Meet Cecilie Telle

Knitwear accessories designer Cecilie Telle is taking part in our next Zoom talk - 25 November 2020, 6pm GMT – with Annemor Sundbø and Arne & Carlos. Originally from Norway, Cecilie Telle has a natural affinity with wool and hand crafting. She will tell us about her love of traditional crafts, form and colour, which creates the foundation of everything she makes. Many of Telle's designs have a round pleasing shape with no apparent seams. With an eclectic sense of colour, her combinations are often surprising. All items are knitted, felted and crafted in her studio in London, and she is involved in every aspect of production and design. After knitting each piece from 100% British wool using a domestic machine, there is then the innovative but nerve-wracking process of felting them – via the washing machine.

Whilst this may sound simple, it is in fact incredibly tricky; heat, colour and weight all affect the outcome and without extensive, almost scientific trial runs, hours of work can be lost if the setting and load are not adjusted correctly. Telle is constantly learning through her making. With the freedom to play with colour and process, each piece is different and yet so clearly bound aesthetically by Telle’s design. Her pieces are almost Japanese in their formal simplicity and yet also reminiscent of an African fruit and climate through their colours and shapes. Perhaps this is not surprising; Telle, although born in Norway, has lived in Africa and cites her husband Hiro (who is Japanese) as an inspiration, critic and aid.

Watch Cecilie at work in a short film.

Cecilie will be speaking at the Selvedge Virtual Social Nordic Knitting on Wednesday 25 November. Buy your ticket at www.selvedge.org

Cecilie took part in Selvedge World Fair 2020, visit her artisan page to browse and buy her work.