The Make it in Design team love nothing more than to celebrate all of the wonderful work, energy and dedication of our Live Hub members. Our members are what make The Live Hub such a supportive, wonderful, magical place and we want to acknowledge that.
Each month we select the “Member of The Month’ so that we can showcase our members work and shine a creative spotlight on them! This September we selected Ruth Fischer who has been busy creating wonderful collections using the Colour Spotlights and Trend reports which are EXCLUSIVE to the Live Hub – congratulations and thank you!
How did you get started in design?
I started off with sewing. I used to make children’s clothes, dresses with hats and bloomers for the girls and shirts and jeans with matching turnups for the boys. My children were the models for all my designs. I just loved fabric, in fact I had rather too much of it! I loved the designs and just wished to see my artwork on the fabrics I was using. I didn’t have a clue back then though.
I have always loved to do a lot of art so when we moved to a remote village in France, 5 years ago, I decided to go for it and learn what I had always wanted to learn, digital art and design, with the hope of one day getting my patterns on to fabrics.
Which is your favourite market to design for and why?
I use Print on Demand websites to have t-shirts etc made for myself and my family. I also had fabric printed that I made into wedding outfits. I just love to see my designs in print, and I love clothes so have rather a lot of vest tops with my designs on!
What are you currently working on?
My portfolio! I am doing the MIID Module 3 to help me to put it all together …I have too many patterns to choose from.
I do also like to make at least one new design a week. This week I have made a giraffe design, so I am working on some co-ordinates for it.
How has Make it in Design helped your work evolve/grow?
By giving me a lot of encouragement and motivation MIID has helped me to produce some of my best designs. It has pushed me out of my comfort zone and shown me that I can produce patterns I never dreamt I could do. By doing the briefs set in Summer and Winter school it has helped to build my portfolio and from the reactions I had it has shown me that I am ready to reach out to art directors and collaborate to have my designs licensed.
What are your key successes since finding MIID?
My success to myself is that I am now ready to show my work. Before MIID I didn’t know if someone with no qualifications could make it in the design world but the reactions to my work have shown me that I am just as able to do this. I might not have the Degree, but I have worked very hard and have been determined to prove to myself that if there is something you truly love doing then you can make it happen.
Best tip/advice for MIID students
Have the confidence to know your work is good enough. Don’t doubt yourself, the MIID community is very kind and gives you loads of encouragement so don’t be afraid to put your work out there for people to see. Keep focused on what you are doing and if you have a brief, however hard it seems, keep at it as it will all come together, and you will be really pleased with the results.
As a reminder please make sure that when posting on your public social media be sure to tag @makeitindesign and #miidlivehub so we can see what you are doing and we can repost your work.
