I opened up LinkedIn last week to find this brilliant article about my business. This really does sum up what I’ve done in the past year and I share it here with you as a synopsis of our journey. What a journey it has been; thank you for joining us. Please join us at Kathy Kyle Studio to learn more about my pivot as an entrepreneur.

I’ve recently completed four commissions and am currently working on two more pieces. Since pivoting the business a year ago, I’ve been finding the balance of creating bespoke, online retail, bricks and mortar, wholesale, and surface design. We have been able to launch our capsule collection and invest in designing new fabrics and products with the help of this funding.

I am really grateful I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with my clients. When I work with my clients, they are true collaborations and I love the process (here’s how it all works). Getting to know their stories and translating the narrative into art and then wearable art is something I hope each person will always treasure, like a wearable heirloom.

Later on this summer, my bespoke scarf will be featured in the gift shop in a brilliant campaign for a world-renowned public institution and museum dedicated to human history, art, and culture. I could not be more proud to have collaborated on this. What a pinch-me moment for me as an artist and for the business.

If you are enjoying my new collection of twillies and pareo-sarongs, I really hope you’re going to love my new silk scarf collection. I’ve had to create everything in stages as my silk arrives well before my scarves, as those are hand sewn for me in France. I hand paint my designs in Dorking, ethically print my silk in Macclesfield, and hand sew our scarves in Lyon, France.

I believe in creating all of my work with intention in small batches, so if you would like to reserve one of our larger scarves, don’t delay and pre-order yours today. Expect delivery at the end of May.

Check out the collection here.

I decided to make our scarves in size medium (60 x 60 cm) and large (90 x 90 cm). I am already making pareos, and those are like convertible skirts that transform into dresses. We’ve also designed velvety wraps. Throughout the design process, I have been learning how different materials work. I also work in very small batches, and we waste almost nothing. We reuse the scraps for small pocket squares and for art projects. I experimented with recycled velvet, which works well for our cushions (now nearly sold out) and for our sumptuous wraps. They have a low carbon footprint and are very velvety. Our velvet is incredibly soft and I’ve tested one sarong in this material. This is why it’s so important for us to have a shop, so our customers can touch and feel our products.

In addition to the capsule collection, I am offering our new silk collection of scarves in five colours: black, black with a border, white with a border, pink, teal and navy. Get inspired on how to wear them on our YouTube Channel.

All of our fabric is made without harmful chemicals, where 100% of the water used is drawn from our partner’s very own reservoir, which contains no chlorine, chloramines, mercury, VOC’s, pharmaceuticals, herbicides or pesticides.

I am really proud that my work is also sustainably and ethically made into pareo-sarongs, twillies, and now our medium and large silk scarves. My scarves are hand-rolled and sewn with care in France.

Our new scarves will be ready to wear early this summer. We make them in limited quantities, so be sure to register your interest and pre-order yours.

I am off to work on my bespoke orders now; what a joy it is to be trusted to create pieces for my clients.

Do let me know if you have any questions about how to get started if you’re thinking of pivoting to a new career. You can listen to my journey on the Creativity Found podcast with the lovely Claire Waite-Brown or watch my People Like Us x Samsung talk.

Photo credit: Surrey County Council