Year 9 Design and Technology Excursion

In the final weeks of Term 1 both Year 9 Design & Technology elective classes were given the opportunity to go on an excursion to Signature Handprints, a distinguished print and design studio in Sydney’s inner west. Signature Handprints is one of the few remaining commercial screen-print studios in Sydney and wider Australia who are still using traditional techniques to produce their high-end fabrics, wallpapers and prints.

On arrival we were greeted warmly by SCEGGS Old Girl, Sheridan Black and her business partner Jennifer, who both proceeded to tell us about the design and production processes and then demonstrate their craft of screen printing. It was interesting to learn that they use the same Adobe Illustrator software that we used in class to create our individual fabric designs. An important part of designing for screen printing is formatting parts of the printed design so it can be aligned seamlessly to create an endless pattern.

This technique is extremely complicated, as even a difference as small as a few millimetres can impact the overall design immensely. Once the design has been completed, it is transferred onto the silk screens using UV light machinery and transfer ink. 

Sheridan and Jennifer showed us many samples that included unique designs, custom made for their clients. Their main genres of work include wallpaper, upholstery fabrics, and some fashion. Some of their more specialised designs include printing lace fabrics for wedding gowns, bespoke dance leotards and even restoring and printing wallpaper designs for NSW Parliament House.

We were lucky enough to participate in a workshop. Our mentors were very helpful in teaching us the ways of printing and guiding us with their precision techniques. As a class, using our knowledge of colour theory, we collaborated on deciding on a colour scheme and watched this come to life as a strip of wallpaper. Then we individually got to try our hand at practicing the craft. We fell in love with our creations and had the most amazing time. 

Going to Signature Handprints was a wonderful experience for both classes. We are grateful to both Signature Handprints, and the SCEGGS Design and Technology staff for organising this incredible excursion for us.

Daisy Carson, Katerina Giannikouris and Amelia Wilcsek
Year 9 Design & Technology Students