More awards success for Falmouth textile designers
The Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC) recently announced Joanne Westwood, a student of University College Falmouth’s BA(Hons) Textile Design course, as a joint winner of the essay competition at the RITE Group (Reducing the Impact of Textiles on the Environment) conference.
The conference focused on sustainability, traceability and responsibility in the textile industry and featured speeches by UK Government Minister for Climate Change, Recycling and Waste, Joan Ruddock MP and policy director of the Soil Association, Lord Peter Melchett, as well as speakers from leading brands such as Marks & Spencer, Levi Strauss, Timberland and Patagonia.
The aim of the SDC-sponsored competition was to raise students’ awareness of the issues surrounding sustainable textiles. Eco-matters are clearly high on the student designer agenda with hundreds of entries having been received from across the globe.
President of the SDC, Adrian Abel, who presented the prizes to the UK and overseas winners, commented: “It is wonderful that, through this competition, so many students have been able to attend this excellent event. Students are the industry’s future and it is very encouraging that sustainability is such a key issue in their work as designers.”
As part of her prize, Joanne received vouchers to spend at a number of eco-friendly retail outlets and online membership of the SDC for one year. Her winning essay, entitled A Sustainable Future for Textiles, will be published online by the SDC in the near future.
Falmouth Textile Design student, Sarah Bone, has also won first prize in the Textile Design category of the design4science student competition. The competition explores the impact of design in communicating scientific breakthroughs and how new scientific advances have inspired designers. Fellowstudents,Mary Lowe and Kate Kenworthy were highly commended in the competition andall three students’work formed part of a touring exhibition, and was included in a book that accompanied the show - entitled What is Proven was once Imagined.
The design4science project, supported by the Wellcome Trust, included work commissioned from professional designers Andy Altmann, Daniel Brown and Paul Cocksedge, in response to the same brief as that of the student competition. Also showcased was a body of work that comprised scientific images created during the scientific process, including drawings, photos and models - primarily from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, used to reveal the invisible world of Molecular Biology.
Course Leader, Di Downs commented: “External projects and competitions such as these are very valuable experiences for our students, who must quickly learn to respond to the requirements of different briefs and varied audiences. That these students have done so well is a testimony to their hard work, ambition and professionalism. We are very proud of them.”
University College Falmouth is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education. The CUC is funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One), the South West Regional Development Agency, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall County Council.
For further information about BA(Hons) Textile Design at University College Falmouth, please visit: www.falmouth.ac.uk/textiledesign, email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 214385.
Ends
For further information about this press release, please contact: Jilly Easterby, Head of Public Affairs, University College Falmouth, Woodlane, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 4RH, Telephone: 01326 213792, or email: jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk
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