Oxfam x Huddersfield University - Designer Maker Project [Jan-March 2018] 2/3
The Processes
During the process of creating the samples, I had the idea to use the waste to ‘stuff’ the samples with. This means there was no mess left over or anything needing to be thrown away – it all gets used. Which I thought really sent the message that the product is completely upcycled.
I used sublimation printing to dye some fabrics. The pro of using ‘sub dye’ was that it’s a good fix to quickly ‘upgrade’ something and radically change it into something else. As well as this there is no extra ink left over either, which is good as no harmful inks are wasted and thrown away. Embroidery was another technique I used to add detail on some samples. As well as then sewing everything together using a sewing machine.
I felt it was important to include the Oxfam logo on the products – therefore it’s easy to establish and make connections with the good Oxfam do and what the product is for. Although I wanted to appeal to younger people still and make them unique and funky so I had a geometric design that added colour and youth to the products that could easily be put onto some fabrics and used. Personally, I believe it adds a certain touch to the products – there is no doubt they are handmade!
There were some difficulties when making the samples – some became very fiddly and I didn’t want to make them any bigger as they were meant to be keychains. This further developed ideas to create soft toys as well as keychains.