Client proposal form

What does the client require your product to do? Who is the target audience for the product?
Oxfam boutique require me to create a series of garments and accessories, using materials that have been donated. I need to re-use and renovate the old clothes and accessories that have been donated to the shop, this makes the process sustainable. The target audience I am trying to appeal to are the customers that shop in the boutique. Unlike regular Oxfam charity shops, the boutique sells only high end garments for high prices. This means the products I create must be high quality to fit in with the other items in store.

Outline the final idea for your project
I wanted to create an outfit that fit a particular theme. This would include a main piece of clothing and 2 accessories. The theme I wanted to convey was Africa. Tribal prints are in fashion at this time and I feel it would fit in well with what the charity is trying to help.

How will you ensure that your product is suitable for it’s purpose?
There are many variables I have to consider when creating my main piece of clothing. To appeal to as many people as possible I have to take into account the size that I create the garment. I feel that using the tribal theme would allow me to account for all sizes and I could make one piece of clothing that could fit a range of sizes.

What will you need to create your product?
Donated materials that fit in with the tribal theme
Sewing machines
Possible Measurements
Models

What could go wrong when you are producing your work? What steps will you take to try and avoid these?
The quality of the product is important so I must ensure that I am carefull when cutting and stitching the fabrics to maintain the standard of quality needed
The product may not be what the boutique or the customers are looking for so I must carry out research about the kind of products people want

What health and safety issues will be relevant during the project? How will you address these?
The equipment I will be using to create the product, such as scissors, sewing machines, needles and pins are all health and safety risks, so I must ensure I handle all the equipment with care

Second meeting with Oxfam

Our second meeting with oxfam was mainly based on materials.we began by rummaging through more unwanted clothes, but this time understood the kind of patterns and materials we would need, as we had an idea of what we wanted to create. Neil then let Daniel and I watch him on the sewing machine as he showed us some of the more complicated and different ways to use it. This helped as he showed that the stiching didnt need to be hidden, and could be part of the garments design.

First meeting with Oxfam

Before my first meeting with Oxfam I created a few sketches with my initial ideas. these consisted of some outfits that followed a certain theme
African
Festival
Union jack
I decided I wanted to make an outfit that could be sold separately or together. I felt this would be a strong business plan as all the items would be priced individually, but the outfit would be put together which would make the customer want to purchase the whole or part of the outfit.
At my first meeting with Neil Jones, Me and Daniel began by asking Neil questions, including what kind of gametes or accessories he was looking for, and what sort of items sell the most.
We then shared our ideas. I explained that I wanted to make an outfit and Neil agreed that it was a strong idea, and asked me to begin designing the outfit. He also wanted us to begin working with material so he allowed us to sort through the clothing that was unable to sell in the shop in its current state. This included clothing that was not fit to sell on the shop floor, or clothing with marks or imperfections which made it unable to sell. Seeing the large mix of different materials gave me a better idea of what I wanted to create.

Selecting a project

When selecting my partner, I thought about the briefs and the possible outcomes of them.
Oxfam - Clothing
Scrapstore - Structure
Banes - Poster or advert
Bath College - Recycling bin, Poster to raise awareness
I was more drawn to oxfam as i am interested in fashion, but I was also interested in choosing BANES.
I chose oxfam because I am interetsed in fashion and art and i feel that is project would allow me to express this further. The brief was to take donated clothing that was no good enough quality to sell in the boutique, and renivate them into new peices of clothing or accesories.
Me and Daniel, who also wants to work with oxfam, sent Neil a letterr requesting a meeting.

Thank you for your letter regarding your interest in working with the Oxfam boutique, Bath.
Please attend for a meeting at 10.00am on Wednesday 9th June 2010.
Yours sincerely,
Neil Jones (Manager) Oxfam Boutique, Bath.

Meeting with Scrapstore

I was unable to attend the meeting with the Scrapstore.
This is a list of ideas that our tutor and our group came up with:

* Advert about reuse and recycling and Scrapstore
* Chain reaction advert about reuse and recycling and Scrapstore
* Domino effect film using scrap materials
* Theatre, play about the journey of some scrap materials into play creations
* Clothes bins in colleges for dressing up clothes
* Leaflet for businesses about reuse and recycling and Scrapstore
* Posters for businesses about reuse and recycling and Scrapstore
* Social networking – make a page and advert for businesses
* T shirts – to advertise and raise profile and issues
* Schools – show them using the scrap materials
* Big 3D project in town centers with sculptures and collages made of scrap materials
* Model made of scrap materials
* An interactive sculpture providing a message
* Visit PlayPod for project background, stories, pictures etc.
* Flash make Art
* Dance project to market reuse and Scrapstore
* Lo Fi film using scrap materials
* Series of images for the Scrapstore website
* Facebook page for Scrapstore, scrap materials, re-use
* Live Twitter service

If i were to work with scrapstore I think i would create an advert including a chani reaction as i feel this is a strong idea and i am interested in film. I would also be interested in creating an ad to advertise the scrapstore. I think a live twitter service would be impractical as it would need to be an ongoing service, However recreating the website would be a strong idea as it would be done from a younger persons perspective and could draw in a new audience.

Meeting with Oxfam

We walked to the Oxfam boutique as a group, rather than the manager coming to us, which allowed us to see the sort of enviroment that we would be working if we chose this project. we were taken down into the office below, which was filled with clothes that would be sold in the shop. Neil Young, the manager of the Oxfam Boutique began by explaining his role in the business, and about how the shop works. It was interesting to see that recycling was already a part of the business, as good condition clothes that people donated would be re-sold, and anything unworthy of being in the shop would be sent off to another charity shop to be re-sold. If it was too damaged or marked it would then be sent to a clothing bank, which shows that 100% of the clothes have been recycled in some way as they got passed down the chain.
Neilt hen explained our breif, which would be to create a new garment out of clothing that wasnt appropriate to be sold ont he shop floor, before it got sent off to the next link in the chain. This would be done by using the material of lots of clothing and peicing it together into a high-end unique fashion item.

Meeting with Bath College

Lynne Scragg, a representative from Bath College met us to explain the issue of recycling in the college. They have a brief plan of what they want to do to promote recycling, but explains that they do not do enough at present. One of the current ide4as that have not yet been put into practice are material specific bins depending on the department, such as paper bisn in the art department, plastic bins in the printing room and polosyrine and food bins in the resteraunt and staff rooms. Lynne and our class came up with the idea to include a recycling poster in the next years student book to promote recycling and the ways to recycle. Thsi could include a poster or a leafelt handed to new students, or an advertisment put on the Bath college and moodle websites. A banner could also be included on the desktop backround of all the computers and Macs.

Meeting with BANES

Bath and North East Somerset work within the community on a number of issues including recycling. The are currently recycling 43% of our waste as a community but would like to increase this number.

Recyclable waste : Paper, cans, aerosols, shoes, clothes, glasses, oil, plastic, glass, mobiles and batteries

Non-Recyclable waste: bubble wrap, plastic bags, black plastic and cling film

The nearest landfill site is in Buckinghamshire. The waste that is not recycled has to travel 100 miles to be put in landfill which is a strain on the planet itself. However this landfill will eventually run out of space, and another one will have to be built which may be further away therefore consuming more fuel. The problem with landfills is that they emit methane gas, which is 20% more dangerous than carbon dioxide.
Tax payers are currently paying £48 a year towards the landfill, which will soon increase as we run out of space. This will hopefully motivate people to stop creating unnecessary waste, as the price will continue to rise.
Many companies are attempting to reduce their effect on the environment. McDonald's are unable to recycle food containers as the food and drink residue left by customers deems the waste as unrecyclable. However, They are recycling all their cardboard which makes up for 25% of their waste. They also recycle 100% of their cooking oil to create biofules. Kenco are also following the recycling trend by advertising their new refill bags that use 97% less packaging than the jar.
BANES believe that the only recycling information being given to the public are the obvious and already successful ways to recycle. They feel that new information should be given by the government about new ways to recycle, such as the new food bins that are to be released on the 4th of October and given to every home in the area.
Banes and the class decided that an advertising scheme would be created by the students to advertise new ways to recycle.

Mcdonalds

McDonald is the largest food chains in the world, serving 58 million customers a day world wide. If each customer bought a meal, consisting of a drink, burger and fries, it would equal to 174 million food contaminated food packaging. McDonald are unable to recycle the food waste when it contains food residue. in 1970, the average meal would require 46 grams of packaging. This has been reduced to 25 grams which signifies the substantial change in recycling within the company. This is a 48% decrease in packaging, however they aim to reduce this by another 25%
In 2008, McDonald announced that Sheffield would be the first of their restaurants to conduct a trial where all the packaging is collected by an independent company and used to produce energy at a power plant. This will provide heating and energy for local businesses

McDonalds have attempted to become more eco friendly:

-They recycle the cooking oil they use. Along with rapseed oil, the used cooking oil can be made into biofules. They claim that this process will be the equivalent of removing over 2400 cars off the road each year.

-They recycle all the cardboard packaging they use, whcih counts for 25% of the comapnies waste

-Composting trials have been conducted in Dorset

-More recyclable materials have been introduced into the process of packaging and delivering the food

-They aim to reduce the amount of water usage

The opportunity to work with McDonald's Environmental team would allow me to give my ideas on how to meet their 25% sustainability increase. I would attempt to think of an idea that would include the customers being more aware of where they throw their rubbish. This could include container specific bins or asking them if they need a paper bag for their food. Small changes like this could make a dramatic difference to the companies sustainability

Interaction brief

The brief of the interaction project was to work with local partners that specialise with recycling. Working on the theme of sustainability and recycling, we would work as a unit to make a creative idea that the company could use.
We would meet with 4 different companies and they would explain what they need within the business that would help increase the amount of recycling. We will then select a company to work with, and set up and record a number of meetings as we create the product/service we are briefed.
We will meet and speak with four different companies, then once we decide who we’ll be working with, we will be setting up and recording meetings with our partner and keeping them updated on the progress of our work, then presenting the finished work.
The four companies are- Bath College, Oxfam, Bristol Scrapstore, and B.A.N.E.S recycling.

Recycling and sustainability

We have been set the task of working with a partner to create a product or service that will improve the sustainability of the company.
Sustainability within a company means that they recycle and reuse their resources to ensure long term well being for the future.

Ideas for recycling
• Make disposable cutlery reusable.
• Delver food from a local source to save on fuel
• Use recyclable packaging such as cardboard
• Use packaging only when necessary
• Create sustainable energy using wind turbines and solar panels
• Advertise recycling on the packaging of food.