India Flint - going in a bit of a different direction with this one, but India Flint should be an inspiration for all interested sustainable dye practices. Rather than her aesthetic, which is beautiful and organic, I’m more interested in the techniques she uses to create these textiles. A lot of the colours Flint produces from sustainable practices - using natural dyes, plants, and even food - are amazing and can unexpectedly be quite bold, against what is normally seen as a very soft background. It’s a very fun contrast.

These colours are brilliant and produced using natural dyes against silk and linen.

Mark Fast - can be described as designing to encompass the body, as his knits seem to almost have a relationship with the person wearing them. I love that all of his pieces are designed on a domestic knitting machine, with the idea that a blend of lycra and more natural fibres combine to create tension, volume, and shape around the body. Technically, Fast is a bit of a knitwear genius - innovation is key.

Spring/Summer 2009 is definitely a standout here, colour and technique are powerful tools and Fast has created a collection that utilises both of these. Besides, who doesn't love a bit of fringing?!

The fact that Alice Palmer's knits make your eyes go crazy is possibly my favourite thing about her collections, although it's difficult to pinpoint just one! Particularly Interstellar (SS 12), where the colours are simple combinations of black, gold, and a dash of pink. She uses innovative knitting techniques to create silhouettes that come off the body, with nips and tucks and fraying yarns giving an extra edge to an already off-beat collection. 


Pretty sure that Alice Palmer is my new favourite person. 

Alice Palmer SS 12 'Interstellar'

Wouldn't mind having a snuggle in one of these...

Julia Ramsey - knitwear designer, fibre artist, and creative extraordinaire. These knits, using materials in their raw state, encapsulate a feeling of independence and wonder. 

How's Yo Mood?

First post for professional practice, it's all about the mood and aesthetic. I'm striving for off-beat, dynamic, spirited, strong, and uninhibited. And I think I'm nearly there!


I've mixed together a couple of images which I feel represent this aesthetic. Illustrations by Liam Brazier, ceramics by Up In The Air Somewhere, and a little bit of lovin' from Goldfrapp.

          Last year, whilst stuck on the couch for months recovering from a wee bit of surgery, I buried myself in Foxtel and books. And although the Real Housewives of New York City got me every morning at 9.30, it was a book by Lucy Siegle that kept me occupied till someone came home in the afternoon to give me food (seriously, I was a prisoner in my own home). ‘To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out The World?’ outlines in some serious depth the paths that our clothes go down before coming to us, as well as the ethical side of clothing and its cohorts (i.e. the shoes I no longer wear and the bags I seem to collect). Siegle’s book not only made me rethink the way I buy clothes but also had me seriously reconsidering my place in the fashion industry. Did I really want to be involved in an industry where it is the norm for cotton to come handpicked by school children in Uzbekistan? Or where I will happily ignore the fact that the faded details on my favourite jeans would have come at the cost of a workers respiratory health? I’m thinking not. But I certainly don’t think I have the self control to completely turn my back on fashion when it’s an amazing creative outlet and an absolute necessity to daily life. Plus, I really like dressing up and I’m pretty sure I can’t give that up. 

          And so, my morals are now being guided into creating an ethically and sustainably sound collection of knit samples for my final year major work (although I think I’ll have to throw something else in there to actually make it ‘major’). Fingers crossed I can come up with an idea that actually has substance - and isn’t completely based on the Real Housewives...

P.S. Read the book, it'll change yo life!

P.P.S This is the start of my wall of love. C'mon inspiration, I know you're out there!

Phew, I'm bloggered.

Sustainability. Annoyingly, the word’s everywhere. So how to approach the topic without getting swept away in all the fuss surrounding it? 


Step A: Start blog. Tick. 
Step B: Research. Now that’s a bit harder. 


Initially I thought it would be an easy thing to start - pick up some books, scroll the internet - not quite what I had expected. There is a LOT of information out there and this here blog is the start of something massive. I can see myself getting carried away on different tangents, especially since at the moment all I seem to want to create is some sort of knit/dye collaboration that will apparently save the world from all it’s ethical and ecological trouble. Not that hard, right? Although it’s only the second week in and I’m already starting to feel a bit like this...

Johan Ku, The Hole (AW2011)