A huge congratulations to the Product Design Class of 2015 on graduating last week. It was great to see everyone and catch up on their careers to date. Well done.
Category: Alumni
‘Stirring Stuff’
Must read interview in the Top Gear magazine with Marek Reichman, Teesside Graduate and Aston Martin’s design boss, on creating a car for the world’s most famous secret agent.
Click on here to read the article.
Tees Made in London
Last week, in the sweltering heat of London, students from Product Design exhibited their final project work at the New Designers Exhibition in Islington.
Funding for the exhibition was raised by the students through organized events, ‘live’ projects and through sponsorship.
New Designers takes place every year at the Business Design Centre which was once the Royal Horticultural Hall. Over 3.500 graduates exhibited from institutes all across the UK.
New Designers allows students to showcase their work alongside fellow graduates from across the UK with the aim of getting themselves noticed and that first foot on the ladder, which will help shape their future.
It was a great week with lots of interest from both the Industry and potential employers. We also welcomed a lot of ex-students onto the stand who had come along specifically to catch up and to meet the current graduates.
‘Every cloud…’
Graduate Talk and Studio Visit
David Winter, Co-founder of Hull Studio and Teesside graduate has worked widely within the fields of furniture, interiors and the super yacht industry.
After graduating David began work within the furniture industry for Silverlining Furniture based in Cheshire where he was involved in designing bespoke furniture for luxury yachts and houses worldwide. Driven by values of innovation, passion and excellence the company continually redefines traditional design and craftsmanship through cutting edge materials, finishes, techniques and technology.
Leaving Silverlining after 5 years in 2013 David Co-founded Hull Studio with former colleagues. The studio has a multidisciplinary approach with an ethos that lies in exploring the relationship between traditional craftsmanship, modern technology and organic design. Their work is currently being shown by Gallery Fumi in London and is often exhibited at The Pavilion of Art and Design.
David is also currently exploring and challenging what his design practice means through an MA in Product Design at Manchester Metropolitan University.
David’s talk will take place at 1pm on Friday 27th February in A2.01. David will then be spending the rest of the afternoon in the studio.
“Going the Extra Mile”
The world of work is a difficult place for a young graduate to navigate. How do you get noticed?, get taken seriously?, get things done? Everything and everyone is new!
Well, product design graduate Michelle Blackett had some of the answers to those thorny questions when she gave an inspirational talk to our students last week. Michelle graduated in 2010 and her first destination job was as a Knowledge Transfer Associate with Nifco UK. Nifco UK is an injection moulding company, supplying many of the big name car manufacturers.
Michelle was employed through the university and mentored in her role by Peter Reid, Senior Lecturer in Product Design. Her job was to develop a New Product Development Strategy. No small task! Michelle has since gone on to be employed by Nifco in a variety of roles from project engineer where she was responsible for key accounts with Ford and Jaguar/Land Rover to her current position as Marketing Manager with responsibility for Branding, internal and external communications.
One of many great examples of how Michelle has gone the extra mile is when she organised a teambuilding and charity event for Nifco staff to climb England’s highest mountain, Scarfell Pike in the Lake District. http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/local-news/stockton-workers-peak-performance-tsunami-3675240
But now Michelle is about to go a few miles further… Ford have offered her a new role in Essex!
And the secret of Michelle’s success, in a nutshell… “always going that extra mile” and exceeding your boss’s expectations. That’s what quickly builds respect and builds your career.
New Designers mean business
This year’s stand at the New Designers Exhibition at the Business Design Centre in Islington is starting to take shape. Come and see us on stand FP42 from Thursday.
Ad ‘Vantage’ Teesside
Tuesday night saw the successful launch of Creative Teesside 2014. The show celebrates the hard work and dedication of final year students in the School of Arts & Media. This year’s show was opened by Product Design Alumni Marek Reichman, Design Director Aston Martin. Marek, pictured with two of his own designs outside the exhibition, was truly impressed with the work on display and commended all the students on their efforts and achievement. The students and graduates appreciated the opportunity to speak to an inspirational Teesside graduate, designer and industry leader.
Creative Teesside
The School of Arts & Media is hosting the annual “Creative Teesside” event from Tuesday 27 – Friday 30 May 2014 to celebrate the hard work, dedication and achievements of the final year students.
This year the event is being opened by Honorary Graduate and former Product Design student Marek Reichman, Design Director for Aston Martin, on Tuesday 27 May 2014 in the Athena Building and we would be delighted if you would join us for the opening, starting at 5.30pm.
To confirm your attendance or for any questions please do not hesitate to contact Francesca Angus, School of Arts & Media, on 01642 738649, F.Angus@tees.ac.uk
The School of Arts & Media is incredibly excited about the opening event and we look forward to welcoming you to Creative Teesside.
For further information please visit http://www.tees.ac.uk/creativeteesside/
Ireland abounds…
Product Design graduates Anna Staples and Emma Braham applied for European Placements and both ended up working in Cork, Ireland, on three month internship schemes.
Anna has been working for a company called Quay Designs who upcycle furniture and sell it on in their own shop. Anna says:
“I am really enjoying working at Quay Designs because its allowing me to have a hands on approach with all the furniture, see how timber and oak is treated, we get a lot of different styles of furniture in, art deco and 50s kind of stuff. It’s actually ideal for me at the moment. I also get to see what styles of furniture are on trend and what colours are on trend also.”
Emma has been working for Air Dryer Systems Ltd in their new product development department. Emma says:
“The experience has been really good, working on products to extend their current range”
Anna is hoping to extend her stay in Ireland for a further 3 months, whilst Emma has since secured a new position back in England.
Take a seat: Date for the diary
Postponed from 28th Feb,
Product Design graduate Jonathan Prestwich will be visiting the University this Friday (7th March) to talk about his very successful career as a freelance furniture designer and consultant.
Jonathan graduated from Teesside in 1995 and for 2 years worked as a junior designer for a consultancy in Boston Massachusetts. From there he worked in France for 6 years as a design manager for Burkhard Vogtherr, a successful German designer, which gave him the experience and contacts needed to set up on his own.
Since then he has produced designs for many well known international furniture companies including Arco (Netherlands), Arflex (Italy), Davis (USA), KlÖber (Germany) and Modus (UK).
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Centuria Building (School of Health) Lecture Theatre H0.01
Jonathan will then be available during the afternoon to speak with students in the Product Design studio.
