I Love Mr. Mittens
I Love Mr. Mittens
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When Belgian born Stéphanie Caulier visited a small knitting cafe in New York back in 2007, she was reminded of her childhood passion of knitting. Growing up in a family surrounded by knitting and sewing, it was only natural that Stéphanie developed an interest in knitwear. It has been a labour of love over the years and from small beginnings of knitting for family and friends, the brand has evolved into `I love Mr Mittens`. Stéphanie’s passion for knitwear and design is clearly illustrated through her multiple social media avenues and her masses of followers built in the last few years.
Whilst not following traditional academic design study, Stephanie has honed her skills through years of experience in her chosen craft. She combines this knowledge with her keen fashion eye to create a line of unique chunky wool garments.
I Love Mr Mittens is not only a fashion label, it is a label based upon community and sustainability whilst maintaining timeless aesthetics. This ideal also flows through to the I Love Mr Mittens stockists. The I Love Mr Mittens range is available through a carefully selected array of stockists. Quality over quantity is Stephanie’s vision for her brand and this is seen through her select group of stockists across the globe. It is also important to recognise I love Mr Mittens “Heartworking” philosophy. Each garment is hand knitted with love by Stephanie and her team. This collaboration of small, independent businesses (rather than large conglomerates) completes the vision of I love Mr Mittens to create a brand that provides a genuine contribution back to the local community. University students and retired pensioners alike, work with a common objective of executing Stephanie’s vision of how knitwear should be, simple, elegant, timeless and fashionable.
HEAD OFFICE 101 Napier street Cottesloe WA 6011 Australia
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Aymara is the result of the love story between a Belgian engineer, Sven Van Gucht, who met Yannina Esquivias, a young Peruvian travel agent, during a sabbatical year and fell in love. Yannina and Sven quit their jobs and started a knitting factory in Peru together with Yannina’s family. In 2007, the knitwear label Aymara was born. The name Aymara refers to a native ethnic group in the Andes of South America.
Concept
The magic of Aymara lies in the combination of Belgian design and Peru’s extraordinary fibers and textile craftmenship. Aymara’s knitwear is produced in our own knitting factory in Arequipa, in the south of Peru, managed by Yannina’s family. Thank’s to our strong relationship with them and their unconditional commitment, this incredible intercontinental project could be achieved. We believe that in today’s world of fast fashion and mass consumption, people are looking for authentic products with a soul. When buying Aymara, you are sure to get longlasting, sustainable products with an extraordinary story.
Design
Excellent natural fibers play a key role and are the starting point of each Aymara design. This is why Aymara chooses to offer pure styles available in a wide colour palette of bright and soft colours. Our designers take into account the fashion trends but at the same time, we make sure that each Aymara product is timeless and longlasting. A lot of attention has been paid for the perfect fitting form and discrete refined details. The kids collection, designed by Yannina has a playful character whereas the women’s collection, designed by Saskia Van Herzeele is very feminine.
Fiber
Peru manufactures some of the world’s finest quality fibers. For our summer collections, Aymara uses Peruvian pima cotton which is considered to be one of the softest and finest cottons in existence. In winter, garments made of precious alpaca blends are always an important part of our collection. Alpaca is a cousin of the llama and is prized for it’s thermal properties, silkiness and durability. Alpaca is a fiber which does not come at the expense of the environment. In today’s world, dominated by artificial materials, alpaca is the natural option. Alpacas graze at elevations of 3500 to 5000 meters in the Peruvian Andes. This precious fibre is used by top designers world wide. Aymara only uses the finest alpaca fibers, called baby alpaca. In our winter collections we also offer garments made of fine merino wool from Argentina.
Production
Aymara’s knitting plant is fully integrated and employs about 60 persons on the pay roll. This assures us to be in complete control of the production process and the quality of the garments. Although the knitting process itself has been industrialized, the production process is labour intensive and still requires a lot of manual operations. A lot of attention is been paid to the linking and finishing processes. Aymara garments are fully fashioned ; this means that the cutting and overlocking process is avoided as much as possible. By doing so, Aymara’s customers are getting a high quality product with one of the finest linking and finishing standards on the market. Turn your Aymara garment inside out and you will see what we mean !
Although most of the collection is produced on industrial knitting machines, each winter season Aymara offers a small theme of hand knit accessories. This enables women to generate an income by hand knitting at their home while taking care of their children. For a lot of these women it would be impossible to work inside a company because of their family situation and the lack of childcare. You can recognize these products by the “Aymara hand knit” hang tag. We are currently investigating how this could be integrated into a wider social project.
Head office & International Sales Aymara bvba Bornem 2880 Belgium
Showroom Aymara Antwerp Kielsevest 70 Antwerpen 2018 Belgium
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OUR STORY
One family, three alpacas and a meadow in the valley of the Mandel-river in West-Flanders, Belgium, that is how Hug & Hum started in 2013. Once a year – in spring – the alpacas were shorn. Anja De Brabant and her family were so delighted about the silky softness of the alpaca fleeces they decided it would be a waste not to use them. At first, the fleeces were used to produce scarves: soft, fluffy and oh so pleasantly warm. When Anja got in touch with a knitwear designer, she decided to create a complete knitwear collection consisting of 100% baby alpaca. Pure and natural, without any dyes or chemical treatments and with all of the natural qualities of alpaca.
Today, Hug & Hum is ready to wrap the world in alpaca warmth and cosiness.
RESPECT
Respect for nature – and the natural beauty of alpaca fleece – is at the core of Hug & Hum’s story. In order to preserve their insulating qualities and fluffy feel, alpaca fleeces are mainly processed by hand. After the alpacas are shorn, the fleeces are sorted out by colour and quality. Plant residues and impurities are removed – the so-called skirting – and only the best parts are selected to be spun into the softest yarn. The knitting is done with the same care and respect fort he fibre. By using a stitch that doesn’t pull the yarn too tight, we are able to keep its natural softness.
WARMTH AND SUSTAINABILITY
LOVE
Hug & Hum uses 100% baby alpaca from Peru. That is also where all the spinning and knitting is done. We work together with a knitwear atelier located in Peru, that employs local, socially vulnerable women, allowing them to earn a fair income to support themselves and their families. Recently, we started a similar collaboration with a social enterprise that produces all- natural botanically dyed yarns, in small batches by the skilled hands of local women artisans. They use plants they find in the mountains to dye the alpaca yarns in new, exclusive colours for Hug & Hum. By working together with social enterprises we want to bring warmth and softness not only to the people who wear the collection, but also to those who make it.
Sint Antoniusstraat 22 Wakken 8720 Belgium
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A STORY OF KNIT AND FAMILY
It all started in 2000 when Alain and Caroline Eaton decided, after 15 years as agents for several ready-to-wear brands, to launch their own label on the Belgian market. The very first collection consisted of 10 jumpers in a wide range of colours. Fancy knitwear is Jeff’s DNA. Loyal to their agents, the buyers took a chance and from the first season onwards, Jeff was found in 50 multi-brand shops in Belgium, the gamble paid off.
From season to season, the couple continued to develop pretty knits and then, little by little, the collection expanded to include floral prints, linen and T-shirts. Jeff is a feminine and casual collection, trendy without being too sharp, which dresses all women. The brand is now distributed in more than 100 shops in Belgium and from 2008 onwards it started to export to Europe and the world. In 2013 Victoria Eaton joined her parents and brought a young and creative touch to the collection. The brand continues to evolve to keep up with the times. More and more present internationally, in 2018 the online shop is launched and the flagship store relocated to the centre of Brussels at the Sablon.
25 Rue Joseph Stevens, Sablon, Brussels 1000 Belgium
FIBR
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OUR MISSION
MEET FIBR. THE FAIRCHAIN ALPACA SWEATER. SOFT ON YOUR SKIN AS EASY ON YOUR CONSCIENCE. FIBR BRINGS RADICALLY COMFORTABLE BASICS, YOU ARE PROUD TO WEAR.
The fashion industry has some of the most complex and unfair supply chains in the world. FIBR believes that creating transparency is a first step towards fairness. Today, only 7% of fashion brands know where their materials come from.
Some room for change, if you ask us.
THE FIBR SUPPLY CHAIN
FIBR IS FAIRCHAIN KNITWEAR: FAIRNESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL, ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE VALUE CHAIN.
Fairchain knitwear takes it a step further, rethinking the entire value chain from the source of the raw materials right to your closet.
FIBR connects three strong local players in PERU, all doing their part to make the Peruvian alpaca sector more fair. By connecting these dots, we managed to set up our own value chain and bring you a product of which we know exactly who made it, where it has been and of which we can be sure that everyone is treated well.
OUR PRINCIPLES
QUALITY IS WHERE IT STARTS
We bring you a timeless sweater made from 100% alpaca fibre, a natural fibre which is praised for its robustness and warmness. This sweater is made to last! And if not, a repair kit will teach you all the tricks.
TRANSPARENCY TO THE BONE
Discover where your money goes to, and all the steps your FIBR sweater has been through. No need to hide our imperfections. We rather would like to share them with you and show where improvement is still needed.
EVERY SWEATER COUNTS
We know that we won’t change the world (although we would love to). But we do know that big changes are made by many small steps.
Leading by example, we tell the clothing industry to dive into their supply chains and show more ambition. We are convinced the fashion sector needs small disruptive ideas to evolve and innovate. Every sweater sold means that another person is inspired by our story. Which is something huge!
PRE-ORDER
AT FIBR WE WORK WITH A PRE-ORDER SYSTEM. THIS MEANS THAT WE ONLY START PRODUCTION AFTER A MINIMAL AMOUNT OF PIECES IS ORDERED. TO CONTRIBUTE TO YEARROUND WORK STABILITY FOR THE KNITTERS, PRODUCTION IS IN LOW SEASON, FROM FEBRUARY UNTIL EARLY APRIL.
Tarbotstraat 10 Ghent 9000 Belgium
Conscious Antwerp
Conscious AntwerpMore Info
Hello! Meet CONSCIOUS ANTWERP, and what we stand for.
If you love beautiful and sustainable clothing design as much as we do, you’ve come to the right place. Conscious Antwerp is a new clothing concept created and designed with an eye for both style and sustainability from start to finish. By combining the principles of ‘ethical and sustainable business’ ( which is a very interesting course at UA by the way!) with a passion for quality and design Conscious Antwerp was transformed from dream to reality.
Our mission is to deliver beautiful, high-quality and timeless items with a luxurious yet casual appearance, which you can wear with proud and without guilt!
We deliver this promise by producing locally and with a sustainable use of materials. The reason we chose this more costly manner is because we consciously want to produce fair clothing with a minimal CO2 impact. Now you know that your clothing is not only unique in design but also in value. 😉
Our vision is to become big by staying small, so we don’t do any harm.
Our mission and vision tell our values, but they also determine the external features of our clothing such as shape, color, texture and dimension. The pieces are unique in appearance due to the combination of the leftover materials and the simplicity and longevity of the designs.
‘Only great minds can afford simple style’
Rijnkaai 20 bus1 Antwerp 2000 Belgium
Howlin’
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ABOUT
We are an Antwerp based knitwear brand.
Since 1981 we have been producing quality knitwear in Scotland and in 2009 we launched our new label Howlin’ (scottish slang for smelly). The way of manufacturing remains traditional but Howlin’ offers more room for fantasy in shape and pattern.
At Howlin’ we strive for timeless, playful products that are made with care. So whether it is a scarf or a shaggy waistcoat; all our products are individually manufactured and hand finished by traditionally skilled craftsmen in either Scotland, Ireland or Belgium using the highest quality yarns possible.
Small is beautiful.
MADE IN SCOTLAND
Scotland has a long history of producing the best knitwear in the world and we are happy to be involved in it for over 30 years.
Since the start of Howlin’ our goal was to bring a fresh somewhat twisted approach to Scottish knitwear while respecting its rich heritage. Keeping the best of the old techniques and mix it with new technology, patterns, colors and ideas.
In an ever faster and more automated economy we are happy to slow things down and have our focus on well made products. It’s a niche, we know, but we like niche products, a lot. Just like a small record label doing hand stamped 7 inches with personal liner notes. It’s the beauty in the details.
Each Howlin’ garment is handled individually and tenderly, throughout its entire production, from the first precise stitch to the delicate pressing and folding.
All our yarns are carefully sourced according to their quality and sustainability standards. Our beloved planet earth has a special place in our heart and we think it’s the best planet out there (as far as we know) so we want to have the lowest impact on it as possible.
Our natural yarns come from local mills, some even complete all the stages of yarn production under one roof. This includes grading, scouring and dyeing fleece before colour blending, carding, spinning, twisting and balling to produce this unique 100% pure Shetland yarn.
A quality which is often imitated but never duplicated.
MADE IN IRELAND
Over the years we have been working closely with a small Irish family run company established centuries ago.
Together with these master crafts people we produce the highest quality knitwear with local Irish yarns.
We have to admit, at first we got strange looks when we came up with our ideas but that changed over the years, now it’s simply that classic smile when they see a new Howlin’ design.
We are very happy to contribute to this unique art and craft which is not only beautiful but also important culturally to remain alive.
Producing in Ireland (and Scotland, and Belgium) not only means you have a truly unique product in your hand, it also means that the people making your goods are well paid and looked after.
MADE IN BELGIUM
Next to our Scottish and Irish knitwear we are happy to create products in our home country Belgium.
Together with several small factories in Belgium, each carefully chosen for their own speciality, we managed to make a diverse range of products which include lighter weight knitwear, jersey and towel fabric garments.
Our goal was to create durable, functional and original products which far outlives seasonal trends.
All pieces are produced in small batches and with close attention to details.
Extra special is the fact that for our jersey we don’t import fabrics but that we knit everything entirely in-house.
Therefore we can proudly say that all our Howlin’ products are truly 100% produced in Belgium.
Nationalestraat 20 Antwerpen 2000 Belgium
Kopstraatje 3 2000 Antwerp Belgium
Isabelle Baines
Isabelle BainesMore Info
Isabelle Baines lives and works in Brussels. She graduated from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the costume design section under Mme. Mary Prijot, and worked for theatres in Brussels, Paris and Geneva. Prior to presenting her first knitwear collection in 1985, she worked for Ann Salens in Antwerp and M. Baron Industries in New York City. Isabelle Baines opened her first boutique in Brussels in 1986 and launched the knitting workshop in 2003.
Atelier
All Isabelle Baines designs are conceived and developed at her workshop in Brussels, where an artisanal, handcrafted approach reigns supreme.
For our limited-edition ‘Atelier Collection’, we use only the finest quality Italian merino wools, in a carefully chosen palette of colors. All our garments are knit, hand-sewn and finished by us at our workshop – right down to the buttonholes! Some sweaters, made of very fine threads, are produced under our personal supervision by a specialist family-run workshop in the Marche region of Italy. We’ve worked for them for years, and they understand our spirit and standards. Your Size, Your Color! Ask about having your sweater custom-made.
Sigi
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The Art of Knitting
Craftsmanship and experimentation define the culture of Sigi. We focus on creating new depths of colour and texture through the mixing of different yarns to present new and innovative designs that are instantly recognisable.
We have a deep respect and care for the knitwear we produce as well as the way in which we produce it. This is why we ensure that all of our knitwear is made in Belgium by real craftsmen and women under the best possible working conditions. These elements help define the culture we want to nurture with the Sigi brand.
Family
At SIGI we are proud of our family heritage with over 40 years of experience in the field of knitwear. Ilia Sigi Eckardt grew up in Antwerp in a very creative family where knitting was essential to the household. Being considered true experts in their field, mother Hilde Frunt and son Ilia Eckardt have been collaborating with Belgium’s best and brightest designers: Dries Van Noten, Raf Simons, Ann Demeulemeester and many more.
Made In Belgium
We do all our research, designing and development in our offices in the heart of Antwerp. Sourcing from our local pool of amazing talent is something we take great pride in. We have great faith in our local potential.
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Knitto is a Belgian company specialized in knitwear design founded by Nathalie Bouhana & David Sdika.They design knitwear for major brands in luxury and fashion as well as their own menswear and womenswear label,Chauncey.
rue des anciens etangs 40 Brussels 1190 Belgium