Textiles R Us: the benefits of blogging

Pip Paz-Howlett

(the only boy in fashion & textiles)

1. How has the class blog benefited your own creative progress and ideas?

Over the second year of BTEC I have found the class blog extremely beneficial as its something to do with our work that is constantly ongoing. I find it interesting to look back at this time last year or the year before to see what people have done in the same projects before, which helps me with ideas and inspiration and as well as seeing what level you have to match/top. Other people in the class also post things that may be beneficial to myself or others which helps a lot.

2. Do you regularly follow any specific blogs, and if so, why?

I regularly follow a blog called cosmic-voices which is run by an lcf fashion journalism student. I really love the way they write and review recent collections and it opens my eyes to things I may not have known/noticed before. But it's not just your normal fashion blog, they do amazing illustrations too and give you glimpses into the life of london university living.

3. What have you gained from looking at other people’s blogs?

Personally I've gained a bit more fashion knowledge and ideas on what to comment on in designer research. I probably gain a lot of inspiration and ideas from other peoples work too, taking little components they have used and combining it with other things to make my own thing. Looking at what others post about gives me ideas to create different and more exciting posts so they're not all very similar. I'm also incredibly nosey so I really enjoy seeing what others have been up to.

4. Do you think that having a blog/being part of a blog community has been useful in terms of your university applications, i.e. being able to showcase your work in a more professional way?

When university interviews started I found it very useful looking back at last years posts about interview questions as well as people in our class blogging about their interviews just after they happened, which I suppose helped me prepare answers etc quite a lot. For my university application to manchester metropolitan (don't go there) I had to create my own blog with my unique reference number to the uni as the blog address. In the blog I had to create a post consisting of 10 or 12 of my best images of work and then 250 words describing them, myself and why I applied to the university. I thought this was a really good way of showcasing your work in a professional manner and it looked really clean, simple and to the point.

5. Do you have your own blog?

yes its http://hellomynameispip.blogspot.co.uk/

6. Why?

well i got it in first year after gayle wouldn't stop badgering me and everyone about how important it was. as much as i hate to say it, she was right. i find it a really great platform to showcase your work on as its so easily accessible by anyone. such as in my university interviews i mentioned my blog so they could look at it to see my working process in more detail and to see other work not in my portfolio. but if you just shove your blogs url on a business card it gets it out there ever so quickly, even quicker if you connect it to other social networking sites. I'm hopefully going to add my blog to blog'lovin to get more hits and followers. I also love having my own blog as you can put your own style on everything you do, customising colours and fonts as well as posting about your social life and not just about work all the time.

7. Has having your own blog led to anything exciting yet?

No, not yet unfortunately :( although recently i've had a surge in views and i have regular readers in russia and the usa for some unbeknown reason! i suppose my blog led to an interview at manchester but that wasn't really anything exciting at all. but i find it really cool when people at work have said to me oh i saw your blog and i really love the stuff you put on there bla bla! its like YAY someone actually reads it haha!

8. What do you like to blog about the most? Should it all be work, work, work? Why/why not?

I do enjoy blogging about my work when I'm proud of the work I am producing. Like recently I have only been blogging about FMP and nothing else (which is fair enough as it seems to be all of our lives at the moment). I do also like blogging about my social life outside of fashion work but not in a written way, I just like putting photos up as i find visual things a lot more interesting than written. After fmp is over I would like to blog more about fashion (like reviews etc) stuff I've bought and photography as its something I love to do! I don't think blogs should be just all work as I feel that your readers should get the chance to understand you therefore understanding the way you work better.

heres some of my current fmp work, i only have an a4 scanner which is a bugger when working on an a3 scale, but you kinda get the jist.