Description
Katie Allen is a knitwear designer / maker based in North Wiltshire (near Wootten Basset). Katie’s knitwear practice has an unusual twist to it, as she is also a farmer. Katie grows her own fibre and is in the throes of establishing a dye garden to cultivate my own botanical dyes too.
Katie studied an MA in Fashion and Textile Design at Bath Spa University and has had her knitwear stocked at Liberty in London, as well as featured on the catwalk at London Fashion Week.
Located at Great Cotmarsh Farm in North Wiltshire, the farm visit will show you the very beginning of the fashion supply chain and help you to forge a deeper connection between nature and our clothes. By seeing in practice how wool, leather and botanical dyes can be grown within a sustainable farming system in the UK, you will be able to understand how meaningful relationships with the land and the farmers who grow our food and fibre, can enable a healthy more sustainable model for fashion.
Detailed Description
Itinerary:
Leave Loxton at 8.30am to arrive @ 10 am at Cotmarsh farm
- Farm walk – meet Katie’s sheep and cattle and see how they are cared for in an organic farming system.
- Learn about the journey of Wool from sheep to garment.
- Learn about the journey of Leather from cattle to garment/accessory.
- Help harvest and collect natural dye material from the farm’s ‘Dye Garden.’
Leave Cotmarsh Farm @ 2.30/3pm. Arrive back at Loxton campus approx. 4.30pm.
This trip will count towards your WORK EXPERIENCE HOURS, so it is important to attend. It’s an opportunity for you to learn and see first-hand, where your clothes come from – what are the fibres fabrics are made from, how are dyes are created, and to see real life examples of doing things differently. You will be able to talk to Katie Allen about her business, career and find about different routes through the creative industry.
