You don’t need to consult the Australian Bureau of Statistics to know that more than half of Melbourne owns an Emily Green necklace. But did you know Melbourne's favourite indie design darling is expanding her wearable neck accessories empire to include scarves? Yes, Emily has partnered with talented local artist and knit guru Lucy Hall to create the most fabulous range of new knitted scarves - you heard it here first, people!
This collaboration eventuated after Lucy came on board to assist Emily in the studio six months ago. Emily had always been interested in creating knitwear, but had difficulties mastering the knitting machine. Then, as if by fate, it was revealed that Lucy was a knit machine prowess! The rest was history.
Collectively these two clever crafters have designed three cotton scarves in hues of fluorescent yellow, magenta and neon red, and a digitally printed watercolour silk version. Emily, with her impressive colour credentials, created each picture perfect colour palette, and together they worked through each design. Originally the pair intended for Lucy to create every scarf, however a trial run indicated that this process was more labour intensive than they expected, with a single scarf tallying 2.5 hours to make! Instead they sought a local manufacturer where each scarf is machine knitted in Melbourne.
The launch of these scarves could not have intervened at a more appropriate time, with the temperatures taking a serious dive in Melbourne this week! Each scarf is super warm and extra long - and the fab colour combos are sure to alleviate any winter blues. They truly are so awesome, I'm convinced it won't be long before Emily and Lucy’s efforts reach the giddy cult-status heights of US label ALL Knitwear. Watch this space!
To find out a little more about this inspired collaboration, we asked Emily Green a couple of questions -
I've always loved the idea of creating my own knitwear but absolutely struggled to get my head around the knit machines when I studied it at TAFE. Anyway, for the past six months or so I have had a wonderful girl named Lucy working for me in the studio, who happened to major in knit in her Textile Design degree that she finished last year. The initial plan was for me to design the scarves and for Lucy to hand-knit them on a machine but they were so labour intensive (taking almost 2.5 hours to produce one!) that we decided to seek out a manufacturer.
These scarves are destined to sell out, so if you're keen, don't delay! They're available for pre-order on the Emily Green Etsy and Bigcartel stores, and will be stocked at Craft Victoria, Obus, Hut 13 and Quirk and Co! The official launch will be held at Hut 13 on Thursday June 21, from 6.00pm where Emily promises there will be lots of sangria, live music and all going well, a rare South-side appearance from the Taco Truck! iCal this one now folks!
This post was researched and written by Melbourne writer Lisa Marie Corso with Lucy Feagins - go team!