GATHERING ROSES IS LOUISA HARDING'S first collection of yarns and hand knitted accessory designs that are symbiotic.
The inspiration behind her selection of yarns for this collection was evoked by a memory triggered by her four year old daughter. Recently she found her collecting fallen flower petals and putting them into a bowl. As a child, Louisa also gathered rose petals from her mother’s garden, put them into a large mixing bowl and marvelled at the wonderful colours and textures. Smooth waxy petals and soft fluffy stamen that stained your fingers, and their overwhelming heady perfume. Flowers play an important part in the person that Louisa is, they draw her in with their colours, their shapes, their intricacies. Louisa always like to be surrounded by them, a reminder of how clever nature is, the way it knits together many different elements to create one perfect bloom.
Louisa put together a series of mood boards, a visual scrap book of ideas that bring together her eclectic mix of inspirations. Postcards of Matisse’s paintings which contain overflowing flower vases and show his vibrant use of colour and interest in textiles, floral fabrics from vintage kimonos, glitter and sparkle, influenced by her love of Indian costume and culture, delicately beautiful blooms and tear sheets taken from fashion magazines.
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The yarns and hand knitted accessories are a result of these inspirations. Petal-like shiny ribbon yarns are complimented by soft angoras and mohair, a ‘Nature inspired’ collaboration of textures and colours. The softness of foliage inspires the suede like textured yarn and the softest cashmere mix yarn in gentle shades envelopes the senses like fading perfume.
With yarns this beautiful Louisa needed to use only the most delicate of stitches and simplest construction to evolve and create a harmonious collection of accessories, to knit together the different elements as nature does. Louisa Harding hopes you enjoy, and are inspired by ‘Gathering Roses’, her first collection of yarns and hand knit accessory designs.
www.louisaharding.co.uk |
