She shall go to the ball!

This was Olivia's last year in primary school & the parents had arranged a prom for Year 6 so I used the silk mix fabric I had bought from London a while back to create her a dress for the prom. The shoulder embellishment was a broken hair clip that was stitched onto the shoulder. 

Mid Cheshire College Fashion Show 2013

Another year, another successful show.

Victoria's Beauty x

So, for the last few weeks, my family & I have been busy helping my youngest sister turn the 2 run down units she is renting in to a haven of tranquillity named Victoria's Beauty. This is my sisters new business venture. 

Hand made cards will be on sale (made by my mum)

The draws were found in a shed not being used so I changed the handles to modernise them a little. The table was 2nd hand from a pub so dad sanded it down and painted it cream. The brand new lamp was found on a boot sale for £1.00

The wood effect light shade was bought from NEXT. The horrible cold concrete floor was covered with wooden flooring by good old dad

The plackets slotted in the window at the top of all the blinds are wood which my sister & I covered with fabric. The towel rack was a magazine rack. The brand new IKEA mirrors were found at a boot sale for £4.00

The skirts on the sinks were lovingly hand made by myself along with the chair covers.

The bags made in a previous post are displayed on the wall for sale.

The towel rack was found at a boot sale for £1.00

You can't really see the office chair but it's like new & I found this also from a boot sale for only £3.00

The silver soap dispenser had been bought from Next new but whilst at the boot sale I found the matching bowl to go with it for only £1.00

Yep you guessed it, the magazine rack was found at a boot sale for only £1.00

Love this quote from Coco Chanel. Bought this on line. Will put a small sticky diamante at the end to complete it when I find one.

Bags hanging on the door hook are goody bags I made with sewn on scraps of left over fabric to tie in with the decor.

These plants were placed at the entrance to make it look welcoming. Just need to tie some red satin ribbon around them.

Her sign

Her sign on the door.

Really enjoyed this little make over project but hours spent scouring boot sales took its toll on my poor feet.

Having Time to Sew!

Having time to sew is a luxury these days so I was in my element when I found a few hours spare to spend in my studio making these  little bags. I call them magazine bags as the measurements for the pattern were taken from April's Vogue magazine. 

Really into recycling at the minute.The denim print came from an ex-display IKEA cushion cover found in a bargain basement bin, the tabs holding the handles to the bag are a really strong elastic from the insides of a sofa my dad & I stripped back & the rest of the fabric is from off cuts of fabric that I can never bring myself to throw away.  

The pattern hook/coat hook (I use it to hang my pattern blocks from) I also created myself by gluing 3 wooden meter sticks together & getting my dad to drill the different coloured hooks (purchased from DIY)to the rulers.  

Notable Mention from Giles Deacon!!!

 As featured in a previous post, I entered a Giles Deacon competition on www.showstudio.com where by I downloaded his pattern & manufactured it in some fabric I had lying around my studio. 

No I didn't win but was so excited when I read the text that accompanied the winning entry. See below

'We had lots of incredible re-interpretations of Giles Deacon's The Troubadour dress submitted as part of our Design Download competition. Both Giles Deacon and Nick Knight faced the huge task of siphoning through the submissions and picking their favourite to feature in an exclusive SHOWstudio fashion film.

It is with great pleasure that we can announce that the winner of the competition is the very talented Leanne Broadway! Her use of unconventinal material won over the judges, 'I really liked how Leanne had given the dress a new feel and the choice of rubber was great and the execution immaculate,' said Deacon.   

Notable mentions also go to some of the other entrants who impressed our judging duo with their creativity. Knight was struck by Paula Maso and Neliana Fuenmayor's floral entry and Craig Warfield's simple elegant design, while Deacon was keen on Jolie Kay's submission and approved of the fabric of the dress made by Nichola Hanson.'

Wow! Not only did he approve my fabric choice but he was also keen on my 1st year student Jolie Kay's submission. 

A very happy Nick x

Dress Exhibition on a Small Scale

Above are images showing my small group of 1st year ED Fashion students competition entries for the Giles Deacon competition on Show Studio. Because they were all made to a high standard we decided to exhibit them in the foyer of the main college along with some images of their photo shoots they styled for their portfolio. really proud of them, they did a great job. fingers crossed one of us is a winner xx