At ECA, Sutthipa developed her skills in silkscreen, digital printing, embroidery, and drawing. Her degree show design project won 1st place in Academic Excellence in Textiles for best use of colour from the Worshipful Company of Dyers.

Since graduating Sutthipa has founded her own fashion retail company in Thailand where she continues to utilise skills acquired at ECA to design patterns, manage operations and collaborate with textile producers, manufacturers & dressmakers.

Why I chose to study Textiles - BA (Hons)

I have always love creating abstract and colorful art. I also have a strong passion for fashion and keeping up with trends. Since high-school, I knew that I wanted to work in the creative fashion industry combining my two main passions: art and fashion.

During my last year of high school, I did some very thorough online research on Textiles courses offered at different Universities. Eventually, I chose to study at ECA because of its interesting programme. Also, Edinburgh is a very beautiful city with a lot of history. The academic ranking of the University was and always has been amongst the top universities of the world. Therefore, I wanted to challenge and push myself to get a place on the course.

One of the unique aspects of the course is that students in the programme have the opportunity to collaborate with other students across ECA. Most importantly, I was intrigued by the intensive hands-on courses, the quality of teaching and extensive workshop facilities offered at ECA.

My time at ECA

The course was very hands-on which I really liked. In the first two years, we were taught all the basic textiles skills, including silkscreen, digital printing, embroidery, and drawings. We each completed an individual project that was based on the theme of African commemorative cloth. Where we had to produce an art piece that would showcase our politically-inspired designs for the African Commemorative Cloth collection at the National Museum of Scotland in 2016.

In my third year, I completed a number of small projects that always challenged me to work in a collaborative and fast-paced environment. One of the collaboration projects was with Edinburgh Textiles Collective (ETC) which gave us a very valuable opportunity to work as a team with IKEA and Kolopsia towards sustainable design initiatives. I was responsible for managing social media accounts and online/offline branding. Throughout the programme, we had several other collaboration projects with the fashion and interior design departments. It was so interesting to learn and share ideas with people from different courses across ECA.

During my final year, my tutor found an internship for me at Tessuti Scotland as a Textiles printing assistant where I was colour mixing and designing for silk screen printing for luxury apparel & accessories. This fantastic opportunity really broadened my experience of the textile and fashion industry.

There was a major one-week degree show event for our final year, where we all had to display our graduate collections at ECA. There were representatives from many leading companies who judged our work and award prizes to students. I was so proud that I received 1st place in Academic Excellence in Textiles for best use of colour from the Worshipful Company of Dyers.

Furthermore, I had the opportunity to exhibit my graduate Textile Collection at the New Designers event in London alongside 3,000 other students across the country. It was such an incredible experience to see and be inspired by other designer’s work.

My experiences since graduating

Right after my graduation in 2019, I returned to Bangkok, Thailand and started my own fashion retail company called Pangjee Design Co., Ltd. The company produces and markets unique, colourful women’s clothing and accessories. I design patterns, manage the operations, as well as collaborating with textile producers, manufacturers & dressmakers. Alongside my own business, I also work as a merchandiser officer at Siam Piwat Co.,Ltd., the owner of major shopping centers and retail businesses in Thailand.

I realize that my ECA experience and training has built a strong foundation of skills for me which have prepared me for the real-world industry. Not only did ECA teach me the creative aspects of textiles but also the necessary marketing skills which I can use and apply to my career. ECA taught me how to work independently and push boundaries with no limits to creativity.

My biggest achievement since leaving ECA is that I am able to work on jobs that I really enjoy and that I am passionate about.

My advice to new and current students

My advice to someone starting their first year in September is that this is the time for you to experiment, make mistakes and gain as much skill and knowledge as possible. Do not be afraid to take risks, just follow your instinct. Throughout the journey, there will always be trials and failures. However, these are great lessons, and these challenges will help you grow.

Put your time and energy to the work. All your hard work will be worthwhile in the end. However, time management is so important, so make sure you manage your time carefully for each project.

My advice to people who are graduating this year is that there will be a lot of unexpected tasks for you to do in the workplace. You must be able to cope with changes and be flexible. Also embrace new things and just discover yourselves along the way.