OUPD202 - Going Green for 2016...

For our task on Monday I found this article is a suitably named journal called "Sustainability" in January 2013  issue. This article was talking about the key points of sustainability, specifically in the housing sector. One of the key points within the article was that the UK government wants all new builds to be completely carbon neutral.  The image shows one design concept which incorporates new design and construction methods.

Above: Sustainability 2013 Journal

PPD - Task 7 - Final Appraisal

So this is the last task for Personal and Professional Development for this year, and I have gained huge amounts of knowledge so far, with regards to all the different modules. I chose this course as I have always been a very hands on and practical person who showed skill and creativity in GCSE and A-Level product design, so I decided that this was the type of work that I would love to do in the future, whether this be running my own business, or taking a practical course such as furniture making further my skills and knowledge to allow me to become a teacher.

PPD has allowed me to expand my ideas and inspirations, with trips to places such as the NEC and other related trips by other modules to places like Nostell Priory. PPD has also made me begin to realise much more about running a business, selling furniture, building on feedback and gaining client’s interest. Other modules have also widened my ideas and sills, and one module largely related to this was Design Elements and Principles. When I first started this course and module, I knew that my weakest point would be physically getting my ideas onto paper. This module greatly improved my drawing skills, and I learnt a variety of different ways to get my designs onto paper, with the use of chalk, other images and also water colours, ways which I had never experimented with before.  It was not just what I have learnt on this course which has made it an exciting and wonderful year, but also the people supporting me all the way. The staff, lecturers and students have been invaluable in helping, designing and bouncing ideas, which I hope I have also been able to do for them. I have also learnt that organisation and presentation are incredibly important both to present your work but also to help during the design and make process.

With this knowledge that I have gained though the first year has also led me to realise other areas in which I want to learn and improve on for next year, such as how to run a profitable business, sell your ideas and also to gain more confidence whilst standing in front of a group of people, as this will be a necessary skill which will allow me to actually sell myself and my ideas I have to clients in the future.
Overall this has been an exciting and incredibly busy year, with learning machinery and tools, setting up a new home and meeting new friends and tutors. Hopefully next year will be a slightly easier year, as there won’t be new environments to adjust to, and I will just settle back in and start making furniture, which is what I love to do!

PPD - Task 6 - My Growing Experiences ...

PPD - Task 5 - Interiors UK 2012

On Monday (23/01/2012), we will be going to the Interiors UK 2012 exhibition, which is hosted in Birmingham.

For this task I will select three furniture manufacturers, three fabric or textile companies, and three lighting companies with explanations about why I want to go visit them at the exhibition.

Three Furniture Makers:

www.besp-oakfurniture.co.uk

I liked this company due to them producing innovative and bespoke pieces of furniture, such as the one above.

www.sjsfurniture.co.uk

This company was selected because all their furniture is handmade, and I liked the rustic aesthetics that their furniture has.

www.rossmorebysherry.ie

This is a family run business, which is over 50 years old, and I feel like they would be one of the most likely businesses to answer any questions which I may have.


Three Fabric Companies:

www.kobe.eu

This company specialises in fabric and upholstery for furniture, and taking comments and demands from furniture makers.

www.yarwood.co.uk

This is a local company to me (Leeds), and could possibly used for contact in the future.

www.james-hare.com

This company  had the widest range of fabric available, and will be good to compare them altogether.

Three Lighting Companies:

www.tuscanorlighting.co.uk

They specialise in traditional lighting, which maybe the kind of furniture which I may have to design and make in the future.

www.searchlightelectric.com

I picked this company to look at as they seemed to have the most modem designs of lightning.

www.paulo-coelho.com

The final company that I will look at is a company which makes bespoke lighting depending on the requirements of the client, and also the furniture in the room.

PPD - Task 3 - Pratt's Furniture and local furniture designers

This week is Task 3 of the Personal and Professional Development (PPD), and it is in three parts. Part one is all about Pratt's Furniture in Leeds, and what furniture they make. Part two is all about the ways which Furniture Makers mark their products and finally part three is about furniture makers which are local to my home away from university.



Part 1:


The furniture designer I have chosen to write about is Schneider Designs.


1. What kind of furniture do they make (In the designers own words):


"At Tom Schneider, we are passionate about creating distinctive contemporary furniture with a strong sense of movement. The collections are pure and honest; they are beautiful in form and need no additional detailing. We believe that furniture should stand the test of time and not go out of fashion; instead they should become contemporary furniture classics. Every piece of furniture is individually handmade by a team of craftsmen, which means that by ordering a Tom Schneider piece of furniture, you are choosing a truly unique, inimitable creation."


2. How many ranges, options, choices of wood / fabric they offer:


They have a wide range of furniture, which includes the rooms:

• Hallway
• Living Room
• Bedroom
• Dining Room
• Kitchen

They also offer to design and make bespoke furniture, to your exact details and requirements. I found this unusual, as not many I was looking at offered this amount of flexibility.


There website lists all the materials that are available to be picked, and include images of each one. Below is a list of all the woods:

• Maple
• Ash
• Oak
• Cherry
• Walnut
• Wenge
• Zebrano
• Ebony
• Black 
• White

And the fabrics:

• Leather - Rio and Harlequin ranges
• Any material of your choice

3. What awards have they won:


I couldn't find any awards which were listed on their website, however they have been in many magazine publications, such as 'Cabinet Maker' and the 'Times' Magazine.


4. What is their most expensive product:


There most expensive product was this Caress Corner Sofa, at £5,595.

5. What do the company think their unique selling point is:


They feel that it is that all their furniture is handmade, and will never go out of fashion. They also believe in simplistic furniture, but curved shapes, especially within the wooden pieces of each piece of furniture.


Part 2: Find five different ways manufacturers mark / brand their furniture:


1. 

Wally Woodworker

2.

Wood Touch furniture

3.

Bob Timberlake

4.

Charles Mackintosh

5.

Wilf Hutchinson

Part 3: Find three furniture designers within a three mile radius of my home:

Gallery136:

• http://www.gallery136.co.uk
• A wide range of all furniture for the house, along with ceramics and Artwork.

Made in wood:

• http://www.madeinwood.com/index.php
• A wide range of all furniture for the house, including paneling and worktops.

Blades Joinery:

• http://www.bladesjoinery.com/
• Furniture and custom built in storage units.
• They employ five people

PPD - Task 2 "Why Am I Here - What do I want to achieve?"

For Task 2 of the Personal and Professional Development (PPD), I have to answer five different questions about the course, why I picked it and how I feel about my abilities on the course. Below are the questions, along with the answers.


Five reasons why I chose to study on this programme:

1. I have always enjoyed making and being practical, whether in class or outside in my own hobbies.
2. I enjoy the feeling of being proud of something I have created.
3. I wanted to do something which involved making pieces of work which will last for years, and can be passed down from generation to generation.
4. I have always wanted to be multi-skilled, and wanted to have this alongside my computing abilities.
5. I have always wanted to either be self employed, or become a teacher, and this course will give me the abilities to become involved in either career.

Five things that I want to learn during my time on the programme:

1. How to produce furniture that can either be mass produced, or one of production for certain clients.
2. To learn how to effectively communicate my ideas and thought processes though drawings and mood boards.
3. Learn how to effectively teach and / or run a successful private business.
4. How to use all the hand tools properly, including maintenance (such as sharpening).
5. Learn how to correctly assemble all the different types of joint, either using hand tools or machines, depending on what I can access at the time.

Five skills that I think are my strengths: 

1. My ability to communicate successfully and help / learn from people on the course and the course leaders, as this is something that I have been doing for many years helping at groups such as the Scouts.
2. I have a very keen eye, which means that I like to get something completed to the best of my ability and time.
3. I feel that I have good computer skills, which means I have been able to carry on with my blog and design images on the different posts easily and successfully.
4. I have previous experience in wood craft and furniture making, and feel that some of this knowledge is very helpful for this course.
5. I am quiet a tidy person, which means I keep a tidy bench and always know where a tool is when I need it.

Five things that I want to improve:

1. My organisation skills, as I tend not to manage time very wisely.
2. My drawing skills and getting my ideas onto paper and making them look realistic and proportional, as I struggle with this a lot.
3. Hand production techniques, as I struggle with simple things such as sawing accurately.
4. Improve my knowledge of the general course, especially designers and the history of furniture making.
5. My understanding of all the types of tools, including the machines which are available to me, and how to use them correctly and most efficiently.

Five ways that I will evaluate my progress:

1. The marks and grades that I get for the assignments and furniture that I produce for the different modules.
2. The verbal feedback that I receive from family, course mates and course leaders.
3. My personal opinions on my work, and how well I feel that a module as been completed.
4. The subject knowledge that I have gained, and how this will help me to quickly and easily find the answers or ways to carry out pieces of work.
5. How successful a piece of work has gone, and how professional it looks, such as a written assignment, or a joint.

Five questions that I want to find the answer to:

1. How do I turn my interest in furniture making into a successful and profitable business?
2. How do I find good places to purchase my tools and raw material from?
3. How do I build up positive feedback and a large client base?
4. How to set up and use a hand plane properly?
5. How to apply wood finishes properly and aesthetically?