A knitwear studio has been opened in the North East, allowing designers to create prototypes of their new clothing range.
Entrepreneurs Jo Lennon and Jo Storie have launched KnitLab North, a new design space that helps designers bring their products to life.
The studio, based in Cramlington, Northumberland, gives designers access to its onsite facilities to design and produce small batches of their knitwear. It offers commercial and marketing expertise to help bring the products to market.
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The two entrepreneurs met on a digital business course and came up with the idea of KnitLab North after realising they could combine Ms Lennon’s expertise as strategic marketer with Ms Storie’s talents as an international knitwear designer.
KnitLab North has recently invested in a new office at B.Village and has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help it expand its prototyping and manufacturing capacity.
Explaining why the duo decided to set up the business, Ms Lennon said: “We’ve been through the design and development process in the 海角视频 and we struggled to find the support we needed to make small volumes to test the market. We experienced a number of challenges and want to support other people who may face the same barriers we faced when taking their product to market.
“We want to nurture and foster anyone looking to build a knitwear business whilst championing British design with a specific focus on promoting sustainable and quality yarn.
“Unfortunately, many people are not able to bring their dream to life. We are here to change that. As a small business, we wanted to produce small quantities to test the market, rather than commit to overproducing and wasting product. What we found is that few factories wanted to work with a retailer producing one-off or very small quantities.
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“We have made our vision a reality and now have the onsite space to support clients with their journey so that they can test the market and develop products slowly. We can offer support in a number of ways from design consultancy through to brand building or a fully integrated service guiding a client from conception and design through to launch.”
To help grow the business KnitLab North has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for additional machinery for its site. The business is hoping to raise £65,000 on Crowdfunder, although it does not need to hit this target to receive donations from the site.
Those who decide to back the campaign can receive a range of gifts in return. These include lambswool scarves, hats, tote bags, socks and blankets.
Ms Storie said: “The British knitwear industry is due for a fundamental shake up. We’ve got a steady supply of designers and manufacturers, yet our most talented designers look to manufacture offshore as it is often easier and cheaper to develop and experiment outside of the 海角视频.
“We want to keep that talent at home and cater for their needs with design focused development, small batch production and a practical approach to brand marketing. We aim to help our designers be more creative and take some of the risk out of their product development.
“We’re looking to partner with larger manufacturers as support brands that are ready to grow having had a chance to road test their products reducing the risk and headache for them. Joining with British yarn mills and manufacturers resonates with our core values of keeping things local and sustainable.”