Just like her relaxed and laid-back style, influenced by everything from the late 1960s to international travel and rare books, Amy Kaehne's studio is a lived-in, easy-going ode to her ability to create. I caught up with Amy a little while ago for an article that I was writing about her - I'll tell you more about that later! - but something she said about knitwear struck me. And as Autumn rolls along into Winter, I've got to share it. I'll be reaching for my Amy Kaehne knits this weekend if there's a chill bite in the air, even more excited to wear them now that I know the story behind them! Thanks for being such a fantastic interview subject, Amy, and for welcoming me into your studio with Sonoma toasted sandwiches early one Friday morning...
On knitwear:
"It’s coming from New Zealand. Seriously. I know that sounds kind of silly but in New Zealand you wear knitwear. You have to. It’s cold. Where I’m cold it’s not freezing freezing cold, but there wasn’t a day in winter that didn’t go by when I wasn’t wearing thermals under my clothes. I used to wear these long-sleeved thermals under everything. I feel like it was a part of my life there. My mum has always loved knitwear and she has always bought the best quality knitwear and she taught me how to take care of it – hand washing it, putting it to dry on her car in the garage, knowing that the motor will dry it as the heat rose up through the metal. All of that type of stuff. I’ve always remembered it.
I think that I wanted some pieces that were very much hand made, with a love that has gone back into them, rather than a generic machine creating them. Even though I do love machine knits. I wanted the personalized feeling to a knit. They’re not perfect, they’re made by one person and there is an attention to detail, but they won’t be perfectly accurate. So I started making them in cotton, and then I did a silk version. People just loved them. I suppose they can see that personal aspect and they connect with it. Again, fashion is coming back to an element of organic, hands-on, craftwork. People feel special, as if it was made just for them."
As told to me
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with the title In the studio: Amy Kaehne. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2012/05/in-studio-amy-kaehne.html. Thanks!
