Friday 16 September 2011

grandad tshirts!

So quite a lot has been happening since I last posted! 
The article about me has appeared in the Derby telegraph and Huddersfield examiner and I've gotten some good feedback (even though i have a squinty eye). Last friday was teh Oxjam Fashion Rocks event in Wakefield which went pretty well for my first show! It was the first time I had seen my own stuff on real people so that was good, and the models said they liked my stuff too which is very nice indeed!



Also, I got my tshirts printed with my first grandad print this week and I'm pretty happy with them!



Now just getting more and more nervous for my launch next Saturday! Though I think quite a few people are coming along so if nothing else I'll have a nice day drinking sparkly wine with my friends =)

Wednesday 7 September 2011

'Racing Ahead'


So I've had a lovely article written about me and it's appeared on the uni news page and is due to appear in the Derby Telegraph soon, and hopefully some more papers as well! =) Not enjoying the picture of me with a squinty eye... but hey, I was never much of a smiler. Read, laugh, enjoy, whatever =)

Racing ahead

New designer Joanna draws inspiration from superstar granddad


Joanna Lomas - unveils her first collection
YOUNG fashion designer Joanna Lomas is to launch her first collection of clothes at a trendy Huddersfield boutique. Her outfits are original and stylish, but she has some rather unexpected influences. They include Barbie Doll... and a grandfather who was a superstar motorcycle racer.
 Joanna, aged 20, is from Alfreton, Derbyshire, and is in the midst of the highly-respected fashion design and textile degree course at the University of Huddersfield. She has taken the option of a placement year in which she has set up her own business – designing, making and selling clothes. After a Dragon’s Den-style pitch, she was awarded a £2,400 grant by the University’s Business Mine, which offers advice, back-up and financial support to student and graduate entrepreneurs.
 Joanna had already done some part-time work for Huddersfield designer, fashion entrepreneur and pattern-cutting expert Hardy Punglia, who runs two adjacent clothes shops in the town’s Byram Arcade. During her placement year, Joanna is based in the store named Part II Vintage. When not serving customers, she is behind her sewing machine, creating her collection of designer garments, which she describes as ‘classic with a modern twist’ and ‘casual but dressy’, aimed at ages 18-30.
The collection will be unveiled at a champagne launch at the neighbouring Byram Arcade shop The Left Bank on Saturday, 24 September (from 11am). In addition to Joanna’s outfits, there will be her exclusive range of tee-shirts – featuring iconic images of her late grandfather Bill Lomas, a legendary motorcycle racer.

Legendary motorbike racer Bill Lomas in action and below Joanna’s
logo subtly echoes her grandfather and his machine.
 He took two world titles in the 1950s and was a double winner of the Isle of Man TT races. He died, aged 79, in 2007, and although his racing days were over before Joanna was born she has a huge collection of photos of him astride his bike. And her specially-designed logo is a subtle evocation of the streamlined fairing attached to the front of his machine. It was granddad Bill who kick-started Joanna’s passion for fashion at the age of five, when he gave her a Barbie Fashion Designer CD Rom – “I would sit for hours designing clothes!”
Joanna is also passionate about pattern-cutting and the scope it offers for creativity. But does she dress in her own outfits? Not all of the time, but she does make sure that when she buys from a fashion store or charity shop she customises her clothes to give them a personal twist.

Joanna and her designs
Joanna and some of her designs

Sunday 4 September 2011

Some long over-due photos

Eeeeks I havent posted anything in ages and ages as I've been soooo busy making things ready for the fashion show and the big launch!! Here's a couple of photos taken by a pal for some PR thing the uni was doing! I've made loooads more things than these few old pieces but photos of those shall come later when I have time/an appropriate model and photographer situation!

In other news, exciting things are happening as I became a sponsor of independent Hair and Beauty salon chain, Beau & Joli (www.beauandjoli.com). Winners of their 'find the face of Beau & Joli' competition will be photographed in my clothes, and the lovely owner of Beau & Joli, who is also partner of online magazine Urban Coco (www.urban-coco.com) will be wearing some of my dresses at London Fashion week! So I may not be there in full, but a little bit of JLomas designs will be at LFW in some way... which is very very nice!!!

This week I shall also be [hopefully] getting my t-shirts printed!
the t-shirts will be featuring photos of my lovely Grandad on his motorbikes, and I'll be printing them on man-sized t's too!

don't forget to follow my blog if your interested in what coming next!
and please 'like' my facebook page too =) JLomas Designs