XXXXXV: VACATION : Summer 2013 Look Book

All pieces in the collection above were made before my leave of hiatus.

They are currently stocked at Miss Crabb. 

Love and Peace, 

-Areez Katki.

XXXXXIII: Press & Styling: Curation Redux

I had the pleasure of being a part of the premiere cover of Curation Redux 

- a new magazine, launched and curated by Benjamin Walls. 

This beauty editorial had Meggie M. from M.A.C as the makeup artist and Anna Gaul from Stephen Marr on hair. It was photographed by Oliver Rose and styled by myself. The hand-knitted and embroidered piece worn by the model, Cindy @ Clyne Models, is from Perennial 2013 which is currently in stock at Miss Crabb.

Limited copies of Issue No. 1 of Curation Redux will be sold at  Miss Crabb and Children of Vision in Auckland, along with Dead Set stores in Christchurch and Wellington.

A.

XXXIX: A Closer Look at Handmade VII

The following images display a few of the limited hand knitted pieces which were produced for Winter/Spring 2012. The collection is now all in store at Miss Crabb. 


For these selected few, I have decided to share some writing; delving into the conception of ideas and the processes of creation.

"Distillation"

Date of Completion : 30.03.2012

This Creme sweater is one from a short series of garments that were initially attributed with sets of unique linear formulae; resulting in levels of apparent wefts, warps and cables. The idea was to create an ephemeral grid within the confined space of a garment. Each surface has an overall textuality achieved through randomness. It is now forgotten and potentially never to be replicated. 

Fibers Used:

Virgin Wool

Cellulose Rayon

"Tincture I"

Date of Completion : 15.06.2012

A looseness in the patterned textuality is apparent here; complying with the inherent texture and tonality of natural treatment. The rarities here lie also with the treatment of the fibers used to produce this sleeveless tunic piece. The wool has been hand-felted into thick yarn, from raw form. The colour was achieved through the process of firstly cultivating one's own organic beetroot crop, harvesting it and then creating a concentrate through a series of experiments. This resulted in wool that was hand dyed in extremely limited batches. The lower half of the garment consists of bespoke hand-felted raw tussah silk, spun with organic tussah ribbon for reinforcement.


Fibers Used:
Pure Wool
Tussah Silk

"Le Flagon"
Date of Completion : 10.04.2012


The sweater above is from the same series of abstracted surfaces. Here, having derived it's randomly cabled and 'weaving' pattern from yet a different linear formula. The clashing double-plyed yarn colours were a retrospective look at my earlier collections, "Handmade I" and "Handmade II." 


Fibers Used:
Cashmere
Merino
Wool

"Generation IV"

Date of Completion : 06.05.2012

"Generation V"

Date of Completion : 18.05.2012

A series of short-sleeved jumpers that explored the juxtapositions of colour and texture. 

Resulting in variations of abstracted and fragmented surfaces. 

An assortment of Fibers were used:

Alpaca

Cashmere

Wool

Lambswool

Merino

Mohair

"These Days"

Date of Completion : 24.01.2012 

This multiple paneled top was another exploration of shape and texture. 

It consists of felted wool yarn that was naturally hand-dyed in separate, limited batches over time.

Treatments include:

Darjeeling Tea

Beetroot and Camellia Blossom

Green Tea and Olive Leaf Extract

Charcoal and Magnesium Sulphate

.   .   .

For more information regarding such work, feel free to post questions 
or simply come by Miss Crabb on a Sunday. Thank you.


Photography Credit: Leilani Heather




-A.

XXXVII: News: SALE

I've been dropping in some very special archive and past season pieces to the SALE at Miss Crabb. 30-50% off.

As you can see, these are the last final days of it; so be sure to drop by and pick up 

something that you'll potentially wear forever.

Also: The last day of SALE is on the 1st of April, which just so happens to be a Sunday. 
This means that I'll be serving tea and some baking -See you there?



-A.

XXXVI: Recipe I : Salted Lavender and Rosemary Shortbread

As many of you may know by now, I've been hosting tea and baked refreshments every Sunday at Miss Crabb, as a wonderful way to treat and enjoy the company of our customers. This little tradition has been going strong for two months, and I now feel as though I've been repeatedly asked to share some of the recipes -and why the hell not? A lot of them are traditional variations and mild inventions of my own, especially this little favourite -So here goes:

Salted Lavender and Rosemary Shortbread

Ingredients

250g Unsalted Butter, softened
1/2 Cup Icing Sugar
1/2 Cup Raw Sugar
1 Cup Cornflour
2 Cups Standard Flour
12 Lavender Heads -only the top blossoms (no leaves) 

4 Tablespoons of Rosemary Leaves 

4-5 Tablespoons of Salt -I like to use pink Rock Salt (both, powdered and crushed)

. . . . . . . . .

Preheat Oven at 150°C

Cream the butter and icing sugar together gradually until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add 2 tablespoons of powdered salt and all the raw sugar in. Continue folding and mixing.

Meanwhile, boil some water in a small saucepan to very lightly blanche the lavender heads and rosemary. After blanching, strain them and leave to dry on a towel (alternatively for five-to-ten minutes on a tray by an open oven or fireplace). Once they are relatively dry, chop the lavender heads to make the petals and seeds separate and crumble. Simply separate the single rosemary leaves -Get rid of all twigs.

Sift the cornflour and flour together in a separate bowl and then gradually mix in with the sweetened butter mixture. As you are doing this, the dough should begin to take shape -Move it all to a lightly floured board and begin kneading. Start sprinkling the rosemary leaves and chopped lavender over the dough as you knead. Make sure that it is all very well distributed.

You'll know when the dough is ready by the soft, yet malleable consistency. Flatten the dough and roll it out to an even 3cm thickness (or slightly less if you find that flat and slightly crunchy shortbread is in order). Begin cutting them in any desired shapes of cookie cutter -Ridged circles are my preferred option.

Distribute them all on a baking paper-lined tray and prick each shortbread lightly with a skewer or fork. You may then lightly sprinkle the remaining salt (or more) over them all -for this part, I prefer crushed organic pink Himalayan mineral salt. After that, you simply put them in the oven to bake at 150°C for 30 minutes or until pale golden.

Once they are ready and out of the oven, you let them cool on a rack, make a cup of Lady Grey tea and contact Areez to let him know how it all went.

. . . . . . . . . 

 

-A.

XXXV: Styled: Foliage

An editorial that I styled and art directed earlier this year, with Rouse Magazine photographer Benjamin Walls. 

It features a selection of womenswear from Zambesi and Miss Crabb (including Penny Sage and one of my own pieces), menswear from Zambesi, my wardrobe archives; with two fragrance notes and jewellery by Zora Boyd from Wunderkammer.

Foliage, flowers and general shrubbery from various gardens and Ponsonby flower shops. Enjoy.

Click here to view in its entirety, with all the detailed notes and credits

Also: Thank you to the patient people at French Revolver Studio.

-A.