03/02/2015
Blog Entry 6:
Monday the 2nd of February, I attended a presentation intended for the second year students. The presentation was held by the John Smedley Archive Curator, who was there to speak to the students about the company and a project affiliated with the Derwent Wise Project. Although the presentation was not tailored to suit the MA Realisation project, I was able to gleen some interesting information which could possibly inform my practice.
John Smedley is a family based organisation which will soon be celebrating its 225th anniversary by celebrating the Smedley archive/ museum collection. Presently the company pride themselves on creating fins gauge, high quality knitted garments.
During the presentation I found out a number of interesting facts, which I feel are important for me to consider when researching for my project:
Firstly the class was presented with a replica of a knitted long john and vest underwear set, which was created from examining the original underwear worn by an expedition to reach the summit of Mt Everest in 1924. This piqued my interest along with a number of items in the museum collection, which have changed in both value and quality due to time. Not unlike many works of art from the past, the items which were once new and marked at a certain price have become worth more over a long period of time even though they have possibly been diminished in quality. As time changes the underwear intended to keep a person warm during a mountain climb, has become of interest to people that it might not have at the time concerned, similarly artwork can possibly be adopted by audiences which were not originally the target audience, this is something that I feel all artists must consider when creating work.
Another interesting factor was that the curator mentioned when commenting on a photograph of the group of men who intended to be involved with the climb, that one of the men was wearing a garment which contained zips and how the zip was relatively new technology of the time. This reminds me that new ground can be something very simple. As masters students we are encouraged to break new ground and somewhat search for the avant guarde in our work, so remembering that many things taken for granted in current day life were once new creations.
Whilst explaining the trademark Jay bird used as the Smedley's logo, the curator provided some images of the garment stamps that were used to authenticate a John Smedley garment. These stamps were in blue in and often found on either the waist of hip of the garment. This way of making the clothing as a form of authentication inspires me to consider how in the future if I choose to make my own garments to sell, I can ensure that my customers know that the garments are made by me. The garment stamp and its progression to logo's which are now often found on Smedley polo or sport shirts, also gives me an insight into how marking garments has changed over time and how I am making fabric with imagery myself. I feel that it would be good for me to research how clothes are currently marked with imagery and design to find out what is new or currently being done, and how I may or may not be doing something new or different.
During the presentation the shift in technology was also mentioned: the knitting for Smedleys was originally done by hand with the use of framework knitting machines, which allowed the garments to be knitted faster than simply by hand, now some of the machines although operated by trained professionals are computer aided. This makes me question where hand embroidery and many other hand rendered forms of art are necessary in a modern world. The curator did however mention that many of the garments at John Smedley are finished by hand in order to give that final flourish for luxury. Garments by John Smedley are sold often between £120 - £250 retail price, this is quite a high price dance which is representative of the high quality. With this information it is possibly to consider that my audience, if I choose to make garments, would be a group that would pay for luxury garments as opposed to mass production, one off or hand made items are presently popular, this is something I will look at in more detail.
Another interesting fact about the John Smedley organisation is that there are people employed to ensure that the construction of the garments is as efficient as possible. This is done by calculating how long it should take to create a certain item or garment panel, these are known as standard minutes. Although I do not work to this kind of regulation, because of all the embroidery I have done since the beginning of the Concept module, I do have a good idea of how long something will take me to embroider provided that there are not unforeseen issues. As I am expected to create outcomes for a deadline this semester allowing myself the correct amount of time will be vital.
Whilst listening to the presentation, I became aware that it is likely that each small production company dedicated to creating high quality garments will all have their own style or way of working. When attempting to stand out from the competition it is important to have a sense of self and personal voice.
I was also interested to find out that many of the knitters before and during WWI were men. Although in present western society many people seem to be of the opinion that sewing or knitting is a female trade, there is proof that this is and has not been the case. As I am currently looking at gender in tandem with the hand this information could be something I could use.
Toward the end of the presentation I found out that the John Smedley company have collaborated with a number of designers and companies in order to create new or cutting edge designs. Compaines such are Ralph Lauren and Paul Smith, as well as designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Margret Howell. By collaborating the curator explained how the company was able to move forward. It might by that in the future if I decide to carry on embroidering garments, I may also need to collaborate with people such as clothing retailers to move forward.
Finally after the presentation I was able to talk to the archive curator about possibly obtaining some offcuts of the knitwear y John Smedley on which to practice my embroidery with the hope of diversifying the materials on which I can embroider. I have since emailed the curator to find out more. I feel that it is important to work with outside sources in order to move my practice forward and learn more about the business I may choose to work within in the future.
The next few blog entries (excluding blog entry 7) will research more deeply into aspects which this presentation has inspired.
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