Flora Collingwood-Norris
‘I have some quite distinctive colour waves so my Erraid blanket scarf is unique to me ’
I ’ve been knitting since I was about six. My mum taught me to begin with and then I went to the Steiner School in Edinburgh where I learned more about knitting and just developed a love of making things. I studied textiles at Heriot Watt in Galashiels and specialised in knitting so that’s where I learned the more technical machine side and a bit more about the fashion industry.
I’ve done a variety of different jobs, They have included work for Christopher Kane – I did all the crochet for his liquid collection in 2011. I also worked for Jasper Conran and House of Holland before deciding it was time to start my own business and design for myself.
Most of my designs are very minimalist, with a subtle pattern and blocks of colour, so colour is the main focus of my work.
I spent my childhood holidays on Mull and Iona, and go there whenever I can. The colours I use are inspired by the many colours of the sea there: the light aquas and turquoise going into deep ocean blues, the white sands, the bright orange and pink buoys, and carpets of yellow bird’s foot trefoil. The greys come from wet, misty days there, trampling through long grasses, and having to empty my wellies of water because the weather was so bad. Sunny days and all the wonderful colours aren’t nearly so good if you don’t have all the wet grey ones to compare them to.
I have some quite distinctive colour waves – my Erraid blanket scarf for example, is very popular and I think that’s because it’s distinctive and unique to me. I develop patterns over time, sometimes over years. They can start out as crochet designs and then be translated and developed through knit.
For me it’s more about developing them on the machine as I go along than working from an inspiration source when it comes to stitch structures, patterns and textures. I love being able to go from initial inspiration and design through to the final product and actually meeting my customers. To see them trying it on and walking away wearing my designs is wonderful.
I really enjoy the whole process. I think it’s important to source things locally where possible. I like to actually meet my producers if I need to so I feel it’s a better connection.
In Scotland, we have a reputation for outstanding textiles. I think we’ve got such a wonderful textile history that it saddens me greatly that it’s been so reduced. I like to think it’s going to come back and if that’s with lots of small businesses like me who produce textiles and products, then that’s wonderful.