New Designers – BCFA FR One Award

Jessica Leigh Calvert

The BCFA New Designers Award sponsored by FR One went to Jessica Leigh Calvert a student at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design.

The judging panel was Carolyn Mitchell, Sales Director at Walker Greenbank Group, interior designer Helen Hooper, previous award winner Lois Norman, past President of BIID and designer Sue Timney and finally BCFA Managing Director Colin Watson.

The standard this year was higher than ever before and the task of selecting the winner for the award was challenging to say the least. But the judges considered Jessica to have something special. “She presented an excellent portfolio which illustrated an impressive understanding of how research can inspire the creative process and her control of colour was a key factor in the transition from concept through to a commercially viable result. All the things that make a highly desirable product that will sell”.

A delighted Jessica commented, ‘I’m really shocked, the feedback from the judges was amazing.  I’m really excited about the future and the experiences that will be gained in Antwerp.

The prize of a four week internship with the design studio at FR One in Antwerp is a fantastic opportunity to gain experience with a major textile company. Carolyn Mitchell was very impressed, “I think that Jessica has a great future and our colleagues at FR One are delighted to be able to support this next step in her career”

This was the fifth year that the BCFA have run the award at New Designers. Managing Director Colin Watson see it as an important contribution in the industry supporting education. “Our industry are the employers for new talent, who will one day will also become employers themselves and we are committed to lead the way in this recruitment process.”

In 2010 Lois Norman was the BCFA award winner. The placement proved to be long term and Lois is a valued designer. “It opened many doors for me to work in a job that I love. Being involved in the award is fantastic knowing that now someone else may have a similar opportunity”.

 

THE PRIZE

Jessica now takes on the opportunity of a life time with a 4 week internship in Antwerp, the FR-One design studio is one of the largest in our industry. Hundreds of designs are created here every year making us a formidable design machine. Our aim is to target many segments within our market, enabling us to compete on a global scale.

Jessica will have the opportunity of working in a company that releases in excess of 100+ collections per year. Their key focus will be to help us develop our new 2015 FR-One collection, where they will follow the rigorous process and critical path that will lead this collection to its launch next year.

We shall keep you all posted with Jessica development through the internship in the coming weeks.

 

To see more of Jessica’s work follow the link below

www.jessicaleighcalvert.com