Over at the Romaria Headquarters, we've spent the month of January brainstorming, goal setting and cooking up new ideas. We list the goodies and the baddies and we crunch down on each element to figure out better and more sustainable ways of weaving forward.
The phrase "stick to the knitting" quite literally popped up a few times. It is an English phrase that means to focus on a familiar area of activity rather than diversify, to become an expert in your craft by means of repetition as opposed to a 'jack of all trades and master of none'.
This has been our golden thread of 2022 which we are weaving through into 2023.
Let's look back to a few memorable moments where we've encountered this simplistic mindset;
Bevan is a South African artist and printmaker. He sometimes contradicts the perceptions of a typical artist. He is meticulous and his studio is spotless. He works on experimenting with papermaking and different printing techniques which are not only breathtaking to observe, it also sparks genuine joy and pride.
Our girl squad attended a printmaking workshop hosted by Bevan where we had the privilege of expressing our own artistic ways under the lead of the printmaker himself.
We left (a bit tipsy) with happy hearts, our own prints and overwhelming respect of Bevan's commitment to his craft. He is a trooper who sticks to his knitting in a praiseworthy manner by means of extraordinary discipline and dedication.
📆 His first solo exhibition for the year is taking place at Gallery 2, opening on Saturday, 4 February until 11 March 2023.
View our collaborative collection over here.
Carla & I reunited in Portugal in October 2022 for a work and play trip. Our international business is growing and we've been exploring various ways of managing this challenging new venture.
The textile industry in Portugal is considered to be the strongest in all of Europe due to exquisite craftsmanship and high quality. We had to check it out, and oh boy, our minds were blown!
It was important for us to see and learn how knitwear is produced in a first world country. The business model of this specific factory was music to our ears; they produce in small batches using a specialist, very manual technique named 'linking' which sets them apart from mainstream manufacturers.
The owner showed us his work with an immense sense of pride derived from decades of experience. Even though we were seriously impressed with how they roll, we were also humbly complimented on our collection from a man who knows his stuff (they produce for BIG worldwide brands). There is always room for improvement and that is why we continuously choose to align with partners who add their own magic.
For now, we are happy with our process and our product. It was an honour to receive the international stamp of approval. :)
Our awe of Kleine Rijke is not new but it never seems to fade. We've hosted our third birthday party at this incredible venue last year. It still gives us all the feels when we look back to the beautiful moments captured on this day.
The location paired with the craftsmanship of the structure immediately transports you to a different world, to the playground of Jasmyn and David Krynauw. David is a world-renowned furniture designer and Jasmyn is an art director and multidisciplinary creative. Let us not forget to mention that the girl can cook. :)
They are the powerful duo behind Kleine Rijke which feels like a slice of heaven.
David's signature woodworking style is evident throughout the venue, from the architecture to his furniture pieces and the one is as desirable as the other.
We shot out to their office pod on a Friday in January for an out of the ordinary work sesh, followed by a farm-to-table lunch and an afternoon spent on the farm harvesting our own herbs and veggies to take away for the weekend. It felt like we took a bit of their creative souls back home with us.
🧣 Our collection is available to shop at the Kleine Rijke product shop.
The golden thread of the above encounters is the feeling of excellence that lingers after each experience. A magical memory of unpretentious joy sparked by the people who have decided to 'stick to their knitting'. It reminds me of two sayings; "an artist is not paid for his labour but for his vision" and "an artist cannot separate himself from his work because he is his work".
We relate to this because creating from the heart is what we do.
Zydia
xxx