FK talks to Anna from Olive & Me, about her new project KnitKnit, which recently debuted at the Sydney Markets.
Tell us about your concept KnitKnit.
KnitKnit creates modern knitting kits for creative people who love the thought of knitting something unique and funky. The designs are young and cool and the patterns are full of pictures and free of crazy abbreviations like ‘k2k2togsso’! They’re designed to be easy-to-create and perfect even for a first time knitter. The kits contain beautiful 100% wool yarn, bamboo needles, and all the other ingredients you need to make a beanie, or a number of different scarves and cosies.
What is your background and how did you come up with the idea of knitting kits?
I’ve dappled in fashion and graphic design but am mainly a textile designer. I love fabrics and textures and the fact that with knitting you can do so much just knowing two little stitches! I find it really hard to get nice patterns and yarn, so I thought it would be cool to make kits that contain all those nice things and make it really easy for someone to get into knitting.
What inspired you to start your own label?
I’ve always dreamt of working for myself and so thought I would try and make it a reality. My friends and family were super keen and supportive so that gave me the confidence to make it happen. I was also inspired by the desire to create really straight-forward and cute knitting patterns that would help people get back into knitting.
What inspires you with knitting and what do you think people love so much about knitting?
I love the thought of sharing my skills and enabling other people to be creative and have amazing one-off pieces to wear around, and that inspires me to keep creating. I think the thing people love about knitting is that it’s such a soothing, relaxing thing to do (once you’ve had a little practice) and then the fact that you end up with a beautiful hand-made piece at the end is a bonus!
What do you love about Sydney for creative inspiration?
I love that Sydney is so diverse. I love to sit somewhere on a bench and people-watch for ages. And I love that you can get food from just about any place in the world. I also love looking at what other creative people are doing in other fields, I find the amazing things they do are really quite inspiring.
Whats up next for KnitKnit?
Since the markets KnitKnit has been finding it’s way into a few stores around Sydney. I’d love to take it to Melbourne and beyond so at the moment I’m focusing on finding the perfect stores for KnitKnit kits. I feel like there are heaps of things I want to do but I’m trying to think about one step at a time.
Oooh oooh, I love that black bubble scarf. Not being a knitter myself, I wonder if it would be bad-form to buy this kit for someone who is to make one for me? 😉
Lovely work.
KnitKnit is the name of a knitting book and a ‘zine. Don’t people do market research before they name new projects? http://www.knitknit.net
Hey Simply Phoebe,
I think it’s totally fine for you to buy this kit for a friend to knit. Think of the sense of achievement they’ll get when they finish it…!
Dear Anna, Love the idea of your new knit kits, cousin Jess just informed me of your new venture – very inspiring! Cute designs, I’m sure they’ll be a big hit.
Anna
I have two pieces of your knit items that you left at the Texstyle seminars at Darling Harbour. If you could make contact with me so I could post them back to you.