Surface Pattern and Textile student secures coveted paid internship with Rolls Royce

Emma Landek , a fourth-year student at UWTSD’s Swansea College of Art has an exciting summer ahead as this month (July) she starts a paid internship at Rolls Royce.

Emma is the second Surface Pattern and Textiles student to have been offered a 13-month internship with the Bespoke Interiors Colour and Trim team at their Goodwood Design and manufacturing HQ.

Emma, who will graduate next year with her Master of Design in Surface Pattern and Textiles said: “I don’t think I can put into words how overwhelmed I feel to have such an incredible opportunity to work with such a renowned brand as Rolls Royce.”

During her third year, Emma and her fellow students were set a brief to design the interior of the Rolls Royce ‘Phantom’ and present the concept to two members from the bespoke design team.

The team recognised her ability to channel the brand identity and deliver a sophisticated narrative that housed exclusivity and luxuriousness and she was awarded the internship.

Emma said she could not have imagined herself in this position when she joined Swansea College of Art five years ago.

She said: “I started the art foundation course not knowing what I wanted to do at all, only knowing I was ‘arty.’ It was by chance that I found the Surface Pattern and Textiles programme through a taster ay held in the university.

“Now having completed it and secured a placement with an exclusive brand like Rolls Royce still feels surreal.”

The Surface Pattern and Textiles programme is structured to enable learners to graduate and continue working in the field they have developed a particular specialism for – with heightened creativity and an ability to identify and capitalise on the opportunity. 

This is done through a finely tuned programme, balancing creative vision and externality, where specific skills required in the practising field are identified and developed. Practical projects are contextualised from the onset and the Contextual Studies and Design Futures modules within the programme reinforce this. Live projects are peppered throughout the three or four years of study.

Students have enjoyed a substantial live project with Patternbank, and in the past have worked with household names such as H&M, Eley Kishimoto, and more local partners such as Orangebox and St Fagans.

They also have the opportunity at the end of their course to exhibit at New Designers in London.

Graduates go on to a variety of employment including working with the following Monsoon, Accessorize, Marks and Spencer, Toast, John Lewis, Hallmark, H&M, Zara and many more.

Emma said the live projects which enable students to work alongside industry professionals, was vital for building confidence and gaining first-hand experience within this sector.

“During my time on the course, I have had wonderful opportunities to work with a range of live briefs including Patternbank, Rolls Royce, Mini Moderns, Idott, the Glynn Vivian art gallery, and The Jazz Heritage Wales archive,” she added.

“As a designer I hold a keen eye for attention to detail, and working with a range of brands has enabled me to successfully interpret each brief to align with their specific brand identities. I think being able to channel the brands through the work I produce has ultimately led to this moment.

“Being able to work on live briefs and receive feedback from the brands offers a sense of fulfilment and recognition from the work we produce. It also allows us to network with brands that could be a potential employer in future.”

Emma says she is now looking forward to meeting the rest of the team, and understanding the inner workings of what goes in to making the Rolls Royce cars.

“I look forward to every experience this internship will give me and hope to make the absolute most of it. I owe the lecturing staff, technicians, and my peers a special thanks for the constant support and encouragement. The last five years has been an absolute pleasure!”

Rebecca Davies, a MDes Surface Pattern & Textiles Graduate, was the first intern from UWTSD. She is now working as a bespoke designer at Rolls Royce.

Rebecca said Emma made quite an impression when the team visited the University last year.

“Emma had built a strong narrative that resonated with Rolls-Royce as a brand, and presented her work, both in person and on paper, with a great deal of professionalism,” she said. “We looked through her portfolio and latest work, and it’s clear she approaches all her work with a great deal of diligence, and with a keen eye for design styling and presentation.”

Rebecca said she was excited to be welcoming a fellow UWTSD Surface Pattern & Textiles alumna to the Rolls Royce team.

She added: “I was hopeful once I had been given the same opportunity, two years ago, that my internship could open the door to future opportunities for those studying the same course. There was so much talent to choose from. I am sure Emma will be a great addition to the team and will hopefully enjoy the opportunity as much as I have!”

Georgia Mckie, Programme Manager BA(Hons) and MDes(Hons) Surface Pattern and Textiles said: “Emma has been a real Swansea College of Art success story. She has enjoyed 5 brilliant years with us - from Foundation to Masters - it is just wonderful, and we all share the joy from moments like these!

“We think Emma is finally believing the power of her abilities – I don’t think we have ever had such a successful student when it has come to our external live briefs! She holds the record of winning three major briefs on the trot – Patternbank, Mini Moderns and now Rolls Royce – incredible.

“Knowing that Emma joins Rebecca Davies, another one of our graduates at Rolls Royce, fills us with pride. This illustrates the importance of building our networks whilst together on the programme perfectly. It’s lovely to see them take a part of our Surface Pattern and Textiles community out into the workplace together. We know Emma will be a brilliant addition to the Bespoke Interiors team and wish her all the luck for her exciting future.”

Further Information

Rebecca Davies

Executive Press and Media Relations Officer    
Corporate Communications and PR    
Email: rebecca.davies@uwtsd.ac.uk    
Phone: 07384 467071