Design process: The Venice Collection

Updated: Jul 7, 2021

A peek into my steps designing the new winter accessories collection.

My design process is quite complex and include various steps. Usually I explore places, events and exhibitions as my starting point. Again, this isn’t a necessary a setting stone. It can depend on my mood and emotions too, for example I might see something on telly or out and about on the street and this something can spark up a thought process which then I follow up and research.

This time for instance I was looking through old photos of myself and came across a picture taken in Saint Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy when I was around 12 years old and thought that I would love to revisit Venice again especially around the Carnival season. After this thought I was on a mission.

I was so excited when the time of the trip came!

On the first day we’ve explored Venice by night as we’ve arrived in the afternoon that day.

The second day we went to the glass making town, Murano. I loved wandering around this glass island, exploring the narrow streets and getting a taste of the everyday life here, and finding so many quirky architectural details: doorknobs, house numbers, colour and textures on the houses.

Venetian house numbers

quirky knockers

On our last day we’ve explored Venice and pretty much got lost in its beauty.

Overall, I was extremely inspired by this colourful, quirky city and love the Mediterranean romantic colours which inspired this collection. I love colour, so this place was the perfect place for collecting beautiful imagery and to feel creative.

Glass blowing in Murano

Vibrant Venice

After uploading my images, I started on my moodboard right away. I knew what colours I wanted to choose this time and started to pair them up with each other, making sure they will go together. In the end I settled on the following colours:

The Venice Collection moodboard

As soon as I received my new yarns (this is a very exciting time for me when I receive new yarns) I started on the sampling. I usually try out the colour combinations on the machine and when all the samples are done that I had in mind, I take a look at them collectively and select the “Yes” pile and separate it from the definite “No”. I keep the discarded samples and archive them, even though I don’t want to use them now it’s nice to keep them for a reference. I often reflect on old and archived work as it might give me a new idea and an area to improve.

For all scarves, snoods, mittens and hats I have the same calculations as they are all one size, however I do have to keep in mind the areas where the colour changes or the pattern comes in. For example, a plain knit area will come out slightly bigger and longer after washing, whereas the signature small checks could be slightly smaller, which can alter the overall length of the scarf.

the sampling process

Overall I really enjoyed my time in Venice!

See you all next time, thank you for reading.

**You can also leave me comments if you have some suggestions for my upcoming blogs. Is there anything you'd like to know more about? Ask away!