We spoke to Mia to get more of an insight into her life since leaving HCA and her experience of studying on the BA(Hons) Textile Design course:
What have you been working on since graduation?
Since graduating I’ve had lots of really fun and exciting opportunities in the design world. Obviously, New Designers 2023 was a highlight, which led to me exhibiting at the Surface Design Show 2024 and the AGWSD 2024 Graduate Showcase, both of which I was scouted for. In the following three months, I then completed an internship at Bristol Weaving Mill, the sister company to Dash & Miller who we actually did a project with in second year. This provided me with industry experience and knowledge about the process and production of woven cloth at a manufacturing level.
Throughout this time, I’ve also been working on developing my personal portfolio using my loom which I was able to buy with the generous funding from the Roy Strong Award. Recently I have been designing a woven throw produced by Tweedmill Textiles after winning the Jackie Ryan Memorial Award in the Shrewsbury Drapers Company competition last year!
Please tell us in more depth more about your work with Dash and Miller?
My internship at Bristol Weaving Mill was such an amazing and insightful experience. My role was helping with the many parts of producing woven cloth from start to finish. Daily tasks included assisting in the early parts of production - from weighing cones of yarn to make sure that there’s enough to create the fabric, to using the punchcard machine, which essentially creates a sheet of ‘punched card’ for the industrial loom and controls which threads are raised in producing a pattern.
I was also very involved with weaving hand samples for clients which is an important part of the process to make sure the design, handle and finish of the cloth is right before its upscaled and taken into production. This whole experience was really valuable to me and helped me to have more confidence in my work and ability as a designer in the first few months after graduating.
How did HCA equip you for the world beyond university life?
Throughout my time at HCA, I found there was always emphasis placed on all of the amazing opportunities beyond university. The professional practice modules helped me to develop the skills and confidence to talk about my work in an industry setting. This was also supported through working to live industry briefs with companies to develop real-world experience in textile design. In final year, we were encouraged to be individual, resilient and make our own informed design choices, which led me to create a body of work that I’m really very proud of.
What do you think is the best element of the learning experience at HCA?
I think that flexibility and availability would be two of the best words to describe what HCA excels at. The flexibility of cross-discipline collaboration and freedom to explore all avenues of design made work really exciting as the boundaries of what you could create weren’t restricted. Then, the availability of workshops, equipment, tutors and, one to one support during tutorials made feedback accessible. This meant that work could progress quickly and you never felt like you were waiting for approval before you could experiment further.
What were your highlight memories from your time at HCA?
I’d say that one of my highlights from my time at HCA would definitely be the ‘Knitathon’, a fundraiser developed by my cohort to raise money for our exhibition at New Designers. After 12 hours of knitting, we managed to make 68 scarves which were donated to local charities and also raise enough money to cover the exhibition costs. We set up in the café, which was a hive of activity throughout the day. We had foundation students join us with some hand knitting projects and the event was photographed by photography students. It was so special to see how excited and supportive people were about the event!
