The Close Knit podcast aims to hold space for conversation to be had about working with fibre in its many forms, within our selves and our wider communities.

A huge thank you to this week's episode sponsor: Sincere Sheep.

Sincere Sheep is run by Brooke, who I had the pleasure of taking a walk around Lake Merritt with recently, where we talked about all things wool and community. Brooke is deeply connected to her work and it shows in everything that she does, most obviously in Sincere Sheep. Started in 2003, Sincere Sheep was founded on principles translated from the slow food movement, a concept that was gaining regional momentum. Brooke applied ideas of traditional and regionally sourced ingredients to textiles to create her offering with Sincere Sheep. Their primary focus remains single-source, breed-specific and custom-made yarns and fibers dyed with color extracted from responsibly sourced plants (and occasionally from insects).

Until the 31st Dec 2017, you can sign up for Sincere Sheep’s Made Here! 2018 quarterly club. Made Here! is a special quarterly yarn club featuring domestic and small batch yarns and custom-made goodies, thoughtfully designed and packaged for minimal environmental impact. Made Here! is designed to offer exclusive and pretty darn amazing US-made custom products. Three of next year's 2018 Made Here! yarns are sourced from California. This unique club experience will deepen your understanding of where the fiber originates and the people who grow the products, as well as the dyes used in making the colors you receive. Along with all that, Sincere Sheep has teamed up with talented friends to create custom goodies and provide pattern codes for each shipment. Whenever possible, they source products here in the US to support independent, small businesses.

Click for the complete Made Here! 2018 Listing on www.sinceresheep.com.

A huge thank you again to Sincere Sheep for sponsoring this episode of the Close Knit Podcast.

In episode 34, I speak to two dear friends of mine - Abbey Rich and Sam Ives. In a slightly different approach than I usually have, Sam, Abbey and I recorded this chat in person, sitting on the floor in my old house in Hobart. Because of the format of this chat and the fact that we have a well established friendship, this chat developed differently to the usual podcast.

We talk about tattooing and how both Abbey and Sam have used stick and pokes to process life and friendship, and how tattooing a mate is such a permanent act - this is juxtaposition to both of their clothes-making practice, which feels more transient, and ultimately is more transient in the world of fast fashion that we all ultimately live in.

Sam and Abbey both talk us through their practices with clothes making and how they’ve grown and changed their businesses over the last few years, as well as the compromises this requires of them. We discuss sustainability from many levels - for the planet, our immediate communities and ourselves, as well as communities not physically proximate to us.

Having this conversation with Abbey and Sam meant so much to me, and honestly getting to come back to it over the last couple of weeks to edit it has felt really healing, as I personally transition my life from Tasmania to California. I cannot thank Sam and Abbey enough for their ongoing friendship and for being willing to share this conversation with me in the week before I left Tassie.

Find Abbey: instagram | website

Find Sam: instagram | website

Want more?

Subscribe: Itunes or Pocket Casts

Like what you're hearing?

Awesome! I'm glad you've found your way to this podcast. Please feel free to subscribe, leave a review on iTunes (this makes all the difference to reaching more people!) and share with your loved ones. Thanks for tuning in.

Until next time!

ani