The North Circular

I'm sure I'm late on this one, but I'm kind of excited about The North Circular. Do check it out!
 
Lily Cole is heading a group of models and knitters in a really interesting, if not a bit nostalgic, business collaboration.

The North Circular has rescued some Wensleydales, keep a tally on each garment's tag to let you know how many sheep they've saved, and briefly introduce you to Ernest, the shepherd for those Wensleydales in Yorkshire. The knitters are "...grannies, girls. …and a few strong men..." but I promise, the folks at The North Circular are really mostly focused on the "grannies".

Granted, the focus comes out of a respect for the craft and for the beautiful knit work that Lily's own grandmother has done, as well as including the consumer in essentially every moment of the process from sheep to garment, I still feel a tiny bit left out.

As I knitter, I simultaneously love the concept and hope people buy, as well as knowing I probably won't buy the items myself. I'm hoping people buy hand knits from me, so it seems ironic if I'm buying hand knits. I don't really need to get to know my knitter: I already know mine.

That said, look at the goodies!

Bobble Hat

Skip the 'For Kids' and 'Ready to Wear' sections and just check out the accessories. These are lovely knits for the non-knitter, and lovely pictures for the knitter. Check out the extra thumbnails and you can figure out the construction pretty easily. It's not ground-breaking design, but the concept is fantastic. If you aren't a knitter and you care about the earth, I'd say go for it!


By the by, The North Circular is participating in Prince Charles' Campaign for Wool: a program to support the woolen industry. There are some great companies supporting this initiative like Pringle of Scotland (always a winner), Happy Socks (love love love!), Elizabeth Lau (who designs some knitwear for anthropologie - not a supporter, but they're still fabulous), The Wool Room (lovely lovely woolies for your home - I'll be buying from them soon) just to name a very very very small few.

Check out the Campaign for Wool website - it's aesthetically pleasing and concise - and then check out the brand supporters and make your retail therapy a little bit greener.