using backstitch.  Unfortunately, I was running short of time towards the end, so I had to do some by machine.

And no, I can't tell any longer which were by hand and which by machine, either!

Some hats...

A couple of sun hats I made recently, on a day off, (don't worry, I don't get many), and very much on a whim!

The first was made of denim, taken from a pair of old jeans.  The brim has some buckram in it to stop it from flopping completely.

The flower decoration on the side is made up of layers of denim, and a pretty floral print cotton fabric - the same cotton lines it.  The centre of the flower is a pewter button.



The second is made of navy blue and white striped cotton, with a 6 panelled crown (like the denim one).  The zig zag shaping of the stripe is created by cutting the panels on an angle.

The brim has some buckram in it, again, and it's lined (and the brim faced) with white linen.



All of which brings me onto a wee bit of news...

A few weeks ago, I applied to study millinery, part time.  And today I was offered a place on the excellent course at Leeds College of Art.  I'm incredibly excited about it, and can't wait for it to begin.

In other words, watch this space for more hat stuff over the next couple of years, modern and historical!

Heroes DVD

A couple of years ago, the charity 'Help for Heroes' released a fundraising DVD containing clips from war films - titled 'Heroes: The Greatest War Movies Ever!', compiled from film industry archives.  (All profits going to Help for Heroes.)

Nigel bought it, as anybody who knows him would expect - he supports the charity as a matter of course, and the fact that it's about war films didn't hurt.  :o)

Anyway, we sat down to watch it one day, and in the introduction, given by Andy McNab, from the National Army Museum, he takes a red military tunic from a rail of uniforms, and puts it on.   Obviously, you only see the back of the tunic, so that McNab's face isn't revealed (he's still in a form of hiding as a result of the 'sensitive' work he did in the SAS).

Nigel called out suddenly, and I thought something was wrong....  No - he was drawing my attention to the tunic, and to the others on the rail. 

'What about them?' says I. 

'Er, you made them,' says Nigel.

OOPS!  After much convincing I realised that it was one of a number of 'generic Victorian' military tunics that I made for the NAM.  Yikes!   And somebody who's properly famous (if not under his real name) was wearing it.  And it was on a DVD!  Double yikes!!

I should add that it's not unusual for me to fail to recognise my own work when presented with it.  Probably seems very odd to people when I invest such huge time into making each piece, that I don't remember every one - but there it is, I don't.  I always assume it's somebody else's work - a psychologist would probably tell me there's some deep seated self confidence 'issue' or something!

What I find particularly interesting is that there are a number of other costumers and 'supplies companies' (for want of a better term), who have claimed to have made the tunic worn in the DVD. 

My first reaction to that was annoyance, obviously, but on reflection I find it quite funny that there are people out there who find such things (claiming others' work as their own) to be necessary!   (Oh, and in case anybody thinks I'm doing the same thing, I have the purchase orders filed away.   ;o)   )

Anyway, I don't have pictures of the scenes from the DVD (they're definitely there though), but here is a pictures of the tunic that McNab wore in the DVD.

   The tunic's not historically accurate as such - the cut is correct - but the museum specifically requested that there be no rank markings or regimental details, because they didn't want to be seen to be singling out one regiment for inclusion, while leaving out all the rest.

And there were khaki drill versions too:

 

My work really does crop up in places I'd never expect it to!

The link is above, but it's worth mentioning again, the Help for Heroes website is here http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/

Mitre....

Onto happier things.

Much to the disappointment of some of my friends on facebook, (where I made a passing reference), this isn't the eighteenth century military type of mitre, but the medieval ecclesiastical type.  A Bishop's to be precise.

Now, strictly speaking, most medieval bishop's mitres were white, with gold, silver and jewelled trimmings.  However, my client for this wanted purple, so purple he shall get!  (The mitre is to be used regularly in a heritage setting, and a white one would get very dirty, very quickly.)

This is a relatively early mitre - it has the classic double point, but it still has straight sides (later they were angled).

It's made in purple wool by Hainsworth, and trimmed with gold and silver lace from Wyedean Weaving.   The crosses are hand cut (from silver metallic pvc!) and hand appliqued onto the wool.

The whole thing has a buckram and wire frame, and the end result is a handmade hat (of medievally style!).

The buckram sides, with the wire in the process of being hand sewn to the top.  The top of the frame was then attached to this, again, by hand.

The mitre after the frame was built, and the outer was added.   Lightened to show the herringbone stitching used to attach the sides to the crown.

And finally, the front of the mitre, and the back, showing the tails (again, cut from wool, this time unhemmed (this wool does not fray), and edged with gold metallic fringe.

Frania, of The Vikings.

Obviously, as well as making clothing for re-enactors, I also re-enact.

I was extraordinarily sad to hear that Frania Juchnowicz, formerly the Battle Captain of 'The Vikings' died last week, in her sleep.

I can't claim to have known her well, but whenever I met her she struck me as genuinely lovely, warm, and funny (if somebody who was slightly scary and whom you wouldn't want to annoy!).
She also gave Nigel a lot of moral support when he needed it, (during times when certain of his closer friends found it to be too much trouble), for which I will be eternally grateful.

I'll remember her as she was at Hastings 2006, running things, racing round in her armour, getting people to be in the right place, shouting at those who weren't, and generally organising everybody.

My sincere sympathies to anyone and everyone who knew her, especially those closest to her.  May she rest in peace.




There is a 'Just Giving' page in her memory, in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, the horrible illness that took her.   http://www.justgiving.com/Frania-Juchnowicz

A Tea Dress

This is a simple tea dress that I made last year.

It's made in several layers of cream cotton muslin, and covered with a layer of chocolate brown soft tulle (net).

It fastens by means of lacing at the back (here done using a soft brown satin ribbon).

The dress is relatively simple and quite plain, other than the gathered detail across the bust, and through the skirt.

It is trimmed, though, at the high waist, and at the sleeve ends, with a brown lace, which is prettily adorned with gold beads and sequins.  In the picture below you can see the cream grosgrain ribbon waistband, that shows off the lace and prevents it from being lost on a background of similar colour.

This dress was fun to make, and I keep thinking I should make another sometime for display!  Another for the list  :o)