New York - Street Art and Eating Out

Whilst walking the streets of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens I found some wonderful street art. From installation art to graffiti, New York has it all!!! One of my favourite places to relax in Manhattan is on the High Line. This former freight rail line is elevated above the street and stretches from West 30th to West 10th street, along 10th Avenue. It has been transformed into a park. I like it because it removes you from busy tourist areas and with its seating and food stalls it is the perfect place to spend a quiet Sunday afternoon reading a book. Various artists have been commissioned to create artwork that can be viewed from the High Line and the streets below are home to some of New York's best galleries. The famous Whitney museum is soon to relocate to a space at the end of the High Line, moving from its current location on the Upper East Side.

Over in Queens, you should visit Moma PS1, this is the sister gallery of Moma (Museum of Modern Art) in Manhattan. I visited both, but Moma PS1 is quieter and still has some superb art. On the day is visited Courtney Love was hosting an event there. Almost right next to Moma PS1 is the famous '5 Pointz' graffiti site. The graffiti covers the entire building and street, and is so vibrant. It really has to be seen to be believed. The site has been used as a location in films and photo-shoots.

In Madison Square Park, light installation artist Leo Villareal has created a piece of art entitled 'Buckyball'. On a night the structure is illuminated in different colours.

If you do stop by Madison Square Park on East 23rd street, then why not grab something to eat from 'Shake Shack' which is located in the park. This place has the best burgers and milkshakes in Manhattan. Expect to wait to get your food as it is extremely popular, but it is worth it. This food chain is also located in various other places across the city. My favourite restaurant has to be 'Beauty and Essex' in Lower Manhattan. Making a reservation a few weeks in advance for this lower east side restaurant is essential, a hit with Grammy award winning singers and actors. I was lucky enough to be invited to the restaurant for my friend's birthday dinner. Expect lobster taco's, roasted bone marrow and scallops, as well as beautiful desserts and cocktails. The interior of the restaurant is equally as fabulous as the food.

If you fancy watching great live music whilst you eat, then be sure to go to Ashford and Simpsons 'Sugar Bar' on West 72nd. Established by legendary Grammy award winning song writing duo Ashford and Simpson, this venue has hosted the likes of Stevie Wonder and Liza Minnelli. I went on Open Mic night which was great but they also have Blues night and monthly guest entertainers. For food, I can also recommend 'Guy and Gallard' which has several locations around the city - great for soups, salads and cakes. Or why not go to 'Cafe Cluny' at West 14th Street, great for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I must also recommend walking over the Brooklyn Bridge. With its iconic structure and fantastic views of the Manhattan skyline, you really cannot go to New York and not walk over it. Of course a sunny day would be ideal, or why not walk over as the sun is setting. 
 

I also discovered Roosevelt Island, a thin strip of land between the Upper East Side and Queens. Stop by Dylan's Candy Bar on 60th Street and 3rd Ave to marvel at the most amazing sweet shop in New York and then walk one block over to take the tram across the river to Roosevelt Island.

Phillippa x

New York - Antiques and Handmade

If you are looking for bargain antiques then you should head to one of NYC's weekly flea markets. In Manhattan you should check out the 'Chelsea Antiques Garage' on 25th St between 6th and 7th Avenue. This 2 storey car park becomes a bustling antique market on the weekend, with vendors selling everything from furniture to vintage silk scarves. After exploring this venue you should walk one block over to the outdoor market, here you will find similar antique items. Also located in Chelsea is 'Olde Good Things' on 24th Street between 6th and 7th. This warehouse style building is on 2 floors and you can expect to find large pieces of furniture, old doors and light fittings. This shop also has 2 other locations in New York City aswell one in Los Angeles.

Some of the best antiques I found were in Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Take the subway over to Bedford Avenue and from here you can walk to the flea market. I found prices to be considerably lower than what I would expect to pay for antiques in the UK. I fell in love with a very affordable old metal letter 'P', but there was no way this would fit in either of my suitcases so I didn't buy it. I have been looking for one of these in the UK for such a long time but they are so expensive here. Vendors also sell lovely food so you won't go hungry and on the day I visited there was a great Christmas craft market aswell.

Back in Manhattan I found 'Let There Be Neon' located on White Street in Soho. This company produces made to order neon signs, which I love!!! They have worked with the likes of: Christian Louboutin, Kiehls and Vince Camuto, producing in store display signs, aswell as working with Victoria Secrets to produce neon angel wings.

Obscura is an Antique and Oddity shop on Avenue A/13th Street. This antique shop is not for the faint hearted, expect to find: taxidermy, skeletons and mummified heads...yes really!!! The owners of this shop also have their own television show called 'Oddities' which is on the Discovery Channel.

If want handmade jewellery, clothes and other goods then be sure to visit the 'The Market NYC'- 159 Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village. Local designers and artists can hire a space within the venue to sell their products - a fantastic idea and an alternative New York shopping experience.

I hope you have liked my selection of antique shops in New York. Hopefully you will get the chance to visit them yourselves. In my next blog post I will be taking a look at street art and galleries in New York. Phillippa x

New York - Trim Shops

During my 3 month stay in New York I discovered alot of superb antique shops, markets, trim stores and boutique fashion and interior shops. I thought I would share with you a few of my favourites.

The Garment District

New York is one of the fashion capitols of the world so you really are spoilt for choice when it comes to sourcing fabrics and trims. The area between 34th and 42nd street between 5th and 9th Avenue is commonly known as the Garment District. (7th Avenue is referred to as 'Fashion Avenue'). When visiting New York be sure to thoroughly explore this area. You will find an abundance of exciting design shops; just make sure you allow enough time to look around as these stores have so much to offer and you might find that perfect trim that you have been looking for. This neighbourhood is also home to the design studio's of some of the worlds best loved fashion designers. Expect to see rails of designer clothes being pushed along the streets!! If you visit at certain times of the year then you might be lucky enough to be in town when one of your favourite designers is having a sample sale - think Alexander Wang, Anna Sui and Tibi, etc. I got some real bargains!!!

Trim Stores

Shindo is the most wonderful ribbon shop I have ever seen. Located on 36th street between 7th and Broadway, it houses luxury ribbons and trims in all different textures, colours and widths. The staff are very friendly and they are always more than happy to help you find exactly what you are looking for. Whilst waiting to collect an order there is always a great selection of reading material available including: Bullett Magazine and the latest trend reports.

Nearby is M&J Trimming on 6th Ave between 37th and 38th. This huge store not only offers a wide selection of ribbons, but also: beads, sequins, and buttons. I prefer Shindo for higher quality ribbon but at M&J you will still find what you are looking for at a slightly lower price point.

Mood fabrics on 37th between 7th and 8th is a large fabric store, which you have may have seen on TV shows such as Project Runway. Small swatches of the fabrics are available, which is great if you like me don't want to buy any particular fabrics but just want swatches for inspiration.

Other stores worth mentioning include: Sil Thread, Pacific Trimming, Toho Shoji and Bead World.

In my next blog post I will be sharing with you some of my favourite antique shops and markets I found in NYC.

Phillippa x

New York - Internship & Fashion Week Pictures

'Global Collective' on WGSN

Whilst exhibiting at New Designers back in June my collection of prints were photographed by WGSN. Little did I know that soon after the show, my graduate collection received a feature on the WGSN website. This is probably my most high profile feature so far, I was so excited when I stumbled across the article online last week. Extract from the feature. - "Copping's eclectic mix of exotic florals and bold geometrics has been inspired by her love of travel and global culture, tying in with our autumn/winter 13/14 macro trend, Hyperculture". See below for screen shots of the feature

Phillippa x

Leaving for New York

So... this is it, I am leaving for New York in a few hours time. This is something that I have dreamt about for so long, I can't believe it is actually happening. I am really excited about the experience that lies ahead: getting to intern with one of my favourite fashion designers, meeting new people, making new friends, getting to know the city of New York, making fond memories. I will hopefully get chance to update my blog whilst I am living in New York, but if not this may be my last post for a little while. Here's to the next 3 months and my American adventure!!! Phillippa x

Nearly time to move to NYC

As you may be aware from an earlier blog post, in April I had an interview with a fashion designer in New York and I was subsequently offered an internship starting in the fall. Since then the time has passed very quickly and in exactly 14 days time my new address will be Manhattan. I will be living in New York for 3 months. The first 2 months I will be interning and the 3rd month will be spent exploring the city and travelling.

September in New York on the fashion calender means only one thing - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The designer I am interning with will be showing at fashion week, so I am looking forward to experiencing the hype around this important event in the fashion industry.

Phillippa x

New Feature - 'Global Collective' on Amelia's Magazine

Whilst I was exhibiting at New Designers in London, my work was photographed by the design website 'Amelia's Magazine'. Since then, a review of the exhibition has been published online. My 'Global Collective' prints proudly feature in this review aswell as a brief overview of my collection - "bright geometric patterns by Phillippa Copping reigned supreme". Thank you very much to Amelia's Magazine for selecting my work to be included in the feature, it is greatly appreciated. The 2 images below show my 'Global Collective' prints in the feature.

About Amelia's Magazine - The website, founded by Amelia Gregory, reaches an audience of 65,000 readers a month. The site is updated daily and features articles about fashion, textiles, jewellery, illustration and music aswell as listing must see exhibitions. Amelia Gregory is a university lecturer, freelance fashion stylist, textile designer, illustrator and an experienced portrait photographer. You can see some of Amelia's photography on www.ameliagregory.com or you can visit www.ameliasmagazine.com to see the full New Designers review along with a whole host of other great design posts. Phillippa x

Exhibition - Stephen Jones: From Georgiana to Boy George

I recently visited the 'Stephen Jones: From Georgiana to Boy George' exhibition at Bowes Museum.

Renowned milliner Stephen Jones has created hats for some of the most famous men and women in the world, musicians and royalty, aswell as collaborating with celebrated fashion designers to create hats for runway collections. His designs are often inspired by neo-classical architecture, poetry and the Regency.

The star attraction of the exhibition was a stunning Spring 12 dress by British designer Giles and swan headpiece by Stephen Jones (seen below on supermodel Daphne Groeneveld). Giles Deacon, who grew up in County Durham, stated that the dress was inspired by the Silver Swan automaton which has been housed at Bowes Museum for a number of years (also pictured below).

The dress is made from silk organza, chiffon and satin organza. The headpiece created by Stephen Jones, along with the other hats in the same collection, was made with red ostrich feathers with swarovski crystals on the beak and eyes. Jones has previously worked with Giles, creating 'Pac-Man' style hats for his S/S 09 show (see image below).

The exhibition runs until 2nd September at Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle in County Durham. Phillippa x

New Feature on Lin-Morris.com

Last week I received an email from the editor of the brilliant design website 'Lin-Morris.com'. After seeing my graduate collection at New Designers, they decided they would like to feature my 'Global Collective' prints on their website and create a feature about my work. The feature included numerous images of my work along with a explanation of the concept behind the collection and the design process I went through to create my prints. I would just like to say a big thank you to Lin-Morris.com for featuring my work, it is greatly appreciated. See below for a print screen of my feature.

A little bit about Lin-Morris The website is run by 2 friends, both of whom work within the design industry at high profile companies in London and in New York City. The website celebrates the work of "young design talent" aswell as having an online shop. The online shop has exquisite limited edition pieces available for sale which have been exclusively produced through collaborations between the website and the designer. You can go on www.lin-morris.com to be inspired by all the great design work this website has to offer. Phillippa x

New Designers - Review

I have just returned home from a 6 day trip to London where I was showcasing my graduate collection at New Designers. Industry showed interest in my prints and I have subsequently gained valuable contacts and internship offers which I will be following up. Below is a picture of my display.

I also had a little bit of free time in the city, so I visited a few places of interest. Of course a visit to Liberty was essential, as it never dissapoints. The beautiful interiors company 'House Of Hackney' had a room display setting with their fabric adorning sofa's, lampshades and cushions. Truly stunning.

As New Designers takes place in Islington, I finally got the chance to have a look in 'Cass Art' which is located nearby. This fantastic art shop has 3 floors of specialist art and craft supplies including: various drawing media, sketchbooks, paints and portfolios, with many items on offer or in the sale. It can be found on Colebrooke Row, near Upper Street. This is the flagship store, but there is also 4 other outlets in London.

Phillippa x

My Online Portfolio

I have recently updated my online portfolio on carbonmade. I have added images of my latest fashion print collection 'Global Collective', aswell as adding new images of my 'Africa' print collection completed last year and a selection of imagery showcasing the design development stage of my collections. Please take a look on http://phillippacopping.carbonmade.com/ to see my collections, as I haven't upoladed all the same images on this blog. Phillippa x

Selected to Exhibit at New Designers, London

Since beginning studying for my degree 3 years ago, I knew that ultimately I wanted to exhibit my graduate collection at New Designers in London. For now the hard work seems have payed off and I have been selected to exhibit at the show later this month. I have visited the show twice before and on both occasions found it to be an inspiring showcase of a fresh design talent, so I am very happy that I have been selected. I will be exhibiting during Part 1 of the show - 27th-30th June on stand T62. New Designers takes place at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London. It is located just off Upper Street and can easily be reached via Angel underground. There are so many great design shops, antique stores and vintage emporiums along Upper Street and Camden Passage (Islington), including one of my favourites 'Atelier Abigail Ahern', aswell as a selection of great places to eat. So if you love design I can definately recommend a day out in Islington and why not call into New Designers to see my work. Phillippa x

'Wall of Print' - Exhibition Display

Below are pictures of my recent exhibition. I knew that for my display I wanted to create a 'Wall of print and colour'. My 'Global Collective' print collection is full of intense prints and striking repeat patterns and this display option reflects that intensity. I chose a selection of my prints as I did not have space to display them all. Phillippa x

Printed Dress

I just found this photograph of myself (on the right) wearing a dress that I made 4 years ago whilst studying for my A-Level Textiles. I absolutely loved designing, hand-printing and making this dress, inspired at the time by my love of Basso & Brooke. On the night this picture was taken, we were holding a caltwalk show to raise money for charity and to showcase our designs. I can even remember walking down the caltwalk to Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones, i'm sure I was nervous. Sorry the image quality is not great, but this seems to be the only picture I have. However, as you can see, even back then I had a keen eye for statement fashion prints and bold colour palettes.

Basso & Brooke Spring 2006

Phillippa x

Principles Dissertation Prize

I recently found out that I have been shortlisted for the 'Principles Dissertation Prize'. Out of the 122 Level 6 students, 5 were nominated for this prize, myself included. I worked very hard on my dissertation, which was titled 'The Legacy of 1950's Design on Modern Design'. I even made it down to London on a research trip so I could visit the anniversary exhibition of the 1951 Festival Of Britain at the Soutthbank Centre. I really like this period of design history and I gained so much knowledge from writing my dissertation. The iconic 1950's style of design has gone onto influence my own design work. I will have to wait until the launch night of the degree show exhibiton to see if I have won, but just to receive a nomination feels like a big achievement. Phillippa x

'Global Collective' Fashion Print Collection - Complete

I've had a little break from my blog for the past few weeks, so I could concentrate on completing my 'Global Collective' fashion print collection. This collection is now complete and very soon I will be preparing to showcase this work in my degree show exhibition. In total I designed around 40 prints and then chose to take 12 of these designs through to the final stage of the collection. For some of the designs I have produced 2 final prints in different colourways, so in total I have 21 prints in the final collection. Here is a sneak peek at some of my samples.

Product Visualisation Here is my product visualisation board. For this I used photoshop to place my designs on catwalk models, so you can get an idea of the style of garment and market level I see my designs being aimed at.

I will post pictures of my degree show exhibition when it takes place. Phillippa x

The Vogue Festival - London

On Friday 20th April I attended The Vogue Festival in London. This was the very first time this event has taken place, so it was exciting as I didn't know what to expect. It was such a superb event with very inspiring talks by some of my favourite designers and industry professionals. The first talk was from Christopher Bailey in conversation with Alexandra Shulman (Editor of British Vogue). I am such a huge fan of Burberry and I'm sure you will all agree that Christopher has completely transformed Burberry from a traditional clothing company into a major global brand. Listening to him talk, you can tell that he is totally passionate about Burberry and this is ofcourse very admirable.

Next up was: Lucinda Chambers (Fashion Director at Vogue) - her speach was witty and charismatic and again very inspiring. She looked fabulous wearing a neon/printed Christopher Kane skirt. So effortlessly chic. Matthew Williamson - I can't get enough of Matthew's runway collections, they are simply stunning both in colour and print. So to hear about his life in fashion was fantastic. Also: Marigay Mckee (Harrods Fashion and Beauty Director) and Russell Marsh (International Casting Director)

To end the first session of the festival was Nigella Lawson in converstation with broadcaster Kirsty Young. Nigella has written food features for Vogue.

Overall the festival was very well attended, the venue was stylish and the organisation was perfect. Other speakers over the 2 day event included: Stella McCartney in converstaion with Kate Hudson, Tom Ford, Diane Von Furstenberg, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, Mary Katrantzou, Christopher Kane, Nicholas Kirkwood, Laura Bailey, Rachel Zoe, Tim Walker and David Bailey..plus many more. At £75 for a ticket for just one session (am or pm) it wasn't cheap, but I would definately attend this event again and recommend it to anyone who wants a career in the fashion industry. Unless you intern with such designers, you just would not get the opportunity to even be in the same room as them let alone her them talk so candidly out their careers and the fashion industry. A great experience. Phillippa x