I met Karen, one half of Stitch by Stitch, via twitter when I was putting together my Design for Good panel for Clerkenwell Design Week. By that point, I’d already found Kathy of Shake the Dust to talk about using producers in the developing world, but Karen’s story captured my imagination, so I wanted to share it here instead.
What’s the most important thing to know about Stitch by Stitch?
Following two really interesting design projects in India and Nepal, our designer Graham Hollick was inspired to form a textile company that combines his design aesthetic with traditional handmade textile skills.
Why is ethical production so important to you?
It would be easier, and much cheaper, to have our products made in factories in the far East, but what would be the point in that? We want to create a brand that we can be proud of, and feel we’re doing something useful and meaningful, as well as creating beautiful pieces for people’s homes, and making a living(!), helping to preserve skill that will otherwise disappear.
How do your products make people’s lives better?
Our customers purchase a cushion, a rug, or a quilt with a story, a history, and integrity. Each piece is hand-embroidered or hand woven by people who are masters of their skill. In the case of our Peacock Sportif embroidered collection, the stitches have been handed down from mother to daughter for generations in the remote Kutch region of Gujarat. Girls as young as three learn the stitches from their mother and other women in their village – often during “down time” in the afternoon, after the hard work of preparing food, cleaning the house and tending animals. (Our products are only embroidered by adults.) The women sit together in the shade, chatting and sewing. We hope our products will become family heirlooms.
In India, we work with SEWA, the Self-Employed Women’s Association, a powerful organisation which fights for the rights of self-employed women in India and helps them to earn a fair wage for their work. It’s a huge organisation which provides micro-financing and legal advice, among other things, to some of the world’s poorest people. In Nepal, we work with SABAH Nepal, a similar organisation which is affiliated with SEWA.
Why India and Nepal?
There is a wealth of traditional hand-made textile skill in these areas. Gujarat is famed the world over for textile production and especially embroidery, which has ancient cultural significance. The nettle yarn we use in our Narayan cushions and throws is produced specifically in the Himalayan region using traditional methods and indigenous plants.
Why not keep all your production in the UK and support the British economy?
We applaud businesses that use British production, but we live in a global economy, and don’t see a problem in supporting ethical production in some of the poorest regions of the world. Our collections are specifically inspired by these traditional Asian textile skills.
What are you most proud of?
The fact that we have the potential to enrich people’s lives through Stitch by Stitch. Our orders boost our makers’ income, and help preserve their traditional textile skills which are seriously under threat from mass-production.
What advice would you give to an aspiring designer wanting to do the right thing?
It is possible, and we feel, essential, for designers to work in an ethical way. We have a responsibility to do so. And, it actually makes business sense. We couldn’t possibly compete with the large textile producers, so we need to serve a niche market. And to do that, you need to do more than produce pretty things which observe a fleeting trend.
Talk me through the design and making process from initial idea to final product.
Our designs are inspired by traditional making techniques. We first look at our producers’ skills and then re-contextualise them to create designs with a contemporary look. Our products are simple in form and construction so the make-up is straight forward, but we keep a close eye on the finishing, which must come up to a very high standard as our products are premium.
Describe a really good day and a really bad day in the life of Stitch by Stitch.
A good day is when we meet customers who really appreciate what we’re doing – be it a retailer who places a nice order, or a private client – or when we get some really positive feedback. It’s also really exciting when a new product range starts to take shape. A bad day is when we get knock-backs, or feel that we’re putting lots of effort in and not getting immediate results. The important thing is to take the knocks on the chin, try to learn from them, and not let them shake your confidence in what you’re doing.
And finally, favourite colours?!
Graham: Natural rustic colours, bold graphic colours, and just about every shade of green!
Karen: I too love the colours that come from natural dyes like madder and indigo, as much for their history and the process of production as for the rich spectrum of colours they produce. Our Narayan collection uses natural dyes, and our upcoming collection of Indian woven and embroidered blankets (which we’re launching at the end of the summer) will focus exclusively on natural dyes.
Further reading for the especially geeky:
