early influences – timorous beasties

before I get onto timorous beasties i would like to talk a little about how i got onto this train of thought.

recently i have been perusing the SS12/13 lookbooks which have been released as part of the mercedes-benz fashion week in sydney.

emma mulhollands collection ‘As Bad As I Guana Be’ is ridiculous and fun, the collection is centered around a digital print of a basketball playing iguana. yes, a basketball playing iguana.

pretty amazing. i love the texas themed shoot as well!

so, this print reminded me of the first print which got me REALLY excited about the prospect of screenprinting.

who would have thought iguanas could be so influential?

this is a fabric and wallpaper print from the glasgow based design company timorous beasties. I went to a talk by these guys eons ago and was just gob-smacked by their amazing prints. They got me excited about playing around with scale (some of their repeats are HUGE) and also the prospect of combining unusual motifs.

as well as fabrics, timorous beasties works with interiors, wallpapers and hardsurfaces. the company has done many public and private collaborations. for example a decorative divider at the  stratford market in london and an etched stone facade at cabot circus in bristol.

really, just lots and lots of lovely things. heat reactive textiles, original lace… the list goes on….

so thanks emma!

im not sure whether these guys are an influence for you too, but i enjoyed the reminder.

spending some time at the velodrome

a few weeks back brkich was involved in a photo shoot down at the brunswick velodrome.

here are a few hurried snaps from in between costume changes. i haven’t seen the REAL photos yet but i will pop them up as soon as i can.

thanks heaps to john of clever deer photography

to model edie (a multi-talented chica; check out a neat tee-pee project she’s involved in here)

and a final thanks to the patient cyclist and the lovely passerby who lent us her afghans.

brkich in the press

brkich is being featured in the current issue of Fashion Trend Australia.

thats a bit exciting isn’t it!? I believe this may be my first foray into the world of glossy magazines…

photography by Victoria Scott Photography

model Isabel

(thanks lovelies!)

LMFF penthouse mouse midmouse runway show

thought i would share some of my hurried phone-snaps of the penthouse mouse midmouse runway (2).

part of LMFF, penthouse mouse is a temporary retail and events space which rears is glittery-grungy head every year for the fashion festival.

aiming to showcase some of melbournes edgy emerging and established labels, PHM12 featured labels such as Limedrop, Above, Trimapee, Neo Dia and DI$COUNT just to name a few.

(pictured – DI$COUNT, Neo Dia, Above)

for pictures from someone with a real camera visit here.

 

fashion exposed interview

happy monday everyone!

late last week I had a chat to the folks of Fashion Exposed about my winning collection for Debut.

check the interview out here.

thanks again to all at Fashion Exposed; it was a great experience!

brkich wins ‘best apparel’ at debut – fashion exposed

i have recently returned from Fashion Exposed in sydney; which was a great success!

brkich spring+summer 2012/13 ended up taking out the prize for ‘Best Apparel’ at the Debut stand. I am very happy to have received the same accolade which designers such as Trimäpee, Limedrop, Alexi Freeman and Since Grey have received in previous years.

(i’m afraid the blog announcement is a little delayed – those of you who keep tabs on facebook and twitter would have heard about this already)

Neo Dia (VIC), Lauren Cass (NSW) and Sanoii + Six (NSW) were all shortlisted and Ginny and Jude Designs won ‘Best Accessories’

i really had a great time meeting and swapping stories with the other finalists!

the brkich display (and trophy!)

sydney designer rabia lockwood of Ginny and Jude and her stall.

some serious ‘networking’

brkich finalist for DEBUT

i am pleased to say that brkich is one of eleven finalists for Debut.

Debut, run as part of the Fashion Exposed trade fair, has been a launch pad for over 135 young Australian labels since its inception in 2006, with past winners including now established brands Alexi Freeman, Limedrop, Trimapee, Subfusco and Since Grey.

so in early febuary I shall be packing up my suitcases and heading off to Sydney to show my Spring/Summer 2012/13 collection to the judges.

exciting, yes. nerve racking, definitely.

needless to say, i have a mountain of work to get on with!

below is a list of this years finalists. for further details visit the website. wish me luck!

 

Bombshell Bay | VIC
Jet Set
bombshellbay.com.au

Coast by Kate Campbell | QLD
Nepenthe S/S 2012/13

Hannah Zschommler | QLD
Pieces Put To Life

Jeromy Lim | WA
Valhalla
jeromylim.com

Lauren Cass | NSW
Desert Storm

Neo Dia | VIC
Stoic Stratum
neodialabel.com

Silent Sky | NSW
Sunset To Dawn
silentsky.com.au

brkich | VIC
brkich.com

Kelsey Genna | NZ
kelseygenna.com

Ginny & Jude Designs | NSW
ginnyandjude.com

Sanoii + Six | NSW
On The Road
sanoiiandsix.com

brkich summer 2011 – 2012

brkich contrast shirt dress

brkich contrast shirt

brkich reverse top

brkich everyday skirt

brkich everyday skirt (ark)

brkich long everyday skirt

view the lookbook on my collections page or download here.

so close to summer!

a bit of a sneaky peak.

more photos soon!

colour testing and other print geekery

a day of of swatches and colour testing. these fabrics are for the collection shown here.

i had a few technical hiccups along the way. but in the end i am happy with the results.

the only colour i am still umming and ahhing about is the electric blue in the photo above. in real life – it is quite full on. it really jumps out at you and looks almost fluorescent.

i quite like this blue but is was not what i originally intended to do. so i am a little torn between going for this kinda-crazy-loud blue and mellowing it a little and going back to my original blue. you will see what i mean in the picture below (crazy sample blue on the left . original design concept blue on the right)

up until this point i have always printed with transparent inks, which can only be used  on light coloured backgrounds. but for this collection i wanted to print on a darker base (the goldy/mustardy coloured cotton in these photos) so for this i used an opaque binder.

i hadn’t used opaques since i was studying; so i was a little rusty. in my first attempt my colours faded away to nothing when they were heat set – no good. after a bit of spitting and cursing and then a bit of research – i found my solution.

i mix my own colours by adding concentrated pigments to a neutral binder (which bonds the pigment to the fabric). by adding pigments to an opaque binder rather than a transparent one you are able to maintain the integrity and clarity of your colours when printing on darker fabrics.

turns out that you need to add about 3 times as much pigment to opaque binder than you do to transparent binder – and there lieth my problem!

but all has been solved and i am very grateful, below is an example. the fabric sample on the bottom left was my first attempt (not enough pigment – yikes!).

i find it hard to locate useful resources on the web for screenprinting. the bulk of the info seems to be about huge scale commercial printing or t-shirt printing. most of my information i scrounge from my old rmit technical folders or through calling up and questioning my suppliers.

i would love to find a really good forum where small scale screenprinters can share their knowledge. if anyone knows of one PLEASE let me know!

okey dokey! now to print my meterage…