Chicken Pox and Life Lessons

I have never had chicken pox. My mum tried everything when I was younger, even sent me over to friends' houses who had chicken pox, in the hope that I would catch it, but I never did.

Every Monday through to Wednesday I stay in Nottingham at my mate's house whilst I set up my business and I turned up yesterday to find a very poorly Helen with a rash all over her body. Now, obviously being an expert in the field of medicine I quickly diagnosed Helen with chicken pox... with the help of the trusty NHS Online page. Anyway, chicken pox soon got pushed to the back of our minds whilst we watched an hour long episode of 'Made in Chelsea' (Can you believe that Rosie got with Hugo?!?!) and then, beginning to feel myself itch out of paranoia, I decided to read up on the do's and dont's of chicken pox. Sat next to Helen on the sofa I read the following:

It's a very contagious infection. About 90% of people who have not previously had chickenpox will become infected when they come into contact with the virus.

If you have not had chicken pox and you know someone who has the virus. Do not:

• be in the same room as the infected person for 15 minutes or more
• have face-to-face contact with the infected person e.g. have a conversation with them.

It takes seven to 21 days for the symptoms of chickenpox to show after you have come into contact with the virus. This is called the ‘incubation period’.


Basically it is almost inevitable that I have caught it off her. So please prepare yourself now, as in a few weeks I will be feeling extremely sorry for myself and I will be expecting a lot of sympathy and some 'get-well' presents (chocolate and wine will be fine).

Currently feeling extremely sick and trying to convince myself this is all phycological lets press on with my life story.... So I have just graduated and have all the opportunities in the world resting at my finger tips... or not! However, at the time I thought I was extremely lucky to not long be graduated before being offered my first proper job. I was extremely excited, ready for the challenge and keen to impress. The job was working as an Assistant Designer at Sports Direct, which I was offered after entering a competition for them during my final year of university. It used urban influences to inspire a ski / snow collection.

Outfit 1

Outfit 2

Outfit 3

Outfit 4

Outfit 5

Outfit 6

Starting the job in August I lasted a mere 6 weeks before being sacked. Reality hit hard. I was in work by 8.30am every morning and didn't leave the office until at least 8pm every night with no over-time being paid. Commuting for an hour there and back each day on top of the crazy hours made every day extremely long and tiring. After a few weeks into the job I was warned we had our most important few weeks of the year coming up when our factories from China were coming over to visit. We were warned of even longer hours and that the work HAD to be done - no excuses. This would have all of course been fine except that the Head Designer of my section decided to go on holiday the week leading up to and the week of the factory visit. In his section he had me who had worked there for 1 month, another girl who had worked there for 3 months and a young lad who was in his second week! Between the 3 of us we had to juggle 3 different collections and were given impossible deadlines to meet. I was turning up to work at 7.30am and not leaving the office until gone 10pm in an attempt to get all the work finished ready for meetings with the factory. Finally the dreaded meeting came and we had only managed to get about 75% of the work done. This obviously all came out in the meeting... along with me finding out that an email had been sent out cutting the collection in half. I literally could have died. Half the work I had done was irrelevant and had I seen the email I would have been able to get the necessary work done in time.

Now I hold my hands up and admit that we missed the email and yes we should have seen it. BUT the Head of the Department who sent us the email sat about 10 metres away from our desks. I had never replied to that email confirming that I had seen the details of the collection being cut in half, nor had we had a conversation about it for the whole week... in fact she never spoke one word to me. Knowing that I had only worked in the office for 4 weeks, you would think that people would check your work, confirm and reconfirm any changes... after all - when you're new you are bound to make a few mistakes, especially when your Head Designer isn't there to over see your work. It's the process of learning and you should be guided through. However, I was left to it. No-one checked anything I did and so unfortunately I missed one email (by the way I would receive in excess of 50 emails a day).

As you can imagine it was therefore an embarrassing situation to be in when you turn up to a meeting with the wrong work, and only half of the right work completed. This obviously not only looked bad on me but also on the rest of the company as they clearly hadn't checked the work I was doing. To cover their tracks for the fact that my Head Designer who was in charge of me went away on holiday for the most important week of the year and the other designer who was meant to be looking after me who once asked 'is everything going ok?' and the Head of the Department who never asked me anything.... they sacked me... as it was obviously much easier to blame the new girl than to stand up and admit that they fucked up.

For that reason I hate Sports Direct. I tried to dispute the decision as unlawful sacking but they didn't even have the courtesy to respond to my letters and my lawyer said unfortunately I didn't have a strong case due to being at the company for such a short period of time.

Whichever way you look at it I did still gain a lot of experience whilst I was there, working on different ranges including Airwalk, Title, Slazenger, Playboy, Marvel, LA Gear, Ocean Pacific etc.

Slazenger Spec Sheet

Airwalk Spec Sheet 

Marvel Spec Sheet

LA Gear Womenswear Spec Sheet

Ocean Pacific Spec Shet

Slazenger Labels

Ocean Pacific Pattern Artwork

Slazenger Spec Sheet

Title Spec Sheet

BIG LOVE
cycles and spoons
xxxxx

Gandy and Muin

I would like to begin by dedicating this post to a friend of mine - Laura Gandy, who has read every single blog to date and keeps hassling me for the next edition!! It's nice to know that there is at least one person who reads this, which is enough to keep me writing and make the hours I waste on here seem worth while! Little Laura and her BFG - Luke Muin are engaged to be married next year and I would like to take this opportunity to wish them all the best for the future. I've been debating about trying to include a joke here about how their lives are now over... but let's face it... sat in a large house, all alone, with a blanket over my legs, still in my pj's, with knots in my hair... I think there is a bigger argument that I am a bitter old woman, resolute that there is no man stupid enough to even consider spending more than 5 minutes with me... let alone the rest of their life!!!! So instead, I raise my hand, holding an imaginary goblet of champagne and toast 'Gandy and Muin'!

Right... so now that it's finally sunk in that the chances of me getting married are little to none, I am going to turn my attention to work, taking up the motto 'We live to work and work to live'. During my time at university, some how I also managed to squeeze in a few work placements during the summer holidays. These included a childrenswear company called Flyers Group Plc and Topshop. Flyer's Group was brilliant experience - they threw me in at the deep end putting me as an Assistant Designer and left me to produce my own knitwear collection called Sugar Pink. I also designed a coat which was sold into several retailers including TK Maxx. I thoroughly enjoyed working here and the people were friendly, encouraging and supportive.

Example of a Knitted Dress I designed for the Sugar Pink Collection
Spec Sheet 

Spec Sheet Detail of Flower for Knitted Dress

Spec Sheet Detail of Butterfly for Knitted Dress

At Topshop I produced a Boots report for the Head of Footwear and also helped produce garments which went on to be shown during London Fashion Week in their catwalk collection called Uniqlo.

Outfit 1 and 2
On the catwalk during London Fashion Week

Almost finished... this was the day of the Fashion Show

Adding the final touches to the beaded bikini bottoms

We braided hundreds of metres of thread to produce these garments

Work Experience is invaluable and something I would recommend to anyone interested in a career in Fashion. I believe one of the main downfalls of the course at Trent University was that we did not have a Placement Year within the industry. Knowing what I know now, if I could go back in time, I would have found my own placement as these teach you more about the real world and give you true life experience in comparison to sitting in a lecture hall being taught the 'apparent' ways of the world!

BIG LOVE
cycles and spoons

The Castle and The Forest

Returning to my mini life story... and slowly going through the steps of how I began to set up my own business, after my Art Foundation I found myself at Nottingham Trent University. My first choice uni due to it's reputation for it's Fashion courses, I spent the next 3 years getting a degree in Fashion Design.

There is probably room for a debate here about whether I went to Nottingham to study Fashion or whether I went to Nottingham to familiarise myself with the layout of it's hospital... but my bad luck in regards to my health and safety can be left for the time being and maybe saved for another thrilling blog entry in the future. There is no denying though that everything I went through during the three years created a roller-coaster of emotions for me that resulted in University life being some of the best times of my life, but in complete contrast also being some of the most challenging and darkest days I've experienced to date.

To throw in some controversy to the mix - I do not rate the course I did, I do not believe Trent Uni deserves the reputation it has for the Fashion Design course and I received very little, if not no support from my course tutors and lecturers. A memory which will stay with me for the rest of my life is sitting down with the Head of the Course, crying my eyes out, explaining about the brain scans I was having and the cyst on my brain. Due to this I was behind with my work but I was initially told not to worry. About a week later, I saw the Head of the Course again and I apologised that I hadn't been in for a week because I had been so ill with everything. She turned round to me and said 'Sorry, who are you?' ....need I explain how I felt after this? Fashion is known to be full of pretentious and obnoxious people... this is not a rumour, it is true.

Year 1 - Womenswear
Architecture and the Golden Ratio

Year 1 - Womenswear
Inspired by Chemistry and DNA

Year 2 - Menswear
One True Saxon - inspired by Military and Horse Riding
Outfit 1

Year 2 - Menswear
One True Saxon - inspired by Military and Horse Riding
Outfit 2

Year 2 - Menswear
One True Saxon - inspired by Military and Horse Riding
Outfit 3

Year 2 - Menswear
One True Saxon - inspired by Military and Horse Riding
Outfit 4

Year 2 - Menswear
One True Saxon - inspired by Military and Horse Riding
Outfit 5

Year 2 - Menswear
One True Saxon - inspired by Military and Horse Riding
Outfit 6

Year 3 - Take Impact, Make Impact. Final Year Project on Men's Lacrosse
Designed a Magazine containing all my Market Research 

Contents Page

Page 8

Page 11

Page 38

Page 39

Year 3 - Impact Skin
Design

Year 3 - Final Product
Exhibition Space - Designed like a Locker Room

Year 3 - Final Product
Men's All-in-one Active Protection System
Sponsored by Dow Corning

I graduated with a 2:2. I remember opening up the envelop seeing the 2:2 and bursting into tears.... with disappointment you might think... but no, I was happy and relieved. In fact, it was probably the best achievement in my life. I challenge you to go through what I went through, to not drop out of uni, to never give up and to still complete the course even when you missed half of it. I thought I was going to get a 3rd, but in fact I was only a few marks off a 2:1... and I achieved that through sole determination and thanks to no help from my course tutors. Like in sports, I fight for everything, I do not like losing and I will not give up.

BIG LOVE
cycles and spoons

Ghosts and Spirits

I have crazy, bizarre dreams... fact... and it makes sense to utilise this blog to document the weirdest one's down, especially as dreams are so forgettable. Why I have them I have no idea, but I do love them. I think it is fascinating to see how incredible your mind is and how it works. There must be a reason behind my dreams.. surely?! Either that or my mind just likes to entertain it self and doesn't care much for resting.

So back on Sunday night I had a nightmare.. now luckily these don't happen often and this one was particularly unsettling. I must have been a sleep but then I started dreaming that I was trying to get to sleep.. and as I would begin to doze off, scary stuff began to happen :(

Now I'm very open minded when it comes to ghosts and spirits etc - I don't not believe in it but I think it's one of those things where you buy into it all when you've had your very own 'supernatural' experience. I however have not, so it bemuses me to why I even had this dream.

So there I was, curled up in a ball, desperately trying to sleep.. but I could sense things around me, and when I opened my eyes there was a spirit / ghost thing and although it resembled no face - I knew it was staring at me. I jumped up and ran.. but no matter how fast I went or which way I moved it followed with such ease that it was terrifying. I think it is here that I woke up. Looking around my bedroom, squinting to see through the dark, you immediately realise you're having a nightmare. After your heart skips a few beats, you settle down and tell yourself to man-up, but you can never seem to shrug off that slightly unsettling feeling, but knowing you have a busy day to come you are determined to put the dream to the back of your mind, get straight back to sleep and pray that you dream about something else!

Now why is it that when you have great dreams and someone wakes you up, you try to get back to sleep and desperately think about your dream in the hope that you will fall back into it.. but it never happens. Yet those nightmares you hate, you fall back in to every time?!

So once again, I found myself in a corner of a room - so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. Curled into a ball, as though convinced that if I clutched onto myself as tight as possible and became as still as a statue, I could trick the spirits into thinking I was not there. Sure enough though they were back, they were compressing against me, and although they were not hurting me - I could feel their hatred. Before I knew it I was up again and running for my life, yet my best efforts were not good enough and I could still feel them breathing on the back of my neck, damming me to die.

I woke up again. The feeling of absolute helplessness is one that appears often in my nightmares... and it seems to be this that usually wakes me up - the realisation that you are no longer in control of your own life and that no matter what you do, it will not save you. It is also a feeling which I hope I never have to experience in real life.

Sure enough, I fell back to sleep and the same thing happened... over and over and over. I woke up in the morning feeling completely exhausted. Because the nightmare was about trying to get to sleep I have no idea how much I actually slept and how much was the nightmare, making the whole experience feel very real.

So there we have it.. my first dream / nightmare to share with you. If anyone has an explanation for the dream then I'm all ears!

BIG LOVE
Cycles and Spoons

Cats and Olives

Experiment time!!!! Find a cat... get a green olive... give it to the cat... record what happens to the cat... or better... film it!

Now then, where was I... After 1 A*, 8 A's, 1 B at GCSE and an A in Textiles, C in English and a C in Chemistry at A Level, I was finally 18 and free from school. Intent on pursuing a career in Textiles and after getting advice from several people I decided to do an Art Foundation in Cheltenham at Gloucestershire University. Located on Pitville Campus and surrounded by some brilliant people I had probably the best year of my life since returning back to the UK from Saudi. University life was a refreshing change to the structured world of school and I adapted to it well and settled down extremely quickly. During the Art Foundation we covered everything from Life Drawing, Photography, Fashion, Graphic Design and Art History. It was a great time to experiment and it opened up my mind to all types of media.

Colour Pencil Drawing for GCSE Art

Pencil Drawing for GCSE Art.

Life Drawing using Charcoal and a Rubber
Art Foundation

Life Drawing using Charcoal
Art Foundation

Experimental Ink and Wooden Stick
Art Foundation

**WARNING - EMOTIONAL PARAGRAPH**
Finally it seems appropriate to mention here a very close friend of mine. Although we went to school together it wasn't until we both did the Art Foundation that our friendship blossomed! Lol, very cheesy!!! But not only did she make me soup every day for at least a week whilst I felt sorry myself because I'd got my tongue pierced and couldn't eat, we also scrived off the Art Foundation to hibernate in her room watching Lost, she was my bag and book carrier when I tore the ligaments in my knee, but also, most importantly, however little or often I see her now, she continues to be brilliant and probably one of only a few people who I can truly call a real friend who I know will be there no matter what! I manage to get myself in all sorts of problems and Miss Emily Pearce is the luckiest girl in the world as I tell her everything... and by that I mean absolutely EVERYTHING... and she never judges me. We normally both end up in tears of laughter as we wonder how on earth I got myself into such a pickle.... again!! So men, watch out... Emily knows!! :-) Dude I salut you and I love you for putting up with me!

BIG LOVE
cycles and spoons

Sticks and Stones

Day 2... and I want to start by explaining how I have got to where I am today.

Born in Frimley, my parents decided not to stick around for long, so most of my first memories are from a foreign country made rich by oil, otherwise known as Saudi Arabia. Contrary to belief, living there for 7 years doesn't make me a Muslim and I can assure you I am 100% British. However it did open my mind to multi-culturalism, I learnt that Saudi isn't just a desert and I had the unfortunate discovery of returning back to England to find that the life I led in Saudi was not normal and I had in fact basically been on holiday at Centre Parcs for all those years.

Growing up I was well and truly a Tom-Boy. Dolls, babies and barbies were a big no-no but cops and robbers, climbing frames, karate and roller blades were everything I lived for. Therefore moving back to Worcester and being shoved into an all girls school was possibly the worst thing that could have happened to me. And sure enough I hated almost every minute of it. However, knowing my parents thought they were doing the best for me in terms of giving me a great education I'm inclined to forgive them for putting me through 8 years of torture. Though in fairness it wasn't all tears and tantrums as it was during my school life that I discovered Lacrosse and Textiles... and with these two passions still having a major part to play in my life today I can't help thinking the bitchiness and bullying I encountered at school has some how all been worth while...

Here I am young and blissfully unaware with my brother, Chris, who is 18 months older than me.

At the age of 3 it was clear that I was going to be an artistic genius....naaaaat!! We had to pick a letter from our name and paint a picture with it. Maybe when I was 3 I dreamed that I had green eyes and blue hands...

This is the first item of clothing I ever made when I was in Year 9 and it is from this that my love for textiles began. It also helped that I had an amazing Textiles teacher called Mrs Fox who inspired and encouraged me.

And finally... lacrosse the sport I love! Here I was about 15 at an England Triple Arrow Lacrosse Camp with a friend Kirsty where we played lacrosse for 8 hours a day for about 5 days... most people's idea of hell... but I loved it! 

BIG LOVE

cycles and spoons

Cycles and Spoons

Ok... so I presume this is where I begin my chat about anything and everything which will probably bore you the reader and embarrass me when I read it back and discover I really am as boring as I feared I might be! Weirdly though I'd like to start by saying that this is something I probably should have done a long time ago.. however, not really understanding how to design my own website and blog has scared me into silence. I have however decided to take a deep breathe, relax and plunge into the mysteries of the unknown.. something I have been doing a lot of recently!

I've had a bit of a hard time over the last few years being in and out of hospital, struggling to find a full time job and being let down and disappointed by a hand full of people. After my last operation back in July, I was sat around feeling sorry for myself, thinking about how little I have done with the last few years of my life since graduating from uni, and I decided that it was time for things to change.

So... I came up with the most ridiculous idea of setting up my own business...

Jinxie and I

What is the business... you'll have to wait and see... but for now I realise it would be rude not to introduce myself so here I am, looking as hot as ever.. with my clinically obese black panther.

I hope you enjoy my blog and I hope that I make more of a success of this than I did of my attempt at twitter - which still baffles me to this day...

BIG LOVE
cycles and spoons