Knittles Studio Update

With the lull in sales that we've been expecting as the weather warms up, we're busy satisfying some fibre cravings by indulging in some spinning. Inspired by the beautiful thick and thin spun yarn from fiberstory, I  dusted off my old drop spindle and gave her a whirl.

When the roving stash ran out, I couldn't stop spinning, so I dove into my gigantic stash and dug out some yarn that was less than inspiring. Plying for the first time, the spinning was not only super quick, but also meditative. Watch out stash...I'm coming for you!

Etsy love continues

We just love this treasury of "whites" that was featured on the front page of Etsy and are very happy to be among such beautiful photos.

ETSY LOVE!!!

I'm always in love with etsy, but today is a special day. A day that we were madly preparing for during xmas break, and a day that we're super excited about.

We are featured seller today, a huge honor, and something we've been dreaming about. This opportunity also pushed us to make some new designs, and is probably the last hurrah until spring rears its beautiful head.

Enjoy!

Introducing Knit Armour Collection - Alberta Fashion Week 2009

Knittles has embarked a new adventure, an official foray into the fashion scene of Calgary. We showed our very first runway collection for Alberta Fashion Week, this Wednesday, October 7th at Seven Lounge.

We had been busy creating our line of wearable accessories and clothing to combat the harsh Calgarian winters. Inspired by the cold urban environment and the process of building, this line of Knit Armour has elements of deconstruction, glimpses of vibrant colours amidst a sea of cold neutrals, and small sanctuaries of natural elements symbolized by handcrafted wood & ceramic buttons.

The reception we received for our collection was both flattering, and heartwarming. Many thanks to Alberta Fashion Week for allowing us to share our work to the budding fashion community of Calgary.

Photos by Faby Martin © 2009
Models in order of appearance from top left to right, Katrina Cheung, Amy Horne, Brian Sew, Denise Wong.

New Photographer in the House!!!

You may have noticed a little darling with the biggest pearly white smile and dazzling blue eyes modeling our newest hats. She adds a girly charm to those flowered and lacy hats (as if flowers and lace aren't girly enough). You may have also noticed that those photos are gorgeous, with beautiful lighting, and a fresh focus. This is the work of local Calgary photographer Lindsay Milner. She's a mother of 2 beautiful children and is turning her love of photography into a business. She is quickly becoming knittles' go-to photographer for kids and baby items. See more of little C and little A in the shop soon. Many more children's styles involving flowers, and earflaps, and even some little man hats as well. We're finally following our business "plan" , and working towards the next autumn season of hats & scarves and other fine knits. Who needs to sleep anyways???

New Friend

So I've made a new friend, one that my husband refers to as being unacceptable and must be put away after she scared him when he went downstairs. She was just sitting there, innocently, quietly, and unobtrusively, ready for a photo shoot. He walked right past her, into the next room, and then out of the corner of his eye he noticed the headless form, and that's when he screamed like a little girl (or so I imagine). I'll call her Stella, and she was quite the deal that I couldn't pass up at a garage sale this weekend. An old, 1970's style dress form (or a headless mannequin as he refers her to) that will be perfect for taking photos of any neck or body knitwear that we will be designing when a photoshoot with a living, breathing model just isn't possible (or when I'm too anxious to upload a new design that I can't wait to do a proper photoshoot). I must admit, I do prefer being on this side of the camera ;)

Vote for Hunter in Etsy Fall Fashion Poll

So we weren't dreaming, we did get selected for Fall Fashion Poll on Etsy. Which is really cool. Thank you Etsy. And yeah, getting an email from etsy admin was pretty rad too. Not to mention we are pretty honored to be in the same bunch as necklush, idea2lifestyle, our favourite emilyryan and hierapparel.

So go VOTE people, and choose carefully ;-) You get to vote only once.

new photographer in the house...

We're always experimenting with different techniques and settings for our product shots, changing locations constantly, and testing out new equipment (like the flash i got for xmas). My bro was over yesterday, visiting with little K, when I wrangled him into taking some photos of me modeling new items. To be honest, he's the real photographer in the family (I just try to look the part with my Canon Rebel & multitude of lenses), and he once again explained to me the fundamentals of photography... focus, ...uh exposure....and i forget the third. The afternoon was not a waste, for I did learn something, how to adjust the aperture so that photos taken in low light don't become blurry, as well as adjusting the custom white balance setting (sound smart, don't I?)

Anyways, here's the results of our quick, impromptu photo shoot. Boxtox (or photoshop) may be needed in the near future, as I seem to have a forhead dimple that shows itself in nearly every photo.
































He is good, isn't he?

Asymmetry

Not trying to toot my own horn, but ...... I am so excited about a new neckwarmer design, I can't stop making them. They asymmetrical (my favorite type of design), and not only are they easy to wear, they are also versatile in that they can be worn forwards, backwards, upside down, and your toddler can even slip it on and use it as a poncho. We found this at our photoshoot when C was adoringly watching us take pictures with those big 'ol eyes that were saying, can i try? She was in a good picture taking mood (usually we have to bribe her with organic chocolate) so we slipped one over her little big head & low and behold, it fit, and was so cute that she even forgot to ask about chocolate.

And for some eye candy, I've attached a few asymmetric items that I've been drooling over from fellow etsiers, kaylim, joodito, junkhousedollyard, and jalvo. Check out their shops for fabulous handmade items, knittles are really big fans of these artisans. They really are masters of their craft.

Knittles.ca is complete and live!

Ok it's finally complete - we have a website! Small, basic but functional.

2009 New Styles & Items in Knittles store

Holidays were great but we tried not to waste any time and created "a few" new items as well as had a few photo shoots to slowly start listing our new inventory. We have a new product addition from our guest designer - baby soy blanket, some new neckwarmers and cowls with new yarns and hues, and several new hat styles - Reykyavik, Elvish Glee Pixie Hat with more to come.

Wix.com

And here we are, our very first interview on icraft.ca

Oh so pretty photoshoot

We tried. It took hours! Literally. Almost all day but we got some good shots for some upcoming exposure on icraft.ca and we thought it was about time to have some nice Knittles pics!!!

Along with profile photos we took the shots of all the unlisted and unsold product. So I have about 4G to deal with and my  laptop is not liking it. So there will be some new listings in the store, hopefully before Christmas, if we get around to it.

Want to pay in CAN?

Yes we know, our Canadian loonie hasn't been performing that well against US dollar and those Canadian shoppers on Etsy have noticed. If you are the kind of shopper (almost like us) and like to support Canadian artisans and Canadian businesses, we do have an option for you.

Please visit our Canadian store on a relatively new but very pretty and functional site icraft.ca

The inventory on the site is limited, but if there is anything you like in our etsy shop or have seen us at a local shows, just send us a note. We are very accommodating and there are lots of ways to get you warm hand-made goodies and we will always give you a Canadian rate.

New Wicker Head Displays are here

2 boxes of sweetest display heads arrived today from Cathay Imports in Vancouver. Love them, the "handmade look" goes really well with our hats and scarves, wish they had hands too for mittens.

What's in store for 2008...

Too many ideas, not enough time!!! Is it just me who feels this way? O & I have high ambitions for knittles this year. There are tonnes of ideas floating around in our heads, and we just don't have enough hands to make it happen as fast as we would like it to.

The first change in our shop is the addition of a few specific lines of accessories. The first being our luxury line. This line is made of the most luxurious fibres, silks, alpaca, cashmere, etc. It truly is a luxury to work with these yarns. Too bad internet shoppers can't touch & feel these items, they are scrumptious. Hunter is an example of a new style in the Luxury line.


Another Line we've started for the New Year is our Organic Baby line of hats & all things baby. The yarn we use is 100% certified organic, and is the cotton's natural colour - no dyes here. Coming soon to this line will be soother clips, bibs, wash cloths, in addition to the absolutely adorable baby hats that we currently have listed.


Also in the works are neck warmers & scarves. We've been concentrating on hats for so long, now that spring is creeping closer, we thought we'd look into designing & making some other accessories for the upcoming warmer weather. This chunky neckwarmer is a favorite of mine that O has made. It's so versatile, being able to wear it several different ways, and it sure makes a statment. I love.