A set of identical twins who are studying Art and Design at
North West Regional College’s Strand Road Campus have both been accepted on to
the same Degree course at the prestigious Glasgow School of Art.
Tipsudar and Tipsukon Cochrane from Bushmills, who will
graduate from NWRC with a HND in Fashion and Textiles this Summer, will move
straight into year 3 of BA Hons Degree in Textile Design when they move to
Scotland.
The sisters, who have
been in the same class through their entire education said they are delighted
to have been accepted to what is recognised as one of the UK’s most highly
acclaimed art colleges.
But the pair say that they would only have agreed to move to
Scotland if both of them had been accepted.
Tipsukon explained: “Tipsudar was told first that she had
got her place and we were keeping our fingers crossed for me. Then we got the
news that both of us had been accepted into Glasgow School of Art.
“We took a chance applying to get into third year of a four
year course at Glasgow and the gamble paid off. We are very excited now. Although
we work as individuals we are always talking to each other and giving opinions
on each other’s work.”
Tipsukon explained that she and her sister decided to come
to NWRC when they were 18, because they were not ready to leave home and move
away to university. They first studied for a Foundation Diploma in Art and
Design at Limavady Campus and moved on to Strand Road to complete a Higher
National Diploma in Fashion and Textiles.
“Not everyone is ready to move away at that age,” she said.
“We studied in both Limavady and the Strand Road Campus. The great thing about
the college was that we got to have so much experience. We enjoy making and
printing fashion fabrics. The college also have the loom so we were able to
combine the more traditional way of printing in tandem with screen and digital
printing. We have been given so much opportunity to experiment.
“The support we have received from the college has been
amazing and we are now ready to move to University and are delighted that we
can moved into Year 3.”
After completing their Degree Tipsukon and Tipsudar hope to
set up their own brand in Textile and Fashion.