You may have noticed some amazing knitwear that I used in my AW shoot a few weeks ago? Well, they were all hand knitted in South London by my friend Siobhan for her shop Bless The Weather. She's just set up a little business knitting gorgeous chunky snoods/scarves/headbands.
Check out the Etsy shop here.

Here are some of my favourate photos from the day featuring her super creations...

The Camberwell cowl in cherry red paired with my Foxglove dress. 

 The Coldharbour cowl in navy with my Poppy dress.

 & the Camberwell cowl in cream with my Sweet Violet top & Bluebell skirt.

(That is my soppy dog Bertie looking confused in the photo)

Not only does this lovely lady make amazing things but she has a very pretty blog Hello Flower. You should definitely take a look.

She also borrowed some of my garments for Bless The Weather's product shoot. This is my absolute fav photo from it...
Check out the models piercing eyes! Wowza.

Oh gosh, I feel like I'm reminiscing looking though all my AW photos, I had such an amazing day & it is so wonderful to be able to 'work' with gorgeous & talented ladies. So much of my day to day work is alone in my studio it is such a great feeling bouncing ideas around & creating something everyone can be proud of... I can't wait for my SS13! Coming soon... (or not so soon)

Have a great weekend chaps!

When it came to finding accessories to style with my Autumn Winter 2012 collection I had a few ideas in mind for a long time. I was so pleased when Zoe from Ladybird Likes agreed to send me some of her beautiful jewelry to photograph for my look book. As the theme was British countryside, creatures & flowers, I'd been eying up her butterfly necklaces for a while. Here are some photos from the shoot with the lovely Ladybird Likes pieces...

Thanks so much to Zoe for lending me these little beauties, it is such fun collaborating with people, making blog friends & getting to work with other creative individuals :)

Check out Zoe's lovely blog HERE. & the Ladybird Likes Etsy shop HERE.

I will definitaly be going on there for some Christmas shopping soon!

Happy Bonfire night everyone, we are off to see a weird show by some local schools where they burn the set afterwards, it's really odd, can't wait. Oooh I'm so in the mood for watching V for Vendetta too...

Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason, why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

I just realised that I had totally forgotten to post the photos of my AW shoot a few weeks ago.

My friend Beci took the photos, she's such a great photographer & she's great at doing all the editing & all that jazz afterwards. 

Here are some of my favourate shots (so hard to choose as I loved them all)...

 

All these items are available in my Etsy shop.

But for those who don't use Etsy - I have now got a real proper website. YAY! Still a slight work in progress, but a definite start. Check it out at www.isabelknowles.com

You can see all the photos on my Facebook page too - here.

Unbelievably excited to get the rest.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend - welcome to the working week!

I am very excited to say I will finally be doing my AW12 shoot this weekend. I can't wait! So, I've set up a Pinterest board to gather some ideas on the photo composition & vibe & all that. Here are a few I love:

(click on images for source)

I want it to be more about capturing the vibe of my collection - English country side, nature, simple shapes, days drawing in & wild animals.

 The only thing I'm not sure about is taking the photos outside, a lot of my dresses are sleeveless & I don't want my model to freeze to death, also I want to create something realistic & show off the garments.

How to you feel about pairing my own collection with cardies & outer wear that isn't my own? Do you expect a photo shoot/look book to include only items from one designer?

Finally I have a dress in this magnificent Foxie print in my shop :) I am rather happy about it indeed!

This simple party dress has an elegant high neckline & a scooping low back.

It is lined with vibrant red & has ridiculously deep pockets.

(I love dresses with pockets, they are the best)

Available on Etsy here.

I made this dress with the idea of Christmas parties & New Years eve in mind. Something special, & understatedly dramatic, if that's not a complete oxymoron? However, I can totally see it being a staple as well. It could be worn with a warm jacket & a bobble hat, or even a long sleeved tee underneath. Is it too big headed to say I'm smitten with my own dress? Yes, I think it is. But, well I am.

Also, any of my bespoke classics dresses are available in this Foxie fabric too! Just so you know.

 The first of my AW2012 collection is this red organic denim shift dress. Named 'The Poppy' it's simple shape & vibrant colour are topped off with an embroidered collar & elbow length sleeves.

 It is partially lined with complimenting fox print cotton & has a concealed zip up the back.

Available on Etsy here.

Over the next few weeks I will be releasing my Autumn Winter collection. It's now September - which is sort of surreal! We seem to have not had any summer in England. So, lets just move onto Autumn. 

My collection is themed around the English countryside, & every piece is named after a wild flower. I want to piece together wearable shapes with durable long lasting fabrics & of course prettiness.

Check out my colour pallet here. I cannot wait to show you the rest :)

What is everyone's key go-to item for AW months?

This weekend in my studio I have been working more on my A/W collection. I am trying to create a more diverse collection. I find myself stuck to pretty dresses with full skirts & snazzy prints. Don't get me wrong, I love those types of dresses, but I want to have a more choice & substance to my garments, especially when it comes to A/W, as we all need something practical & warm that we can wear in different ways.

For this particular dress I have been experimenting with organic cotton denim. It has a beautiful weight - not to thick, a little bit of stretch & a great rich red colour.

This is the basic shape of the dress - it will end up a simple, but elegant & wearable shift dress. However, I am adding a collar, because I love collars, & I want to add something to make it stand out & feel special.

Here are some samples & testers of collars. I was playing around with embroidery, it really adds the detail that I have been craving.

 

Which one is your favorite? I just can't decide!

PS: I wasted about an hour & a half earlier faffing about with HTML to make some little buttons (on the left). So, I finally figured it out & I hope they work. If you wanna grab one for your blog feel free :)

A few days of English summer.

It has been lovely here for a few days. It won't last I am sure. We have been picking a lot of flowers to adorn the house. These wild flowers are the most beautiful.

Here is a little look at my new dress for my A/W collection.

It will hopefully be in shop in the first few weeks in September:

I have been waiting to include a dress made from Foxie fabric in a collection since the very first dresses I made last year. By the time I found out about Monaluna fabrics she had sold out of the original Foxie fabric. So, when I found out she was including it in her new collection in a different colour pattern I was overjoyed.

If you like the Foxie fabric as much as I do then you can have any of my Classic Collection made up in it.

I hope everyone has a super weekend!

I'm on a roll with creating/sewing at the moment. I am thoroughly enjoying it.