Bridgwater & Taunton College (BTC) and St Margaret’s Hospice continue a flourishing partnership as Fashion Business & Retail students demonstrate their retail and design talents.
Building on a successful collaboration involving fashion sustainability, upcycling, and recycling, the students completed a unique window display competition, taking over shopfronts in both Bridgwater and Taunton.
The competition provided students with invaluable hands-on experience in developing and launching a marketing campaign, with the key theme being ‘spring’.
To start, student groups spent two-hour work experience sessions at the Taunton shop over the course of a week, guided by Taunton Shop Manager, Wendy. They were able to learn about styling, accessorising, window presentation, and sales techniques, and absorbed each lesson with enthusiasm.
The project culminated in a competition at College, judged by Wendy and Ivette Harnett, Retail Marketing Coordinator at St Margaret’s Hospice. Students delivered colourful presentations that incorporated knowledge from their work experience, and featured a pitch for a window display at the retail stores.
Each team were evaluated on teamwork, creativity, target audience appeal, mood boards, and time constraint considerations.
After much deliberation, two teams emerged as standouts. The winning team captivated judges with their “Spring Rainy Day” themed display at the Taunton shop. Their creative process, from initial mood boards and prop creation to design implementation and final installation, demonstrated exceptional teamwork, design skills, and a keen understanding of visual merchandising – the incorporation of a beautiful pastel colour scheme won the judges’ hearts.
The runner-up team also impressed with their “Spring with Florals and Vines” pitch. Strong teamwork, a polished presentation, and eye-catching visuals acknowledged a clear readiness to work within the retail industry.
Lydia and Lola, BTC students and part of the winning team, said,
I greatly enjoyed working with St Margaret’s Hospice on this project as it gave me valuable insight into visual merchandising – the career I want to pursue. It was also a great opportunity to develop my teamwork and delegation skills to meet deadlines.
I aspire to design clothing for dancers, so working on this project was invaluable. I learned to use Photoshop to create visuals for our presentation, but also developed key teamwork skills, such as coordination, setting timelines, and the importance of punctuality. I even kept a vlog to document our progress – it was incredibly rewarding to see everything come together!
The winning team’s display debuted at St Margaret Hospice’s Taunton branch, whilst the runner-up team’s display was located at the Bridgwater branch.
Rhona Austin, Course Leader, expressed her pride,
The students have had a fantastic opportunity to develop their confidence, teamwork skills, and appreciation of how retail businesses operate. They have grown in their professionalism and ability to use commercial information to design visual merchandising solutions that attract a wide range of current and new St Margaret’s customers – we’re all so excited to continue to develop this partnership.
Ivette Harnett added,
I greatly enjoyed working with the students—from meeting them while selecting their outfits to listening to their ideas and seeing their presentations. It was clear they had a thoughtful process and absorbed all of Wendy’s teaching on how to run a charity shop and present their outfits to sell.
We at St Margaret’s Hospice Retail are thrilled to see their creativity and cherish the idea of continuing this partnership to mentor and support our youth.
St Margaret’s Hospice retail stores are vital components of the charity’s fundraising and community engagement initiatives. The shops generate essential revenue through the sale of donated goods, including clothing, accessories, books, homewares, and furniture.
For more information about St Margaret’s Hospice, including its services, volunteering opportunities, and how to donate, please visit www.st-margarets-hospice.org.uk. You can also find specific information about both the Taunton and Bridgwater shops, including opening times and contact details, on their website.
For more information on Fashion Business & Retail and BTC’s multitude of educational offerings, please visit www.btc.ac.uk or get in touch with the Information & Advice team by emailing info@btc.ac.uk.
