Jessica
Ellwood

What made you choose to study our Textile Design course at NTU?
"All the design courses at NTU have really good links with the design industry, particularly Textile Design, and it just seemed like a really down to earth course. There's a lot of tutor contact time on the course, and I really love the Bonington building because there's always something going on."

How do you find the course staff?"I think I have a good relationship with all my lecturers and tutors and I wouldn't hesitate about asking them advice. In terms of the technical staff, if you're a student who genuinely wants to learn they will always give you advice."

Congratulations on being part of the winning team for the Next Menswear live project! Can you tell us a little bit about it?"It was very challenging being a printed textile design student because I had never designed prints for Menswear before, or for a market level like Next. The designs had to be appropriate for the market but also new and exciting. However, I like a challenge and it was really fun working with the other girls in my group (a weaver and a knitter), as we were constantly sharing ideas. Working with Next was fun too as they encouraged us to be experimental.

"When I found out we won, I was so excited! I think we definitely deserved it, particularly because of our teamwork. We worked really hard and were very positive throughout the whole competition, and I've definitely learnt a lot. As a result of winning we have all won a few weeks interning with the Next menswear team in the summer, which will be a really amazing opportunity!"

What do you enjoy about living and studying in Nottingham?"I love the city and because I'm from a small town Nottingham isn't too big or too small. There's so much going on here, it makes it easy to get inspiration from both the historical and contemporary things going on."

Have you completed any placements?"I recently completed a work placement with Jane Carr in London. They are a luxury accessories brand, working with scarves, gloves and ties. I helped them over London Fashion week, setting up, organising, packing, tidying, and visual merchandising. It was just a really good experience in terms of learning about the design industry. I learnt about a lot of things I never knew were going on behind the scenes, particularly within the marketing and branding area. It definitely gave me an inside knowledge about how huge the design industry is in terms of jobs!"

Read more about the live project with Next on our latest news page.