Make it...Market

When it came to marketing my product EYE used social media and word of mouth most.

Firstly EYE looked to my Twitter account. With my advantage of having 600+ followers that can bring alot of buzz to my product but with this sadly most of my followers are either not in Capetown or live in other countries so EYE had to understand that mailing the pouches to them was nearly impossible. The cost of my product to the cost of mailing would leave me at a loss. So EYE had to express to some interested customers of the difficulty.

So forth Facebook was another marketing tool because EYE could share developments in my product, get early orders and talk directly with my customers.

EYE approached different market places but sadly they were looking for a larger product.
A promising place was the Observatory Market where it cost very little to get a stall.

EYE am done

For the last post EYE would like to reflect on the outcome of this project.
Firstly it was very awesome because we got the freedom to do what we would like applying Surface Design principles. EYE learned that an idea will only be materialized when it you invest enough time and thought into it. 
EYE am quiet pleased with my product because i made profit by using as little money as possible for the materials. The canvas i got at a discount after smiling and begging the lady at the fabric store to give me 2m for under R50. The knitting needles were my own and the string was only R20. 

The printing cost nothing at all although it was time consuming so maybe 'Time is is money' . EYE did learn different techniques to print and make the quality of a print better.

In total i spent only R70 on materials which made my product only cost R40.
EYE produced 12 pouches in total and so far i have sold five which makes my earnings R200.

EYE am happy to say by using all natural materials my product can be sustainable for a long time. 

Thank You :) 

Think out of the Pouch

My pouches were finished and ready to be sold.

The day we were scheduled to go to Observatory Market it rained...Badly but the show must go on.
Setting up a market environment within the classroom was our next option.

Eye made my display about the pouches letting them be the star, although i opted to use alot of colours too.

It was really fun to get feed back on how people appreciate the work put into my product., EYE sold all the pouches with a knit and more have been requested.

But there's always time to have some fun.

And the SEW must goes on..

EYE was ready to put my pouches together now. I cut the fabric into rectangles and places two sides together, EYE wasn't strong at using a sewing machine but EYE was eager to change that.
 With help from a friend in the fashion department EYE then learned how to sew straight, overlock the seams and improve the quality of my product.

Kn*t happens!!

Since EYE was at the point in my product process to start cutting my fabric and sew it while knitting alot was happening EYE agree!!!

To begin with EYE thought of using raffia to knit panels for the pouches but after trying it the tension and strength was not enough.

 With further deliberation EYE finally came up with using normal string. It was stronger,cost efficient and the natural colour of it went well with my fabric choice

.Knitting with 5.5mm needles there was a good balance of tension but leeway for the knit to stretch.
The stitches EYE used was plain stitch and moss stitch.

Moss Stitch

Plain Stitch

Get your print on.

After going through the long process of preparing a screen and transferring my illustration onto acetate. It got burned in under a special UV light.

EYE printed on all natural canvas fabric, the texture and how it makes the print stand out made my choice easy.
Using only 2 colours (blue and black) for my prints but interchanging the style was the look EYE was going for since the print had so much depth and detail

To tie in my t-shirt EYE then printed the illustration on the corner of the shirt, then filling in some parts with dark blue fabric dye.

From Black to Orangeish brown

For the t shirt bleaching... 

 EYE tied the bottom half of it and let it sit dipped into a bucket of water and bleach.

 The shirt is 100% cotton, but EYE did understand the amount of time EYE leave the shirt in the bleach will determine the end result.

During the dying process EYE was definitely surprised at how many colours had appeared under the black,colours like   white, cream, gold, pink, peach, raspberry, green, blue, brown, or gray when you remove the top layer of black
.
The tshirt stayed in the solution for a day. EYE would check on it to see how much it had bleached. Bleach can have many effects on cotton like eroding the fabric and it can eat at the material which weakens the cotton fibers.

 EYE cut the tank top to make it a crop.

Let's Scribble.

In designing the print for my pouches EYE draw out an illustration. It just spilled onto the page as EYE let ink soak into the paper.

The final..

pen and ink illustration by Zenande Mketeni

In my Pouch

Protecting my sunglasses was key in this because we had so much freedom to run with it. Since spring is around the corner it would be great to complement the different sun glass shapes and sizes you get.
SUN GLASS POUCHES

But i did notice people would have boring sunglasses pouches. Plain black with a draw string.
Was there thought put into them or just owning something you knew was hand made and aesthetically pleasing. Not forgetting that it is seen as an accessory

EYE thought of instead of buying a fabric and just making one that way would be uninspired.
Printing my own fabric would bring a different uniqueness to this forgotten accessory.

Through My Shades

Zenande Mketeni.

A 19 year old Surface Design student currently living in sunny Cape Town.
With great weather comes blazing days where it could be a crime not to be protecting your eyes, further more looking stylish while doing that!

EYE have been collecting sunglasses since forever, sadly they either get scratched while in my bag or just simply get missed place.

Some Brief...Inspiration

EYE began this project where we had to create , design , market and eventually sell a product. While incorporating knitting techniques that EYE have been learning.
This then links a black cotton tshirt that has to be hand bleached and then a printed patter of your own.


My thought quickly went to making something EYE both need and obsess over.
Sunglasses... Dear old sunnies.

Photo Credits: Pinterest. link to my pintrest board More Sunglasses