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Industry placements with Romo secured by Textile Design students

The students were recognised whilst working on an industry project with the international furnishings and upholstery business

    Examples of student work made for the Romo project
    Examples of student work made for the Romo project

    Two students in their second year of our BA (Hons) Textile Design course have been awarded placements with Romo, an international leader in the design and marketing of exclusive furnishing and upholstery fabrics, wallcovering and trimmings.

    The students worked in groups on the industry project brief, designing collections of fabrics for use on various interior applications. Romo Print Design Manager Gillian Edwards, along with Designers Abi Hutton and Emily Mould, came to view and judge the presentations of work this month.

    The student groups presented their research to the Romo team, through mood boards and fabric samples, and subsequent collection development ideas. Gillian, Abi and Emily were looking for designs which demonstrated fresh colour palettes, and which demonstrated cohesive themes underpinned by an understanding of the Romo brand’s core customer.

    One of the Romo winning groups with members of the Romo team
    One of the Romo winning groups with members of the Romo team

    Gillian was inspired by the high standard of work created by the students, commenting: “Once again we have been very impressed by the students’ approach to the Romo live project. We have seen some exciting concepts and designs, and are happy to be able to offer two placement positions within the Romo studio.”

    Zippy Cooklin and Georgina Thomas were awarded the placements at Romo’s studio. Zippy told us: “I felt really proud of my team. The constant hard work and communication between us really paid off, and I'm so proud of the collection we created together. I'm really looking forward to learning more about the creative process within a professional textile company, seeing how the team works together in a creative environment. Gaining experience of how the industry works will be so incredibly beneficial, and I'm really looking forward to my placement.”

    One of the Romo winning groups with members of the Romo team
    One of the Romo winning groups with members of the Romo team

    The Romo team also wanted to recognise the two strongest teams. Zippy Cooklin, Hannah Potter, Millie Paver, Chloe Sparks and Esme Webster formed one of the teams whose designs captured the imaginations of the Romo team, along with a further group made up of Hannah Bradley, Olivia Hindle, Ruth Obediah and Georgina Thomas.

    Senior Lecturer Georgie Worker, leader of the project, said: “It is always such a rewarding experience seeing our students work with industry to create new and exciting designs. Working with Romo this year was a fantastic opportunity and the students made it very difficult for the judges, who went on to select two winning teams. I am delighted for both Georgie and Zippy for winning placements after standing out for their hard work and creativity!”

    Published on 7 February 2019
    • Subject area: Art and design
    • Category: Current students; School of Art & Design