Success for students at the annual BA (Hons) Textile Design Industry Awards

Kate Farley, BA (Hons) Textile Design Course Leader has held, for the second year running, the Textile Design Industry Awards. 

Industry guests and colleagues were invited to judge and award third year student work. 

This year’s judging panel included: Jack Baxter, from John Lewis Visual Merchandising team, Amanda Geitner, Director of East Anglia Art Fund, Hannah Henderson, Curator for Norfolk Museums Service, Vicki Johnson, from No.19 Shop & Studio, Norwich graduates Liam Saunders and Kiera Morel, from Wavey Yarns, Evie Ross and Sophie Banks, from Norwich University of the Arts and Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director for Dulux UK and Ireland and founder of the Colour in Design Awards.

Categories and Winners

Category	First Place Winner	Highly Commended
Colour in Design Award	Annie Gough	Betty Tooher Rudd
Creative Concept Award	Annabel Rowe	Lily Menaul
Context Resolution Award	Charlotte Standen	Chloe Summers
Image and Pattern Award	Laura Greenway	Emma Strudwick
Professional Pitch Award	Cha Charoensuk	Courtney Maxwell Smart
Research Narrative Award	Annabel Rowe	Jie Yan
Textile Maker Award	Lily Menaul	Elodie Reid-Williams
Studentship Award	Sarah Birch	Charlotte Walker

Judges Comments

Jack Baxter, from John Lewis Visual Merchandising team said:

“We love being asked to be part of these awards. It’s such a privilege to be part of these designers’ journeys. Every graduate showed us something new, exciting or something that took us back to a simpler and more traditional textiles practice, which is equally refreshing to see.’

“We were so impressed with the way the graduates approached their work in terms of context resolution, which made our jobs as judges even more difficult. Everyone should be incredibly proud of the work they have achieved, including the tutors.”

Vicki Johnson, from No.19 Shop and Studio said:

“I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the students and standard of work was high. It was very interesting to see the finished work alongside the design development and have each student talk us through their collections.”

“We particularly enjoyed seeing sketchbooks, these told us so much more about the different approaches and gave us the opportunity to see more of the original artwork that informed the end results.”

Amanda Geitner, Director of East Anglia Art Fund said:

“The students were articulate and engaging about their projects and so clearly proud of their hard work and the textiles they have made. It was wonderful to see the full range of approaches, from bold silkscreen designs for children to extremely fine hand knitting and crocheting.”

“Most of all, I was struck by the outward looking energy of their ideas and the diverse range of their interests and inspirations – it spoke of great curiosity, careful research, passion and ambition. A powerful combination of skills to move forward with.”