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KEEP & SHARE is an alternative luxury label.We offer unconventional – yet infinitely wearable – knitwear for both men and women. Each piece is designed to satisfy over time, and is handmade in the UK by the designer, Amy Twigger Holroyd, and her small team of makers. As an ethical 'slow fashion' label, we seek to reverse the effects of throwaway fashion by creating 'best friend' pieces that will transcend short-lived trends and age gracefully. We manufacture on a craft scale and seek to minimise our environmental impact wherever possible. We also run machine and hand knitting workshops at our studio, located in beautiful countryside just outside Hereford. The day and weekend courses allow both absolute beginners and more experienced knitters to share designer Amy Twigger Holroyd's experience, signature techniques and infectious enthusiasm.
COLLECTIONSOn the main KEEP & SHARE site you'll find our knitwear collection - including chunky cardigans, shrugs, jumpers and scarves for men and women - plus sub-collections such as the Eco Edition line, created from naturally coloured, organic and local yarns. We create two main collections per year (spring/summer and autumn/winter) and also create individual pieces to commission. Order online for prompt international delivery. If an item is out of stock or you have a specific request, we'll knit it especially for you within just 2 weeks. For those who wish to touch before they buy, we invite you to borrow an item, free of charge. From time to time we like to jump in our van and set up the Travelling Store, a 'pop-up shop' which appears for just days at a time at surprise venues around the country. To visit the main KEEP & SHARE site, click here If you are unable to access the main site but would like further information on KEEP & SHARE, please email Amy: amy@keepandshare.co.uk COURSESOur courses allow you to study the basics of machine or hand knitting and build your confidence before progressing to master advanced skills in patterning, construction and finishing. You'll be taught in a small group using our equipment, or your own if you prefer. For those who want to continue knitting independently, we can provide advice on buying machines and sourcing yarn. Our spacious workshop is situated on the ground floor of Lugwardine Court, an imposing Georgian building located in beautiful countryside just three miles from Hereford. We're happy to provide advice on transport and accommodation - from camping to boutique hotels - for those travelling from further afield. We also provide bespoke workshops such as our Team Knitting Day, perfect for an alternative group celebration or hen party! Further details are available on the main site, or on our Creative Breaks web page. Alternatively, if you have any questions about our courses please call Amy on +44 (0) 1432 851162, or email us: courses@keepandshare.co.uk
SUBSCRIBEBe the first to hear about new collections, special offers and dates for our Travelling Store! To register for occasional KEEP & SHARE e-news (no spamming, we promise), send an email with ‘subscribe’ in the subject field to amy@keepandshare.co.uk CONTACTFor retail, wholesale and general enquiries, please contact Amy: For press enquiries, please contact Josi Smart at Push PR: ABOUT USKEEP & SHARE PHILOSOPHYThe KEEP & SHARE approach to ethical fashion revolves around long-term wearer satisfaction. We find it abhorrent that the vast majority of clothing is discarded before the end of its wearable life, and seek to reverse the effects of throwaway fashion by encouraging our customers to buy less, more special pieces, and to keep their items in use for longer. True to our name, we create quality pieces that will transcend short-lived trends and age gracefully; versatile products that can be worn in different ways and by different people over their lifetimes. Inspired by the 'story behind the product', we seek to build strong emotional connections - between ourselves and our customers, and between our customers and their KEEP & SHARE pieces. Our design philosophy combines the familiar and the unconventional. Archetypal details and fabric references are combined with loose, geometric shapes and unique seamless finishes.
SOURCING AND MAKINGWhile our main ethical emphasis is on 'slow fashion', we are committed to reducing the environmental and human impacts of our business. We have a much shorter supply chain than is usual in the clothing industry. Our suppliers convert fibre to dyed yarn, which we then knit 'to shape' (reducing wastage) in our UK workshop. Our manufacture is small-scale and most of our machines are human-powered; we employ talented knitters and while it can get rather warm in the summer, it is most definitely not a sweatshop! In an ideal world, our raw material - yarn - would be organic, local and/or fairly traded, and coloured using low-impact dyes. This isn't yet possible in the qualities, quantities and colours we need, so at present we use 'conventional' yarns from an Italian spinner for our main collection, while using locally sourced, naturally coloured and organic yarns, such as UK alpaca and organic cotton, for our Eco Edition line. We also recycle our waste yarn and scraps of knitted fabric into the Offcuts collection. The energy used in cleaning garments usually far outweighs that used in their production, and so by encouraging our customers to hand-wash and naturally dry their items (or to avoid washing by treating them to a bit of steam), we hope to further reduce the environmental impact of our pieces.
"ANTI-CORPORATE" SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYIn addition to our efforts to create longer-lasting and less environmentally harmful fashion, we try to minimise the environmental impact of our business as a whole. We buy recycled or environmentally friendly where possible, and re-use or recycle our paper and packaging. We also travel by public transport whenever we can. We donate 1% of our profits every year to APT Enterprise (http://www.aptenterprise.co.uk), a UK based charity dedicated to reducing the poverty of vulnerable people in Africa and South Asia by promoting the development of micro and small enterprises. We donate 1% of our profits every year to APT Enterprise, a UK based charity dedicated to reducing the poverty of vulnerable people in Africa and South Asia by promoting the development of micro and small enterprises. And finally... we offset our workshop and travel-related carbon emissions via Climate Care, who invest in renewable energy, energy efficiency and forest restoration.
BACKGROUNDThe designer and sole proprietor of KEEP & SHARE is Amy Twigger Holroyd. After graduating from Manchester Metropolitan University with a degree in Fashion Design with Technology, Amy completed an MA in European Fashion and Textile Design (based jointly at Winchester School of Art, Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht and Institut Français de la Mode, Paris) in 2003. Amy's interest in sustainable fashion design dates back to her MA, where she developed the concept for KEEP & SHARE and wrote her thesis on the subject of 'Reconciling Fashion with Sustainability'. Since launching the label in August 2004, she has sought to put her ideas into practice. Amy started out as a solo designer-maker but in 2006 began to employ additional machine knitters to increase production capacity. The entire KEEP & SHARE operation is masterminded from Amy's workshop in rural Herefordshire. |