Putting my work into context

I am finding it difficult to figure out where my work fits in the world of design. So far, I know that I am a print designer who often uses 3D or mark-making methods to start a project before drawing and beginning to print. I enjoy paper work and a bit of digital design, but think I am predominantly a 'wet' printer as I enjoy the screen-printing process. I produce work made up from lots of small pieces rather than one large image.

The task this year is to work out: am I designing for high-end or high-street? Who would buy my work?

My problem is that I find it hard to discern the exact difference between the two. Take Vivienne Westwood; she is a high-end designer, now, but her roots were in punk. If you look at her designs they are still punk and individual. I would say the difference is that they are now more polished, mass produced and using more expensive materials, with an even higher mark-up. The essence, look and philosophy of design is the same. 

So is the difference money and finish rather than design? Or is it how work is presented that gives it 'high end' status? Obviously using more expensive fabric drives up the cost of your product but that doesn't explain the huge prices demanded by designers. So is the question 'do I see myself being self-employed, famous and renowned' or 'do I want to work for someone else'? But that can't be it; I could work for Missoni or I could work for Next. Since companies constantly tailor their products towards what they think people will want and what the rest of the market is going to be doing, the idea that design is the difference doesn't seem feasible; maybe it's timing, who comes up with a trend first or most successfully captures the zeitgeist. But high-end fashion breaks rules, and few people actually buy expensive high-end work. Maybe then the question is do I want to follow a trend or set it?

I tend to use found or cheap materials, although that could change, and don't tend to like high end fashion for everyday wear, but I do like the work of Designers Guild, Liberty, Timorous Beasties and Missoni Home alongside Paperchase, Accessorize, and other high street design when it comes to textiles. 

Perhaps I am a mix, a middle ground. There is no one designer who inspires me all of the time, and no single part of the industry that does. We are encouraged to be versatile and flexible and told that as designers we should constantly be learning, each project can go off in its own direction and you don't know where it will lead, so categorising my work in general feels like trying to name multiple products that haven't been designed yet (the plot of Scott Adams' first televised Dilbert episode called 'The Name' illustrates this dilemma well).