At Make it in Design, we are incredibly proud and honoured to be part of the creative journey of so many talented individuals. We also love the sense of community that the modules facilitate, and are truly inspired by the positivity, feedback, and support that the MIID students provide to one another in the online communities.
As you can imagine, we well up with excitement and happiness when we hear about MIID student meet-ups. To think our modules brought talented artists together to share ideas, design, and simply be creative with one another is wonderful! We encourage each and every one of you to reach out to your fellow MIID classmates wherever possible to get in on this incredibly rewarding experience.
But don’t take our word for it! Today, MIID students Emma Wilkinson, Anna Van Der Feltz, Kay Whittaker, and Goldie Moran are sharing their Manchester meet-up story, from how they met, what brought them together, what happened at their meet-up, and their hopes and dreams going forward with their design careers. Below is a fun Q&A they completed to let other students know how beneficial and fun this event was.
To start, in which class did you all get to know each other? How did it come about?
Emma, Anna, and Kay: Module 1, Designing Your Way!
Goldie: My first introductory Facebook post mentioned that I live local to Manchester and these ladies replied to say they lived nearby!
And which modules have you all taken or graduated from?
Emma: We are all graduates of Module 1 and have recently attended the Winter School 2017. The four of us have also continued our journeys together onto Module 2, Creating Your Professional Identity, which started in February 2017.
After some fellow students decided to arrange a meet-up in London, we felt it would be nice to do a meet-up in Manchester for those that could attend. We had all been supportive of each other’s work through out Module 1 and felt it would be nice to meet in person before we commence the next module. We met at Manchester Art Gallery as it was a central location, easy for people to access.
We have all thoroughly enjoyed the first Module in Make It In Design and a lot of people on the original group have continued to keep posting their work and keep in touch with each other through the Facebook page. I found the Facebook page such a great tool for students all over to be apart of a community as well as a class. It certainly helped with the journey and my first steps on this course. So, when we realised there were a few of us that lived near, it seemed like a good idea to meet in person and build upon our new friendships. It is a shame that we are all spread out across the world as I know we would all love to meet, so many inspiring fellow students are on this course… but then our different cultural backgrounds make the course content have more depth with inspiration from around the world on each task and brief that we are set.
So, we were very fortunate to be able to meet on Sunday 5th February, and it was lovely to get to know each other a bit more. It made me feel a part of a team with my fellow class mates. We were all so supportive of each other and it was interesting to find we all have the same passions, though in our own individual ways. It also allowed us to meet the real person and find out a little bit about each other… and what a lovely bunch of girls they all were. We even talked of another meet up once we have started Module 2.
Goldie: Module 1 and Winter School 2017 – we’re all looking forward to starting Module 2 this month!
Brilliant! So when and where did you meet up? Was it the first time?
Emma: After some fellow students decided to arrange a meet-up in London, we felt it would be nice to do a meet-up in Manchester for those that could attend. We had all been supportive of each others work through out Module 1 and felt it would be nice to meet in person before we commence the next module. We met at Manchester Art Gallery as it was a central location, easy for people to access.
Goldie: We also had coffee and cakes and a browse around the gallery exhibitions!
We’re eager to hear how it went! Can you share a little bit about the meet up?
Emma: We have all thoroughly enjoyed the first Module in Make It In Design and a lot of people on the original group have continued to keep posting their work and keep in touch with each other through the Facebook page. I found the Facebook page such a great tool for students all over to be apart of a community as well as a class. It certainly helped with the journey and my first steps on this course. So, when we realised there were a few of us that lived near, it seemed like a good idea to meet in person and build upon our new friendships. It is a shame that we are all spread out across the world as I know we would all love to meet, so many inspiring fellow students are on this course… but then our different cultural backgrounds make the course content have more depth with inspiration from around the world on each task and brief that we are set.
So, we were very fortunate to be able to meet on Sunday 5th February, and it was lovely to get to know each other a bit more. It made me feel a part of a team with my fellow class mates. We were all so supportive of each other and it was interesting to find we all have the same passions, though in our own individual ways. It also allowed us to meet the real person and find out a little bit about each other… and what a lovely bunch of girls they all were. We even talked of another meet up once we have started Module 2.
Goldie: I was initially nervous about meeting up with people I’d not met before but it was very relaxed and we all had a lot in common. It was lovely to meet the people who are the same path as myself.
Kay: It was lovely meeting up with likeminded creative people. Emma, Goldie and Anna were so friendly and we had a lot in common. We all have similar goals of where we want to go creatively and it’s so great to know we are taking the journey together as we have all signed up for mods 2 and 3. There was talk of a further meet up and maybe taking a workshop at Fred Aldous together.
Anna: It was lovely to meet the ladies who are local to me and who have this journey in common. I really enjoyed the afternoon and getting to know them all. These courses are a great way to make friends and build a support group!
It sounds brilliant! Can you show us some examples of your work?
Kay
Anna
Emma
Goldie
Fabulous work ladies! Can You tell us a little about you and the work you do?
Emma: The last time I did any artwork or design was a good 20 years ago when I completed my A-levels, however I decided to take a marketing degree at The London College of Fashion… and ever since I have missed the creative side of designing, art and illustration. I closed the door on it, not wanting to let my family down, and carried on with my course. I graduated in Fashion PR and Marketing, going on to work for some amazing brands… but I still longed for a more creative/artistic career. It wasn’t until both my children started school that I made the decision that if I don’t explore my creative side I will always regret never taking that path… so here I am.
I don’t find it as easy as many of my class mates to just draw whenever and wherever, maybe still a confidence thing. I have ideas, but seem to busy myself so I don’t follow them up. The briefs in the course and The Winter School are great, they drive me and give me a focus. I hope as the year unfold that I will become more free with my work… It feels so natural. I have to pinch myself to realise that I am the one producing the work that I do, I never thought I would be sharing it on social media so early on and yet I am so pleased that I have. It disconnects you from what you are working so closely on, with so much focus and liberates you when you have the public who comment and like your work.
Goldie: I’m a graphic designer and enjoy drawing, colour and typography and I’m enjoying learning new skills on the MMID courses. My work is still evolving every day but my designs usually feature simple, bold motifs and lots of colour.
Kay: I’m a craft product and packaging designer by day but I dream of designing my own fabric range one day and seeing my designs on homewares and stationery. I use the computer to design at work so I wanted to get back to basics and start sketching again. I’m still finding my style but having a lot of fun experimenting with different techniques of mark making.
Anna: I am a graphic designer with a passion for colour, typography and stationery. I find I’m not being as creative as I’d like to be in my job so I wanted to explore a new avenue which would unleash my creative side again and in which I could apply my skills and develop new ones. I thought this course would be the perfect way to do that and it has been. I love details and am really enjoying drawing again! I want to start using typography in my designs and looking forward to seeing where the world of surface pattern can take me!
And do you have any top tips or advice for current students?
Emma: Get stuck in, share your work, work with your class mates… they are such great critics and offer such good reviews of your work. Don’t doubt yourself, believe in yourself!
Goldie: Embrace the Facebook groups. They are full of tips, links, inspiration, encouragement and you might make some new creative friends along the way.
Kay: I found it scary at first to share my work online but people are so supportive on the courses that it’s a great confidence booster. I would encourage any new student to just go for it and get yourself out there.
Anna: Just enjoy it! Don’t put too much pressure on yourself or be put off by what everyone else is doing. It’s about finding what works for you and what you enjoy so get as much out of the course as you can. It’s meant to be fun!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.