In this episode, we are delighted to talk with Dawn Foxall and Roy Ballam about the recently released paper commissioned by the Textiles Skills Centre, 'Unravelling the Fabric of Textiles Education'.

As we seek to move the subject forward, building from the bottom up being our approach at the Association, we need to carefully look at where textiles fits into primary and secondary education. Our view is that we want to keep textile education within design and technology, a position that is perhaps challenged by the large number of textile teachers who are now delivering examinations within art and design in secondary education.

We were, therefore, somewhat relieved and delighted that this report strongly indicates that textile teachers have moved predominantly for the assessment methodology adopted through art & design and a strong desire to "teach to their expertise" at KS4 and KS5. A large majority have stated in this report that they would come back to design and technology if the examination requirements were adapted to allow them to do this within the subject; this giving us a clear steer as we seek to start the process of reform.

We drop the normal format of the podcast and dive straight into the report on this episode; there is so much that demands discussion. Thanks to Dawn and to Roy for giving up their time to talk with me. You can download the report from the TSC: https://www.textilesskillscentre.com/

As always, huge thanks to the Edge Foundation for their continued support of this podcast.

In this conversation, we follow Gordon Fraser, Co-founder of the Marloe Watch Company, on his journey from a difficult school experience to co-founding a successful British-designed watch company.

With his Co-founder Oliver, whom he met online, the two founded The Marloe Watch Company and produced their first two watches without meeting (and living in two different countries). As the company grew, Oliver was the first to 'give up the day job' and concentrate 100% on the success of their venture, followed closely by Gordon.

Gordon discusses the importance of understanding user requirements while designing a watch that you, as the designer, would be proud to wear. We also discuss the importance of storytelling in design and how we are all seeking to buy and wear objects that help define our tastes and unique persona.

You don't have to be a watch lover to love this conversation (although I have to confess that I am). Gordon's passion for what he loves to do shines through as we discuss the highs and lows of owning your own design business.

Gordon uses a phrase that is worth exploring on its own: his growing "intolerance to imperfection," especially when design translates to manufacturing. Process and 'value engineering' push you as a designer to one compromise too many.

So grab an hour to yourself. Take the dog for a walk, place us in your ears for your gym workout or just grab a coffee and listen to Designed for Life - in conversation with Gordon Fraser.

https://www.marloewatchcompany.com/
And if you want to fall down the rabbit hole we discussed on the pod (and I would recommend it) follow this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FhTu3aGM60&list=PLB00JHoTw1TeX82Qw8hoFLRJI89Us_jMw

In this episode, we are in conversation with Claire Holman, modelmaking professional and lecturer at Arts University Bournemouth.

We follow Claire's journey from a fairly nomadic start as her family moved first to Zambia and then to England, closely followed by Scotland as her father's work dictated their journey. This was followed at age sixteen by Claire leaving school and taking on a YTS course (if you are old enough, you know. If not, a government initiative to direct young people into training and employment). Here, she was subjected to some deplorable practice as the college concerned used the course as a 'cash cow', and the students were an essential part of the payment process for the college...but no more!

Sometimes, it takes a negative experience to produce a positive, and the bitter taste that this left with Claire drove her later in her career as she took a role (twenty-five years ago now) with the Arts University Bournemouth) "every student has a right to have teachers that are present, not just in the physical sense, but are on the journey with them, fully engaged".

We follow Claire's journey in modelmaking both in the UK and Canada and finally talk with her about what she has learned in over twenty-five years of educating students in design, modelmaking and prototyping in Bournemouth.

This discussion is one for students and educators nationally. Claire's love of teaching and her desire to get better at what she does professionally with each passing day comes over clearly in our discussion. I just know you are going to love this!

https://aub.ac.uk/
BA(Hons) Modelmaking: https://aub.ac.uk/course/modelmaking

NEW - BA(Hons) Creative Technologies: https://aub.ac.uk/course/creative-technologies

NEW - BA(Hons) Design for Sustainable Futures: https://aub.ac.uk/course/design-for-sustainable-futures

Other AUB courses of interest:

NEW – BA(Hons) Interior Architecture for Health and Wellbeing https://aub.ac.uk/course/interior-architecture-health-and-wellbeing

BA(Hons) interior Architecture & Design: https://aub.ac.uk/course/interior-architecture

This episode sees us in conversation with Sophie Hague - 2022 RSA Student Award winner and UX Designer.

Sophie found school difficult, not so much academically, but she found it over-stimulating, crowded and overall, just not an enjoyable experience. The one exception to this was design and technology lessons, where she enjoyed the 'open-endedness' of problem-solving activities and just 'clicked'.

As she progressed on her learning journey, Sophie found out just how she liked to learn. Experiential learning worked for her and she realised that to truly understand a topic, she needed to touch it, to feel it or to see the problem set within a real-world context that she could relate to. This metacognition became a major part of Sophie's development, and she developed a sound and blossoming love of learning.

At the age of 11, Sophie decided she wanted to be a designer, and she has been following that pathway since.

Her first degree opened doors in her mind that naturally led to a post-graduate Masters taken at Leeds University. It was here that Sophie was introduced to the RSA Awards, of which she says: "The brief allowed me to explore who I wanted to be, not only as a designer but also as a person. It changed my perception of what design is, what it can be and what I can make it".

This episode is the story of a young designer discovering her own academic ability as she explores the world of design. It was a joy to record, and I just know you are going to enjoy it too.

https://www.thersa.org/blog/2023/11/rsa-student-design-awards-winner

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-hague-b08b66197?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

https://www.instagram.com/sophs.design.stuff?igsh=MWNia2dra3hhN2J3cQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

https://www.sophiehague.co.uk/

Denim jeans have become an integral part of modern-day life. The majority of us own at least one pair (I personally have to confess to seven)! But how are these garments made? At what cost to the environment? And when they reach end of life how many of us give proper thought to where our once-loved products end up?

Josh Myers is on a mission to turn these discarded garments into aesthetically beautiful products that see the material being given a second life, good news for the environment, and with his patented product Denimolite providing beauty, strength and flexibility of use, the potential uses are endless.

In this episode, we follow Josh's journey from a rural upbringing in Cumbria to life in London and South Bank University, where during the Covid lockdown, he started to experiment with materials and shredded denim mixed with resin (encouraged by his father, who is a prosthetic engineer brought some favourable results. Hundreds of hours of experimentation later, Josh has created a beautiful and highly adaptable material that takes discarded garments and turns them into something really quite special https://indd.adobe.com/view/f1af327f-41e9-4353-8185-6bab9e26ac50

Join us in this conversation, within which we follow Josh's journey from school to university and through the creation to date of his award winning material. This is a story of success over adversity, of persistence, and of tenacity...through his own words, Josh has become slightly "obsessed" with making Denimolite a success for the good of others and for environmental good.

So grab the dog for a walk, take us to the gym, or just find a cosy chair, pour a coffee and listen to Designed for Life, in conversation with Innovator, founder and company owner Josh Myers.

https://www.denimolite.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/denimolite-ltd/

Amanda was somewhat destined to work in fashion from an early age. Influenced by her grandmother, who placed her in front of a sewing machine at age eight, she quickly learned how to use the machine and how to make her own clothes. Her grandmother's throwaway comment, having made her own dress only a short time after being introduced to the sewing machine, stuck, and Amanda's journey into the fashion industry was set.

A combination of sheer determination, ability, grit, and, it has to be stated, a degree of bravery saw Amanda experience the industry from almost every angle as she progressed quickly within it.

Following a number of years working abroad, Amanda returned to the UK. Parenthood brought with it a different perspective on aspects of the industry that had troubled her for a while. In 2009 she declined an offer to progress on her career pathway, and following a period of time where she painted and reflected on her next move, she set up The Fashion Factory (Fashionfactory.uk - offline), a business run from her home and working to empower young people how to use their hands and a sewing machine to upcycle old clothes into garments that they would be proud to wear.

The business was initially advertised through posters pinned to trees, but word of mouth soon took over, and Amanda soon found that her classes were full with long waiting lists of parents waiting to join this 'movement'.

COVID hit the business hard in 2020, and Amanda set about tackling a problem that had troubled her for a while. In her own words, "Trying to teach ten or more students how to use the sewing machine at the same time was like trying to teach ten pianists all playing different tunes". And so, armed with a home camera and editing software, she started to record and assemble a collection of videos that, when pieced together, allowed students to learn how to sew and create garments at their own pace. And so Fashion Rebellion was created https://www.fashionrebellion.co.uk

In this podcast, we follow Amanda's journey from school to where she is today and towards the end of the podcast, we have an offer for schools interested in exploring how Fashion Rebellion might work within their school.

I believe this is a journey you will not want to miss.

For enquiries about possibly introducing Fashion Rebellion in your school, please contact amanda@FashionRebellion.co.uk

In this first podcast of 2024, we are delighted to be in conversation with Reianna Shakil, UKRI Young Innovators Awards 22/23 Winner | Multidisciplinary Designer | Founder + Director of Studio ZRX.

In this conversation, we cover Reianna's journey from school through how she overcame problems when her funding ran out part way through her sixth form course and then how she had to find ways to manage her way through her degree, being diagnosed with Combined Type ADHD part way through her studies.

This is a story of perseverance. Many people, faced with some of the issues that Reianna has encountered, would have thrown their arms in the air and found an easier pathway. You will learn this is not Reianna's way; she has dug in and found a way to achieve what she set her heart on from the start.

This is a heartwarming pod for the start of the year and one that I think you will enjoy.

So sit back, grab that last slice of Christmas cake that is ruining your New Year's diet and enjoy Designed for Life - in conversation with Reianna Shakil.

Huge thanks, as always, to The Edge Foundation for their continued support of this podcast.

So that was 2023!

Twenty-four episodes of Designed for Life were recorded and published over the course of the year, fulfilling our promise of at least one podcast every two weeks. In these pods, I have been fortunate to speak with a wide range of innovators, founders, designers, engineers, academics, teachers and students, and here in this (admittedly longer than usual podcast), we pick out some of the best moments of 2023 and put them in one place for your listening delight.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank every single guest from the almost eighty who have given their time to be on the podcast since we started in summer 2020. This really has turned into a passion project; speaking with such talented and creative people has become one of the joys of my role as Chief Executive of the Association.

I would also like to thank the Edge Foundation for their continued support. As I have stated so many times on the podcast, without their support, we simply would not be able to produce these conversations.

And last, but not least, I would like to thank you...our listeners. You have streamed the pod almost 25,000 times, and you are the reason we do this work. The feedback that you provide is our fuel not only to continue, but to make this podcast bigger and better.

We have ambitious plans for next year, including bringing the pod live to more schools across the UK. If you would be willing to host an event for students and their parents at your school (or at a local business), then please do reach out to designedforlife@designtechnology.org.uk

So one last time for 2023, grab the dog lead but prepare the hound for a long walk, take us to the gym but don't go too hard, too soon, or just grab a coffee and a mince pie and listen to the best bits of Designed for Life 2023.