Work in Progress exhibition @Kingston University

Product & Furniture Design exhibiting in the foyer at Knights Park campus! Featuring work by students from the second and third year. The projects were from their first year - slip-casting and 3-legged stools.

Features my 3-piece slip-casted incense burner!

Trip to Stoke-on-Trent Potteries II

The next stop was Emma Bridgewater's factory tour; similar processes as in Wedgwood's factory tour, but we got to see a few more details as we literally walked through their factory from start to finish (except the mould-makers' in a different building) the atmosphere in the factory was great, with many families/relatives working there, staying up to a few decades.

Again, I can't put up too many photos (I didn't take any in the hand-decoration & lithograph department because they were patterning for next season!) but it would be much more mesmerizing if you saw it in person! : )

Kingston University Degree Show - Product & Furniture Design

Some very good and motivating work at the degree show at Kingston University! Lots of things to look forward to next week (well, mostly hard work and challenges)

Handmade paper, Portfolio update

 Another version with the logo highlighted in black ink... but I do like how subtle the first one is, which is now the front cover for my portfolio.

And finally my portfolio is finished!! which also concludes the end of my second year.

WIP Day 2: Wheel throwing pottery

So.... I went to Tiranti in central to get some earthenware clay because they are smoother, more suitable for throwing.

I got this one at the end: http://www.tiranti.co.uk/EdgeImpactShop/subcatdivision.php?Division=369&Content=Earthstone+Extra+Smooth+

It was very different to the terracotta clay and it actually threw me off a little so it took me a while to get used to the difference in the density.

It was much easier to control the wall, but I still can't quite pull the wall up properly...

 The top one on the left is obviously the trial ... it was the result of a failed attempt to savage it after it was spiraling out of control...

The second try (on the right) was going ok until one side sort of flopped to the side, but the wall thickness was quite even all the way around...

I was actually quite pleased with my 3rd attempt, I managed to pull up a higher wall than the terracotta pot from yesterday without messing it up. I think it just needs more clay if I wanted to pull it any higher because the previous one started getting too thin when I tried to pull it higher. Also I was pulling it in my on way because I tried the ways other people's done it and it just didn't work for me...

Rivea

Thank you so much for watching!

Work in Progress: Intelligent Making 2

Now, how I ever managed to go all this time without using this machine I don't know, but I'm slowly discovering the wonders of the hidden gems in the workshop that we were not inducted on at the beginning.

At the first stage of assembly - I was overjoyed to see it starting to take shape, as I imagined...

... also expected the back of the head rest was really troublesome because it was the only part that I found difficult to imagine and calculate, as it curves around and bends upwards at the same time

After all the welding was done, it was time for some angle-grinding and on the dremel (both of which I have never used before) so it was a good learning experience! My chair is finally taking shape so it's getting a bit nerve-wrecking and exciting at the same time!

Work in Progress

At the start of the new term, we were only given 8-9 days to make our final design as a full-size working prototype. Despite having ordered the materials before we broke up for Christmas, there was a mistake with my order so my materials weren't there when we got back on the Monday, it was a nightmare. But luckily they have some lengths of my 25mm tubular steel in the material store in the workshop so I managed to get started anyway but it was only half of what I ordered. 

Bending tubular steel at this diameter was very different - a lot more difficult - than I imagined, having only worked with thinner tubes before. but I managed to get the bulk of it done quite quickly, having done my full-size drawing to line up the metal with and calculated all the lengths that I would need to bend in sections as my final design was too complex in form.