Have you ever looked back at Past You and cringed? Maybe you found an old photograph and wondered what possessed you to buy, let alone wear, that hideous outfit. Perhaps Facebook showed you a post you wrote nearly a decade ago and you couldn't quite believe you were that naive back then. You might have... Continue Reading →
As this year and decade draw to a close, the second most significant relationship of my life is coming to an end. It's not just been significant in length; it's also important due to how it has shaped me as a person. In November 2010 I started work at UAL, and my impending farewell on... Continue Reading →
My first office job was at a university, and it's an environment I've felt at home in ever since. There were many things I learnt in that job, but one important life lesson came from an extremely kind academic who taught on the leisure and tourism courses. We were discussing data collection for timetabling and,... Continue Reading →
Clothing and textile archives are fascinating places. Although, as a fashion historian, you might expect me to visit archives as part of my research, they're also very useful places for designers to look for inspiration. Even more so now that many museums have extensive online catalogues with images, available from anywhere in the world, but... Continue Reading →
Before being asked to write a review of a fashion exhibition for an issue of a journal that my course leader, Shaun Cole, was guest editing, I had no idea that a Master's student could get something published in an academic journal. For some reason I thought I would have to wait until I had... Continue Reading →
I'm currently volunteering one day a week at UAL's Archives and Special Collections Centre (ASCC), based at London College of Communication in Elephant & Castle. This week, I got to join one of the tours given to students. The tour took place in the search room, which is where visiting researchers sit to explore the... Continue Reading →
A couple of years ago, I wrote a post about returning to higher education as a mature student. At the end of the article, I promised further posts on research and planning but then promptly forgot all about it. As I'm currently attempting to start another research project, I thought now was a good time... Continue Reading →
At the start of this calendar year I decided that I wanted to learn something new. I'm a sucker for a good evening class and love to have an outlet for my creativity, so I had a look at the short courses on offer at the University of the Arts London. I should point out... Continue Reading →
Back in 2010, I went along to a class at The School of Life and spent an evening pondering what types of work I would enjoy. It was interesting focusing on tasks, workplace environments and types of careers in a way that I hadn't done since school - looking at what might be fulfilling rather... Continue Reading →
I've written about taking a short course to learn something new on this blog but it feels strange that, other than that, I've not really tackled the topic of lifelong learning before. After all, I spent 17 of the the first 22 years of my life in full-time education and, since then, I've spent many... Continue Reading →