Textile and Design Students Show Their Winning Designs to the World

Aspiring product and textile designers were invited to submit their work to the second edition of the ‘New & Next’ University competition. The University of Bolton was just one of three Universities to be selected as winners of the competition and as a result, were invited to display their designs at Heimtextil in Frankfurt, the biggest international trade fair for home and contract textiles.

The BA(Hons) Textiles and Surface Design course selected three recent graduates, Demi Carter, Shamoona Mahmood and Jenny McCarthy to enter the competition.

Shamoona’s portfolio of artwork and fabrics demonstrated a wealth of skills with hand drawing from cultural influences and the ability to explore digital techniques.

Jenny recently gained first prize at ‘New Designers’ graduate showcase event in London from Prestigious Textiles Ltd, resulting in a work placement with the company.

Demi, who is currently working for the company Edmund Bell Ltd, also attended the show. Her floral designs and fabrics were based on the botanical collections found within Kew Gardens and inspired by Dutch floral painters.

Alongside our graduates work, a small portfolio of current second-year students work, responding to the Heimtextil Trends as part of ‘Where I Belong’, were exhibited on the stand.

Shamoona said: “It was the experience of a lifetime, where I was able to explore new trends and textiles from around the globe.”