A young Scottish textile designer has attracted the attention of two major retail labels, with one about to put her through a rigorous selection process that could see her walk away with a dream job.
Stacey Etieve, who graduated from Heriot-Watt University's School of Textiles and Design in June, was one of three young designers to be talent-spotted at the New Designers Exhibition in London last month.
Stacey is an incredibly talented designer and we're proud that she's being recognised by both John Lewis and Next. The number of students from our course winning awards and finding employment has been outstanding and underlines the quality of work produced by our students year after year.
Retail giant John Lewis featured her in their 'John Lewis Loves' section, on their website
as one of the UK's most innovative graduates.
The John Lewis design team admired her interior design prints that were inspired by a poem called The Dash by Linda Ellis. But John Lewis isn't the only big brand after Stacey's creative flair.
Designers from Next met the 22-year-old from Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders, also after seeing her work at the New Designers exhibition which showcases new art and design talent from over 3,000 graduates and fledging companies.
Stacey, who studied textile design at Heriot-Watt's School of Textiles and Design, said, "I still can't believe it. Being recognised by John Lewis and featuring on their website was a dream come true but getting a call from Next was the cherry on top.
"I've been given a design brief by Next to present back to them which could lead to an opportunity working at their Head Office in Leicester in the future.
"This is my dream job so I'll be working extremely hard over the next few weeks to ensure my designs fit with the Next brand."
Stacey's interior design collection uses simple colours with a lot of white space to keep it fresh and to highlight her unique prints on natural fabrics including linen. Each of her textiles can be adapted to create stunning curtains, cushion covers, bedding, carpets and rugs.
Mark Parker, Director of Studies for Textiles within the School of Textiles and Design said, "Making sure our graduates are employed with major brands is always an aim of ours. Stacey is an incredibly talented designer and we're proud that she's being recognised by both John Lewis and Next.
"The number of students from our course winning awards and finding employment has been outstanding and underlines the quality of work produced by our students year after year.
"Stacey's success is testament to the talent we have at our school and how our courses prepare students for employment in the fashion and interior textiles industry."
Stacey now joins a long list of graduates who have gone on to make their names in the textile and fashion industry including William Chambers, Judy R Clark, Obscure Couture, Samantha McEwen of Isolated Heroes, and Jade Rodgers who now works with Victoria Beckham's Ready to Wear production and development department in London.