Becky Scarborough EGRD3013 Studio Practice 3A External Positioning
Fairs & Exhibitions From visiting three book fairs over the past months I have realised my passion for handmade books. I have been practising my skills for a while now, but have only just begun to think about content and meaning. These fairs really excite me and I could definitely see myself participating in them in the future. I know it is something that is more of a hobby than a living, so it would only be a fraction of my external positioning. Another exhibition I visited and felt extremely at home was ‘Into the forest’ a small pop up show by a collective of
current illustrators and designers. A couple of my favourite illustrators were exhibiting - such as Claire Scully and Kate Moross (who designed the exhibition space). This is the sort of exhibition I would love to be part of and I see myself collaborating after graduation to do something similar. Last summer I helped at the ‘Work in Progress show’ as part of the degree show. This was a great experience for preparing for my final show. I want to contribute to as many of these experiences as possible as I really enjoy it.
NO ADDED SUGAR* work[shop] I am extremely glad that I took part in the exhibition at the Ebbisham Centre, the same thing happened when I helped at the ‘Work In Progress show’, it turned out a lot better than expected. I used the opportunity to promote myself by making a lot to put in the show. As well as my final illustrations on the wall, I had postcards, key rings and some other accessories for sale in the shop, and made £25! It’s safe to say that I took charge of the ‘Work[shop]’ area and loved every minute of it. I was completely in my element arranging all the items for sale and
making labels for everything. I think it’s incredible the amount of money we made in such a short time. So for me that was the highlight of the experience, but also working with everyone else involved. I am really proud that we bought it all together and that it was such a success. Myself and Michelle Siddall also spent time making badges for all the exhibitors of the show to wear. We thought it was important for members of the public to recognise who was involved. Even doing this was a lot of fun as I enjoy making things so much, it was nice to have everyone wearing the badge to show they were part of the team.
Shops There are a fair few little shops out there that sell designers products. I have been visiting and researching some of these, including: Magma, Ryantown, Shelf, Frank, Bookartbookshop and online shops Etsy and Folksy. I have always seen myself as more of a ‘crafter’ than a designer and I love making all sorts of things. I have been making and selling my own jewellery and accessories (Becky’s Buttons) for a couple of years now in ‘Miscellany’, a gift shop in Epsom’s Ashley Centre. It’s only a small earner for me but it has always given me a sense of confidence knowing the public are buying my products as gifts. I have recently wanted to start making a new range of items based more around my illustrative skills / design work, so this gave me the opportunity to start that ball rolling. I recently approached Vicki (the owner) to find out about running a small gift shop and how she selects work to sell. I showed her my ‘flock’ feather key rings, explaining how I have been wanting to combine my illustrations with making products. She thought this was a really good idea and offered me a whole cabinet in the shop if I get enough stock together. She let me photograph a few of my items in situ as an example.
Something beginning with B – Blog and shop I use my ‘Something beginning with B’ blog to post about personal work and I kept it up to date with things that I did over the summer. I also use this blog for other things I do such as Becky’s Buttons jewellery / accessories and the bead fairs that I occasionally help at. www.beginswithb.co.uk I have recently made an online shop using ‘Big Cartel’. I can list products for free and I can match the visual aesthetic to my Something beginning with B blog. www.beginswithb.bigcartel.com
I plan to keep both of these going and will continue to update my blog and add new products to my shop. I have sold a couple of things already! I find using ‘Something beginning with B’ as a different identity to this part of my work is a good idea. As this blog is personal, I can keep it separate from my design work which is more professional, but can link them together if needs be.
Online portfolio I have made myself a professional online portfolio. I decided to use ‘Carbonmade’ as it is free and very easy to use; rather than making an actual website just yet. It is also a good network of creatives, where you can browse through other designers work and be found by clients looking for freelancers. It is good to have somewhere externally that I can be seen as a Graphic designer / illustrator, other than a blog. So far I have put on my Independent practice, my PDP from 2nd year, the PaperCo competition winning electronic ‘sting and a selection of some other illustrations. www.beckyscarborough.carbonmade.com
Paper Co - Gold prize Myself and Clare Lane won joint gold prize for PaperCo’s ‘Brief Encounters’ competition 2010. The picture to the left is us at the Media Pro exhibition in London before our prize giving. The brief was to create a short electronic sting to feature on the company’s website, promoting one of their services. This was a huge challenge for us as neither of our work is very ‘digital’ so we taught ourselves how to use Adobe Flash. It is amazing that we won after coming so far out of our usual comfort zone. This gave us confidence and a bit more variety to our portfolio’s. Above is a couple of stills from our winning ‘sting’.
V&A Illustration Awards I entered three of my four final illustrations into the V&A 2011 Student Illustrator Awards. I did not enter any other competitions such as D&AD, so I thought I would give this a go. As an illustrator I have yet to discover my ‘style’ as such, that is why I want to keep on practising.
Evaluation: External positioning After graduating, I would love to work freelance and make money from selling my designs. However, I know this is not an achievable plan straight away, it is either something I will have to do alongside another job; or in the future after gaining experience and contacts. I have been trying to prove, through this body of work, how passionate I am about this and how there are various routes to sell myself and my products. I sometimes find it hard trying to figure out where to place myself. One of my strengths is illustration, although I do not see myself as an illustrator. I also thoroughly enjoy making things, from books to jewellery, so I am very crafty. I like to use these elements in my design work. From talking a lot to Vicki at ‘Miscellany’ I have found out about her role of running a shop and how she deals with designers and crafters coming to her asking to sell. I really enjoyed ‘No added sugar*’ and loved arranging my own products to sell as well as everyone elses, making signs and price labels. I am going to carry on with everything I have been doing for my external positioning, as I have enjoyed making my online shop and making things for it. This is definitely where my strengths lay and everything I have been exploring for this project has excited me for the future. I am also going to start looking into places I would like to work to gain experience after I graduate, as this is something I have yet to give much thought.
Bibliography: Independent Practice & External Positioning Books Chapin, K. (2010). The Handmade Marketplace. USA: Storey Publishing. FL@33. (2009). Made & Sold: Toys, T-shirts, Prints, Zines and Other Stuff. London: Laurence King. Harzinski, K. (2010). From Here to There. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. Vettese, M. & Barnes, S (2008). A Year of Mornings. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. 1. Wigan, M. (2007). Text & Image. London: AVA Publishing Exhibitions The London Art Bookfair – 24th September 2010 Wildlife Photographer of the Year - 2nd November 2010 Into the forest – 13th November 2010 The Small Publishers Fair - 13th Novumber 2010 Handmade & Bound – 21st November 2010 Journals National Geographic – November 2010. Digital Arts (special ‘hand-drawn’ issue - inspiration for digital creatives) - December 2010 Videos Youtube video – ‘Starlings on Otmoor’ http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=XH-groCeKbE&feature=player_embedded BBC iPlayer - ‘Twitching: a very British obsession’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vnflv Websites http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/animals.html http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/ http://natgeotv.com/uk/great-migrations/videos/the-hunt http://thewildernessdowntown.com/ http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/collnoun.htm