Travelling - Reviewing Cushions 23/12/14

I reviewed  Cushions and gave my personal opinion on whether I liked/disliked the selection of cushions that I found based on Travelling.

1. Argos - Heart of House New York Cushion £9.99

New York pattern. Modern. Has matching bedding. Simplistic but nice, would work well in a light setting due to its design. Using the iconic new york landscape it appeals to the popularity of the city for consumers, especially those interested in fashion/shopping/bright lights etc. 

2. Dunelm Mill - Skyline Cushion Cover £8.99

The design isn't very detailed. Looks blurry and not very focused. Would look better if the print was sharper and clearer, some colour would also look really nice. 

3. Dunelm Mill - Maps Cushion Cover £5.99

Ideal cushion for office, lounge or bedroom. Lovely geography design, very informative! Love this cushion. Detailed well, really good quality!

4. Etsy - Around The World Vintage Travel Themed Cushion Cover £4.99

 Bright vibrant red colour,would look cute in the new décor of a newly remodeled home. Has a bird sending post, Eiffel Tower, Stamps and names of places in a lovely printed style. Has a cream background and vintage terracotta coloured travel themed stamps. Great for any travel lover. 

5.Etsy - Retro Ticket Themed Cushion Cover

Cool, unique idea. Not seen anything like it before, a new and exciting creation. A variation of tickets on a digitally printed cotton. Lovely vibrant colours that coordinate well together.

                                                            

                                                         


6. Paris Themed Cushion Cover with French Linen Backing £19.30

Beautiful print design. Worth the money - good price for the great quality it is. Lovely array of colours that all go well together. Pretty paris theme. Love how the pattern is rotated around and in small circles. Nice shapes. The back goes well with the front as it doesn't distract from the pattern. Vintage style, perfect for a bedroom. Very pretty pattern and chic.

7. BHS - Luxe Map Cushion Cover £12.00

Modern cushion style. Can't see much detail compare to the Dunelm Mill map cushion cover, Black and white map, as shown in the Dunelm Mill cushion cover it looks better with a bit of colour, but nothing too bold or heavy. 

8.  Matalan - Parisian Postcard Print Cushion £8.00

Lovely postcard from paris design with the Eiffel Tower and Butterflies. Grey, black and white colour palette.

9.  Dunelm Mill - Woodland Scene Cushion Cover £5.99

Cool, quirky illustrative style. A nice change from seeing Paris, London, and New York style prints. There is definitely room on the market for something new like this. It has adorable illustrative woodland creatures - little foxes, owls, snails, and hedgehogs. So cute!  Really quirky. Would love to get this myself. Has a very nice colour palette and it all just works well together. Looks nice with the cream background because its not too much. Really good price for good quality design. 

10.  BHS - Pink Vintage Postcard Cushion Cover £20.00 (Pink)

Lovely postcard embroidered design. Very chic and girly! A lot of effort and time would have gone into it, embroidery takes a long time and you can tell this cushion has been made with attention and care. Nice change as most cushions are screen printed. Beautiful vintage cushion. Lovely! Would definitely buy this myself. Perfect for adding a vintage touch to your home.

11. The Range - Beach Huts Cushion £7.99

Beach Huts design embroidered on in lovely colours that work well together.different shaped so appeals to a niche audience. Seaside very British landscape, appeals to a more light and colourful setting. Personally I am not a fan of the shape but I find the design very basic but easy on the eye

12. The Range - Vintage Old Map Filled Cushion £5.99

Lovely old world map printed onto a cream coloured cotton background. Beautiful attention to detail. Vintage chic cushion. Good shape and size. Nice colour, the black works well on top of the cream.  Great price.

13. The Range - Paris Bicycle Cushion £4.99

Lovely Bicycle with typography printed cushion. Simple but works well. Would look good as a repeated pattern. Good price.

14. Radiance Lighting - Cottages and Castles Cushion Cover £31.50

Cottages and castles printed onto a textured white canvas on both sides. Lovely detail and design. Beatiful castles, perfect for any living room. 

15. Etsy - European themed Illustrated Linen Pillowcase £17.83

Both sided pillow cover made of cute European theme pattern linen. The whole color tone is peach pink. Various European symbols printed.  Vintage style illustration pattern.

16. Etsy - Handmade 16" x 16" Cotton Cushion Cover in China Blue/White French Paris Eiffel Tower/Flower Bouquets Design Print

Lovely Eiffel Tower print beautifully repeated. Beautiful china blue colour palette, this Parisian themed cushion cover with will add a little bit of paris to any room!

Travelling - Reviewing Bedding 09/12/14

I reviewed Bedding and gave my personal opinion on whether I liked/disliked the selection of bedding that I found based on Travelling.

1, BHS - Postcard bedding

This is one of my favourite bedding sets. It has a beautiful patchwork style and I personally really admire patchwork and the detail and time that goes into it. It has on it an Eiffel Tower, Postcards, Biycle, Stamps, Butterflies, Birds and the Union Flag.

 It has a white background with coloured items on it. The colour on it isn't too much, just the right amount. Very floral, nature style. It has a western idyllic european style to it. There is a lot going on and it is very busy with different items but not too much, just the right amount.

2. BHS - Hot Air Balloon Bedding Set

The colours are very vibrant and it has a lovely detailing. The cover makes me dream of travel, take me to far away places in my sleep. White background with darker colours on top.

Very floral. Very detailed, it is truly beautiful. The London map on the background in grey blends into the background.

3, BHS - Bedding Explorer Bedding Set

Has a hot air ballooe world, ship, bike, luggage tickets and compass with a map of the world in the background. Beautiful print design! Colonial map of the world - old map before modern cartography. A lot of countries on the map would not currently exist as it would pre date modern boundaries.

Neutral, old colours and old feel to it. Green, orange and yellow are very positive, pale colours. The inner cover has luggage tickets. Lovely, very detailed and good quality.

4. BHS - Bedding Highway Set

Brown and white - very mono coloured. Personally think this bedding doesn't 'brighten up the room like they say in the description'. Quite dull - bit plain. Would look nice if it had more colour.

Contains street signs, traffic policeman, old cards and bicycles with a brick wall background. The brick background in grey is nice but the print needs to have some more colour or something more exciting going on.

5. BHS - Bedding Highway Voyage Set

Very american style to it, american 1960's in particular. Collage of photographs - camper vans and old cars. Holiday feel to it - camping feel. Has a wood panel background. Quirky style, with cool photographs of old cars and bulldog clips.

6. BHS - Cyclist Bedding Set

Lovely bicycle print repeated across it. Patchwork/collage feel to it. Different style bicycles, up close and far away views, good variety. Shades of bright red, brown, white, blue and black colours.

Fab bedding! Perfect for any bicycle lover. The reverse side has a penny farthing (old victorian bike) with vintage style background. Lovely quality! Illustrative prints of bicycles through the ages (old and new), perfect for any vintage lover!

7. Cath kidston - London Buses Duvet Set

Bold red london buses printed on it. Reversible duvet cover with polka dots.. Brightens up the room with the bold red and sky blue. London buses print has an arty style to it. Expensive for what it is, overpriced as the quality isn't as good as BHS ones, but the price is for the designer, not for the quality.

I wouldn't buy it for myself. Too plain, not enough colour. It is something that I would give to a child or teenager. 

8. Argos - London Tube Map Bedding Set

Slighty out of date map but nice image of tube map. Stripey, colourful reverse side. Great for boys (kids). Great for anyone who likes london. Handy map for route planning.

Would not like this myself as it is very plain and a map with lots of writing on it wouldn't be something that looked pretty and nice to look at before going to bed.

9. Palmers Store - Mini Car Duvet Cover Set

Fun mini design in blue, yellow, red and green. Ideal for teenagers - boys in particular. Simple yet cool design. Lovely bright colours with a pop art style.

10. Palmers Store - Vegas Duvet Cover Set

Funky duvet cover. Vibrant words all over it - Welcome, Showtime, Las Vegas.Very bright and colourful, it has a lot going on. Ideal for any party vegas lover.

Not my style as I prefer bedding to have images or a pattern and not just words.

11. Palmers Store - Map Duvet Cover Set

Very detailed london map - bright, informative, fun, and knowledgeable.  It has a very fun and quirky style. Shows londons busy city streets, parks, and attractions. Good for teenagers finding there way around london city centre.

12. Palmers Department Store - Campervan Duvet Cover Set

Funky design! Light tonal colours but not too bright. Lovely shades of red, blue and green. Vintage style. Fun, retro camper van and scooter design. Coordinating stripe bordering that goes well.\

13. Palmers Department Store - Cath Kidston Train Duvet Cover Set

Bold and colourful train design. Fun design full of different types of trains, a broad range of different trains making it more exciting and knowledgeable. Lovely detail on trains. Perfect for any train lover or children. Trains sat on a cream background.

I prefer this one to the other Cath Kidston design with London buses. It has more colour and more detail.

14. Palmers Department Store - Speedway Duvet Cover Set 

Perfect for any formula 1 racing lover. Ideal for boys/men. Has a colourful sports cars design on the front with a red numbered reverse side. Patchwork style which looks really attractive. Fun, bright colours! Different style of cars making it exciting!

15. BHS - Sketchy Paris Bedding Set

Really pretty design. Paris design - Eiffel Tower, scenes of Paris and frensh places. Grey on one sde and pink on the reverse, this is ideal if you aren't a fan of pink. Very chic and would compliment any bedroom.

16. Houzz - Duvet Cover Twill - Portofino

Printed image of Portofino in Italy. Dye sublimation printing. lovely water colour painting design. Beautiful image. The colours all blend well together.

17. John Lewis - Orla Keily Boats Duvet Cover Set

Simple design. Basic outline of boats in green, red, yellow and grey on a cream background. Would look better if more was going on, it comes across as a bit plain and boring. Would look better with a more fun and colourful background; the design isn't too complicated so it would look good and not too busy if it had a more exciting background instead of just plain white. It seems they played it safe by doing a plain background incase it made it look too much but I believe it would of looked stronger and be a much better design. By being simple and basic it looks more like a children's bedding.

Travelling - Bedding research Evaluation 09/12/14

 I made a start on Bedding research. I researched duvet cover sets and the following shops had ones related to Travelling.
- BHS
-Cath Kidston
- Argos
- Palmers Department Store
- Houzz
- John Lewis

BHS had the biggest range of travel bedding. I was really impressed with what BHS had to offer.There bedding was not only really lovely quality and beautifully detailed but the customer reviews loved it too. Palmers Department Store also had some lovely bedding.

John Lewis, Next, Dunelm Mill, Asda, Tesco, Debenhams, didn't have any travel related duvet sets. This means the range of places I found good bedding at was limited.

Travelling - Cushion Research 05/12/14

After looking at wallpaper I looked in shops/websites at Cushions, another well-known homeware item. I was impressed with what I found on Cushions and I am still finding more and more. This is great research for me as once I have done all my market research in different sectors of homeware on travelling I can really see what is a popular theme and what sells well, and analyse what I like and dislike.

Cushions I have currently found:

Market research- Travelling – CUSHIONS  (started 05/12/14)

·         Argos
Heart of House New York Cushion - Charcoal. £9.99

Showcase your love of the Big Apple with the Heart of House New York Cushion. This stylish cushion has an iconic New York pattern, making it an excellent accompaniment to any sofa or chair.

·         Dunelm Mil
Maps Cushion Cover £5.99
Update the décor of your living room easily by simply changing your cushion cover with this vintage inspired maps cushion cover.

·         Dunelm Mill
Woodland Scene Cushion Cover £5.99
printed cushion cover features an array of illustrated woodland creatures including little foxes, owls, snails and hedgehogs that will lend to a quirky country look when placed in your living room. 

 

·         Dunelm Mill Skyline Cushion cover £8.99 Featuring a skyline of the city that never sleeps, our black and white cushion cover will complement your modern living room. 

 

·         Etsy
Around the World Vintage Travel Themed Cushion Cover £4.99

Vintage Postcard Travel Themed Cushion Cover

·   Etsy
Retro ticket themed Cushion Cover photo digital printed cotton £12.00

Gorgeous cushion cover made from photo digital Printed cotton featuring Various tickets. 

·         Etsy
Paris Theme Cushion Cover with French Linen Backing. £19.78

·         Etsy
Handmade 16"x16" Cotton Cushion Pillow Cover in China Blue/White French Paris Eiffel Tower/Flower Bouquets Design Print

 

 

 

·         Etsy
Cute European Theme Illustrated
 Linen Pillow Case (Cover, Slip) £17.70
Both sided pillow cover made of cute European theme pattern linen.
The whole color tone is peach pink. Various European symbols printed.

·     BHS
Luxe Map Cushion Price: £12.00

Part of the Grey Scale theme, this cushion is a striking map print of an area of London. A stylish modern addition to any home.

·         BHS
Pink Vintage Postcard Cushion
Price: £20.00
- A beautiful postcard designed cushion with hand crafted details of embroidery from our Vintage Maison collection. Perfect for adding a vintage touch to your home.

·         Matalan
Parisian Postcard Print Cushion (48cm X 48cm) £8.00
- Combine vintage shabby chic with soft Parisian prints with this postcard print cushion in silver. The cushion measures at 48cm x 48cm and the print is features on both sides.

 

 

A theme I noticed with these cushions is that like the wallpaper theme, New York, London and Paris are very common and popular in design. In particular the Eiffel Tower in Paris is a well-known landmark and an attractive design which companies and designers will know that it will sell well.

Travelling - Wallpaper Research Evaluation 30/11/14

Once I had thought of my initial first ideas I started to look into market research for homeware, the first thing that sprung to my mind was Wallpaper. I have been looking into a broad range of shops and wrote down and saved anything that I thought looked like it related to my chosen topic of Travelling.

I looked at the following shops/companies/designers:

• Jillian Phillips
• Michelle Mason
• Dunelm Mill
• The Range
• John Lewis
• Andrew Martin 
• Hertex
• Little Greene
• Wallpaper Direct
• Design Wallpapers
• Homebase
• Cath Kidston
• Zoffany
• Digetexhome
• Not on the high street
• Peter Lees Fabrics

I will be continuing to look in the market at wallpaper over the next coming months. I have found a wide range of companies whom do travelling related wallpaper, some however only do one style.

A theme I have noticed is that New York, London and Paris; three big popular places that are highly visited and easily recognised making them on trend with designers.

Spider diagram of market research areas 30/11/14

When I started researching into the market I created a spider diagram of options of homeware to explore. 

The ones marked with a tick are ones that successfuly had Travelling items. Door mats/rugs and curtains had nothing.

Theme 1: Travelling - Initial first ideas

I am currently studying Textiles with surface design at the University of Huddersfield. I am in my 3rd year which is a placement year. In my placement year I get given the chance to spend the year at placement working in industry to enhance my knowledge and skills as well as research for my final major project in my 4th year which will be commencing september 2015.

I started off by reviewing articles about textile related news and annotating them. I then moved on to creating themes from subjects I liked and was interested in exploring. These may change as at the moment they are only ideas for themes. I am currently starting to research into my 1st theme which is 'Travelling'.

Travelling is a very broad topic but when I narrowed it down in a mind map I came up with these:

• Holiday to Rome (oct 2014)
• Edinburgh holiday (summer 2014)
• Scarborough day out - 20th bday (april 2014)
• Trains
• Planes
• Postcards
• Cousin and second cousins living in Australia
• Sister in law living in Philippines (brother travelling over regularly to see her)
• Different culture (Filipino sister in law, second cousins Australian)
• New York holiday (Jan 2014) - first time abroad
• Skegness (family holidays growing up) 
• The beach (regular beach trips all my life as a family day out during summer)
• Map of the world
• Bike rides (hobby and a form of travelling)
• Train tickets (memorabilia)
• Streets ( street maps)
• Camping 
• Leeds festival (summer 2014)
• Luggage tickets