Kate Egan's Talk- Ailsa Lishman.

I know a few people couldn't attend Kate's talk the other day so thought I'd post abit of a round up of the points she made. Her talk was really useful in making the project and the blog clearer. Kate basically compared the blog to a big curry, and that we should all put any ideas and inspirations into it to create the ingredients. Visual and textual research, could be mainly images in your post, or you could have more text, depending on how you personally work. The blog should basically be like a big conversation. 

Kate also encouraged that we should propose ridiculous things for the building, for example we could propose to wrap the whole building in knit, we can do whatever! We could look at temporary textiles, movable textiles, virtual wallpaper, surfaces for flooring, ANYTHING! 

As part of our proposal for the new build we'll be expected to create sample pieces to help illustrate what we aim to design for the new build. 

As group leader I will also be able to go inside the new building after easter, so I'll hopefully be able to take photos and give you all an idea of the spaces inside the build!

Dave Haslam Talk- Ailsa Lishman.

I found the talk from Dave Haslam quite inspiring in a way, as he offered quite an interesting perspective on Manchester. 

He talked about the margins, and marginal activity, basically anything that isn't mainstream, stuff that's abit quirky and out there, that not everyone likes. Marginal activity is often, weird and sometimes hidden. 

Throughout the talk Dave Halsam talked alot about the music industry and how bands got to where they are today, and alot of them of course started off on the margins, before they later became mainstream, often starting out by playing in grotty venues, playing different music, sometimes playing to only 100 people at a time. Bands such as Joy Division, The Smiths and Elbow, all started out in the margins, yet now so many people know about them, peharps bordering on mainstream. I think it shows that everyone starts somewhere, from the bottom and have to work hard to get to the top. 

I think that everyone is so caught up within the mainstream these days, Dave Haslam encourged to stop looking at the mainstream, that small is better, fragmented is good and to try something new. 

 

Dunham Massey- Ailsa Lishman.

Since I really liked the slides of the stately home gardens from the slide collections, I decided to see if there was anything anywhere near Manchester that I could go have a look at that could be similar.

I came across Dunham Massey, which has 300 acres of land around it, with lots of garden space. The place was beautiful, and it was such a nice day too, I really loved how far away from the noise of Manchester it felt, even though it was only by Altrinham. It felt just like I was at home, and a million miles from anywhere, so peaceful and quiet. It was really nice to see all the daffodils springing up everywhere adding splashes of colour. Even the plants and flowers that were dying off were good to photograph, as they had a really fragile look to them, asif they could crumble at any second. 

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I spent the day taking photos of just about everything, so here's just a taster of what I've been looking at - I have a habit of taking far too many photos. 

Initial Ideas- Ailsa Lishman.

My head is currently far too filled with stuff, not sure where to go with it all yet. But so far i've got that I want to bring a garden to Manchester as that's what I miss most from home, and also to look at bringing the outside, inside. I've been thinking about creating textile gardens within spaces, or even real gardens in spaces, and perhaps creating a piece for plants to grow up. I'd also quite like to explore the idea of having a garden grow up the side of the building, but not sure! Just going to explore all the possibilities I reckon, I really just want to bring a taste of the countryside to Manchester, and to create a relaxing place perhaps inside the studio. 

I've been exploring the slide collection and I really like the patterns and formations of flowers in the tradional stately home gardens. Alot of them create quite geometric patterns with lots of symmetry used which is really interesting. I've brought a slide projector home with me this week, so I plan to do more drawing from the slide projections.  

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Kate Ward

Hey Guys! So I’m eventually on and ready to post. I’ve been able to see what everyone’s been writing about. I’m like some of the group that are interested in bringing the inside, outside or working from nature and gardens etc. This is inspired by a visit I took in the arrivals task. I’m interested in indoor and outdoor installations so I plan to look for artists in this field, to help me gather ideas of my own. 

 

Rhian Bell- Inital Ideas..

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After looking at New York for my arrivals task it got me thinking about how I don’t know much about the city, all I really know are the basics.This got me thinking about how I don’t really know much about Manchester as a city either and I live here.

I started looking at how New York and Manchester are very similar and share some historical past. The Northern Quarter layout was based on New York and the structure of it. In both cities there are loads of buildings but do we know what they are actually for and what is inside them.

I started to investigate more into this and started with taking photographs of hidden places in the northern quarter; I then started thinking about having hidden cracks in walls and how those cracks were formed. It made me think about the history of Manchester and how it has been developed over the years.

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I want to create something for the new old school that has an element of the old school in it. Something uncovered, something maybe no one knew about, something hidden. From this idea I started to think about hidden cracks in walls for storage of equipment or materials, this would make the brand new bland building feel more comforting and have an old feel to it staying true to the Old school heritage...

Inital Ideas - Tatum Farrar

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For my initial ideas i thought about the layout and structure of buildings and houses in other countries such as Greece and Turkey. After much research I have decided that I would like to design either a small sitting area based on this architecture that can some how be useful but also comforting, or a display area, creating a very unique built space to display work.

 

The image above gave me many ideas because of all small spaces and holes incorporated in the buildings that could create potential ideas for display fixtures ect

Infra_MANC exhibit- Emma Senior

This exhibition was about the infrastructure of Manchester after the war era, giving us information on the guardian underground telephone exchange, the picc- vic tunnel which was a proposed route underneath the city linking the Picadilly and Victoria stations, and also the rooftop heliport which was aspired to be the ultimate mobility for the masses when the helicopter was created in the middle of the 20th century.  Although this exhibit was quite interesting I didn't find it particualarly relevant to my project, maybe it would give someone elses project more inspiration.

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Initial Ideas- Emma Senior

For my initial ideas I thought about when I moved to Manchester and how nervous I was and thought that other future students will also feel like this. You want the community areas in the new building to feel comforting and somewhere the students can relax. This then made me think of being snuggled in my bed, nice and warm, I want to design a place like this for students, to make the concrete area somewhere softer and warmer. I take a lot of inspiration from nature as it has been around me my whole life and I think it is so beautiful. It reminded me of chicks being in a nest, huddled up warm together. I want to take inspiration for my designs from birds to create somewhere comforting and relaxing for students. I started my initial research in the Special Collections, where I found a book of bird paintings by Brian Wildsmith. I like the colours he uses in his work so I would like to take inspiration from this, I think I will choose one of his paintings and do a colour scheme for my project from that.

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Also found other books with interesting facts on birds, and also some just on information on different types of birds nests and materials they use to build them. I have now started to do research in books and journals, looking at everything from interiors, garden, jewellery, sculpture and architecture to textiles

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I liked this piece someone has been working on in hotspur house, I imagined lining it with thick wadding and then decorating the outside and in like a natural haven.

FASHIONFRINGE: Matthew Williamson in conversation with Colin McDowell

Rhian and I were lucky enough to be able to attend a Fashion Fringe roadshow talk on Wednesday. 

What is Fashion Fringe?

Fashion Fringe is an annual award platform – founded by Colin McDowell in 2003 in conjunction with IMG Fashion – offering talented emerging designers the chance to launch their label in London through a combined programme of mentoring, studio space, financial support and a catwalk show at London Fashion Week.

 We were lucky enough to attend a talk with one of Britians most celebrated designers, who started off his education here in Manchester, before moving to London to attend Central St.Martins.  Everyone seemed in awe of the designer and what he has achieved.  He was extremely down to earth and appreciated that he did really land on his feet. Talking about Jade Jagger and Kate Moss walking in his very first show in 1997 and his first time in the Vogue offices, strolling in with his first collection in big bags- surreal!

The conversation mainly focused on young designers today trying to make their mark in the industry.  Willamson was nothing but encouraging.

A very inspiring man.

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http://www.fashionfringe.co.uk/apply/apply-here/

Lucy