Online portfolio

I have created an online portfolio to present my work. This will be something which I can add to in the future when I have completed further projects. I have created sections for my different projects as well as my drawings which I feel show my different strengths and allow for potential employers to see my abilities and my style.
This was something which I enjoyed doing, although I sometimes find it hard to talk about myself. This is something which I need to become more confident in, as this will help me to gain jobs in the future.

http://jenniferholden.wix.com/home

Glossary of terms

I have looked into some of the methods and terms which are relevant for research, particularly within my areas of interest.

Observation/Shadowing Analysis - This method looks at people in their environments and watching their behaviour. This could be used within my field as a way of understanding the target market. Within my essay question it could be used in the workplace setting to understand the stresses and causes of ill well-being.

Role Playing - This involves participants taking on personas, which allows for the studying of interpersonal behaviour. It could be used to take on the role of another or for acting as if a set of criteria were true.

Focus Groups - These involve a number of participants, where they discuss and idea or concept which is given to them by the leader. It allows for conversation which allows for ideas to bounce across the different people involved.

Documentary research - This method using secondary sources such as newspapers, certificates (e.g. birth, death, marriage), census's, books, diaries, surveys e.t.c. These are then analysed and translated to either qualitative or quantitative data.

Scenario Building - This looks at creating or building an event or series of events in order to consider the outcomes of these. This could be used within the area of sustainable materials to discuss the effects that it could be having on the environment.

Video Ethnography - This is the recording of participants in their natural setting or within a particular environment in order to study behaviour. It allows for a deeper understanding or their society and culture and for it to be interpreted into data which can be analysed.

Research Methods

Primary Research Methods would be important for me if I were to research more fully into this research topic. I would want to get a better understanding of the problems faced by the people in the workplace environment, and this would allow me to see where I could make improvements. 

Methods which I feel would be appropriate are: 

• Questionnaires
• Statistics
• Focus Groups
• Interviews

These would allow me to gain qualitative data from the people of which my research is concerning as well as quantitative data which I would be able to analyse more easily. I have researched more into these methods using books which I found in the library using summon.

 I have also looked into the advantages and disadvantages of these as these are points which I would have to consider when using them. 

Questionnaires are useful as they allow for responses from large numbers of people, this can also be done fairly cheaply and quickly. The results can be easily quantified and analysed. This would be good for asking questions to the employees which I would be looking at in my research. However there are problems concerning validity. There is no guarantee that the respondents would tell the truth. There is also the imposition problem, where a multiple choice question has no answer which best suits the respondent.  

Interviews allow for more in-depth responses. This can be more personal and allow qualitative data to be gained. This would be useful for my research but it wouldn't be easily quantified or analysed. I would want to interview textile practitioners which may be hard to arrange if they live far away. This may mean that I would conduct telephone interviews.  

Archives

An archive is 'a repository of public records and monuments generally: public records'
ed. Macdonald, A M. (1978) Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary. Edinburgh: T & A Constable Ltd.

There are many different types of archive and what could be described as one:

• Libraries 
• Google
• Museum Collections
• Film archives

I had the opportunity to visit the Knit and Crochet archive in Holmfirth.
This was a collection of knitted and crocheted pieces which they had collected. This is from both people's private collections and from auctions.

This is a jumper from the collection which I like for the mixture of colours which have been used as well as the hexagonal tessellating shapes. It is something which I feel that I could be inspired by, for future projects or work. 

The archive, although not what I was expecting, was interesting to see. It allowed me to see first hand what an archive is. They are still in the process of cataloguing all of the pieces so there were still pieces which needed to be filed. The room consisted of shelves with boxes on containing the pieces. It is basically a collection of pieces of old knit and crochet as well as patterns and books.

I could say that I have an archive of work. I have kept all of my textiles work from the different stages of my education and this has left me what I could call an archive.

Archives come in different forms and do not all stick to the exact wording of the definition but I still feel that they meet the criteria of what one is.

Louise Russell

Louise Russell is a textile designer who designs pieces within the area of well-being. They are created with spiritual healing properties. This is someone who I have investigated for my research topic and question of study.

How can textiles improve mental well-being in the workplace?

This is a piece which is designed for a hospital setting and is entitled essence.

It uses a photo paint process which captures the plants into the fabric. These plants were carefully selected because they are all believed to possess healing properties. This is to help aid the healing of the patients, so the actual environment itself has an impact. I feel that this is important work because hospitals are seen as being dull and clinical and I feel that more thought should be put into the aesthetic of them. This in itself could improve the mentality of the patients, and that could alter their well-being.

Russell, L. (N.D.). Essence, Privacy Room. [photograph]. Retrieved from: http://www.carnegiefabrics.com/productsearch.aspx#v=%7B-f-.%7B-Usage-.%5B0%5D%7D_-p-.1_-s-.-essence-_-d-.%7B-ID-.134_-ColorNumber-.3%7D%7D

The Sock Project

My first Project for my second year was the Sock Project. This was originally a brief set by Burt Brothers but it was adapted to be more suitable for my designer maker context route. I found this project to be interesting to me especially as I have taken the opportunity to combine both hand and machine knitting techniques. 

These are many final boards which I creates using my visual research as well as the final samples for this project. I am pleased with my end result and I think the collection works really well together. I took inspiration from traditional knitted socks as well as my own surroundings and environment. Drawing was a key part of this project as this is where I got a lot if my ideas and inspiration from. 

 I think I could work better at managing my time. I found that I wrote up research at the beginning of my project but then left the majority to do at the end. I found that this may have affected the quality of the end result. I want to work harder on my context file in the next project as I feel that this would strengthen my work as it is what brings together and explains all of my ideas.