The first time I laid eyes on the Scout Shawl I fell madly in love. This is when I first became acquainted with Florence Spurling's work and have dreamed ever since of working with her. So I and the Verb Team are thrilled to have her on board for this upcoming year of Pro-Verbial.
As you can see from the images above, Florence draws upon a wide range of techniques to create her pieces. In addition to be a great designer, she is a calm, steady teacher. And she has consistently continued to release patterns that are high on my to-knit list (Hello, Liko.)
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Florence is the fourth and final interview in this series.
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4 Questions with Florence
1. You have a textile design degree and have been involved in the fashion industry, how does fashion influence your knit wear designs?
I learnt a huge amount during my Textile Design graduate and postgraduate degrees, as well as my time working in the fashion industry. I think it mostly taught me about the balance of technical ability and creative thinking - in my opinion the two are essential factors within knitwear design. I don't look at trends when designing, but I do think it's important to be curious and aware of what people enjoy wearing and how they style their clothes. I design things that I would wear myself and can imagine fitting into a variety of wardrobes. Because of my textile background, I also want the fabric to be exciting and ultimately enjoyable to make for the knitter.
2. What are 3 words that encapsulate your style?
Decorative, feminine, vintage.
3. Do you listen to music/podcasts/etc. when you design/knit? If so, what are you currently listening to?
I listen to everything! Music is usually my background noise when I'm working on my computer, but when knitting I love listening to podcasts and audiobooks. I'm currently listening to the 'Changes with Annie Macmanus' podcast and enjoying the episode where she chats to Zadie Smith. My last audiobook was 'Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow'.
4. When did you first learn to knit/who taught you to knit? If you taught yourself, how did you get inspired to learn?
I learnt to knit from my mum, who learnt to knit from her mum. We always had lots of lovely yarn, fabrics and haberdashery around the house and I found it all really fascinating from a young age. It wasn't until I was at university though, that I took the time to really focus and learn both knitting and crochet properly. Once I had the basics, I would challenge myself with more complicated stitches and the obsession grew from there!
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I hope you will join us for Year 14 of the Pro-Verbial Club.
- Kristine
