Day 43. What studying at the Royal College of Art taught me.

9 year’s ago this summer I was half way through my two year MA course in textile design at the RCA. Having started my textile design education in 2006, by 2010 I was still studying and to be honest desperate for a break.

I was asked to offer some advice to a student of mine about whether going to the RCA was the right thing for her to do..

Here’s what I said,

‘My advice to you if you take your place at the RCA is that you don’t take it ‘tooo’ seriously and enjoy the whole journey of it . There are a lot of confident students out there and ultimately you need to decide what you want to get out of it from the beginning and be proud enough to make it happen.’

-Learn to deal with stress as best you can , and make sure you take days off regularly to improve your ultimate productivity. ‘Less is more is my new theory.’

Be confident with whichever pathway that best describes you, whether that’s commercial fashion print, craft or cutting edge textile innovation, the choice is yours.

The friends I mentioned all found it a challenge (although some don’t like to admit it!) but we all think we are better designers for it and have big aspirations.

Whatever you decide to do will help you move forward..

During a graduation speech I heard this quote and I think it’s very poignant to how some people might be feeling, Me included.

‘In the industry there are no shortcuts to success. Those that go on to enjoy acclaim in their particular discipline do so because they have put in long hours necessary to  turn their ideas into reality. It is not an easy path:  to succeed you need the perseverance and determination to sit with your creations hour after hour. That is the difference between those who make it and those who don’t.

-Surround yourself with people who share your goals.

-Gain a sense of self belief. Faith in your work will be what sustains you throughout the time consuming process of bringing it to life.  Those that give up will never know the success they might have had.

Images of my RCA Ma Textile Fashion Collection using printed silk jersey asymmetric placement prints.