Um… about me – DESimeleon – a design chameleon – a designer in disguise –
A designer who after 20+ years working in the textile industry washed up on level 3 CSB, University of Huddersfield – not a librarian but an interloper from the School of Art, Design and Architecture.
how I got here…….
2 yr art foundation at Harrow School of Art
BA Hons Textile Design at Camberwell School of Art (now part of The London University of the Arts) – during my time at Camberwell I actually spent a week in Huddersfield on a short yarn construction course in one of the old textile towers , it never occured to me I’d be back working here one day.
then a post grad at Leeds University again in textile design, specializing in yarn design and construction.
I don’t really count my 1st job as it lasted all of about a month before redundancy, it was yarn design for a company that mainly made chainette yarns and wanted to diversify and expand into other areas, they changed their minds so a few weeks later, closed the other section down and I started working in Silsden as the designer for one of the largest fancy yarn spinners and was with them for the next 12 years.
12 years designing yarns and putting together colour ranges for all the major handknitting companies, fancy yarns for machine knitting for companies that made garments for the likes of DNKY, Marks n Sparks and the good old leicester knitters who knitting for the market trade. Also yarns for weaving for channel and and others. I loved it, the colour, the machinery, the people I was hooked on the textile industry…but the industry was/is in decline so after 12 years and redundancy I went to work for a narrow fabric weaving company where -as the designer and product development manager- amongst other things I learnt a whole lot more about glassfibre and wick production than I ever thought was necessary or possible…I’ve created wicks for the Olympic flame and for fire-eaters as well as fragrant candles and paraffin heaters. I’ve made webbing tapes for slackline walking (not good if like me …you don’t like heights) and hot air balloons, been involved in designing rucksacks carriers for kiyaks, rabbitt hutch covers, webbing dog leads, belts, reflective horse harnesses and good old bog standard webbing for sports bags amongst other things.
After 8 years I took voluntary redundancy and left industry behind and started working in the school of Art, Design and Architecture as the Design resource coordinator for the newly created Trend Hub, that was just over 3 years ago and in October the hub and I moved into CSB level 3 where everyone has made me feel very welcome and at home – thanks 🙂
I’m the Design Resource Coordinator for the School of Art, Design and Architecture, Trend Hub by the way – more about that later.
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