End of Days.

I'm sorry I've been a little slack with my posting lately, been rather busy as I hope you can appreciate. I have now finished my work placement and have been thrown into the deep end at uni with a group collection project! This is my last post concerning Bordelle...for now at least. :)

Here goes...

Looking back on my time at Bordelle I think that it’s safe to say that the positives most definitely out-weigh the negatives however I am certainly anything but replete after this experience.

It was such an exciting change to be taken every morning through the winding corridors of the Kent railways to the beautiful city of London.

For all I moaned about the early mornings and late nights it was nice to not have to worry about anything. No deadlines etc. But the return to university life was not something that I looked forward to.

I felt so at home in that cosy studio with it’s beautiful view; through the windows behind me I could see right across the often golden patio…to the door, from whence the smokers came and more than often went (on the odd occasion that one did lock themselves out, I took great pleasure from the sight of their faces at the window as they sheepishly procured a means of telecommunication. We didn’t have access to said patio so we were made all the more smug when such an occurrence took place). From the window directly in front, I could see… my sewing station. Sigh.

The memory of my time at Bordelle manifests itself as a pain in the…lower back! I’m confident however that this will leave me within the next few decades.

But on a more serious note, the experience was an extremely useful one even if at times not completely positive.

It was, first and foremost, a great insight into a company that is currently at a level that I wish to be at one day.

It was also a fun exploit pushing myself out of my ‘comfort’ zone and into something that I hoped would enhance my skills set and give a little more ‘power to my elbow’ as they say. I would definitely say that this placement has sparked the beginning of a completely new passion if nothing more and has definitely instilled me with a little more wisdom.

I really enjoyed being given such great responsibilities and feeling confident in my ability to deliver. I did at times however, and even now, wish that I had been given a greater variety of jobs to do but it has become clear to me that it is all a matter of unfortunate timings; I was hired at a time when there was nothing much to do apart from sew.

Luckily, I got on very well with the entire team and will undoubtedly return indefinitely.

Having had a lot of in-depth and occasionally inebriated conversations with the designer I learnt a lot about those unfavourable experiences that can come from being a freelance designer; I now have a lot of admiration for the man in question and a better idea of what to expect from future careers.

It seems that one of the biggest challenges, not only that I faced, but that I observed was primarily that of communication; in particular between people of different nationalities. This too is something that I shall be wary of in the future…­

Until next time…

Thank you all for your support.

Bordelle. Wk3.

This week seemed like one long day. I've been working mainly on the wrap bra (on auto pilot), sewing the cup panels together and covering the seam with elastic in a similar way to the one mentioned in the previous post. This has been a little trickier because The cup is curved of course. But again, I've got my technique down so it's not so bad.

(Image Via: http://www.glamorousamorous.com)

The first few that I did were not so good but after 100 or so... ^_^
(I did mean that as a joke but in actual fact I've probably done around that many; maybe even more!)
But anyway, it's been a weird kind of week, as I said, it's just felt like one really long day. Almost endless repetition.
I've felt a lot of empathy towards Daniel from the Karate Kid films. That naïve, impatient yearning to want to learn and just be good at something in order to prove your worth or something like that. Daniel, of course wanted to learn karate to win in a fight (blates to impress Ali) and Mr. Miyagi taught him through practical applications and almost sub-consciously blah blah blah... (sorry).

Having sewn the amount I have over not only the past week but the past three, I certainly don't think I have ever been so tired; my back aches like nobody's business and my eyes haven't stopped twitching. As you can imagine it's been very hard to see how this internship could possibly be giving me anything except woes. But the more I do, the better I get and sure enough I am beginning to realise how much I'm gaining.
I feel like my sewing skills have improved greatly due to the diversity of materials used as well as the techniques employed.

A tiny selection of the cups that I have been working on

Also, the fact that I've been given so many responsibilities is such a great feeling.

Sewing labels into the brassieres was another job that I've had this week. It was...frustrating. :)

It's been really nice to get to know everyone at the company especially Javier, the designer. It's always nice to be able to relate to older generations. We talk about and listen to music...a lot.

At this point, I really can not recommend internships enough. I'm nearing the end of my time with Bordelle but I will more than likely find myself there again in the future.
Also it's been a really great, inspirational experience to branch out into a field that I had absolutely no experience in. At first I wondered if it was a good idea or not, for that reason; I can honestly say that it's been one of the best decisions that I ever made.
I'm beginning to see how important it is to ask questions too.
Ask or you may never know!

Bordelle. Wk2.

This week seems to have been about: learning through others' mistakes... I wont say too much on the subject but basically I've learnt the importance of the production process. The work really suffers when one stage is done incorrectly because time gets wasted in putting things right.

I've been sewing more of course. This time bra cups and this lovely number:

A version of the signature Angela Dress seen from the back.

Lots of fiddly little strappy things kept me occupied. I was also entrusted with the job of covering seems. A seemingly straight forward task but I can't begin to describe how tricky this is. This kind of job can be done with ease using specialist machinery but Bordelle is only a small business.
The more of these that I did the easier it got. Again, I practiced on a bunch of old scraps before actually laying my hands on an order.
It got easier as I started to develop my own little technique to keep everything in the right place. There are so many things to concentrate on all at once. You have to keep the strips of the body in the right places whilst you sew for instance. (again, this is hard to explain.)

As I write this I'm coming to the end of my 4th week. Yesterday I had to sew more of these and I'd completely forgotten how I managed to make them perfect the first time around so needless to say they were not up to my standards but I was far too tired to be overly concerned...

But anyway, I don't really know what else to say on the matter so that's it for now.

On branding.

Last week I had the honour of receiving some free gifts to give to my lovely girlfriend, courtesy of Bordelle...I was ecstatic! Anyway, the above is the packaging. It's half box and half paper bag with a beautiful ribbon that ties through from the back. Gotta love minimalism.

I think what I love most about their branding is that it's very unassuming. It seems quite relevant to lingerie in that you don't want to give too much away; sometimes the less you see of the body the more attractive it becomes and I think this idea is translated into their branding and packaging quite well.
Also I think that their logo fits in with the slight 'bondage' theme that some of the garments have.
The thorny logo, which demonstrates the 'harder' side of the designs, has been juxtaposed next to a soft, feminine bow...the body?

Anyway, read into it what you will, that's just my first impression.

An admittedly terrible photo of the S/S and A/W 2011 lookbooks. I love the simplicity and consistency of the branding at Bordelle although I must say, I am definitely not keen on the typeface used in the company logo.

Q&A With Pia Conaghan at Bordelle

Sorry for the lack of posts of late. Here's something...

• Where did you study?

LCF (foundation & BA degree)

• Did you do many internships whilst you were studying or after graduating? If so where?

While studying I did a paid internship with Joules. After graduating I interned with Felder Felder for 1 season. I then interned with Bordelle for 2 months before they took me on as a Studio Assistant.

• How long have you worked at Bordelle?

I began interning with Bordelle in March 2010 and since then I have progressed to Design/Production Assistant

• What does your job entail?

Assisting the designer, designing leather accessories, liaising with (and occasionally visiting) the factories, sending out orders (online and wholesale)

• What do you find

-most enjoyable

Having a creative input as well as the fact that every day is different. Overall my favourite thing is coming up with new ideas for the accessories.

-least enjoyable about your job?

Regularly having to work under lots of pressure.

• Do you feel you are where you hoped to be post graduation are were you expecting more/less?

It has certainly taken a while to get to the point where I feel I am able to use the skills I learnt at uni but right now I am very happy with my position within Bordelle.

• Is there a designer/company that you have ever "dreamt" of working for?

I’ve always admired the work of Chloe in particular so I would love to work there, but since being with Bordelle my attention have been turned towards lingerie, mainly because I see it as growing industry with lots of potential for innovative design.

• Having worked for a company like Bordelle, do you feel more or less likely to want to have your own business?

I would defiantly like to have my own business one day but I realise that there is much more I need to learn before doing this, although working alongside the director (Alex) I have learnt lots about the industry.

I’m always designing in my free time and I’d love to get my ideas out there eventually.

Bordelle. Wk1.

On Tuesday I began my internship at Bordelle. A small lingerie company in Ladbroke Grove, London.

I didn't really know what to expect when the designer, Javier said "...you will mostly be sewing I'm afraid..." at the interview ...Afraid? Huh!? That's exactly what I want to be doing, learning through doing as well as watching.
After my first week I'm beginning to see where the words 'I'm' and 'afraid' come into it.
It's hard work for sure...

The studio as seen from the kitchen area.

The production area as seen from the closet.

So, most of the week I've been playing a small part in producing a whole heap of the Bondage Angela dress (as seen below) in varying sizes.
My job has mainly been to attach the elastic straps to the metal rings ready for the cups to be added. I have also had the chance to add some of the bows between the cups.

click to enlarge

The hard part is of course the sewing.
Luckily I am a very patient person as a well as... fastidious?. I think that I would have had it after a few hours otherwise. The straps of one dress (around 20) takes me a good 45 minutes (on a bad day, around 35 on a good). Now I'm not sure if it takes the pros (that's the paid machinists) that long or if I'm just being overly concerned about the quality... But, as I said before, I am a perfectionist and therefore I take the stance that one could never be overly concerned about quality ...at least not in relation to time.

But anyway, I knew it wasn't going to be easy so before I got my hands on a garment I practiced and practiced sewing the elastic to the rings. (below)

The raw edges of the elastic bands have to be folded under and then sewn very meticulously. The larger bands are a lot easier but I have to say I've surprised myself at how easily I've picked it up and how, although it is tiring and repetitive, it's strangely enjoyable... but maybe that's just my perfectionist nature.

I had never worked with elastic in this way before so it's definitely been an interesting experience that I have enjoyed, learnt from and been inspired by.
I admire designs that embody complexity as well as embracing simplicity. Javier's designs do this beautifully.

Around the Studio...

Lots of images of the female form (as you would expect) and this useful note:

Very Important. :)

Alas! C'est le weekend...déjà!
and yes, I'm VERY tired having been up at 630am every morning.

The best is yet to come I'm sure of that. Stay tuned and have a lovely weekend.

サラバ。

http://bordelle.co.uk/

The Long Awaited:

Dame and Knight Video...