Materials/Storage

The first pieces I made for Abbellita have been stored in Tupperware coated in baby powder to stop them from sticking, and after two weeks I have noticed that they are drying out slightly, possibly due to the baby powder. I have looked at other silicone brands and did notice that in their packaging the pieces are not in any excess powder, so I decided to try storing them between sheets of baking parchment instead. it has been another two weeks and so far this is working really well and keeping the pieces well, but the shelf life of the silicone pieces is something to consider.

Also worth considering is making these designs in other materials. Options include liquid latex, gelatine, thick paper or possibly even plastics.

I tried out making one of the pieces in gelatine during my proposal:

This worked OK, but I didn't like how the whole piece was raised above the skin, and I couldn't manage to make just the raised areas of the design in the Gelatine as it is much thicker and it is therefore not possible to scrape the excess off that thinly. Gelatine does however set relatively quickly, so a lot of pieces could be made in not much time. It can also be coloured relatively easily and if a piece doesn't get used or doesn't set correctly it can be remelted and re-poured. The gelatine also would not last as long as it is not breathable and would melt slightly on the skin.

Above are two of the roses made in liquid latex. The latex is more rigid than the silicone and the gelatine so having it only on the raised areas worked fine. I did struggle to avoid air bubbled in these pieces though, and although I was careful I can still see a few on the surface of the pieces (would have been the underside when they were in the molds). I also made the mistake of doing this in the silicone molds before I had finished creating the pieces in silicone, and as silicone is such a sensitive material it then would not set in the molds until I had cleaned them out and tried and retried over and over, so that is a lesson for the future! I had noticed that the gloves I was recommended were latex free but that was so long ago that it must have slipped my mind. The silicone holds well but as I said it is difficult to avoid air bubbles, and the pieces are very rigid and rough, so could not be placed on curved areas- shoulders for example- without them popping off. They also naturally have this yellow colour which isn't particularly appealing.

I have not looked into the possibility of other plastics or thick paper for these products, but I think that while the designs could be made in these materials, the main purpose for this project was to use special effects techniques to create fashion products, and to connect fashion with scarification.

The benefits of silicone are that it can be easily coloured, it is soft so can be applied and manipulated, within reason, on any part of anyone's body, it is a high quality professional grade material and it has the soft feel of skin so when being used as a subtle scarification piece or texture piece it can blend right in. This is why, although it may be more expensive than other alternatives and harder work, I have chosen to use silicone for the Abbellita products.

Playing with Placement

While I was waiting for some pieces to set I played around with the placement of a piece as it has been commented on before that I need to be more adventurous than just placing the pieces on the arms and chest/back.

I placed this leafy branch design on my neck in the centre, and then buttoned my shirt over it. I think it makes a lot of difference when one end of the piece is not visible as where the piece ends is left to the imagination.

It is also worth considering that scarification on the neck would not necessarily come out like this, so it could open these pieces up to people who are already interested in permanent scarification and would like to build on their look.

Production Process- Leaf and Butterfly Pieces

I created the leaves and butterfly wings in the the same way I created the precious pieces, but was especially careful to try and keep the borders close to the raised design as I have found that this gives the piece more support and structure when applying, and prevents the baldiez from tearing.

These pieces came out really nicely. The leaves are not as thick and raised as the other items such as the butterfly wings or fern branches but I think that this is fitting as leaf skeletons would be delicate themselves anyway and it makes the pieces quite subtle yet striking- almost as if a leaf skeleton had embedded itself under the skin.

The final butterfly wing piece above was my first design and while i really like it and think it is delicate and lovely, the mold was made using thinner plastic and is therefore uneven, resulting in the piece being thin and uneven. In future as Abbellita develops further this mold will be remade to create an effective piece.

How My Concept has Developed and Adapted Over the Project So Far-Reflecting on my Proposal

Since my proposal I feel like my project has come a long way. I decided to take more time experimenting with designs and ideas and push the photo shoots back in the project to make room for this, and I feel that this has resulted in much stronger collections of final designs than those which I had previously decided on. This makes the brand itself much more impressive in my opinion, and it does really show in the collections as now when I look at the previous designs I can see that there was not a lot of connection between them and they look like they were just things I designed because they looked pretty.

To assist me with my reflection on development and adaptation I have decided to post some pages from my proposal:

 The aim of my Final Major Project remains the same. it is still my goal to create the Abbellita brand featuring high quality silicone skin jewellery, and photograph and style them in a way which changes the view of scarification from a trend of sub culture and tribalism to an elegant embellishment.

Since my proposal my target market hasn't really changed, I am still aiming to appeal to industry professionals and members of the public who have a keen interest in fashion. Originally I did intend to have these pieces exclusively for make up artists to keep them more desirable and give them a more professional feel, however I understand now from looking at some of my competitors that if the products are good enough they can easily be used by both professionals and individuals for a variety of looks and occasions.

Since my proposal my competition hasn't really changed, although I do feel that I would benefit from having a more in depth look at my competitors at this point to see what information I can get from them to make Abbellita the best it can be. This is particularly useful at this mid point as I still have time to make adjustments as well as having enough work and designs to have a stronger idea of what I would like Abbellita to look like.

As I discussed before, I have spent a lot more time on my design development through trying out designs on the overhead projector which was really helpful when figuring out simple yet effective designs. I am really glad that I spent the time doing this, and while for now I have left out some of the designs from my proposal, I do still have the opportunity to use these designs and build on them in later collections.

I have now decided to have the logo created by graphic designers and have been discussing ideas with some other students recently. I think this was a better way to get a more professional looking logo, as well as building up my experience with collaborating and delegating which is important as it makes me think harder and focus on what my ideas are and verbalise how I imagine things to look. I know I am not the best at this and I need to improve discussing concepts as it is an extremely important skill to have in the industry when you are working as part of a team.

 I am still planning on displaying my work on a website, but the overall look of the website has changed slightly. I will now be using Adobe Muse to create my website and will upload templates of the themes shortly to give a better idea of how it is going to look. I will have my three main shoots as three main pages, but the designs will not be split so much into their collections. I plan on having three main pages from the shoots and then have a page of "as seen in" style images, which will feature images from shoots which I have not directed but I have worked on which feature the Abbellita pieces. There will also be a 'store' page but this will not be the main focus of the page as it is important to me that the images created are the main focus of the page.

Overall I am really happy with how the project has changed and am excited to see where it is going to lead: I am aware that I have fallen behind a little as I mentioned before but I am ready to give the project my all and make sure that I create a great website and great products.

Production Process- Fern/branch pieces

The second and third collection I created were the branch style pieces and the ferns. Unfortunately I lost the images of the production but the process remains the same as it was for the roses and chains, except I added in a border which I created around each induvidual piece in Plasteline.

The production of these pieces went smoothly. The branch style pieces took much longer than I expected for such a simple looking design and I'm not sure why that was, it could have been because I was making them a few evenings in a row for a few hours each time so didn't really get the opportunity to get into a rhythm with them

Overall I am happy with how these have come out.

 I created this small leaf just to fill some space but it could be used as part of a larger design.

Mid point presentation and feedback

There are now just over 6 weeks left until the deadline and to mark this we all had presentations to discuss our progress to this point.

The questions we were given to prepare were as follows:

1) What has been successful so far, what have you been pleased with?

So far I have been very pleased with my final design collections and the pieces I have made, in particular the rose designs. I am happy that I have found ratios of the silicone mix which work well for the final products, and feel happy that I have planned some shoots which will show the products well.

2) Are you on track with your original production schedule, if not why and what do you need to adjust?

In the production schedule I created for my proposal I would have been finishing shooting this week, but after beginning the project I soon decided that I would like to spend more time developing design ideas and creating the best product designs I possibly could to ensure that I wasn't just creating lots of images of not-so-good pieces. In my earlier revised timed plan I was due to do my first photo shoot on the week beginning the 14th, but due to Work based learning commitments and photographers availability that had to be pushed back so that my first shoot was Monday 21st. I am not too worried about this as I have adjusted the arrangements of my photo shoots accordingly, as can be seen in my answer to question three. I have however found myself very behind with blog posts, and currently have a lot of unfinished posts waiting to be completed and uploaded. This is a result of me not appropriately planning my time as well as not being strict with myself and sticking to my schedule. I have now set myself weekly deadlines and will continue to ensure I go to regular drop in sessions with tutors so that I can have dates to work to and opportunities for feedback. Previously in my university studies I have found myself wishing I had attended more of the available tutorial and drop in sessions and I am determined to not feel that way about this project when I submit in 6 weeks.

3) How have you resolved major issues?

In terms of photo shoots I have decided that I will direct three of my own photo shoots as reflected in my mood boards, and then I will collaborate and use the pieces when helping other people creating their images. I feel that this is a great way to organise my time as it means I can focus on creating the products, editing my images and creating my website instead of stressing over arranging photo shoots with photographers, models and stylists. It also gives me more of a chance to show the pieces in a variety of styles of shoots which will help show their versatility. My website will then feature my three shoots as the main promotional editorials for the pieces, accompanied by an "as seen in" style page showing where I have used these pieces.

4) What requires further improvement?

As I have discussed, I really need to get on top of my time management and be a lot more strict with myself. I really struggle to motivate myself to do work without immediate deadlines and so have set myself deadlines to ensure that I do not end up with a backlog of work.

I also feel that I need to improve on the style of my blog posts and make them more reflective rather than just descriptive. I think to help me do this I will ensure that I have a copy of the brief and proposal with me at all times when blogging so I can link what I am saying back to its original purpose as well as discussing how I feel I am sticking to the brief. This will also (hopefully) ensure that I do not miss out anything important which I would end up kicking myself about later!

5) You may also want to suggest ideas for further development of your project.

So far my pieces and tests have only been on Caucasian models with fair skin, and I feel that I need to address this and experiment with different skin tones in this project. I have so far planned to produce a light, medium and dark version of each piece, and so far as the pieces are not 100% opaque they blend easily into the skin, with any colour differences being easily concealed with a thin layer of foundation. I do need to see how versatile the colours of silicone pigment I have currently are, as it is very important to me that the Abbellita brand is able to be used by all.

In my design collections so far there is room for the collections to be expanded, or new collections entirely to be added. This is an important factor to consider when starting a brand as a brand with no room for growth can only be successful until the next best thing comes along. It is important for there to be room to expand and innovate, in order to keep the consumers interested in the products and coming back for more.

Feedback

An idea which has been discussed in my proposal and occasionally since is the possibility of painting the pieces and having them coloured. This is something I should discuss in more detail as there is the opportunity to create kits which may include a piece or selection of pieces and a paint or palette to colour it. this could include glitters, fluorescent UV paints or metallic colours. I will experiment with long-lasting colouring techniques and products which will work and stay on the silicone pieces.

A comment that I received was that I was not experimenting enough with placement. It has been suggested that I experiment with pieces on the face/neck as well as on the body, and this is something I will play around with as soon as I have created pieces which will suit the face.

I have also been reminded to not forget about creating the website. I have been putting the creation of the website to the back of my mind as I am confident with Adobe Muse and Photoshop, so am not too worried about the technical side of putting the website together. I do however need to remember that the design and layout of the website is extremely important, and I need to give myself enough time to receive as much feedback as possible in order to create the best website I possibly could in the time frame. I will have a basic template of my website completed in the next week to ensure that I at least have a starting point.

Making the pieces- Chains and Roses

In preparation for my first shoot on Monday 21st March I decided to begin creating my chain pieces. I chose to feature the chain pictures in this shoot as I felt that the contrasting colours would add to a luxurious jewellery feel. I also didn't want to feature the more earthy, natural designs in the coloured studio lighting shoot as I felt that they wouldn't fit with the overall look.

 I found that having templates either printed or drawn out made it much easier to keep the pieces symmetrical and uniform. This is something I will do for all of my pieces as it results in a much neater and more professional looking final result.

The rose designs had to be altered slightly from the outlines I used in the OHP shoot as some of the details were too intricate to be recreated and effectively blended in the plasteline. I feel that the rose outlines still came out really nicely however.

After finishing my two sheets of moulds, I used a hot glue gun to attach a wall around the pieces, ready for the hard silicone mix to be poured. I then ensured that everything was clean by wiping it over with 99% Isopropyl Alcohol and a cotton pad.

I then mixed 250g Platsil Gel 25 part A with an equal amount of part B and poured it over the pieces, ensuring all of the plasteline was covered and the sheets were left on a flat surface. I left these overnight to set and then peeled away the new negative moulds.

To make the final pieces, I first ensured that the negative moulds were cleaned thoroughly with 99% alcohol. Then, i mixed up Super Baldiez with Isopropyl Alcohol at roughly 3:2 Super Baldies:IPA. Usually the mix is 50/50 but as I have previously had issues with the super baldiez ripping I chose to make it thicker. I then painted three even layers over the whole mould, leaving it to set between each layer.

Then I mixed 25G Platsil Gel 25 part A with 25g B, three drops of pale flesh silicone pigment and 32g part C. I chose to deaden the silicone less this time to again give the piece more rigidity.

I then left this for approximately 4 hours.

When peeling off the pieces I made sure to keep both the mould and the piece well powdered with baby powder, as without this the pieces can often stick together and then rip which would be a real shame at this point. The baby powder makes the pieces much easier to transport and store too as they seem stronger and can be placed in airtight container with extra powder until required.

Here is the finished rose piece as an example. I am over the moon with how this has turned out. I think it looks beautiful and cannot wait to see it applied on a person.

Final Designs

Following my second OHP shoot, I have narrowed down my designs and chosen final 'themes' or 'collections' to create in the plasteline, and eventually in Silicone. I have chosen the following designs as I think they will all work well as they are simple yet effective designs which can easily be identified in just single line-style illustrations.

They are focussed around the 'Nature' theme as I feel that it is a good starting point for the designs, and gives me the freedom to create multiple styles and sizes of certain individual designs, as well as leaving room to expand and bring out additional collections in the future.

When creating these designs in the plasteline they may differ slightly but the collection ideas will remain the same.

These rose outlines will be made as I think they are beautiful, feminine and elegant, and the rose has long been associated with tattoos and body art. The rose can also be easily identified and represented in a line-drawing style which will make the designs effective.

The above leafy designs were inspired by henna patterns and I chose to feature these in my final collection as I feel that they are effective and simple designs. They will also be relatively simple to make in the plasteline and silicone, but I may have to thicken the central spine of the pieces to give more support to the silicone. This will not have a negative impact on the overall appearance of the piece.

I will be making a variety of different size butterfly wings for my final designs. I have altered the designs from my initial piece as I felt that the silicone needed some thicker more sturdy areas in order to stay in one piece. I feel that this has resulted in an interesting and effective design which will work really well and look really nice on the body. The wings will be made to be separate so that they can be placed as one or individually, giving the consumer more choice and freedom with their own make up creation.

 I would really like to try out these leaf skeletons, especially the maple leaves. This is something I will have to try in the silicone though as they could be too intricate. If they are successful I will make them in a variety of sizes as I feel that they would look great arranged together in sets.

 These are some ideas for the chain designs. The designs may not come out exactly like the ones above due to the nature of the plasteline and the way they have to be molded and blended, but I will attempt to make them as detailed as possible without taking away from the overall look of the pieces.

These leaf strands are again a simple and beautiful design which can be worn alone or with other pieces. These will be made in a variety of sizes going from approx 3" length to 7" to give more options to the customer on placement and design.

The above design doesn't strictly fall into the 'nature' or 'chains' category I seem to have ended up with above, but I feel that it is a beautiful design which would look really ornate and elegant. I will make this piece and perhaps feature it as a "premium" piece as it will take much more product and time to create than the others. This also gives the option to expand on the collection in the future after the FMP, as with all successful brands the collections need to be constantly growing and evolving.