Fabric Sourcing and an Interview at the V&A

Today was the first day in so long that I could focus back on Much Ado... it's hard to remember where I'd got to. But fabric sourcing was so much fun (as always) and I got some really beautiful samples (only a few pictured below), in fact most of my samples are reds, oranges and yellows, as I feel teh accent colour for my set will be blue, and I don't want the costumes to clash.... however, there were some blue fabrics that were just too beautiful not to take note of.....
I only hit Goldhawk road, I'd like to go back and have a mosey round Southall and Petticoat Lane, but it was all so much cheaper than I anticipated- the average price definitely being under £10 p/m- which fills me with relief.... although there were some beautiful hand-embroidered pure silks that were TO DIE FOR at £25 per meter, some are pictured below... I bought half a meter of each... couldn't resist.... whoops.

After my successful fabric sourcing expedition, I walked the short distance to the V&A archives for my interview with the Performance team for a potential summer work placement.
Oh my gosh, I have never seen such a place in my life. It's so wonderful to be somewhere that celebrates incessant collecting rather than punishing it. It was just so amazing, I couldn't believe my eyes. I got a whirlwind tour round the department which included warehouse-sized rooms full of filing cabinets- filed by name of the theatre, and within are little folders on each play, with programmes, news paper clippings... everything.... not to mention the rails and rails and rails of costumes... the boxes and boxes and boxes of accessories, the rows and rows and rows of scripts. It was incredible. I would LOVE to do a placement here- I feel like even if I were doing something quite menial, I'd learn so so much- to be surrounded with that much knowledge and that much context... not to mention everyone who works there is self-confessed 'theatre crazy'. The interview went well, and it seemed to be more about whether I definitely wanted to come as opposed to whether they wanted me to work with them. So provided I can fit it around my summer job... it should all be fine and dandy! Hooray!