Celebrating 10 years of Collingwood-Norris!
My first collection of scarves. I started with just six colours and this style only back in May 2016.
When I started Collingwood-Norris 10 years ago I wanted to create a business with a difference:
· I wanted to create a business based on hope for a better future. Hope for a better fashion industry. Hope for a healthier planet.
· I wanted to create a business that could benefit people and the planet. I didn’t want to contribute to the negative sides of the fashion industry (exploiting people, natural resources, creating lots of plastics and loads of waste).
· Instead of making things that would only be worn for one season, I wanted to make pieces that could be worn for years, over and over. Quality over quantity.
· Instead of using synthetic fibres that won’t biodegrade and will release microplastics every time they’re washed, I wanted to use natural fibres, particularly wool. Wool is renewable, biodegradable, breathable, doesn’t need to be washed often and will last for years with good care! I also love how it can feel and how it looks.
· I wanted to help people make their clothes last, instead of always discarding and buying new. Through teaching visible mending skills, sharing care tips, and by offering a visible mending service.
· Instead of overseas manufacturing, which could easily involve exploiting poor or non-existent working regulations somewhere else, I wanted to champion craftsmanship here in Scotland.
· I wanted to educate my customers, and the wider public, by sharing the work that goes into making something, so they value the craftsmanship, skills and understand the value of these handmade designs.
· I wanted to make quiet luxury pieces with the idea that you can elevate every day by wearing something that feels great. A feel-good, do-good sort of thing.
I’m not saying I’ve achieved perfection in every area yet, but I’m certainly doing my best! There’s always room for improvement, and I do try to improve wherever I can, wherever I can.
Knitting in my home studio 2018 I think
Knitting in my new studio!
Celebrating 10 years is a big deal as a small business. It feels like no time at all and a lifetime at the same time.
In fact, I’ve learned not to call myself a small business, as a small business is characterised as having up to 50 employees, and that seems pretty huge to me. Collingwood-Norris a micro business.
There are so many things I’ve had to learn as I go, particularly as I come from a design background, and have no business qualifications.
When I started Collingwood-Norris, I thought that I’d spend most of my time making.
It turns out that’s not how it works! As well as making, I have to do admin (my least favourite part of the job I think), social media and marketing, managing the website, packing orders (always very grateful for this part), blogs etc.
A pile of lambswool scarves in the studio (now discontinued)
One of my new zero waste merino scarves, with new fingerless gloves
Earlier this year I was asked if I could share some of the challenges I’ve faced on my creative path. There are many challenges, but there are also lots of highs to running your own business, so I’ll share both. It doesn’t seem fair to have one without the other.
Some highs of my 10 years of Collingwood-Norris:
· My customers- YOU! I have some really wonderful customers who send me lovely emails, or messages on social media, and even the occasional postcard! It is still a huge thrill when someone buys one of my designs, and its particularly wonderful to see them being worn, or to be shown repairs you’ve done thanks to a workshop or my book! I could not do this without you. The messages telling me how you wear your scarf, or what you’ve enjoyed are really what keep me going sometimes.
· Self-publishing my book, “Visible Creative Mending for Knitwear”.
· I can choose how I run my business. That may sound obvious, but it means I can make decisions based on my values rather than the "this is how it's done" advice I've been given over the years.
For example, I choose not to sell my book through Amazon. Nothing about Amazon aligns with my values. I'm not stocked in bookshops either (rather yarn shops instead), as bookshops all seem to buy through one big distributor. This distributor would not give me a say on, or tell me, who they sold my book to. I decided I couldn't risk that as it would probably result in the book being sold on Amazon. (Amazon list my book anyway as "no longer available", which confirms everything I think of them)!
I know it means I'll sell fewer books, but I'm ok with that. It feels really powerful to opt out.
· Teaching so many people to mend. I know some people I’ve taught are teaching their own mending workshops, and/or using my book to teach in workshops too.
· My work being pictured in a Vogue article about mending. Really all the articles I’ve been featured in- Country Living, Financial Times (as one of “The world’s best repair shops”)
· Helping the students who’ve worked for me over the years through their studies.
· Getting to a stage where I’ve moved out of my home studio (much as I miss working from home), which has allowed me to start hosting small group workshops in my studio. I love being able to create a workshop experience I would want to experience myself, and provide the best learning experience I can.
· Just getting to 10 years is a massive high in itself! Thank you for being here- it means the world to me.
Linking a blanket scarf in my new studio!
Hosting a visible mending workshop in my studio
One of the visible mending case studies in my book
Some of the challenges of small business life:
It’s important to note that I share these for the sake of transparency/ reality, but I do not want these to be perceived as whinging or complaining!
· This may also be the obvious one, but it's the big one: income. Having been self-employed all my life, my income has always been a huge source of stress.
Before I started Collingwood-Norris, my freelance work came and went, "feast or famine" is definitely a good way of describing it. I would go from working every waking minute, to having nothing for weeks, sometimes months.
Having an unstable income comes with all the stress you'd expect- paying bills, not feeling able to take time off, wondering if maybe I have to look for a “proper job”. I was lucky as I used to rent from my Dad, so at least I had the safety net of knowing I wouldn’t be made homeless if the worst happened.
The first few years of Collingwood-Norris were extremely lean, and I would have had to close in 2020, but the shift towards mending and the pandemic saved me. It’s still a very seasonal business and I often spend summers having to hope that sales will come in the winter while trying not to panic! I’m trying to get better at enjoying my quieter schedule in spring when I have more time to be creative and time working in my garden.
· I almost constantly think about work, and it’s very hard to switch off.
· I work a LOT. Sometimes (at busier times of year like Autumn/ Winter) I can’t remember when I last had a day off. It makes it hard to have a life, to have hobbies, to stay healthy.
· Brexit. It separated the UK from the EU, and it’s been such a nightmare. The same goes for Trump and his tariffs.
· Any order that goes missing in the post (which is admittedly very rare). Postal systems are normally great, and I have the best posties, but in those rare times when something goes wrong, I find that incredibly stressful. Royal Mail’s strike action over Christmas a few years ago, followed by a cyber attack which affected international orders very nearly broke me from stress. I still don’t think I’ve recovered, and Christmas post now gives me the fear. My customers were incredibly nice about it all!
· I’ve built a business that has relied on social media. That no longer seems to work for me, and the changes in algorithms have had a hugely negative impact on my business. I’ve started to find social media really stressful and it makes me quite anxious these days.
· I don’t get as much time as I’d like being creative or making. Which is a huge surprise really as you’d think a creative business would be creative! But I don’t find that to be especially true, as it takes a lot of work or run and maintain the business as it is. I’m working on this!
Rosehip red stole, with matching fingerless gloves
A merino scarf made using industry waste yarn
There have always been people who’ve told me I can’t pay interns, or that I should be selling this or that, or my branding should be x, y or z. There’s always someone to tell you how it “should” be done.
What I’ve learnt is that it’s important to do things my way, run my business according to my values, make my own decisions. I’ve learnt it can feel great to say no to some things, or to wait if a decision doesn’t feel quite right.
I’ve also learnt that you definitely can't afford be a pessimist when you're self-employed- relentless optimism is key! I think applying this to the world we want to see is also the way to go. We have to imagine and believe that things will work out. That we can and do make a difference.
A discontinued intarsia scarf. These designs were made for me locally.
How am I celebrating Collingwood-Norris turning 10?
Firstly, Collingwood-Norris has just had a brand re-fresh, as a way to celebrate 10 years in business.
I have a new logo suite and a new website design, designed by the wonderful Amy of Elliot + Miskelly. Until now I’ve never had a logo as such, and I’ve always designed my website myself.
Amy has used the darning needle as a starting point for my new logo suite, with interwoven darning needles for my brand mark, and a custom alphabet with little needle eyes in some of the letters! I love it, and I hope you do too!
The website has a new look without moving anything around particularly, and I can now go back to adjusting it and editing it if and when I need to.
Beyond this, I’m still working out how I want to mark the milestone. I’ll be giving an online talk to share my career to date (including my freelance work), stories of visible mending and with a Q&A afterwards as a way to share some of my highlights. Your chance to ask me anything!
New branding- with brand mark and custom alphabet inspired by darning needles!
A few personal favourite products from the 10 years:
The discontinued Lismore blanket scarf that I still wear 10 years on!
New beanies- more comfortable, same warmth! I’m obsessed with this burnt orange.
· Blanket scarves: All of them, but the now discontinued Lismore blanket scarf is one I’ve now been wearing for 10 years. It’s been on many adventures with me!
· My book, and I think my biggest achievement. I loved making it, and I’m really proud of it. As someone who spent her teens teaching herself new skills from books, creating my own, in just the way I wanted is a big deal. It was also the biggest risk I’ve ever taken!
· Beanies- I wear them all the time in winter, and sometimes in summer (I do live in Scotland after all!). This years beanies are slightly different from the originals, and I think they’re a lot more comfortable to wear.
One of my hand intarsia scarves- a personal favourite! (discontinued)
· My hand intarsia scarf. An experiment that didn’t really work (it was expensive!). But a beautiful product all the same. Thankfully I have one for myself!
One of my discontinued sweaters, modelled by my dad
Another discontinued sweater, paired with one of my silk scarves
· Sweaters- I loved the sweaters I used to make/ have made for me, but for a few reasons decided to stop them. As someone who’s fully aware that we don’t really need any new clothing in the world, I often feel very conflicted about making anything new. I’m a small drop in the ocean compared to the wider fashion industry, but I decided I’d rather help you care for the sweaters you already own than continue to make new ones. I do still make the odd one for myself though!
· Darning workshops -I love teaching people to mend, and darning in particular, as there are so many ways you can be creative with it! Online or in person, I thoroughly enjoy sharing my skills with you.
Learning in progress at one of my two day visible mending workshops held in my studio
What comes next?
At the moment, I crave time away from social media (which I’m not managing especially well), and more time being creative without the pressure of monetising that. I’m starting with a bit more time off in my quiet season, with more time in my garden and a bit of time exploring English paper pieceing patchwork, which I’m hugely enjoying at the moment.
My aim is for Collingwood-Norris to be part of a shift in attitudes towards clothing and waste. I want to help empower you to mend your clothes and keep them for longer. First repair clothes, then political systems right?! I hope to find way to create meaningful connections with other people. I hope to welcome more people to my studio to learn to mend knitwear, to connect to their clothes and to each other as part of that.
I may slowly phase all knitwear out of the business, or not- as a maker I rather like it! And for now there will be more pieces made using pre-consumer waste yarns, helping reduce waste while making something beautiful and useful.
This year I’m reminding myself that small actions can spark meaningful change.
I still have hope for a better future, and I’m still working towards that!