LDNER #136 JADE HARWOOD

LDNER Jade LOTI

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some rock n wool into the world of knitting and giving it a good shake up, Wool and the Gang make what was a drab past time for old timers into a sexy, fashion focused brand that is inspiring a new generation. This weeks LDNER is Co-Founder and Creative Director Jade Harwood who is here to tell why knitting is the new yoga!

Tell us where you live in London and what you love about that area?

I live in the Hoxton/Shoreditch area in East London with a pal. It’s a great area to live in because there’s always something going on, loads of live music, markets, art and a dense population of restaurants including many of my favourite type of food, Vietnamese, as well as bars. I actually live on a main road and enjoy hearing all the hustle of the street noise.

How did you start Wool & the Gang?

Aurelie and I had already become great friends on our Textile Design course at Central St. Martin’s and then worked together at Balmain and Alexander McQueen. We then met Lisa Sabrier, our other cofounder and WATG muse. We all bonded over our love for wool, knitwear and how we wished there was a cool knitting brand out there that made knitting easy and fun.

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You’ve kind of made knitting a bit rock n roll…what’s the most rock n wool thing WATG have ever done?

It would have to be the partnership with Giles Deacon… It was just brilliant and really felt like all the stars aligned. They approached us last year to make some knitwear for their collection and, of course, we said hell yes. It tested our just-in-time production model to the max, as we produced 250 hats, three oversized jumper dresses and a handful of long scarves…all handknitted within a matter of weeks. We loved Giles’ playful style already and then to see WATG produce on the catwalk was just crazy. As a cherry on the cake our GilesxWATG ‘EEK Hat’ was worn by Cara Delevigne as she made social media history by filming herself walking down the runway for instagram.

There’s all sorts of cool stuff on your site, walk us through it…

Thanks! We’ve just released our Larry and Steve Laptop and Tablet Cases…as in Larry Page and Steve Jobs, geddit!. We’ve got loads going on around customisation and personalisation this Christmas period, gold or silver embossing on the leather parts of the Larry and Steve cases, fun pins to decorate your knits and a monogram embroidery initial for your hats. And, we’ve been rolling out our Knit Parties for beginners so that they’re now happening all over the US and UK, whoop!

WHOOP indeed. So what is on the Wool and the Gang’s playlist?

Ummm, basically music to get down to! Little bit of dad music and some 80s with a pinch of 90s / early 2 thous nostalgia thrown in.

AND finally, what would be your perfect day in London?

Startup life is fun and exhilarating, however, it can be a bit of a wild ride! So, perfect days are all about pure, indulgent relaxation. A little bit of culture with a morning gallery visit (personal favourite is the Barbican Curve), followed by a rush-free wander around a market like Broadway Market to find some great portable snacks and then hanging with pals for coffee and / or beers (I highly recommend the low-key, old school Approach Tavern in Bethnal Green) for the rest of the afternoon. For the evening, probably grabbing a delicious meal from one of the many great Vietnamese restaurants near mine and back home for a Netflix Disney binge (ssssshhhhh!).

www.woolandthegang.com

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