Apologies for how ridiculously late this post is... it's been sat on my desktop for about 2 months eek! Anyway, here is what the lovely Katrina Wilde had to tell us about what she's been up to recently.
What did you study, where and when did you graduate?
I studied Textiles in Practics at Manchester School of Art and I graduated last July.
Describe your work in 3 words.
Describe your work in 3 words.
A mixed bag.
Tell us about your favourite piece of your work.
Tell us about your favourite piece of your work.
I feel like my favourite piece is yet to come. I like some recent paintings/drawings I've done, but feel like I haven't found my 'style' yet, whatever that means. Slowly I'm finding I enjoy working in different ways/styles and different mediums, but that I enjoy drawing the most. I think that's why I'm not that big on stuff I've done so far or feel they're really reflective of the way I feel about print and textiles. Getting there slowly though!
Tell us about life after your degree.
When I finished I really felt like I wanted more industry understanding and put my struggle of finding a job to my lack of it. So I set out for the year after graduating to be an internship year type of deal. I organised 5 different placements, spending 4 months in London, 6ish weeks in Manchester and 6 weeks in New York. Two of those months in London were at Zandra Rhodes, which was amazing and I did a bit of freelance work there after. In Manchester I worked at a Supply Chain & Manufacturing company called Visage, which I never really knew existed and enjoyed that much more than I'd expected and began to have a greater understanding of how the fast fashion industry works. My last placement was in New York with Cara Piazza who is a natural dyer and artisan. Her work and studio are really beautiful and I learnt a lot from her - everything from natural dyes to having your own business to what a bodega is. I think it was probably my favourite internship. The best bit of advice she gave me (in terms of having your own business) was if you can't do it yourself, e.g. sew a garment or pattern cut, pay someone to do it, you don't have to be a master at every single thing. And trust your intuition. Not everything I've done I've loved but it has given me an really good insight into the direction I'd like to go. Doing an internship year is definitely not necessary or for everyone, but for me its been really interesting and kept me focused.
If you could give your student self some advice, what would it be?
Get inducted on absolutely everything, don't be scared of sewing machines (might just be me & an irrational fear), take feedback & criticism on board and use it to move your work forward.
What item could you not function without?
My grandma's wisdom on all things and probably my bed because I tend to loose everything else. Also travel. I love being immersed in new surroundings and always find myself searching for the next place to go.
Bonus question: would you rather be a bee or a caterpillar?
A bee for sure. All the honey! 
Follow Katrina on instagram: @katrinawildedesign
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