Gitte Lægård

Why did you choose Design School Kolding? I applied in Copenhagen and Kolding both but I was certain that I wanted to get into Kolding because I had heard that here the students focused heavily on the craft and the materials and on fashion and textiles. The process is very much at the core of the teaching and we are allowed to be a little bit nerdy when it comes to materials and colours. We have time to experiment and emerge in the design processes. It’s a good thing for me that the work is very practical and less focused on theory and writing. You should be aware of this before applying here.

Were you? No. I didn’t know much except that this was the design school and getting in was my ultimate dream.

Did you become accepted the first time? No, I applied three times. First time I applied to Furniture Design in Copenhagen and when I didn’t make it, I did a semester at Krabbesholm Højskole. Here I realised that I always went for the sewing machines rather than the workshops with the big machines, and I also realised that I preferred Design  School Kolding and the Textile Design programme. Today, I’m glad I didn’t get in right away because it meant that I didn’t waste the first couple of years figuring out what I wanted to study. Had I been accepted to the Furniture Design programme the first time, I would have definitely switched programmes. When I’m not studying I work as a teacher and I think it’s important that as a student you spend time exploring and learning about things that interest you. It’s a tough business and getting into the school is not the hard part. The hard part is completing your training and getting out on the other side. That’s when you become a designer for real and need to answer to yourself.

What do you like most about the training? I like the fact that we have a very close relationship with our teachers and that the school is open and bright. We’re very privileged. In terms of the study programme we are pretty much allowed to do as we want. Although I’m a textile design student, my MA project is really more of a communication design project. I also like the fact that you spend so much time at the school. It’s a bit like attending a folk high school. Yet, it can also get so intense that by the time you reach summer, you’re totally used up. My boyfriend sometimes asks me what on Earth I will do when I don’t have the school anymore. I’m going to miss it like crazy.

What do you like the least about the school? The downside of having an intense training programme is that you tend to isolate yourself. And then when you finally engage in the outside world it takes a little bit of time to adjust to other people. In terms of content I’d like the programme to include more theory. When we have had a theoretic course, the level has been extremely high, almost scientific, and I don’t think the school quite manages to meet the students where they are at. Being creative and practical it’s hard for me to understand theory at that level. I need to have my hands on things.

What has surprised you the most? When I got in I was sure that I wanted to work with knit but today I’m more of an illustrator. It has surprised me how much I’ve grown and learned about myself. My personal journey has been the biggest surprise.

Tell about a project you did. My first project, which I’m very proud of and which kickstarted many of my other projects, was a textile portrait of my grandmother. All of her knitted sweaters served as the starting point for a new sweater and I tried to capture her fragility due to Parkinson’s disease and also her willpower. Older people have always fascinated me and this fascination has kind of governed my projects. In connection with my BA project, for instance, I encountered an older man in Copenhagen and his home served as inspiration for my carpet collection. My MA project, which I’m currently working on, focuses on conversations between generations and that’s not at all about textiles. That’s what’s so great about this place – that you are allowed to do that. However, the first years you learn a lot about methods and processes that are not directly linked to textile design, and basically that is what I’m taking up now.

Where are you hoping your training will take you? I’ve spent the past year thinking about just that because now I need to determine what my skills are. One thing I’ve learned is that I think it’s really exciting to create relationships between people and talking with people. I hope that I will be able to maintain this cross-over where I make commercial products as a freelancer but also focus on artistic projects. Right now I teach design and textile processes and how to get accepted to the school and I will definitely continue to teach. I love interacting with people.

What do you do outside school? I recently got a boyfriend and he is really good at making me think about things other than school and I need to learn that there is more to life. I take Pilates lessons and just became a visitor for Ældre Sagen (a non-profit organisation working to ensure everyone a long and healthy life).

Where do you live? In a flat in Kolding with a girl who used to study at the Design School.