Five minutes to eight in the morning, and I finally arrive, coffee in hand, at the Bill Amber Workshop in West Row. Apparently the London underground is not all that reliable that early in the morning, but after an hour and a half of watching dazed business men and women getting on and off at various stations, I arrived and was ready to start my work experience. Having been really interested in the idea of working with leather at some point, I was so excited about the chance to work with and learn about the material I have never worked with before but am very interested in the idea of using in my final year at university. Having just hired a new employee in the accessories department, I was asked if I could work in the Interior Design workshop to help out with a couple of projects.
The first project I was given was to organise and complete some of the catalogue Bill was going to take over to New York on Tuesday to show some clients. I was given the master copy of the catalogue and then had to make or complete another 10 copies of it. I had to use the cutting press to cut out the different hides in various sizes to attaching them to the catalogues in their certain areas. Although this was getting quite repetitive after the 5th catalogue, it gave me a really good chance to snoop around the shelves and horses and see the variety of leathers they use on a day to day basis for furnishing and accessories.
Baltic:
· Used for upholstery, lightly upholstered wall panelling and bags.
· A Northern European product, and shows the natural grain, which will vary over different areas of the hide.
· Can be dyed any colour.
Eco:
· The shoulder.
· Quite tough, but can be used in upholstery, bags, shoes and sometimes wall panelling.
· Grain runs from left to right.
· Can be dyed.
French Calf:
· Quite soft and flexible leather.
· Can be used in upholstery, bags and shoes.
· Can be dyed a range of colours.
Lamb:
· Very soft, flexible leather.
· Used for clothing, gloves, bags, furnishings.
· Can be dyed any colour, including metallics and brights without changing the feel of the leather.
Oak Bark Shoulders:
· Very tough shoulder leather.
· Used in high traffic areas, such as stair banisters, furnishings and sometimes flooring. Can also be used as wall panelling.
· Ages well with wood.
· Part of the shoe sole trade.
· Pigment and dye free leather.
Ostrich:
· Like lamb, very soft and supple.
· Used for bags, gloves, furniture upholstery and wall upholstery.
· Grain and thickness of the leather varies over different areas of the hide.
· Can be dyed, but most often used in earthy hues.
Shrunken Shoulder:
· Tough leather.
· Walls, hand railings, bags and shoes.
· Can be dyed.
Sole Bends:
· Extremely tough leather, not very malleable.
· Used for floor panelling and occasionally wall panelling, but can be too heavy for walls.
Vellum:
· Otherwise known as parchment.
· Brazilian goat skin.
· Grain runs left to right, with the darkest area down the spine.
· Very thin, almost translucent on the belly of the hide.
· Used in furnishings and coverings mostly.
· Was a key feature in art deco furnishings.
· Comes in cream or natural pigments.
Out of all the leathers the ostrich was the one that I became the most attached to. There is something that seems so unique about it. The spine of the grain is so recognizable and yet every hide is different meaning you won’t get any two items exactly the same making each item feel more personal. However the belly of the hide has a much more subtle print, and is even softer which I think I almost prefer, as it’s different. Most accessories are made out of the spine of the hide with the recognizable print of ostrich so I like the idea of using the belly side to make items more individual without losing the beautiful quality of the leather.
Once I had done the 10 catalogues, I was asked if I could help out with the live project going on at the time. This project had been going on for about 3 months, and I was asked to help out for the last few days to get everything finished in time. All of the furnishings for a client’s yacht had been sent to the Bill Amberg workshop to be upholstered in cream vellum. Some of shelving units which needed to be done were fairly straight forward to do, however a lot of the pieces that needed to be covered had curved edges and lots of corners. After having a quick demonstration on how to do the covering in a specific way, I was set lose on the glue, scalpel, and staples to make these pieces as flawless as possible. I managed about seven on my first day of doing it, but then managed to double that the next day. What I did find with this project was that because I was doing it for someone else I knew it needed to be done with precision. I often find that when I make pieces for myself I don’t spend the time on it that I should. But the feeling I had when I saw all the final pieces lined up next to each other, actually made me feel quite proud. I honestly feel that this work experience has shown me what I can do when I put my mind to it, and hopefully can put that into practice when I head back to uni next month.
This experience also confirmed to me that I need to be working in a ‘hands on’ environment; I need to be moving about, working with different materials and be creating, I like being involved, seeing how things progress. All in all I found that this work experience was hugely helpful, it gave me a real insight into working in a ‘hands on’ workshop creating pieces. It also gave the chance to learn more about and work the material I have wanted to work with for a long time. Although I personally think it’s too early to be saying anything for sure about what I will be basing my final year collection on, if I can, I would love to include leather in some way.
The first project I was given was to organise and complete some of the catalogue Bill was going to take over to New York on Tuesday to show some clients. I was given the master copy of the catalogue and then had to make or complete another 10 copies of it. I had to use the cutting press to cut out the different hides in various sizes to attaching them to the catalogues in their certain areas. Although this was getting quite repetitive after the 5th catalogue, it gave me a really good chance to snoop around the shelves and horses and see the variety of leathers they use on a day to day basis for furnishing and accessories.
Baltic:
· Used for upholstery, lightly upholstered wall panelling and bags.
· A Northern European product, and shows the natural grain, which will vary over different areas of the hide.
· Can be dyed any colour.
Eco:
· The shoulder.
· Quite tough, but can be used in upholstery, bags, shoes and sometimes wall panelling.
· Grain runs from left to right.
· Can be dyed.
French Calf:
· Quite soft and flexible leather.
· Can be used in upholstery, bags and shoes.
· Can be dyed a range of colours.
Lamb:
· Very soft, flexible leather.
· Used for clothing, gloves, bags, furnishings.
· Can be dyed any colour, including metallics and brights without changing the feel of the leather.
Oak Bark Shoulders:
· Very tough shoulder leather.
· Used in high traffic areas, such as stair banisters, furnishings and sometimes flooring. Can also be used as wall panelling.
· Ages well with wood.
· Part of the shoe sole trade.
· Pigment and dye free leather.
Ostrich:
· Like lamb, very soft and supple.
· Used for bags, gloves, furniture upholstery and wall upholstery.
· Grain and thickness of the leather varies over different areas of the hide.
· Can be dyed, but most often used in earthy hues.
Shrunken Shoulder:
· Tough leather.
· Walls, hand railings, bags and shoes.
· Can be dyed.
Sole Bends:
· Extremely tough leather, not very malleable.
· Used for floor panelling and occasionally wall panelling, but can be too heavy for walls.
Vellum:
· Otherwise known as parchment.
· Brazilian goat skin.
· Grain runs left to right, with the darkest area down the spine.
· Very thin, almost translucent on the belly of the hide.
· Used in furnishings and coverings mostly.
· Was a key feature in art deco furnishings.
· Comes in cream or natural pigments.
Out of all the leathers the ostrich was the one that I became the most attached to. There is something that seems so unique about it. The spine of the grain is so recognizable and yet every hide is different meaning you won’t get any two items exactly the same making each item feel more personal. However the belly of the hide has a much more subtle print, and is even softer which I think I almost prefer, as it’s different. Most accessories are made out of the spine of the hide with the recognizable print of ostrich so I like the idea of using the belly side to make items more individual without losing the beautiful quality of the leather.
Once I had done the 10 catalogues, I was asked if I could help out with the live project going on at the time. This project had been going on for about 3 months, and I was asked to help out for the last few days to get everything finished in time. All of the furnishings for a client’s yacht had been sent to the Bill Amberg workshop to be upholstered in cream vellum. Some of shelving units which needed to be done were fairly straight forward to do, however a lot of the pieces that needed to be covered had curved edges and lots of corners. After having a quick demonstration on how to do the covering in a specific way, I was set lose on the glue, scalpel, and staples to make these pieces as flawless as possible. I managed about seven on my first day of doing it, but then managed to double that the next day. What I did find with this project was that because I was doing it for someone else I knew it needed to be done with precision. I often find that when I make pieces for myself I don’t spend the time on it that I should. But the feeling I had when I saw all the final pieces lined up next to each other, actually made me feel quite proud. I honestly feel that this work experience has shown me what I can do when I put my mind to it, and hopefully can put that into practice when I head back to uni next month.
This experience also confirmed to me that I need to be working in a ‘hands on’ environment; I need to be moving about, working with different materials and be creating, I like being involved, seeing how things progress. All in all I found that this work experience was hugely helpful, it gave me a real insight into working in a ‘hands on’ workshop creating pieces. It also gave the chance to learn more about and work the material I have wanted to work with for a long time. Although I personally think it’s too early to be saying anything for sure about what I will be basing my final year collection on, if I can, I would love to include leather in some way.
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