Post University - The Day Job

I am currently employed by Halley Stevensons Dyers and Finishers Ltd in Dundee who are a leading manufacturor of waxed/oiled cottons.

http://waxedcotton.com/

Being based in Dundee and having international contracts means I have the best of both worlds; I can stay in Dundee, (a city I am convinced is on the cusp of some wonderful creative BOOM), and have experience in preparing for design shows and conventions across the globe.

My primary role within the factory is based within the Sample Dept. where i collect, cut and mount new colours and qualities of waxed cottons. It is a time-consuming job but with Spotify as my most immediate colleage, a pair of pinking shears and a long to do list, my day is full. I learn lots. The repetitive nature of producing large quantities of any given sample requests is, I find, rather therapeutic and I enjoy the design processes I employ to get the job done to a high standard. My role fulfills my love of research, collecting and collating, organising, recording and observing.

I make these using various cutting methods/machines:

And I make them by the bucket load...

These are the most basic form of sampling that I fullfill - a broad spectrum of colours and finishes to cater to all. When working with the designers here I can help in the preparations for big design shows like Premier Vision and Milano Unica and work on more specific forms of presentation to contextualise the fabrics for designer brands like Barbour, Preen, Prada, Gloverall, Topshop Unique. It is very interesting to be at one of the fore stages in a fabrics life - all the various different routes it may take, and to see how a large business prepares for an event such as Premier Vision, having been a visitor to the show in the past myself. I find it odd that I must have encountered my new colleagues as a student in awe all that time ago!