Students' artwork has pride of place in restaurant

Aspiring artists from Abraham Guest Academy have been showcasing their work in Debenhams Restaurant, following a brand new colour revamp in the Wigan store. Students from year 10 were approached to supply art from their GCSE coursework by restaurant manager Tracey Hampson, a former Abraham Guest student.

Subject leader for art and design Sharon Barnes said, 'the students took inspiration from a mixture of fine art and modern art based on interiors and colour'. The paintings are displayed along two walls of the Restaurant, sitting perfectly with the bright new colour scheme.

Amy Sherman, 15, took inspiration from Chris Baker and Bella Foster and described the techniques for creating the multi layered pieces, 'We looked at the work of other artists, then created little versions of our own. We then blew them up into bigger pictures and used acrylic, tissue paper and pva to build them up'.

Billy Lowe, 15, from Pemberton, said 'Art is my favourite subject. When I'm older I hope to be a tattooist'. Elysia Harvey, 15, from Marsh Green said, 'My favourite artist is Bella Foster. Art is my favourite subject, but I hope to go into the army as a medic. My Dad likes drawing so art runs in the family'.

The concept is new for Debenhams in Wigan and the new bright look of the Restaurant has gone down a treat with the customers. Tracey was keen to do something unique to Wigan: 'as far as I know we're the only store doing this at the moment'.

Video: Tracey Hampson discusses the project

Sharon Barnes added, 'I think its a fantastic achievement for the students, its great that their work is being seen by lots of people. The partnership between Debenhams and the school is great because now we can get more of the students art into the community, which gives them a lot of motivation'.

Slideshow: The collection of paintings by the students displayed in Debenhams Restaurant, Wigan.

Related links:

Abraham Guest

Bella Foster

Chris Baker

Vintage Shopping in Preston

With Christmas around the corner and money tighter than ever, many may be looking for alternative shopping destinations for gifts this year. What many not know is that Preston boasts an impressive range of vintage and preloved goods shops for the savvy shopper.

Preston: The Vintage Experience

Kilo Shop

The newest addition to Preston's vintage scene, Kilo Shop offers a brand new concept for shoppers in that items are weighed in at the till and priced accordingly, instead of being priced individually. Shoppers can pick up a kilogram of clothing for either £15 or £20 depending on the colour of label- red or green. 

They have an impressive range of vintage jackets, jeans, shoes and accessories in a bright, clean environment which makes for an incredibly pleasant shopping experience. The concept is new to the UK, with owner Sal informing me that the only other Kilo Shop is situated in Paris, where it graced the pages of Marie Claire, Grazia and Biba.

The weighing system means shoppers can pick up a real bargain at the till without the need to guess a kilo's worth of items. The staff are more than helpful and willing to explain the concept to new shoppers, making it a truly unique shopping experience.

My Purchase: gold Asos wrap dress £3.00...

Find little gems like this ASOS gold wrap dress in Kilo Shop for as little as three pounds. 

Related links:

Kilo Shop Paris

Wonderland

After a brief stint in Afflecks Palace in Manchester, Wonderland recently reopened in it's new home just a few doors down from it's old home on Friargate. The new shop is as pretty and quaint as ever, with quirky gifts, unique vintage items and reworked classics all in one place. Shop owner Jo Wilson does the creative upcycling herself, sourcing vintage pieces and tweaking here and there to make sure they're wearable in today's world. 

Wonderland boasts some of the most sought after items of the moment such as disco pants, camouflage jackets, sleeveless denim shirts and tie dye vests and tees for a fraction of the price that they are found in the bigger cities. There are also decorative items for the home and gifts for those who want to buy more unusual presents. Jo said 'we have had quite a few people in buying Christmas presents, it's nice to give something different and unexpected'. 

My Purchase: grungy tie dye oversized vest £12.00...

Pick up unique pieces such as tie dye vests and tees for a reasonable price.

Related links:

Wonderland on Facebook

Emmaus

Also on Friargate, Emmaus have a wide range of refurbished shabby chic furniture and vintage clothing. Member Damien Sanderson described how the foundation helps homeless people gain creative skills: 'we work with Shabby2Chic who are based at Red Scar, they help us turn donated furniture into more desirable shabby chic pieces which we then sell in the shop'.

Chandelier detail on a Shabby2Chic at Emmaus wardrobe.

There is a wide range of one off unique pieces for the home that Shabby2Chic help the Emmaus members create, from girly floral mirrors to Union Jack themed dining room chairs. On the ground floor is 'Cafe 49' where shoppers can stop for coffee, tea, cold drinks and cakes in a vintage tea room environment.

Related links:

Shabby2Chic

Emmaus Preston

Find it! Map showing the best vintage hotspots Preston has to offer

View Vintage Preston in a larger map

Audio Skills Test- Christmas Decorations

With most shops already fully decorated for Christmas, it may be that shops are putting decorations up earlier and earlier in a bid to maximise sales.

I asked Kate McMullin, Ashley Williamson and Jessica Richmond:

'Are Christmas decorations being put up too early in shops and when is the right time?'

All agreed that shops seem to be putting up decorations earlier and earlier each year.


As most people are likely to visit shops on a regular basis, it deemed fitting to conduct a mini vox pop as the concept is based on public opinion.
The audio clips were recorded as voice memos on an iPhone 5 and edited on Audacity into one clip. It was then uploaded it to SoundCloud and embedded into the blog.

Related articles:

'Has Christmas come to London too early?' Telegraph.co.uk

'Has Christmas come too early?' Guardian.co.uk

Video Skills Test- 4G

4G has now been launched in eleven cities in the UK, and it will inevitably lead to users becoming more and more glued to their mobile phones. I asked student Kate Mcmullin: 

'Is it necessary to have access to the internet everywhere you go?'

Kate discusses why it's beneficial to have access to the internet on the go.


This topic was backed up with the video because 4G concerns mobile phones which are a personal device, meaning it was appropriate to add a visual, personal account.

The video was shot with an iPhone 5 with an internet themed backdrop. It was then edited on Windows Movie Maker, uploaded to YouTube and finally embedded into the blog.

Related Articles:

'UK's first 4G mobile service launched in 11 cities by EE' BBC.co.uk

'The 4G mobile network has the potential to revolutionise our lives' Guardian.co.uk

Maps Skills Test- The Lancashire Evening Post

The map shows the locations of four news stories from the Wednesday, November 21st edition of the Lancashire Evening Post.

Each link on the map contains the first line of the story, a link to the story on the Lancashire Evening Post website, a related picture and a related link for further information.




The icons have been chosen to fit with the theme of the stories. The particular stories were chosen because the location of the events was an important factor.

The map was created on Google Maps and then embedded into the blog. By not choosing stories which occurred a long way from each other, it was possible to place the points on the map and be able to see them in the box on the blog.

Data Skills Test- Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

A study conducted by the UK National Audit Office has revealed that obese women are almost thirteen times more likely than non obese women to develop Type 2 Diabetes, and twice as likely to develop the disease than obese men.

The findings are based on a comprehensive review of international literature on the effects of obesity on health in the UK. Other diseases which obese women are more at risk of are hypertension and myocardial infaction, and diseases in which obese men and women are equally at risk include angina, gall bladder diseases and  strokes.

On the other hand, colon cancer and osteoarthritis are more likely to be contracted by obese men.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body resists insulin, or simply doesn't produce enough. It is far more common than type 1 diabetes and in the UK 90% of people suffering from diabetes have type 2 diabetes.

The study can be found at: http://www.ic.nhs.uk/webfiles/publications/003_Health_Lifestyles/OPAD12/Statistics_on_Obesity_Physical_Activity_and_Diet_England_2012.pdf

Image Skills Test- UCLan

This image has been taken on an iPhone 4s and cropped on Adobe Photoshop to create versions with the right pixels. The different versions were then uploaded to the blog.

1. Photograph of UCLan direction sign in original format

 

2. Image cropped to 100 x 100 pixel thumbnail

3. Image cropped to 400 x 300 pixel

 

4. Image cropped to 200 x 500 pixels

It is important to note that when the images were cropped to the specific pixel sizes and then put onto the blog, they were 'scaled' and therefore are slightly different to the specified pixels.