Paul Stephenson
Director @October Textiles Limited
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WORK HISTORY
Director @October Textiles Limited
It all started 32 years ago. Paul finished a degree in obscure eastern religions, and was surprised to find he couldn\'t get a job. Not a problem, a friend had a sewing machine, and while waiting for publishers to stop laughing at his first novel, he decided to make a few loud shirts for pleasure and profit. But interesting fabric was hard to come by, so after a collection made from saris and African headdress material, he decided to print his own designs. Limping into Nottingham Trent University after a nasty gardening accident, he found his way to the Textile Department, met Jane and told her a pack of lies about how successful his designs would be if only he knew how to print fabric. An award winning designer, she explained how it all works, just before developing an interest in accounts. Jane now spends most days investigating petrol station receipts, and asking Paul why he was buying a bacon sandwich and a copy of the Racing Post on the wrong side of town at 3 am. In the meantime people started saying,\'You can print and embroider logos, I need some shirts by Friday\'. This was a bit inconvenient, we were younger then and expected the catwalks of Paris and Milan, but when you\'re broke, 50 T-shirts for Dave\'s garage is a bonus.Things moved on, and although we still do stuff for Dave (recently voted the UK’s most stylish Mechanic by Greasy Spanner Magazine) an early background in producing our own ranges for retail means that we now work almost soley with a wide variety of fashion brands.
EDUCATION
Nottingham Highschool
Bachelor's degree, Truancy
King's College London
BA, Religious Studies
SKILLS
ABOUT PAUL STEPHENSON
After 30 years in fashion, my experience lies predominantly in garment manufacture, textile print and embroidery. I hope I have a good sense of how to connect the right print, embroidery and production techniques, with the right imagery, onto the right garments, to create ranges that actually sell.Behind all this, and at the risk of sounding a pretentious arse, I try and adhere to the mantra that good graphic design should be,\'intellect made visible\'.through it I want to tell stories, convey emotions, sometimes be provocative, and have some fun. I don\'t always manage these goals, especially after a heavy weekend, but I have a bloody good go.Specialties: Helping new brands find out what the hell it is they\'re trying to say, and say it to the right people.while building a full fashion collection, and avoiding their range just being a bunch of pictures and the vague hope that social media is the only answer. It\'s tricky, but it can be done.
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