looking forward

Hello! Kate here. August is the month at KDD when we all start to look forward to what’s coming in the autumn. This season we are busier than ever, with a wide range of different projects and new releases. Next month, for example, we will finally be able to begin to release the new knitwear (for which we were very proud to win the Scottish Business and Product Innovation Award earlier this year). And in preparation for the release of our new garments, we are starting to clear out our remaining stock of last year’s knitwear.

Our Duntreath sweaters are now half price (reduced from £120 to £60).

Did you know that we stock this style in 6 sizes – from a UK size 8-10 to a size 18-20?

Our stocks of Duntreath are quite limited now, and will be replaced with new styles next month. . .

. . . and we don’t have many of these Finnich sweaters left either – they are half price too.

These lovely woolly garments are produced right here in Scotland – the yarn is spun by JC Rennie, and the garments are knitted by Harley of Peterhead

And each one is carefully packaged and shipped in its own duffel bag.

This is Fenella – fellow knitter, Glasgow businesswoman and friend of KDD.

We all had fun last week when she joined us in the studio. . .

. . .to model this new two-shade Port Charlotte (now available as a kit) together with some other new designs

I’ll introduce Fenella properly in another post – she’s a really inspirational, dynamic person and we are all delighted to have her on board!

Fenella is just one of many interesting collaborators with whom we’ve been working. In the next few weeks we’ll be able to talk about what we’ve been doing with two of our favourite Scottish woolly companies Shilasdair and Birlinn Yarn and later in the year we’ll be finally able to say more about a couple of other important collaborations, which have formed much of the focus of our work in recent months. The first is a co-edited collection involving contributors from all over the world, and the second is an intersectional feminist project, involving all of us and some friends of KDD, of which we are all really proud.

(Image courtesy of Applied Arts Scotland and Lynne Mennie)

I have my own news too. I am really pleased to announce that I’ll be taking up a residency with Applied Arts Scotland as part of Crafting Futures Mexico, a project developed by the British Council. This wonderful programme encourages cross-cultural exchange and skill sharing between Scottish and Oaxacan designer-makers, and I am really looking forward to learning more about different cultural creative practices and exploring new ways of producing work collaboratively. Thankyou, Applied Arts Scotland, for this fantastic opportunity!

Finally, our Knitting Season club will soon start up again! This supportive programme of pattern releases and readable essays begins at the start of September and runs for six weeks. The intention of the club is to help you to reflect on, and relax into, your own making process, and to develop and challenge your ideas about creativity. You can still join the club to receive all material released earlier in the year, together with everything that’s to come in September and October. Why not join us to share some interesting ideas and showstopping projects? Find out more about the club (and join, if you’d like to) here.

Hope you are all looking forward to the new season as much as we all are at KDD!

Links

Duntreath sweaters
Finnich sweaters
Port Charlotte kits
Knitting Season Club