5 jobs in the textiles industry

Design of Luxury Textiles

Many BCU grads are succeeding in their chosen fields and creating award-winning designs. Emma J Shipley's beautiful sketching, luxury scarves and pillows, and overall hard work have led to her working with high-profile firms such as Disney on Star Wars and Beauty & the Beast projects, Aspinal of London on a range of leather bags, and Anthropologie and Atelier Swarovski. Emma has also just launched Animalia, a fabric and wallpaper collection created in partnership with interior design gurus Clarke & Clarke.

Creator Designer

I had the pleasure of attending university with Kate Hollowood, who just received gold in the Makers Method category at the Driven x Design, London Design Awards. We both studied print, but Kate went in an entirely different direction than I, becoming a Designer Maker and now creating custom home items.

Designer of Children's Clothing

Jenny Whorton, another classmate of mine, founded JennyWrenCraft in 2013 and specializes in crafting baby items such as dribble bibs, bear caps, and patchwork blankets. Her company is growing, and she is always adding new things to her online store.

Designer of Print (freelance and in-house)

As a print designer, you have many career options: you may work under your own brand, such as Emma J Shipley, you can design freelance for several clients, or you can work in-house for a design studio or fashion firm.

I presently design for Ensell & Hall, who help me print and sell my work to a wide range of clientele. Ensell & Hall also employs graduates Laura Hyden, Kim Wooliscroft, and Sophie Cottrell. Other peers of mine have gone to work for London studios — Josie Holuj is presently employed at Owens & Kim, a well-known design firm. Circleline, Whiston and Wright, and Acorn Conceptual Textiles have also hired graduates.

Designer of Wallpaper

Laura Hyden is an excellent example of a designer that works for a studio while still pursuing personal projects, and she has just debuted her wallpaper design 'ChiMiracle' with Muck & Brass.

Designer of Knits

Eleanor Scott founded Nor Clothing after graduating in 2013. Nor Clothing, founded in Hull, is a cruelty-free, vegan clothing manufacturer that offers a variety of modern knitted garments. TopShop Oxford Circus, Asos Marketplace, SilkFred, and SHWRM all carry Nor Clothing.

Carpet Design and Production

Kayleigh Jones, a textile graduate, works with Brintons carpets after working with them on a trend-based project during her time at BCU.

Design of Interiors

Danielle Taylor, who specialized in woven textiles, and Kelly Dyke, who specialized in printed fabrics, are both now working as interior designers. Danielle is presently employed with Mokka Design and has worked with designers such as Michelle Wilkins.

Designer of Home Furnishings and Interior Fabrics

There are several choices when designing for homewares, and many of them typically cross over into interior design. Lucy Jones has been designing for The Romo Group, located in Nottingham, since graduating in 2014. The Romo Group has developed six brands, each with their own distinct personality and style.

Bronagh Teague relocated to Bangkok, Thailand, to work as the Home Furnishings Textile Designer / Developer at Jim Thompson (The Thai Silk Firm), the world's biggest hand-weaving company.

Designer of Jewellery

Liss Cooke is a Nottingham-based textile designer and jewelry maker. She has designed embroidered and decoration patterns for Acorn Conceptual Textiles and is now developing her textile jewelry line.

Designer of Leather Goods and Accessories

Jasmine Gilhooly graduated with a print specialization and created J'D'Cruz in 2012. Jasmine pushed her business goals after finishing an internship with Jimmy Choo, and she now develops unique and gorgeous leather bags and accessories.

Consultancy and Trend Forecasting

Not all textile design occupations are purely creative. To guarantee that they are providing relevant goods and services, the sector depends significantly on trend analysts and creative consultants. Hannah Malein, Color & Trend Consultant Manager at Colour Hive (formerly Global Color), started as a junior trend assistant and has worked her way up. Her job include presenting the newest trends at trade fairs and private consultations all around the globe, as well as collaborating with prominent firms to promote their brand.

Amy Sellers works as a Visual Researcher at The Future Laboratory and has completed an international residence with the business Fabrica. Poonam Dhuffer has worked as an editor for WGSN and has lately begun independent consulting work.

Chloe Frost began her career as an Assistant Textile Designer at Burberry and has now gone on to Stylus Innovation & Advisor as a Researcher in Color & Materials.

Buyer

Textile Design graduates might also get employment in retail. Grace Osbourne is a House of Fraser Womenswear Buyer's Assistant, and Emma Scott is a Simba Sleep Buyer & Product Developer. Navneet Kharod works as an Accessories & Jewellery Buying Assistant at Liberty.

Merchandising Visual

Many textile graduates go on to work in visual merchandising for a variety of retail outlets; Holly Briant relocated to Dubai after graduation to pursue this job. BCU grads have also worked at House of Fraser and Debenhams.

Stylist

Many textile design graduates go on to work in fashion or interior design since their design education provides them with a wealth of transferrable abilities.

Bringing Academic and Personal Practices Together

BCU instructor Zoe Hillyard specializes in needlework, but she has also created Ceramic Patchwork, a process that combines 3D design with ceramics. Kate Farley, the course director, makes her own-brand surface design collections while also working as a freelance designer. Kate has not limited her work to printed textiles due to her print specialty; she has worked on projects for Transport for London, the Barbican, and David Mellor Design, and most recently her partnership with the Window Film Company won gold at the House Beautiful 2017.

Greeting Card and Stationery Design

Textile design isn't only for textiles; many designers collaborate with stationery businesses to create surface designs for a wide variety of items. Similarly, many designers, such as Nicole Ruddock, who works at Hallmark, have a love for greeting cards and paper items and opt to explore this route of design.

I've only scratched the surface of employment opportunities in the textiles sector and beyond, but perhaps this has given you a better knowledge of the variety of positions accessible after graduation.