The first two days of my placement-

Day 1.

Waking up very early, nervous and excited for my placement to begin, I got ready and nervously went down to where I will be working for the next five weeks. (Elizabeth's studio is in the same building and where I am living.)
I had a bad experience in London with the previous designer I went to and so was nervous but I had heard a lot about Elizabeth (all good stuff) and I had spoken with her on the phone a few days before I started so I was really looking forward to starting.

I really had no idea what to expect with the studio and the whole building really, but I went down and I fell in love with the location and the studio straight away, I have never seen such an impressive studio.

I took some snaps of around the studio to give an idea of what it is like-

Elizabeths amazing shop window, she makes all the wall hangings too! 

The shop and studio are all in one and customers can shop by appointment only. 

This room in these few pictures is a little room before you walk into the studio that is a little show room of different items that Elizabeth has made, most are for sale. 

Elizabeth works mostly in wool and silk but also includes some metal and different types of materials in with her garments, as a former textiles student she works with very art based garments and makes a lot of her own fabrics. She also includes different techniques and her main on is felting. 

As well as her more 'wearable art' pieces she also does simple garments, simple jackets, tops, skirt, slip dresses etc and ads her own personal, creative touch to them.

Below are a few snaps of different parts around the studio.

Below is one of the techniques that Elizabeth works with.

Once I had been shown around the studio and got a feel for what goes where and how the days will take place and what happens etc.. I was speaking to Elizabeth, asking her different questions and she was also asking me questions about University and what the course is like, she was amazed at how different the teaching is here compared to in England. She has been very welcoming and even though she is a very busy lady she has taken the time out to teach me all different things and different techniques that I never would have known. Already I had learnt a lot and I had only been there such a short time. 

Before I came I emailed over example of my work and Elizabeth was talking to me about it in person and she said that she knew she wanted to work with me because my work is crazy like hers. I found this really exciting and I was happy she was being so nice and friendly. 

Together we started by organising her different collections into garment bags and hanging them on the right rails, we spoke a lot as we did this about different things and we got along very well straight away, she assured me not to be shy and that it is all about fun in her studio.

I loved the way she worked. 

As the day went on I was completing all different tasks and by the end of the day I was already working on her garments with her, hand stitching tucks into a dress and different things. I felt very trusted an welcomed already, Elizabeth gave me her other key to the shop and said she wants me to be independant so that I can let myself in and lock up when needed. 

The day went really fast and we got a lot done, I learnt very quickly how she works and even just watching and listening made me realise how a business is run. 

That night I was thinking about it over and over again, and Elizabeth gained an interest about the shorts that I make and sell at home, she looked at my website and really liked that I dye/stud/customize the shorts and was telling me all the different things that I could do with them, she even said that I could use the studio to carry on with them while I am here and that she will show me different techniques to do on them. I was instantly excited and looking forward to what she had in mind! 

Day 2-

Day two came along and I was up bright and early again looking forward to another day in the studio. As I had my key I went down and opened up the shop and 'set up camp' for the day. Elizabeth to shortly follow. She had told me that a Vietnamese lady would be starting today and that she was a seamstress and that this would be good because she could teach me different things and the more technical side that I really struggle with. 

'Natalie' (her english name) arrived and was very nice but really didn't speak much english at all. What she did speak was very good though, she was telling me different stories the best that she could. 

I got a lot done today, hand stitched two different dresses, and one that I had been working on I got to see on a person. A lady came in for a fitting and tried three dresses on that had been specially made for her. I was fascinated when watching the fitting because I had never experienced anything like this before, it was amazing to see the clothes on a body because it just made them look even better. 

After the dress was pinned more to the lady's taste then I carried on hand sewing in the right places. 

As the day went on I learned how to cover press studs in fabric so they match the garment and attatch them in the correct way and I also carried on hand sewing tucks into a dress. 

Overall a successful two days and I am looking forward to seeing what is in store for the next few weeks!