Bex Jeffs
Textiles
Final year project
Searching For Calmness [Read more]
Hawthorn: Love & Protection
A small sample of stitch onto a hand-painted background. As part of the final collection, a larger piece will feature and stitch has been introduced in other designs. This sits against a background of manipulated linen and sheer willow design.
Birch: New Beginnings & Protection
A close up of an organic birch design sitting alongside smaller woven samples. Each birch leaf has hand-painted dyes naturally fusing together to create unique tonal qualities.
Willow: Hope & Safety
Two colourways of an organic willow design which experiments with layering and textures.
Softly Woven
As texture and tactility is key to my concept I have experimented with woven structure. These two samples have been created by combining linen and wool.
Rings of Life
This design consists of two colourways of a stripe design inspired by weathered tree rings. Both fabrics were created as a result of experimentation during the screen printing.
Dispersed Trees
Layers of hand painting onto textured linen which naturally dried imitating the delicate nature of trees.
Willow: Healing & Growth
This was originally a charcoal drawing which has been transferred into a screen print design, hand-painted with multiple tones onto a screen. The design was printed on a linen sheer which I manipulated by cutting, fraying and then sewing back together.
Prints in the Undergrowth
Natural linens that show experimentation from the print room. Techniques used include hand painting onto a screen, hand painting on natural fabrics and layering textures.
Bex Jeffs
Always in my element whilst drawing and with a passion for natural fabrics and materials. I love to explore how textures and surfaces interact with my designs, bringing ideas to life and creating new and exciting aesthetics.
In an increasingly hectic world where technology allows our everyday fears, stresses and anxieties to encroach upon us from within the confines of our homes, calmness has taken on renewed importance. Central to finding calmness is our ability to escape and what is a more ideal escape than the idyllic surroundings of the Lake District. From Dove Cottage William Wordsworth wrote line after line of poetry that captured the essence of nature’s beauty while lamenting how people had become disengaged from it. This project aims to create interior space for a modern-day Dove Cottage, a home away from home that provides a temporary escape where one can reconnect with nature. This has been achieved by combining hand processes with print to create organic, textural and tactile surfaces. Each tree included in the collection is symbolic of different aspects of spiritual well-being. Furthermore, various techniques such as eco printing, stitch, and the manipulation of natural fabrics have been used to create designs that are both raw and authentic representations of nature. Building on these skills, once graduated, I’d love to pursue a career in the textile industry that allows my creativity to flourish.
Final year project
Searching For Calmness
Work Experience
Unique Style Platform – This was a fascinating placement where I obtained the first-hand experience within the trend forecasting industry, through assisting with research for future reports regarding womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, footwear, accessories, lifestyle, and macro. Other tasks included uploading reports to their websites, helping with social media output, and writing my own reports on Graphics & Illustration influencers, Gardening influencers and a ‘Need to Know’ report on healing design. Although this placement was completed remotely, I felt welcomed and embraced as part of the team.
Christopher Farr Cloth – This was a really enjoyable placement where I acquired great insight into the inner works of the interior textile industry and also assisted in many aspects of the business. This included assisting with the design process, photoshoots for the new catalogues and visiting IVOs, an industrial screen-printing factory alongside general admin and social media management.
Designers Guild – My time was divided between head office and the Kings Road Showroom, where I learnt about how Designers Guild has grown and adapted to survive changing economic climates. It was an interesting insight into Designers Guild and I loved being able to see their beautiful designs.
Bay & Brown – Here I loved developing my drawing and painting skills, working directly with the designers. This fast-paced fashion environment taught me so much about composition and different design styles. I was working at Bay & Brown in the lead up to Premier Vision, so the pressure was on to get all the samples ready within a tight time scale.
Amanda Kelly – Experience was wide-ranging including colour separating designs, creating colourways, putting designs into repeats, reworking old designs, overlocking, styling, photographing, coding and mounting designs. I loved working with a group of interns alongside a professional team of designers.