SDC book titles: SPECIAL OFFER

Earlier this year, the SDC repositioned a number of its book titles, including the all exclusive CD-ROM that contains all the most recent editions of the world-renowned SDC textbooks – from student textbooks to laboratory handbooks, the 6000+ pages of content of these books covers topics such as textile dyeing, fibre coloration and dyehouse management, and much more. When coming up with a new title for this CD, we decided to run a Wordle of all our book titles - and this is the 'word cloud' that we came up with: -

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This is a great visual illustration of the topics that are covered within the SDC books portfolio. And so, a new name for the SDC Textile Dyeing Dossier was borne. The dossier contains electronic versions of the 20 textile dyeing books published by the SDC since 1992 and, for the next month (until 10 Oct 2010), we are running an exclusive special offer in relation to this.

SPECIAL OFFER: Receive a choice of 4x selected SDC print titles free of charge with every order of the SDC Textile Dyeing Dossier. Orders must be placed before 10 Oct 2010. Free titles can be selected from:

• Batchwise Dyeing of Woven Cellulosic Fabrics • Blends Dyeing • Cellulosics Dyeing • Colour for Textiles – A User’s Handbook • Colour in Dyehouse Effluent • Engineering in Textile Coloration • Giles’s Laboratory Course in Dyeing • Instrumental Colour Formulation • Theory of Coloration of Textiles • Wool Dyeing •
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For more details of this special offer, see the SDC website here. Please quote reference SDC01 with your order and contact: sales@sdc.org.uk. To view the SDC online shop, where all the SDC publications can be ordered, visit: www.colourclick.org/shop.aspx (free registration is required to access the shop).

For any enquiries relating to books that are not specifically sales-related, please email: editorial@sdc.org.uk.

by CMcN

We are pleased to say the new issue of the SDC members' magazine The Colourist. This issue has a 'textile machinery' theme and features information about the UK manufacturer of quality knitwear, John Smedley Ltd. It is a Smedley design that is featured on the front cover and if you want to see who else is wearing 'a Smedley' these days, check out their company blog, here.

Also in this issue is more information on the SDC one-day wool conference Textiles-UK (taking place in London next month), along with a feature on our competition finalists!

To view the issue, click the image above.

by CMcN

SDC design competition finalists for 2010

"With awareness and understanding comes responsibility"

The finalists in this year’s SDC design competition, sponsored by Clariant, have once again impressed the judges with their awareness of the issues facing the textile coloration industry in terms of social responsibility (as summarised in the above quote from the Australian finalist). As outlined previously, the brief this year asked for the students to demonstrate socially-responsible thinking in their approach to their designs, as well as having colour as a main focus. Heats for the 2010 competition have been held around the world and the many expert judges have cogitated over which collection was deemed to be the most innovative and creative of all the entries, showing the student’s understanding of social responsibility and the issues which surround the fashion and textiles industry today.

The nine country finalists were recently announced and all will now go on to compete for the SDC Colour Design Award 2010 at the grand final in London this October.

Finalists
Australia: Anna Langdon (Sydney Institute)
China: Shihao Bai (Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts)
Hong Kong: Kwok Wai Liu (Hong Kong Design Institute)
Ireland: Sinead Geraghty (National College of Art & Design)
India: Swaroopa Adusumilli (College of Home Science)
Pakistan: Mariam Mobeen Shah (Iqra University Islamabad)
Singapore: Meng Jing (Lasalle College of the Arts)
South Africa: Laduma Ngxokolo (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University)
UK: Kelly Taylor (De Montfort University)

Finalists (pictured in rows from L-R): Australia, China, India, Ireland, Pakistan, South Africa and the UK:

(Photo of the Singapore finalist will be added here when available)

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Designs
The finalists in this year’s competition have been inspired by many and varied factors. Examples include the trip to Nepal that inspired Sinead Geraghty (Ireland) to produce materials made from local fibres and resources commonly used in textile production in developing countries and Swaroopa Adusumilli (India) who was inspired by working with local weavers in rural communities on eco-friendly textile solutions. Traditional weaving techniques inspired Shihao Bai (China) in his designs, Kwok Wai Liu (Hong Kong) was influenced by rainforest ecology, and Anna Langdon (Australia) took her inspiration from Scottish and Bavarian national costumes. The fabrics utilised ranged from mohair, chosen by Laduma Ngxokolo (South Africa) for his knitwear because of its of durability, warmth, flame resistance and colour fastness, and the fine-knitted samples produced by Kelly Taylor (UK). The remaining two finalists, Mariam Mobeen Shah (Pakistan) and Meng Jing (Singapore), also had an eco-focus in their designs. On reaching the final, Meng Jing comments, ‘The SDC competition is a great platform for designers to be seen in the eyes of the creative scene. I am truly honoured to have participated and be representing Hong Kong at the grand final in London.’

Design by Laduma Ngxokolo (South Africa)

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The Society acknowledges the support of all the judges, sponsors and volunteers who were involved in the regional and country heats, without whom the competition would not be possible. Each of the global finalists’ work will be exhibited following the Textiles-UK conference and the winner (recipient of £1000 and Veronica Bell trophy) will be announced at a ceremony in the magnificent Clothworkers’ Hall on 5 Oct 2010.

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The 2011 has now been launched to colleges, with the theme ‘reduce, recycle, reuse’. For details, contact: marketing@sdc.org.uk

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by CMcN

New speakers announced for Textiles-UK

Image: Colourful, high quality knitwear from John Smedley Ltd

The latest speaker to be added to the programme for the SDC conference taking place this autumn - Textiles-UK - is Andrew Caughey, the managing director of John Smedley Ltd - a company, with roots in the Derbyshire countryside, known for its high quality knitwear and a 225-year heritage.
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Andrew joins the keynote speaker, Malcolm Campbell (of Retail & Textiles Co.), along with a whole host of experts:
- Peter Ackroyd, Campain for Wool
- Peter Duffield, Global Textiles Associates
- Bill Macbeth, Textile Centre for Excellence
- David Lewis, University of Leeds
- Rebecca Sharpe, Australian Wool Innovation.
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The conference chair is Eric Musgrave, director general of the UK Fashion & Textile Association. Within the fantastic programme for this event which is taking place, there will be a strong focus on best practice, sustainability and the many benefits of using wool. The future will also be a main focus with the innovations and potential for wool.
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For the full programme, visit: http://www.textiles-uk.org.uk/.
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by CMcN

Early bird rates for Textiles-UK: book now!

The SDC is pleased to announce a brand new event this autumn, co-hosted by the SDC, Dyers' Company and Clothworkers' Company: Textiles-UK. This one-day conference will take place in London on 5 October 2010 and will focus on wool. This event will look at:

- The vital role of the wool industry in the UK, including the impact on the UK economy

- Its technical properties and diversity of uses

- The many benefits of using wool including its role in sustainability and as an environmentally friendly fibre

- The future - the use of technology, the innovations and the potential for wool.

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This innovative fibre has been featured highly in 2010, being the focus of the HRH Prince Charles' Wool Project (which was launched at the start of this year) and the theme of the SDC's magazine The Colourist in April (to view this issue, click here). The 'year of wool' will culminate with the SDC's Textiles-UK.

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An impressive line-up of speakers will talk about the technical innovations of wool and developments facing the wool industry. Full details available on the event website: http://www.textiles-uk.org.uk/.

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The venue for the event is the outstanding Clothworkers' Hall in the City of London, which - following the full day's conference - will be the backdrop for the grand final of the SDC International Design Competition 2010, for which all the country finalists have been chosen and will be announced in the next blog installment.

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by CMcN

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World Cup colours

As football mania sweeps the world, it is timely to plug a recent article in our online journal. Have you ever caught yourself wondering during any of the World Cup matches exactly what you concentrate on the most when watching a football game (or any team game for that matter)? Let's say there is a World Cup match on and you aren't too bothered which team wins, do you think the colour of the players' football strips will influence how long you watch a certain team? And will the colour of their shirts have any impact on the end result?

These are the sorts of questions that are raised in a recent article in Colour: Design & Creativity (see http://www.colour-journal.org/ in issue 4) by a team of scientists at Kyoto University of Technology (Japan) working with colleagues at the University of Leeds (UK). Research has shown, that colours used in sportswear and sport goods have been have been found to get more and more saturated over the years. This may be due to commercial reasons, such as the demand from sport sponsors to get the attention of viewers.

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But perhaps a more important reason is that players need to easily distinguish themselves from the other team on the field and thus increase their chances of winning the game. If the football strips of both teams are similar in colour, the players will find it difficult to distinguish between their team mates and their opponents. But, if the colour of a uniform has a high contrast colour against the background colour, say red uniform against green grass, the high colour contrast may improve the team's performance.

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Interesting stuff! To read more about this study, pelase click here to read the full article online here. And don't forget that if you wish to know when new content is published in the journal, you will need to sign up (for free) here. Also, did you know that you you can now view the full contents of the journal in a searchable 'at-a-glance'' document? Click here to view (PDF).

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by CMcN

Latest issue of The Colourist published

We are pleased to say the new issue of the SDC members' magazine The Colourist. This issue has a 'social responsibility' theme and features the colourful work of textile designer Akihiko Izukura on the front cover. To view the issue, click the image above.

by CMcN

Design competition - UK final

The SDC design competition heat winners (previously announced here) from the SDC regions across the length and breadth of Britain - London Region, Midlands Region, N England Region, Scottish Region and W England/S Wales Region - came together for the UK final which took place at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) last week.
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Judging
Each of the five finalists had the opportunity, individually, to meet the judges and talk about the inspiration for their designs and, in particular, their focus on colour and social responsibility. The judges included, pictured L-R below: Chris Sargeant, SDC Board trustee for fashion and design; Saloni Sachdev, design expert visiting for the occasion from India; Laura McCafferty, textile artist and designer; and Kathy Dickinson, senior tutor at NTU School of Art & Design.
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Judges talking with Lauren Chiu, London Region finalist (Lauren not pictured)

Kelly Taylor, Midlands Region finalist, talking with the judges

Workshop
As part of their experience in the UK final, each of the students also had chance to take part in a unique dyeing workshop with renowned Japanese textile artist Akihiko Izukura - a highlight for many, particularly as the students were also lucky enough to be invited to a private view of Mr Izukura's Life in Colours exhibition at NTU (outlined in this previous blog post).

Mr Izukura in the workshop with Laura Dowey, the N England Region finalist (front left) and Lauren Chiu, London Region finalist (front right)

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Sarah Finlay, Scottish Region finalist, in the workshop

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During the workshops, the finalists worked with natural extracts from plants and insects to dye silk garments following an ancient traditional practices followed by Mr Izukura that have at the route a zero-waste concept.

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Reception

Next the finalists had the opportunity to exhibiting their own work at a reception where SDC members and colour experts had chance to view their designs and talk with the students.
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All the finalists at the reception are pictured above, with Chris Sargeant, pictured L-R, and below with their work:

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-Kelly Taylor, De Montfort University (Midlands Region)
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-Laura Dowey, University of Huddersfield (N England Region)

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-Sarah Finlay, Duncan of Jordanstone (Scottish Region)

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-Lauren Chiu, Central St Martins College of Art & Design (London Region)

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-Olivia Goss, Plymouth College of Art & Design (W England/S Wales Region)

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During the reception, each of the finalists were presented with gifts sponsored by NCS and the UK winner was announced as Kelly Taylor from De Montfort University. The judges deemed her entry to be the most innovative and creative, outlining a clear understanding of social responsibility and the issues which surround the fashion and textiles industry today. Commented Kelly, who is in her final year studying textile design, 'In my designs, I was influenced by the pattern, texture and colour of worn ancient oriental armour and I combined a variety of fabric weights, textures and techniques to create the collection.'

UK final winner Kelly Taylor

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Thanks to all the judges that were involved in the final, and the heats thus far, as well as to all the SDC regional committees for organising the heats, judging and regional prizes. Kelly will now go on to the grand final in London in October, along with all the other country winners from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Pakistan, Singapore and South Africa. The Hong Kong finalist has already been decided and we'll be announcing all the country winners by the end of June, so watch this space!

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by CMcN

UK heats of the SDC design competition

Image: Entry in the N England heat (design by Saarah Mughal)

The global heats in the SDC International Design Competition 2010 - open to fashion and textile undergraduate students - are well underway. By the end of this week, the student who will be representing the UK at the grand final in October will be known. And by the end of next month, all the country finalists will be announced!

Over the past few months, competition heats have been held over the length and breadth of the UK and we are pleased to announce the regional winners and runners-up here. In regional alphabetical order:

LONDON REGION
Winner: Lauren Chiu, Central St Martins College of Art & Design
Runner-up#1: Rebecca Alexander, Chelsea College of Art & Design
Runner-up#2: Davjot Kaur Bamrah, London Met University

MIDLANDS REGION
Winner: Kelly Taylor, De Montfort University
Runner-up#1: Emily Whitesmith, Loughborough University
Runner-up#2: Harriet Foster, Nottingham Trent University

N ENGLAND REGION
Winner: Laura Dowey, University of Huddersfield

SCOTTISH REGION
Winner: Sarah Finlay, Duncan of Jordanstone

W ENGLAND/S WALES REGION
Winner: Olivia Goss, Plymouth College of Art

Thanks to all the judges that have been involved thus far, as well as to all the SDC regional committtees for organising the heats, judging and the regional prizes.
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Image: Entry in the Midlands heat (design by Emily Whitesmith)

As blogged last month (see here), the UK final takes place in Nottingham within the next couple of days. On Thursday, the winners of all the regional heats will meet the judges, they will take part in the unique Akihiko Izukura's dyeing workshop on Friday morning, they will be exhibiting their work in front of SDC members and colour experts, and they will attend a reception where the UK winner will be announced on Friday evening. More news on the UK final, with images of all the finalists' work, soon!

by CMcN

'Life in Colours' exhibition

Image: textile by Akihiko Izukura

A colourful exhibition by Akihiko Izukura, opens this week at Nottingham Trent University, UK. The practice of this renowned Japanese textile artist, which is always based on 'compassion for life', involves minimal waste during the process of dyeing, spinning and weaving, and 'sun and water circulation', using the natural power of the sun and water to save energy during design. His approach to fabric production includes natural dyeing, weaving, netting, braiding and entwining to create textile objects and fashion garments.

Zero waste concept
Based on a zero waste concept, Akihiko's work is based on the idea of 'appreciation for the life given to use from nature.' Some might consider this approach to his designs encompasses social responsibility at its core, ensuring that sustainable methods are pursued in all aspects of design.

Very apt then that Akihiko will be running a workshop for the UK finalists in the SDC International Design Competition in Nottingham next month, as the competition has social responsibility as its theme this year (it's all about colour too). A full list of UK finalists will be released soon; watch this space!

Colour conference
Akihiko is also the keynote speaker at the SDC COLOUR CONFERENCE, taking place at NTU on Friday 7 May. Spaces are still available for this exciting event; more details about the conference (and some other colourful events taking place that day too), plus information about booking, click here (PDF).

The LIFE IN COLOURS exhibition in NTU's Bonington Gallery opens on 22 April and runs until 14 May; for more information, click here (external link).

by CMcN

Can you own a colour?

The latest article published in the SDC online journal Colour: Design & Creativity (www.colour-journal.org) looks at colour ownership. This is not the first time such a topic has been looked at in an SDC publication; some years ago, an article published in The Colourist (see here) asked that very question - can you own a colour?

Any attempt to regulate or claim ownership of particular colours calls into question the nature of colour itself: what exactly is it that is to be regulated or owned? This is certainly an interesting debate and one which the author expands on, putting forward the argument that there are at least seven different kinds of colours. To read the full journal article in issue 4 of Colour: Design & Creativity, click here.

The author, Paul Green-Armytage (Curtin University of Technology), will also have a contribution in the next issue of the journal (issue 5), which is a special issue in association with AIC. Included will be a number of papers based on presentations given at the AIC Colour Congress 2009 which took place in Australia last October, with one review article, two galleries and 13 research papers all pre-selected by the guest editor (Nick Harkness) and the special issue committee. This issue will open soon; watch this space for the full content listing!

If you would like to hear more about this journal in the future, you can email editorial@sdc.org.uk or visit the journal website to subscribe. All content published in Colour: Design & Creativity is currently free to access and subscribers receive regular e-alerts when new content is available online.

by CMcN

New issue of The Colourist published

We are pleased to say the new issue of the SDC members' magazine The Colourist has now been published and will be mailed out to all SDC members around the world next week. This issue has a 'wool dyeing' theme and features the colourful work of designer Ella Robinson on the front cover!

by CMcN

Planet Textiles - new sustainability event

Bookings now open!

This exciting new event is dedicated to improving the environmental and social impact of the global textile and clothing supply chain - brought to you by the SDC, the publisher of Ecotextile News and Messe Frankfurt.

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Planet Textiles takes place on 18 March 2010 in Hong Kong and is supported by leading industry organisations and international clothing retailers. It is being launched in Hong Kong alongside the Interstoff Asia Essential fabric exhibition and will be an annual international event on eco-textiles, moving to different locations around the globe in conjunction with Messe Frankfurt exhibitions.

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The theme of the first event is 'Changing the Culture – Placing Sustainability at the Heart of the Organisation' and it will see representatives from some of the world’s leading clothing and textile companies addressing the very latest issues on sustainability throughout the textiles and clothing supply chain.

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The full line-up has been announced, with a keynote address from Cara Chacon (director of CSR, Patagonia, USA), who will discuss managing sustainable change in a major retail organisation and across the supply chain. The conference will hear executives from leading global companies, such as Adidas and Lenzing.

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There will be Q&A sessions during the day-long event, chaired by John Mowbray (Ecotextile News) and Andrew Filarowski (SDC technical director) and there will also be a parallel 'ask the expert' session, hosted by the main sponsor of this event Huntsman, on the topic of dyeing and finishing.

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The full programme and information about booking can be found at: http://www.planet-textiles.com/

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by CMcN

New SDC corporate colours

The SDC has a new visual identity – an identity that is evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, enabling the Society to move forward into the 21st century, whilst honouring its incredible heritage. This last year has seen the SDC positioning itself for the future, with a new vision and a new business plan in place. As part of the business planning process, a Board decision was taken to rebrand. It was felt that a strong, consistent identity which reflects our new vision was fundamental to the delivery of our business plan.

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Rationale for the new brand colours
The colours in the new SDC logo reflect the organisational values and vision: purple is included to evoke quality, encouraging thoughts of the highest standards; this is mixed with the efficiency, reliability and trustworthiness of blue; and rounded off with warm bright yellow and turquoise to emphasise the young, forward thinking aspects of the new brand.

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The process involved

A rebranding process was initiated, with the input of colour psychology consultants, Colour Affects, in regards to the colour choice for the new logo, working with designer Harmeet Sembi to bring together ideas that would result in a coherent corporate brand. It was seen as important to maintain the colour mauve/purple within the new corporate colours, with perhaps a slightly stronger hue. The significance of purple to the SDC is linked to Sir William Henry Perkin’s discovery of mauveive, the first synthetic dye. It was Perkin's recognition of the potential of mauve as a dye, coupled with his iron determination to commercialise it, that sparked that launched the modern synthetic chemical industry.

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The full palette

Therefore, in honour of Perkin and the colour he invented, purple remains an ‘SDC colour’, with a specific selection of colours available within the full palette. Every colour in the brand palette has a positive relationship with every other colour (this principle is at the heart of the Colour Affects System of applied colour psychology) and these are outlined in the new SDC branding guidelines (PDF file) which is available on the downloads section of the SDC website. Requests for a print-resolution logo can be sent to marketing@sdc.org.uk.

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by CMcN