A celebration of Scottish Heritage. Where masters, designers and makers come together to create an authentic and true Fair Isle.
Evocative and magical. Skills passed down through generations. Introducing a true Fair Isle. Made with 100% Shetland Wool, sourced exclusively from Shetland. Designed on the Fair Isle in collaboration with textile designer and Fair Isle resident Marie.
Celebrating real Scottish heritage
With colours inspired by the abundant blues, greys and greens that dominate the Shetland landscape. A homage to the wild beauty of Shetland and the robust and resilient nature of this authentic Scottish wool.
A continuation of our Locally-Grown story.
Two styles, one iconic pattern.
A true Scottish Fair Isle.
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We've worked closely with the team at Jamieson & Smith to help create our unique Fair Isle knits.
The Shetland is the smallest of the British sheep breeds, mostly found on the Shetland Isles (funnily enough). The wool is known for its distinctive, very fine fibre quality, with staple lengths of 10cm. It's a hardy and agile wool with a very soft, silky handle feel.
Each knit has around one fleece worth of wool - to ensure you're kept warm and chic wherever you are.
An AUTHENTIC FAIR ISLE
We worked alongside Marie, an authentic Fair Isle designer from Shetland.
There are many variations of a Fair Isle knit, however a true Fair Isle is one that has different patterns on each row, where the motif isn't the same twice - the only exception is for symmetrical reasons. The patterns can vary in size or colour and still considered unique.
Marie designs in black & white first, before adding colour. She notes the importance of having the contrast of the background and foreground level throughout the design. The Moss Navy colourway is inspired by the hues of Shetland, found in the landscape.
Marie Bruhat
Marie is a firefighter, sheep crofter, knitter and Fair Isle designer. A woman of many talents and we're so fortunate to have worked with her developing our unique Real Shetland Fair Isle design.
It's truly a full circle experience for Marie, who normally only produces a maximum of 30 jumpers a year. Selling the fleeces from her own Shetland sheep as a crofter to Shetland wool brokers, where they will then be created into Shetland Yarn.
For a Fair Isle to be as authentic as possible it needs to be designed on the Fair Isle, which is why we are beyond grateful to work with Marie on this special project. A celebration of Scottish Heritage. The wonderful art that is Fair Isle.
Oliver Henry
Oliver has lived on The Shetland Isles since he was born. A passionate Wool Grader, working closely with the crofters (farmers) and sheep.
Since helping as a crofter on his Uncle's farm as a teenager, he understood the importance of wool and the beauty of the Shetland Sheep.
A few years later, in 1967 he started working for Jamieson & Smith, a Shetlands Crofters, transforming the fibres into Shetland wool products.
Oliver is the wool grader for the majority of the Shetland wool. Grading each fleece between 1-5, where it is then decided what products it can be used for.
The highest grade, 5, is for the superfine wool, where the fibres are uniform, strong and soft. (This is the wool we use in our Shetland pieces.) The lowest grade, 1, is more of the Scandinavian blend breeds, where the quality is mixed. The colour might not be as pure, the length of the fibre varies and it isn't as fine.
Oliver, is a true testament to the importance of the Shetland Wool Industry and why we need to continue sharing stories of the people behind the knit. A true expert in the wool grading field. Thank you Oliver.
Our visit to the Shetlands
A snapshot of our founder, Rachel's visit to Shetland.
Journeying to this remote part of northern Scotland, to learn more about the wool, the crofters and island life was a total privilege.
So many stories, so much rich history. And all the seasons in one day.
