Specscart inspires the designers of the future at Manchester Collection final

The creative talents of Tameside’s next generation of designers were in the spotlight as the winners of the Specscart Manchester Collection competition were revealed.

Students from Clarendon Sixth Form College in Ashton-under-Lyne were challenged to design a one-of-a-kind spectacles collection inspired by the city of Manchester. Drawing on their imagination, technical skills and college learning, dozens of students from art and design, fashion, graphics, photography, animation and media courses submitted entries.

After reviewing a huge range of ideas, college staff shortlisted six finalists who were invited to a tense grand final at optical disruptor Specscart’s headquarters in Bury. Following careful judging, Lauren Smith and Cyril Hoffman were named runners up, while first place went to 16-year-old Caitlin Spink.

Caitlin, from Tintwistle, impressed judges with a striking portfolio inspired by Manchester’s Chinatown, urban graffiti art and the iconic Manchester bee. She is currently studying for a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Art and Design.

She said: “I was really surprised to win but so proud. I started my designs with sketches in pencil and then used Adobe Illustrator to turn them into digital images. I did lots of research online for the designs and it took me about eight to ten hours to finish the project.”

The brief encouraged students to celebrate everything that makes Manchester unique, from artists and designers to world-famous foods, football clubs, music, architecture and cultural landmarks, and translate that spirit into a limited-edition glasses collection.

Specscart produces around 300 pairs of glasses every day, all made in Britain and proudly made in Manchester by skilled craftsmen with more than 100 years of combined experience. The company has three physical stores across Greater Manchester and serves a global online customer base of more than half a million people in 132 countries.

The Manchester Collection challenge was launched at Clarendon Sixth Form College in September by Specscart’s head of customer service and business growth, Tamsin Stringfellow, in front of more than 100 students.

She said: “Everyone at Specscart was blown away by the creativity, technical detail and imagination of all the finalists’ work. It was a tough call to narrow it down to just three winners, but Caitlin’s entry really nailed some of the ingredients that make Manchester great and she is a very worthy winner.”

Caitlin received a £100 cash prize, with the two runners up each taking home £50.

Graphic design teacher Harry Arnold added: “All our students did themselves proud with the enthusiasm and passion they poured into their designs. Taking a tour behind the scenes at Specscart is also part of their learning – to see how design, fashion and creative endeavour translate into a successful real-world commercial business.”

For more information, visit www.specscart.co.uk.