FASHION & TEXTILES: UAL LEVEL 3 EXTENDED DIPLOMA IN CREATIVE PRACTICE

Julia Stean’s own work crosses both the visual arts and performance with installations exhibited across the South from Reading to Devon, as well as in Manchester. She also ran her own crafts business creating bespoke home furnishings. Julia has 21 years of teaching practice across many levels and varieties of students from Level 2 Art and Design to Foundation Diploma, Degree students to Adult Education. Julia started teaching at Arts University Plymouth in 2001 following teaching on Foundation Diploma at Exeter College. She became Course Leader of the ED Fashion and Textiles in 2005 and has developed an original and exciting course, which gives students varied, opportunities and challenges and prepares them well for professional working life. Julia is also an External Moderator and External Assessor for UAL.

Jess Bowden graduated from UCA Rochester with a first class BA in Printed Textile Design, where she developed a range of textile skills ranging from tradition textile designs such as screen print and embroidery, through to digital print design, pattern cutting, fashion design, and interior product design. In her work she enjoys creating unusual juxtapositions and influences, merging and clashing to create bold and unusual surface design. Jess has worked at Mary Katrantzou in London as a print designer, where her job role included generating digital surface print designs, sourcing fabrics from around Europe, and fabric allocations to manufacturers. She then returned to the South West to train as a lecturer at Plymouth University, on the PGCE program. She undertook her placement with Arts University Plymouth, and then secured a position as a lecturer within our pre-degree fashion and textiles course. After working at the college for a few years, Jess wanted to expand her teaching experience with a different age range of students, and she applied to teach on the college’s Young Arts programme, teaching a range of skills including fashion, textiles and art and design to students aged 9 to 16.

Kinga Oliver-Hajnal is a practising costume and textile artist with a deep fascination for the stories and history embedded in garments and fabrics. Her interest in clothing and its cultural significance began at a young age, influenced by her mother's and grandmother's dressmaking skills and Hungarian traditional folk techniques. After moving from Hungary to London following her 'A levels,' Kinga pursued her passion by studying pattern cutting and construction. She also started a small business specialising in bespoke custom-made jeans for various shops. Her educational journey continued with a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, followed by a degree in Theatre Design at UAL Central Saint Martins. After graduating, she gained valuable experience working in the costume departments of various theatre, TV, and film productions. She also took on commissions from set design companies, creating textile set pieces. Kinga's transition into education began while collaborating with the National Theatre's education department, where she helped young people learn through theatre. This experience led her to work with the Drama Department at Lewisham College, where she found immense fulfilment in nurturing young people's creative aspirations. To further her career in education, she completed a PGCE and has since spent the past decade working as an Art and Design teacher in mainstream secondary and SEN (Special Educational Needs) settings.