Thinking about Adele’s drawings and an idea to convert them into design for sportswear we thought we’d visit Kalopsia Textile Collective.
Nina and Adam, founders and owners of Kalopsia were showing us samples of sportswear and other garments that have been created as a prototype and explained the way they work and the what’s important to them.
Kalopsia Collective was formed in 2012 to challenge the perception of textiles, their use, and the creators, makers and consumers’ relationship to them. Kalopsia do this by pushing the boundaries within the textiles industry, encouraging innovation and creativity every step of the way.
One such endeavour has brought them to develop ASSEMBLE – a textiles micro-manufacturing service in Edinburgh which produces high quality, ethical and sustainable products MADE IN SCOTLAND. A clear process that has been thoroughly tested to bring you a quality made product.
http://contemporarytextile.com/
“KALOPSIA IS A CREATIVE TEXTILES AGENCY AND MICRO-MANUFACTURING FACILITY IN THE HEART OF LEITH, SCOTLAND.
They produce textiles products for British and International clients in a sustainable manner from start to finish and help address the social and environmental issues faced by textiles businesses and designers.
Kalopsia acts as an advocate for the wealth of creative British talent and works to support and create opportunities for those looking to establish themselves within the textiles industry. A throwback to their collective days is that they still host exhibitions and events to encourage the rethinking of textiles and craft.
THEIR STORY – THEY STARTED BY ASKING THE QUESTION ‘WHAT IS TEXTILES?’
Kalopsia Collective was formed to challenge the perception of textiles by pushing the boundaries – creating a platform for Textiles.
Kalopsia began exhibiting the works of international and local artists who employed textiles in diverse manner and to start a conversation about the craft in order to encourage innovation and creativity.
Their unconventional beginning means that they approach textiles in a unique way, seeing it as an umbrella term for concept, creativity and skills.
Their background may seem unconventional but their aims are simple:
Today they operate as a Social enterprise and employ the ideology that the exchange of knowledge and skills is vital to innovative development. They find themselves driven to create opportunities for emerging talent and local communities, to encourage professional development for individuals looking to establish themselves in textiles and to encourage growth within the industry.”
Adele was really interested in finding out how you would gain experience with this industry. She liked their concepts and and and was really impressed whit the quality of garments and products they produced in-house. Nina mentioned that Adele would be welcome to come back for a day in the life of Kalopsia and see what’s involved. Chelley was really impressed with their ethical stance and loved the Fife Linen fabric (made only miles away in Fife) they use this material for multiple products from bags to ties to garments and interior fabrics. There was talk of making a fife linen bomber jacket for after one of Adele’s runs, Nina thought this could work well because Fife Linen is natural fabric and breathable. Adele wasn’t sure about that material and would prefer something with a slight sheen. (like your traditional bomber jacket style).
