I visited Lyme Regis and discovered the most fabulous and creative lady (Nicola ‘Nicca’s’ Kathren) and her rare knitwear store. She thrifts preloved, high quality wool garments and modifies them to make one off, beautiful statement pieces by altering the cut and adding flair with new detail. It was brilliant. We talked about her journey, mentoring, the highs and the lows of having your own brand / business. I left feeling so inspired about this path that I am on.
What I realised during my trip is that the brand name ‘Re’ still isn’t sitting right. As much as I want my garments to be for a high end market, and I like the typographical concept that I can envision for this name, it feels too neat for me. It doesn’t reflect the handcrafted or preloved essence of the brand I want to create. As much appreciation as I have for the designers we visited in London, it’s seeing store’s like Kathrens Rare Knitwear and @charitysuper.mkt that spark joy for me. I’m not about being a perfectionist, I’m a creative mess and to feel aligned with my brand, I need to reflect that personality back into it.
My course leader, Tom, encouraged me to think about what I like; textural, colour, patterned contrasts and I instinctively said weaving. I took a step back and started to observe a few themes that kept coming up for me and that perspective helped me bring a few threads together.
- What artists I am influenced by and drawn to?
- What is my lived experience?
- The development of Re.
Thinking more about what I can start creating and what I enjoy, the Magdalena Abakanowicz, Every tangle of thread and rope exhibition at the Tate Modern is one of the things that set in motion the idea of doing a Masters. I love weaving, the texture and combination of materials that can be used. I also enjoy knitting for the same reasons. It’s also something I associate with my mum. She would knit to keep her mind quiet and hands busy. She taught me to knit for my art foundation project where I knitted fishing nets out of plastic straws to highlight the plastic pollution in our oceans. I also spent many years creating patchwork blankets so I have three crafts here that I can play with and combine.
Thinking about preloved garments and where I can source fabrics from got me thinking about my mum’s clothes. Whilst I donated the majority of her wardrobe, I believe there are some sentimental items left in my family home so I am going to see what is there that I can use. The Marta Jakubowski collection at the Rebel exhibition started me thinking about grief and the way she incorporated those emotions into her work. I have found it really overwhelming to pinpoint the identity of my brand, yet I am the essence of my mum so this feels like a good place to start.
I have been trying to find a way to incorporate her maiden name (Roberts) but it felt too forced and masculine considering my focus on the Greenham Common women, crafts and gendered items. However, I have discovered that “Roberts is a surname of English and Welsh origin… meaning “bright renown””
And there is my Re word. When I look at Renown I see Re // Own, reclaiming something you already own which is everything I am trying to achieve. I will create a logo that silences the ‘n’ to emphasise the beginning and end of the word.
References
Kathrens Rare Knitwear, Lyme Regis https://kathrens.co.uk/
Magdalena Abakanowicz. 17 November 2022 – 21 May 2023 Every tangle of thread and rope Tate Modern, London
Roberts definition, Wikipedia
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