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Graduate Profiles
Laura Mackay
I chose Heriot-Watt because of the reputation the School has for excellence in the field and links with
industry. After visiting, I loved the look of the print room and the facilities, not to mention the friendly
technicians!
I specialised in print and thoroughly enjoyed screenprinting and mixing up different dyes. I spent half of my time in the CAD lab and the other half in the print room combining digital prints with discharge, devore and foils. I was lucky enough to win a placement with Tigerprint and this helped me gain valuable work experience. I also spent my other two summers in work placements, Cath Kidston in London and John Robshaw in New York City.
I have now been at Cath Kidston for two years and have moved on to design prints specifically for our fashion range. I would highly recommend Heriot-Watt for anyone wishing to begin a career in the textile industry.
Helen Finlayson
I decided the Fashion Technology course would be best suited to me. My initial interest was in design but I was keen to take advantage of the invaluable technical production and business skills that the course also offers. I feel this balanced outlook on fashion design has thoroughly equipped me for my chosen career path. I am now running my own bespoke fashion label, nelfin, in Glasgow, utilising the broad skillset gained at Heriot-Watt.
I design and produce all my garments from start to finish, which is my favourite part of the job. I also deal with the business and marketing side of things, which may not be quite so much fun but fortunately the Fashion Technology course has given me a good grounding. I hope to develop my label further into a respected design brand, as well a commercially viable business.
Annika Arvidsson
The Fashion course gave me a good insight into what to expect in real working life. It was here that I discovered my passion for knitwear. There are quite a few textile businesses in the Scottish Borders, so I managed to get a job with a knitting studio where I learned a lot of skills and gained excellent work experience between study terms.
After graduating, I worked as a designer/assistant/sales person for 'Suttle Textiles' in Leicestershire. This gave me a lot of invaluable contacts and taught me more of the basics. With all these combined experiences, I was able to move into a really exciting role as a Knitwear Technical Design Assistant at Paul Smith in Nottingham. I have learnt that hard work and determination can take you anywhere you want!
