FINNIESTON FASHION POP UP

The creators of infamous pop-up fashion event Bold Souls are back with a fresh new concept for one night of shopping in the intimate setting of the Kelvingrove Cafe, Glasgow. The Finnieston Fashion Pop-Up on Thursday 25th April 2013 bring together five influential local designers to showcase beautiful new ranges of fashion accessories, jewellery and homewares.

Chouchou
Jane Gowans
Nikki McWilliams
Trakke
and of course, we'll be there too.

You can find out more here.  If  you'd like to pass on the word remember to link our Facebook events page. Hope to see you there, and i

⦁    Venue: downstairs, the Kelvingrove Café, 1161-1163 Argyle Street, G3 8TB
⦁    Date: Thursday 25th April, 2013 
⦁    Time: 5-9pm
⦁    Entry: free

Beijing

The last month has been nothing short of excitement, lots of sleepless nights, hard work and fun. Three weeks ago I travelled to China with Scotland Development International and 15 other Scottish textile and fashion brands including Iona Crawford, Barrie, Johnstones of Elgin, Rebecca Torres, Kirsteen Stewart, Hawick Cashmere, Kearse & Boys and Maccessorie. Here's the week in pictures...

Monday

On the first few day we attended a number of seminars from retail experts and (the fun part) a tour around Beijing's shopping amazing department stores and shopping centres. China does shopping very differently to here in the UK. Many of the shopping centres and department store in Beijing look like the inside of 5 star hotels and most house only big international luxury brands such as Chanel, Dior, Celine...

The image below was taken at Joyce, a very very cool department store. Very nice to see Christopher Kane and some really young British brands.

It even had a dedicated gallery space.



Tuesday
At the exhibition centre.

Wednesday
Dinner and drinks at the British Embassy in Beijing.

Thursday
Many shops in Beijing are open till 10pm and this was one of the more interesting brands I came across. It reminded me of Cos.

I made a special trip to visit Triple Major. Their Beijing shop has a different flavour to the one in Shanghai, a little more low-fi and based in an old apothecary. I really liked it and the brands they had in store.

Friday
After the exhibition was over we took a trip to the Great Wall.

Saturday
Back home. Amazing view over the Peshwar mountains.

Can't wait to see you again, China!

To Beijing!

It's been very busy here behind the curtains with preparation for AW13, some trips to Glasgow for Fashion Foundry meetings and over the last 2 months I've been preparing for my first overseas trade mission.

I'm going to leaving Orkney this Friday to travel to Beijing. My business was selected amongst 16 other Scottish textile and fashion businesses to attend one of China's biggest trade shows and I'm so excited! I'll be showing the AW13 collection with an brilliant selection of Scottish fashion companies. Barrie Knitwear (the knitwear manufacturer recently acquired by Chanel); Johnstones of Elgin; Eribe; Rebecca Torres and Iona Crawford are just some of the companies taking part.

Rachel Loxton from the Evening Times has written a pieces about the mission here. Wish me luck!

Hilary Grant Knitwear for Nothing But Navy

We're delighted to be taking part in this winter's Nothing But Navy winter pop-up, this year being hosted by Other Shop on London's Berwick Street.

I've been a fan of this pop up concept for a while, as navy being one of my favourite colours and it also sells some really exciting exclusives created especially for the shop. Here are some of my favourites:

Ceramic Plate

 Patchwork Cushion

You can visit the NBN/ Other Shop pop at 40 Berwick Street (the same street as Cloth House) from the 5th - 24th of December and it's open seven days a week. Visit if you can!

Winter Skate for a First Date

I've always wanted to go iceskating outdoors at somewhere like Somerset House as I can't imagine anything more Christmassy and romantic.

1/ Skate at Somerset House.
2/ Lambswool Circle Scarf, in Arrow by Hilary Grant Knitwear.
3/ Lambswool Pom Hat, in Arrow by Hilary Grant Knitwear.
4/ Denim Shirt from Boden.
5/ MHL Wool overcoat. Big enough to wear lots of layers underneath.
6/ Wood Wood Angora Sweater ( I can't imagine anything more chic!).
7/ Wool skirt from YMC.
8/ Lambswool Mittens by Hilary Grant Knitwear.
9/ Leather phone case, Cos.
10/ German cookie brooch, Tatty Devine. Enjoy with a cup of hot gluhwein!

Treat

This Friday is the launch of Treat, a pop up shop in St Andrews this weekend. Organised by Fife Contemporary Art & Craft and Craft Scotland, the good people of St Andrews will be able to shop local and beautifully crafted products ranging from textiles to jewellery and ceramics. We've been very lucky to be invited to be part of this brilliant event. A selection of our scarves, mittens and hats will be available to purchase all weekend. The opening is tomorrow night with Philip Long of the Dundee V&A project and followed by a series of talks and workshops throughout the weekend until Monday 19th.

For more information, please visit Treat.

Bonfire Night Warmers

1 / Toffee apple colours. Lambswool mitts by Hilary Grant /£43/

2 / Wool and leather boots by Sessun at Goodstead /£229/

3 / Good for layering. Acne mohair sweater by Acne at Liberty / £180/

4 / Layer over tights. Socks by Ayame at YMC /£25/

5 / From bonfire to pub. Petepan collar dress by Dusen Dusen /$275/

6 / Keep you ears warm. Lambswool pom hat by Hilary Grant /£55/

7 / A subtle bit of charcoal sparkle by Jane Gowans /£84/

8 / Cute fox brooch by Tatty Devine  /£27/

9 / Keep hands free for toffee apples. Leather pouch by The Boyscouts /€180/

10 / Big, long and cosy. Lambswool pom scarf by Hilary Grant /£92/

11 / Pockets big enough to store your sparklers in. Italian wool coat by Folk /£495/ 

FREE UK DELIVERY!

The first batch of our Winter stock is in now and ready for immediate delivery!

 Remember if you're based in the UK you'll receive free Special Delivery postage with every order. International and EU friends also get a special discounted flat rate for delivery.

Illustrated Knits

I received this in the post a few weeks ago from my illustrator friend Jen, aka Hello Jenuine. I've mentioned Jen quite a few times before as she illustrated our Arrow pattern scarf when it was merely a prototype. Her newest work involved has writing and illustrating a series of 'zines called 'Sleeping on the Sleeper' about a series of three trips and the creative people and interesting places Jen encounters. Jen was so sweet to send me a copy of the edition that includes our afternoon of touring design and art bookshops in London, you might even notice we're both wearing the same scarf!
 
 As well as working on her self-initiated projects such as Sleeping on the Sleeper and her new blog "Girl Faces" Jen also regularly undertakes commissions from publications in the UK and as far as Chicago and makes beautiful screen-printed stationary.

The Herald's Fashion Map of Scotland

Did anyone see the brilliant feature in Sunday's Herald mapping important places in Scottish textile manufacturing and fashion design? I think they might have forgotten to add two places though so I've added them to the map for you and will tell you a little more about what they have to offer to the textile and fashion industry here in Scotland. Orkney - We, Hilary Grant Knitwear are obviously based here as well as Kirsteen Stewart a print-fashion designer who works with Fairtrade groups in India and her products are sold all around the UK and internationally. Orkney Angora rears Angora rabbits, and beautiful Angora yarns is spun and dyed in their workshop based on Sanday, one of the outer isles. You'll find their yarns in some of the best yarn shops in the UK. I will be using some of their yarn in our AW13 collection. Orkney is also home to many many traditional knitwear techniques, spinners and textiles designers.
Dundee - Who could forget Dundee's finest? Jeweller Jane Gowans; print and home accessory designer Nikki McWilliams and fashion designer Hayley Scanlan. Halley Stevenson, a dyers and finishers that specialises in waxed cottons and other innovative materials sends fabric from Dundee to fashion houses all over the world, to design houses such as Louis Vuitton, J Crew and many heritage labels. Dundee's McManus Galleries also put Scotland on the fashion map this month with the launch of the second V&A Dundee exhibition. Following the success of Cecil Beaton's photography exhibition in 2011 is Selling Dreams: One Hundred Years of Fashion Photography. You'll be able to find photography from the likes of Helmut Newton, David Bailey Rankin and Tim Walker.

Textile Scotland also has a brilliant map charting more places of importance in textiles and fashion around the country.