V&A: INSPIRED BY...2018

POPPY IS THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THAT HER ONE-PIECE WINGED COLLAR HAS BEEN SELECTED BY THE V&A FOR INCLUSION IN THE ‘INSPIRED BY....2018’ EXHIBITION (A NATIONAL COMPETITION) AT MORLEY GALLERY RUN IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE V&A MUSEUM. THE EXHIBITION WILL DISPLAY A NUMBER OF PIECES INSPIRED BY WORK FOUND ON DISPLAY AT THE V&A AND REIMAGINED BY ARTISTS, DESIGNERS AND MAKERS FROM ACROSS THE UK. THE EXHIBITION WILL BE ON FROM 8TH-26TH MAY AT MORLEY GALLERY, LONDON SE1 7HT

FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://www.inspired.by/

INSPIRED BY:

POPPY’S INSPIRATION FOR THIS PIECE INCLUDED A CAPE CRAFTED WITH A SINGLE SEAM, CHAIRS AND A STEEL FIRE BASKET ALL FORMED FROM A SINGLE SHEET OF MATERIAL, PRESSED AND FORMED INTO THE FINISHED ARTICLE. SUCH DIFFERENT ITEMS BUT ALL LINKED IN THEIR DESIGN PROCESS AND MINIMAL STYLING.

SHE WAS ALSO INSPIRED BY STYLES OF COLLARS THROUGH THE AGES AND HOW A DECORATIVE COLLAR COULD BE USED TO ADD INTEREST AND A SENSE OF OCCASION TO AN OTHERWISE PLAIN OUTFIT MUCH LIKE THE ADDITION OF A PIECE OF JEWELLERY TO AN OUTFIT. POPPY WAS DRAWN TO ONE PARTICULAR SHIRT COLLAR AT THE V&A, ITS SIMPLICITY AND GRAPHIC NATURE LINKED IT QUITE NATURALLY TO HER OTHER SOURCES OF INSPIRATION. FROM HERE SHE DECIDED TO COMBINE THESE AREAS OF INTEREST, CREATING A BRIEF TO DESIGN A WEARABLE NECKPIECE CRAFTED FROM A SINGLE MATERIAL WITHOUT ANY JOINS.

THESE LIMITATIONS SHAPED THE DESIGN DECISIONS, MATERIAL CHOICE BECAME KEY. EXPERIMENTING WITH PAPER, CARD AND PLASTIC, IT BECAME CLEAR THAT IT WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE THE CRISP FINISH DESIRED WITHOUT THE ADDITION OF JOINS OR THE REINFORCING PROPERTIES OF A SECONDARY MATERIAL. POPPY MOVED ONTO DESIGNING IN METAL, PARTICULARLY LIKING THE IDEA OF USING A NON-PRECIOUS METAL AND ELEVATING ITS APPEAL THROUGH THE MAKING PROCESS.

INSPIRED BY THE WINGED COLLAR AND BUTTON FASTENING FOUND ON A SHIRT, POPPY CUT, ETCHED, FOLDED, SHAPED, POLISHED AND BRUSHED A SINGLE SHEET OF BRASS TO CREATE A WEARABLE NECKPIECE.