Site goings on

I’ve started to make changes to my site, including this blog and the one I did for final year. I’m going to start operating from a single Homepage and use that to link to various places. At the moment the links on the new Homepage just go to the pages that already exist on the blog but over the summer I’ll make new site pages/image galleries for CAD work etc. The final year blog link will remain on the Homepage.

I’ve pointed all of my various domains to the new Homepage so scanning a QR that took you to the interactivewearables.co.uk or .com domains will now take you to the new page. QR’s that pointed at the blog will continue to work.

The end of the B.Des

Yesterday was graduation day and signalled the formal end of my life as an undergraduate, roll on September when I start the Master of Design program at Dundee University where I hope to develop the work I did on the B.Des. In the last couple of weeks I’ve had some contact with a couple of organisations who are interested in the work I’ve done and I hope that good things will come from that.

Me crossing the stage at graduation

So a wee opportunity now to say well done and good luck to everyone I’ve shared a studio with over the last 3 years. I couldn’t have asked for a better, diverse and more talented bunch of people to share the journey with and I’m sure that great things lie ahead for you all. Next (for most) is New Designers in London, where I hope DoJJaM will win, once again, the top honours. So good luck folks, I’ll miss you all.

PS, I think a summer diet and exercise regime is in order!!!

Meet the new interactive wearables logo

Pictured below is the new logo for my interactive wearables site/brand. It’s simple and blue(ish). Below that is the logo embedded in a QR code which contains the iW url. Thanks to Jon Gill for the tip on doing that.

During the summer I’ll be re-organising the site/blogs and changing everything so they all point at a new front-page at interactivewearables.com – All the current content will remain but they might be in different places. I’ll also be sticking with WordPress, it’s too easy to use to give up.

The week ahead

Tomorrow will see the arrival of the external assessors and they will be busy doing the rounds of the final year work, once they’ve finished it’ll be Tuesday, final year results day (4.15pm to be exact), and I feel a bit like the ‘accused’ waiting on a verdict. What that verdict will be I don’t know, but I’ll post it late Tuesday evening, I’m working ’til 9 that night.

Thursday evening is ‘Industry night’ when invited guests of the University get a preview of the degree show and after that the jewellers are going out for some food and banter.

Friday is the degree show opening night when the friends and families of final year students come to DoJ to have a look at our work, what my friends and family will make of my plastic prototypes amongst the shiny offerings of my talented year group I don’t know, maybe I’ll be waiting on that verdict with the same trepidation as the results, maybe more-so.

The show opens to the public on Saturday 21st May and is on ’til the following Sunday, details here

This week-end I’ve been playing around with Rhino in a non-jewellery way. I’ve been doing some designs for an EMA jewellery RFID scanner.

Degree assessments

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything to this blog, that’s because I’ve been so busy working on the other one (final year blog) and getting prototypes and other things ready for assessments, plus, over the last week I’ve been not too well although things are improving health wise.

Assessments are in a couple of days (Tuesday 10th May) so it’s time to get everything ready for presenting the work in the degree show space. I went to Uni today and began to get things together in my space and tomorrow I’ll set everything up leaving me Monday to sort out some other issues.The image below is my show space, everything to the right of the bag on the floor. I’ll have work at both sides of the Mac and on the wall. I’ll post an ‘after’ image once assessments are done.

Oh, and it’s a happy 50th birthday to me :-))

Degree show

The degree show space has been sorted out and we all more-or-less know where we’ll be in the grand scheme of things, the next thing to do is plan out where all the things I need for it will be going.

Apart from my only silver piece and related RP models I have 2 Macs and a PC to fit into the show. One Mac will give viewers access to my blog, the other will support the RFID related pieces and go on-line to their respective information pages. The PC will be supporting the QR code pieces and related equipment.

The image below is the one I decided to use for my show postcard although I’ve since decided I’m not actually going to make a silver version of it.

Middle of April

It’s been a while since my last post, I’ve been a bit lost.

I lost the thread of what I was trying to achieve with my final year work and started to move away from my concepts and tried to produce finished pieces of work. I think it began when I won a Goldsmiths award, that meant I was going to have to produce a piece in precious metal when I hadn’t planned using any, this then shifted into the other pieces I was working on and before long I’d fallen into the ‘shiny pretty things’ for degree show mindset. I spent almost a week in the design studio and workshop surrounded by half finished pieces of silver work not really sure where they were going  and changing things about them as I worked.

After discussions with tutors I’ve ditched the silver pieces, apart from the Goldsmiths effort, and have gone back to concepts, rapid prototypes and renders.

There’s a little over 3 weeks ’til assessments, I’m waiting on Shapeways RP orders and have started to make up posters which show a graphical representation of my dissertation and EMA jewellery concepts.

Another post in the next couple of days about help from a company who have loaned me QR code reading equipment.

Final year update

I’ve put some updates onto the final year blog.

Firstly a new page –  Onyx Cabochon –  which shows some of the development of a new piece. I’ll be looking to have this made soon, all the materials are available now (Cooksons order came yesterday) but the laser cutter is poorly so I’ll have to wait on it getting better before I can engrave another onyx cab with a new QR code. I’m also going to make at least one other version with a more decorative (and saleable!) design. This piece will also involve some photo etching.

I’ve also updated the Miscellaneous page with a couple of experimental degree show post card renders, I’m practising these to get scene setting experience in rendering and also because I might use renders rather than photos if the ‘making’ doesn’t go to schedule!

The main news today is that I received some RFID tags and a scanner. These have been loaned to me by Richard Fry, MD of Micro-ID. I’m really grateful to Richard for his help, it would be a struggle for me to get the concept over without this equipment, a scanner paints a thousand words! People who visit the show will now be able to scan items of jewellery.

I’ve got really busy week ahead so might not post again ’til next week-end. Image below shows the RFID scanner and 3 sizes of tag, fantastic.

March Update

I’ve posted a couple of updates on the final year blog in the last few days, on the box brooch page and the RFID ring page. This week I’m waiting on some RP models of the RFID ring (image below) from Shapeways, silver from Cooksons and the cast box brooch from Niagara Falls, all should be here by Friday.

Box Brooch

I’ve finalised plans to have my first degree show piece cast this morning, it’s an updated version of the box brooch I submitted as my Goldsmiths entry and a .stl model has been sent to Niagara Falls casting company which should be ready early next week. There are changes to the rear of the brooch, and I’ve reduced the depth of it but the changes enhance the design. I now need to get a Cooksons order done so I can make the brooch rear plate and begin a couple of other pieces.

Renders and an update on the design will appear on the final year blog later today or tomorrow and photos of the piece will appear after assessments.