"Painting with wool" - How it all began...
Designer-maker Corinne Carr sits in front of her Brother 950i machine, cones of lambswool feeding into the carriage below which a brightly coloured jumper emerges. She is reminiscing about her first foray into the craft of machine knitting.
“My first knitting machine was borrowed from a friend,” she explains. “Our home was an old Cornish cottage, more or less derelict, that had partly been used as a barn prior to our moving in. There was no running water and no mains electricity for ages, so for a long time I had only an ancient Singer sewing machine with a black cast iron treadle.” This rural Cornish life she had chosen was a far cry from her upbringing in central Paris, having been born and raised near the Trocadero and studying literature at the Sorbonne. But it was a wonderful time, even though there was not much money as she was at home with two young boys and the house needed so much improvement. A close friend offered to lend her a knitting machine - she accepted gratefully and immediately set about making jumpers for her family. “Knitting machines were new on the market from Japan. Home knitting offered an amazing new possibility for a lot of women in rural England – a wonderful way to combine motherhood, financial independence and the fulfilment of making your own clothing.”
She never really considered making a serious business out of it until a chance encounter changed everything. “I was in Truro one day with my two sons and a boutique owner called Prudence Denby complemented me on my jumper. When she realised I had designed and knitted it myself, she asked me if I would make a few for her boutique and suggested I should try selling to galleries.” What began as the opportunity to make a little money on the side was to grow into a thriving business for Corinne.
After a few years, renovations had progressed on their cottage and Corinne was finally able to have a room of her own. Up until then, she had sewed and knitted in the couple’s bedroom. “My studio was a wonderful luxury. It had a lovely little window with a view of the moors and a big skylight. The skylight was incredibly important in my development as a designer, because Cornish cottages are very dark with low ceilings and small windows, but with the abundance of light in my studio I was suddenly able to see all the colours of my wools on the shelves in all their splendour. This had a magical effect on my ability to play around with colour, juxtaposing different shades and blending to make new tones. I discovered fairisle which was a revelation.” Without realizing it, the view of Zennor moor through her little window started to filter into her designs and her knitwear began to strongly reflect the beauty of the changing seasons in the Cornish landscape.
As more galleries became interested in her jumpers, scarves, hats and felted accessories, Corinne began to develop relationships with Scottish spinning mills. The more she explored colour the better she felt able to ‘paint with the wool’. “Shades of wool are very different on the continent compared with Scotland,” she explains. “The French are especially strong with primary colours, the Italians excel at the ‘sludgy’, earthy shades – olivey greens and stone colours. But nothing can equal the subtlety of the colours that have evolved over centuries at the hands of skilled Scottish spinners and dyers in the mountains, highlands and near the moors covered with heather. These shades are so perfectly adapted to knitwear.”
More space in her own studio also meant another knitting machine - electronic as opposed to the older, basic punch-card model. The electronic knitting machine allowed more flexibility with design and Corinne moved away from Fairisle and on to more intricate and complex designs, introducing some of her very striking trademark Ikats with geometric shapes inspired by ethnic fabrics.
Gradually as her business expanded, her talent came to the attention of well-known designer, Harvey Rothschild, who commissioned her to work as a freelance designer on his knitwear ranges. Corinne was integral to the process which resulted in international recognition for Harvey Rothschild. The experience of that creative venture has had a huge impact on her own craft, giving her confidence in the uniqueness of her design skills and leading her to experiment further with colour and shapes.
Since 2010, Corinne has worked in a new and very different space. She has opened a gallery where her knitwear collection resides alongside an inspiring offering of paintings, sculpture, jewellery, glass and wood work and ceramics.
She finds that the main benefits of having a studio in a gallery is the interaction with customers. “Before I was in my little studio with the nearest neighbour half a mile down the road. I was knitting the shapes I wanted to wear, based on what was missing in my own wardrobe and for my own body shape. Designing was quite an abstract process. Now, I see women of all shapes and sizes trying on my knitwear all day long. I see what works and what doesn’t and I can tweak my designs accordingly. I see beyond my own colour preferences to what might look stunning on a blond or beautiful against a darker skin. And I get feedback direct from customers - what they like, what they would prefer - and I can feed that back into my designs.”
Her new studio, near St Ives, has the most breathtaking view of the moors of Penwith. Not surprisingly, the spools of wool behind her on the shelves as she works away at her knitting machine are the mirror image of what she sees through the two large picture windows before her.
“My first knitting machine was borrowed from a friend,” she explains. “Our home was an old Cornish cottage, more or less derelict, that had partly been used as a barn prior to our moving in. There was no running water and no mains electricity for ages, so for a long time I had only an ancient Singer sewing machine with a black cast iron treadle.” This rural Cornish life she had chosen was a far cry from her upbringing in central Paris, having been born and raised near the Trocadero and studying literature at the Sorbonne. But it was a wonderful time, even though there was not much money as she was at home with two young boys and the house needed so much improvement. A close friend offered to lend her a knitting machine - she accepted gratefully and immediately set about making jumpers for her family. “Knitting machines were new on the market from Japan. Home knitting offered an amazing new possibility for a lot of women in rural England – a wonderful way to combine motherhood, financial independence and the fulfilment of making your own clothing.”
She never really considered making a serious business out of it until a chance encounter changed everything. “I was in Truro one day with my two sons and a boutique owner called Prudence Denby complemented me on my jumper. When she realised I had designed and knitted it myself, she asked me if I would make a few for her boutique and suggested I should try selling to galleries.” What began as the opportunity to make a little money on the side was to grow into a thriving business for Corinne.
After a few years, renovations had progressed on their cottage and Corinne was finally able to have a room of her own. Up until then, she had sewed and knitted in the couple’s bedroom. “My studio was a wonderful luxury. It had a lovely little window with a view of the moors and a big skylight. The skylight was incredibly important in my development as a designer, because Cornish cottages are very dark with low ceilings and small windows, but with the abundance of light in my studio I was suddenly able to see all the colours of my wools on the shelves in all their splendour. This had a magical effect on my ability to play around with colour, juxtaposing different shades and blending to make new tones. I discovered fairisle which was a revelation.” Without realizing it, the view of Zennor moor through her little window started to filter into her designs and her knitwear began to strongly reflect the beauty of the changing seasons in the Cornish landscape.
As more galleries became interested in her jumpers, scarves, hats and felted accessories, Corinne began to develop relationships with Scottish spinning mills. The more she explored colour the better she felt able to ‘paint with the wool’. “Shades of wool are very different on the continent compared with Scotland,” she explains. “The French are especially strong with primary colours, the Italians excel at the ‘sludgy’, earthy shades – olivey greens and stone colours. But nothing can equal the subtlety of the colours that have evolved over centuries at the hands of skilled Scottish spinners and dyers in the mountains, highlands and near the moors covered with heather. These shades are so perfectly adapted to knitwear.”
More space in her own studio also meant another knitting machine - electronic as opposed to the older, basic punch-card model. The electronic knitting machine allowed more flexibility with design and Corinne moved away from Fairisle and on to more intricate and complex designs, introducing some of her very striking trademark Ikats with geometric shapes inspired by ethnic fabrics.
Gradually as her business expanded, her talent came to the attention of well-known designer, Harvey Rothschild, who commissioned her to work as a freelance designer on his knitwear ranges. Corinne was integral to the process which resulted in international recognition for Harvey Rothschild. The experience of that creative venture has had a huge impact on her own craft, giving her confidence in the uniqueness of her design skills and leading her to experiment further with colour and shapes.
Since 2010, Corinne has worked in a new and very different space. She has opened a gallery where her knitwear collection resides alongside an inspiring offering of paintings, sculpture, jewellery, glass and wood work and ceramics.
She finds that the main benefits of having a studio in a gallery is the interaction with customers. “Before I was in my little studio with the nearest neighbour half a mile down the road. I was knitting the shapes I wanted to wear, based on what was missing in my own wardrobe and for my own body shape. Designing was quite an abstract process. Now, I see women of all shapes and sizes trying on my knitwear all day long. I see what works and what doesn’t and I can tweak my designs accordingly. I see beyond my own colour preferences to what might look stunning on a blond or beautiful against a darker skin. And I get feedback direct from customers - what they like, what they would prefer - and I can feed that back into my designs.”
Her new studio, near St Ives, has the most breathtaking view of the moors of Penwith. Not surprisingly, the spools of wool behind her on the shelves as she works away at her knitting machine are the mirror image of what she sees through the two large picture windows before her.