BA (Hons) Textile Design

Overview

Our strong international connections also allow our students to undertake a semester of study with one of our partner institutions within Europe and North America. We also enjoy close links with key industry figures, including Wrag Wrap, Zandra Rhodes, Brume, Clarks, and more.

The university’s range of undergraduate courses are designed in close consultation with an Industry Liaison Group – including luxury interior furnishings group Harlequin, recognised for their outstanding design, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of wall coverings, furnishing fabrics and whose sub-brands include Zoffany, Sanderson, Morris & Co., Harlequin and Scion. As a student on this course, you will have the opportunity to work with brands and companies such as Eden Project, National Trust, MAKE South West, Daniel Heath, Christopher Farr, Lancashire and Cornish, Whiston and Wright, Dryrobe. Our graduates emerge as dynamic textile designers, ready to make their mark in fashion, interiors, product design, and the arts, as well as in roles like textile buying, styling, and merchandising.

Our Graduates

Becky May

Rebecca graduated from Arts University Plymouth in 2017, winning the college’s Board of Governors Award for her work ethic and professional attitude during her time at the university. She now works as a Senior Product Developer at UK home, games, gifts and party accessories company, Talking Tables. Talking Tables have featured in Love Island, Good Housekeeping, Time Out London and The Sunday Times, with offices in London, New York and Shanghai.

Belinda Bayley

Belinda studied BA (Hons) Textile Design at Arts University Plymouth, graduating in 2020. She is a freelance print designer and illustrator, who uses a variety of drawing styles, often drawing flora and fauna. Since graduating, Belinda has been an Artist in Residence at Lick Home, where her designs were chosen to expand their wallpaper range. Belinda currently sells print products on her Etsy online shop.

Katherine Toms

Katherine Toms is a Cornish based print designer and illustrator who primarily focuses on colour, experimentation and the environment. A wide range of digital and traditional mediums form her work as she explores various techniques from collaging to detailed pencil drawings.Katherine graduated from BA (Hons) Printed Textile & Surface Pattern in 2020, and during her studies interned with Zandra Rhodes and Frugi. Katherine now works as a freelance designer and illustrator while also working as a design administration assistant for the print team at fashion retailer Seasalt.

Lily Cumming

Lily Cumming graduated from Arts University Plymouth with a First Class Honours degree in BA (Hons) Printed Textile and Surface Pattern. Within six months of graduating the course, Lily began working at IKEA Exeter as an interior designer, part of a larger team including interior designers, visual merchandisers, graphic designers and a carpenter. Lily’s role involves working closely with sales, logistics and marketing teams to create all the showrooms and vignettes, refreshing sets and adapting to seasonal and product changes throughout the year.

Emma Corner

Emma Corner is a print designer based in Cornwall. She graduated from Arts University Plymouth as a mature student in 2019 with a First Class Honours degree. Prior to this, Emma spent twenty years running her own business and retail shop as an Interior Designer in the East Midlands. In 2020, Emma founded Martha & Bee, selling homeware, gifts and tabletop products.As well as a passion for interiors, paints and fabrics, Emma also uses drawing and painting, as well as print techniques to create her playful designs. Emma also works a freelance designer, designing bedding and wallpaper patterns for a UK print design studio who collaborate with many companies and manufacturers worldwide.

Faye Bentley

Faye Bentley is a textile designer-maker based in the South West, taking inspiration from the natural world and specialising in the technique of tufting. Passionate about all things colour and texture, she creates one-of-a-kind pieces that range from soft furnishings, such as her tufted scrap cushions, to tactile artwork and wall hangings. Faye graduated from BA (Hons) Textile Practices with a First Class Honours in 2022. Featured by Creative Boom in their Class of 2022 guide to the UK’s graduate shows, Faye is committed to creating by hand and having a zero-waste policy by finding innovative ways to make use of all textile by-products. Faye also saw her design ‘Have a Holly Jolly Christmas’ selected by the Tate in their annual Christmas card competition.

Mirella Dry

Mirella Dry is a print designer from Yorkshire, who creates versatile print designs for fashion, interior and stationery markets. She uses a variety of techniques, including screen printing and digital software, to produce vibrant and playful designs based around flora and fauna and the natural world. Mirella’s final graduate collection at Arts University Plymouth, ‘Succulent Terraria’, explored succulents as the natural world's unique curiosities, taking inspiration from their unusual forms and fascinating adaptations. The prints are a selection of hand screen-printed designs and digitally printed fabrics intended for the fashion market. Inspired by the growing trend in houseplants and funky print trends, ‘Succulent Terraria’ feeds off the need to bring nature in and surround ourselves with stress-relieving plants.