Ambition, Adorning & Amy.

Amy Lawrence / Photography by Holly Booth

prototype magazine spoke to Amy, of Amy Lawrence Designs about adorning necks throughout the U.K, and her love of animal videos on Youtube.

Amy, why did you begin Amy Lawrence Designs?

Starting my own line and working for myself is something I wanted to do for as long as I can remember, and since becoming a freelancer I finally found the confidence to show and sell my work. I’ve been creating knitted fabrics to sell to designers and high street stores for a few years now, so I started my own brand to so I could make something which showed my own personality and style.

Tell us about Amy Lawrence Designs in 3 words.

Evolving, Unpredictable, Consuming.

Tell us about the typical process of creating one of your pieces? How long does it take?

Once I have my final designs, creating them is a fairly straightforward process.
I start by knitting the main fabric and any trims needed, finish the edges and put it all together using the linker, and then steaming into shape. Then I fix on the metal clasps and jewellery findings to complete the piece. Depending on the complexity, they could take an hour up to a day to finish.
The designing of the pieces is the part that takes time, and it’s the part I love the most! I usually have a vague idea in my head of what I’d like to create, so I jump on the machine and get experimenting. I play about with scale, colour variations, layering and stitch techniques. Sometimes a sample can completely surprise you and look nothing like you imagined, sparking off even more ideas!
Once I have a selection of designs that I’m interested in, I start developing those samples and refine them into the final pieces for my collection.

Who’s work has been an inspiration to you?

Like most creative minded people, I find inspiration from so many places it’s hard to just mention a few! My biggest inspirations come from traditional techniques such as origami, to geometry, beautiful symmetry found in natural forms, and for my upcoming collection I’m looking into traditional basketry.
Some of my favourite knitters who inspire me with there amazing talents are Sandra Buckland, Motohiro Tanji and Brooke Roberts.

Tell us about yourself…

I been living in Rossendale for the last 6 months and I love it! Up North is definitely the place for me.
I’m 27, but some days I feel 15, other days I feel 50. I have an amazing family who have always supported anything I’ve wanted to do, and meeting my boyfriend two years ago is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
If I could only do one thing for the rest of my life I’d like to say machine knitting, but it would probably be watching animal clips on YouTube.

What has been the piece you have been most proud of to date?

My most successful piece is the Bright Coral Butterfly from my first S/S collection. I was surprised and excited to see Etsy had used it for their Facebook advertising over Christmas, which gave me a great boost in sales and confidence. So you could say I’m proud of that little man.

Amy Lawrence Designs / Photography by Holly Booth

Who are your designs created for?

Without trying to sound utterly selfish, my designs are completely created for me! I have to keep things very simple in my head, so if I design for myself, I don’t have the worry about what other people think. I’ve had customers ranging from early teens to ladies in there 80’s, so I think my work appeals to people in different ways, which I put down to the craft itself.

Where can we buy your designs?

My work is available online from my Etsy shop – Amy Lawrence Designs, and from some beautiful brick and mortar stores around the country including Landbaby in Liverpool, MoonKo at  Bird’s Yard Sheffield, Black Box in Edinburgh and The Shop of Interest in Glasgow.

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http://www.amylawrencedesigns.co.uk/

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To have your work featured on our blog please e-mail submit@prototype-mag.co.uk
Pre-order the Enchantment issue here.

Interviewed by Laura Allen
Photography by Holly Booth