We know that only yesterday we revealed a little secret we'd been sitting on for many months - that we had started printing a limited run of our very first fabric - but now it's time for the Proper Big Secret that's been threatening to burst out for even longer...
*deep breathe*
We are going to start printing fabric on demand!
Sooo, what do we actually mean by this? Well, since we feel that if there is no limit to what clothes, accessories and homewares we can dream up and make, there should also be no limits on the fabric designs available either! As well as offering a tightly curated gallery of exclusive designs, working closely with and championing emerging designers and students, you guys will also be able to upload and print your very own, completely unique, custom fabrics. On top of all that, regular competitions will be held open to one and all, with the winning fabric design voted on by you.
We'll be using digital textile printers for the actual printing and getting some shiny new web development and an app in order to make it simple, easy and beautiful to create your own fabric. Digital textile printing is particularly wonderful for a few key reasons:
- Small minimum orders (hopefully we'll eventually be able to bring it right down to fat quarters)
- No limit to the amount of colours per design
- Minimal wastage of fabric
- We will be using eco friendly pigment inks
- We will be able to print right here in our London
It has been long in the planning and we are bursting at the seams (geddit...??? A sewing pun! Yes ok, that was some low-hanging fruit...) to get started. We've done an awful lot of research, scheming, general-putting-of-wheels-into-motion already and now we just need the ca$h monies to get the whole glorious masterplan off the ground properly. Which is why we have turned to the crowd funding wonder that is Kickstarter! We even made a little video to go with it, which hopefully explains it all properly AND, best of all, features some of our sewing pals and generally excellent women, Oona, Heather Lou and Roisin :)
Any way you can help is so so so appreciated, whether that be by actually pledging or by spreading the word far and wide or engaging in any general shouting-from-the-rooftops activity!
A gigantic virtual hug and thank you in advance for all of your support.
xxxxx
Charlotte, Elisalex and Victoria
PS
Our video was made by our very talented pal, Ben Walker - graphic designer, drummer, inventor, videographer and brilliant teller of embarrassing teenage memories. He also happens to be the brother of Anna, the (also super talented) illustrator who creates the fashion illustrations at the front of our packaging. He doesn't have a website just yet, but you can see other examples of his work here and here.
Comments on this post (22)
Hi this sounds like a fantastic idea and I would like to pledge a little (will have to be a small amount, but not that small, as I don’t have much money) amount but I don’t know how to? I have sources for getting my digital prints done as I would like to help the poorer countries. I think I could also make a lot of digital prints done cheaply such as India. I think I have a hopefully successful business idea in mind with my designs. I don’t want to say too much about my business plan on here as too many people read this page and I don’t want it to be plagiarised. Maybe I have already said too much. I would be interested in your sewing classes. I have a particular product in mind and may even expand to other products in the future but small steps first I think. I have no knowledge of sewing a pattern and too be honest it scares me a bit. I tried doing a sewing course a few years ago and hated it and was useless, but I am really keen on learning how to make this particular product which I am willing to share with you if you could kindly email me back and hopefully help me that would be great. Perhaps you could give me some insight and guidance on my own business idea. You have a very exciting enterprise and I would love to be involved in some way by using your facilities and pledging some money. I don’t mind if you don’t put up this message but please contact me.
Many thanks and good luck with your business project,
Dulcie.
— Dulcie Walton
Hi Carol,
At the moment we’re still on the fence regarding the sustainability of organic fabrics, mainly because of the sheer amount of water required… We are still looking into all possibilities however, and not only will we constantly strive to work as sustainably as possible, but also listen to our customer’s feedback and proceed accordingly.
Thanks for getting in touch!
xxx
— Elisalex - By Hand London
Will you have options for organic fabric please?
— Carol Dale
I have used Spoonflower and loved it but I love your get up and go even more (and the presumably quicker and cheaper shipping!!). Will pledge, use and blog! Thanks BHL ladies! Suze xxx
— Suze Jones
This is a brilliant idea, I’ve already pledged! Very best of luck :)
— JacqC
Hello ladies,
Just sent my pledge. I am a newbie at sewing garments and your patterns have inspired me to sew my own clothes ( four so far ). Absolutely beautiful!
You are a group of very talented ladies:)
Thank you for the inspiration and best of luck with you endeavor.
Sincerely,
Genevieve
— Genevieve
This is such a brilliant idea! You’ve all put so much thought into it and I love that it’s environmentally conscious as well as super stylish! Going by your gorgeous first fabric and how successful it is I’m sure this will be a huge success!
— Kathryn
What a brilliant idea!
Was just looking into where I could get small batches of self-designed fabric made.
Would love some home decor weight canvas cotton to become available too!
Good luck and very much looking forward to seeing this happen!
Jo
— Jo
Hi there Kathi,
A good set of questions!
In terms of which fabrics we’ll be using, we will be starting off slow and steady, to make sure we get everything just right. We’ll be starting with a medium weight cotton poplin, which can happily be used for a really wide range of applications. It’s the cotton poplin that we’ve printed our very first design on, the Eloise, which can be found on our site (currently sold out, but more on its way!).
From there, the idea is to keep listening and keep asking you guys what you want to see in the shop, as we eventually branch out into a whole range of (predominantly natural) wovens and knitted fabrics.
As far as cotton fabric production is concerned, it is nigh on impossible to make the manufacturing 100% eco friendly and sustainable – whether you use organic cotton or not. In fact, organic cotton is seen by some to be contentious because it often results in more water and more land being needed!
We will be using eco friendly pigment inks, which are kind to the skin and to the environment, plus mean less water is used in the printing process than traditional digital printing. We are also doing some experiments using a post treatment to make the designs colourfast and that would be a 100% natural solution.
Basically, wherever possible to be eco-friendly we will try our best!
Our cotton is sourced from a factory in India which has a good range of high profile clients and our contact is a good friend. Since we’ve just started printing our first design on this fabric, we want to see what everyone’s feedback is. If the feedback is positive and we therefore decide to continue using this factory’s cotton, then we will go over and visit personally, to double check that conditions are up to standard.
x
— Charlotte Hintzen
Hi LIeke, at the moment Kickstarter does not support Paypal, but any debit card should work fine if you don’t have a credit card. Thank you so much for wanting to support us! xxx
— Elisalex - By Hand London
This is so exciting! I am so not artistic and wouldn’t have a clue where to start with textile design, but am backing you nonetheless. Have donated (not much, sorry but I’m going on Mat leave soon…) and also spread the word via my blog! I hope you make your target, ladies!
Http://grosgraingreen.blogspot.co.uk
— Helen
This is such a fab idea ladies! I wish you all the best and look forward to using the service in the future!
— Tamsinwp
Cool! It is a great idea! I would love pledge but I don’t have a credit card. Is it possible to pledge by using paypal one way or anonther?
— Lieke // A Bouquet of Buttons
Just backed this amazing project, good luck girls x Sarah
— Sarah Boyd
Wow, this is an amazing idea! The number of times I get frustrated that I can’t find ‘just’ the right fabric! I’ll so excited!
— Katy
yeah! just backed this great project and look forward to using it in the future! well done ladies!
— Christine
Ham sandwiches! This is fantastic!!! I’m behind you 110%!!
— Sarah
This is A-mazing! I’ve becoming increasingly frustrated trying to track down fabric designs for my projects. I will pledge! Girls, you are superstars!
— Amber
So exciting! I’ve been looking for something like this in the UK. I love the Spoonflower site, but not the import duty and shipping costs, so someone in the UK doing something similar would be fantastic.
— Lindsay
Did it!
— Linda
Hi,
do you already know what kind of fabric you’ll use and whether it will be eco-friendly as well and fair?
best
Kathi
— Kathi
That is so awesome!!!!!!!!!!! I know we don’t know each other, but I am so excited for your brand.
— Christina