ABOUT EMILIE FLORA
STORY BEHIND THE BRAND
Hey, my name is Emilie, the one-woman-wonder behind Emilie Flora and I am here to tell you about the colourful world that I have created.
I have had a passion for all things creative for as long as I can remember, but the real foundations for Emilie Flora were laid at university. I studied Textile Design and specialised in Constructed Textiles, which focused on knit, weave and crochet.
It was here that I was introduced to the knitting machine and instantly fell in love!! Up until this point I had been crocheting and knitting by hand, so I was mesmerised by this incredible machine that could produce fabric much faster than my hands alone. After hours of experimenting with varying fibres and knitting techniques I developed my style and learnt how to translate my love for bold colours and playful patterns into knitted materials.
After graduating univeristy in 2019 I set to work and Emilie Flora was born. Like many businesses, Emilie Flora started from my bedroom. My knitting machine was set up opposite the bed and would spend all day (and most of the night) knitting away.
With time (and a little bit more time thanks to the pandemic) I began trialing product ideas and promoting them to the world through social media. The first piece that really took off was the Sunny Tote in 2020. I am still very fond of this design because to me it signifies when Emilie Flora really took off; I was able to leave my part time job and take what was my side hustle FULL TIME. What a dream!!
Since then I have knitted from the garden shed, my partners kitchen, the spare room and I now have my own creative studio!
It has been a complete whirlwind but one that I couldn't be happier to have been caught up in. Being my own boss, with complete creative freedom is something I once dreamed about and is now reality. It is such an incredible feeling to have wonderful customers and stockists from across the world. I can't wait to see where this journey is going to go next - welcome along!
The aim of the brand is to create joyful and zesty pieces that brighten up the outfits and homes of many. Taking inspiration from the 70s era and fun-loving festival culture, vibrant colours and playful patterns are at the heart of all Emilie Flora products. Each piece is designed from scratch and lovingly made by myself (Emilie) using a domestic knitting machine; this means that every product is unique and extra special.
The Products
Emilie Flora products are designed with fun, durability and innovation in mind. Products range from garments and hair accessories to cushions and plant pots.
A whole lot of love goes into each and every piece to ensure that they live up to your expectations. Each detail is considered - from lining the bag straps to reinforce them and eliminate stretching, to sourcing the most hardwearing/ reliable zips.
There are many sources of inspiration that come together to influence Emilie Flora designs. Rich colour, diverse patterns and joy all feed into the products that you see.
Concious Practices
As a small business Emilie Flora aims to be as sustainable as possible.
A few (but not all) steps Emilie takes include:
- Products are made to order. As well as eliminating product waste this also means that materials are only bought when needed.
- Knitted products are fully fashioned meaning that there is very minimal waste. Any offcuts that are produced are saved up and used for stuffing or zero waste products.
- Any smaller offcuts from bag linings are saved and used for products such as purses.
- All misknits (knitted fabric that for one reason or another can't be used because of too many dropped stitches etc) are saved and used to create extra special zero waste products.
- Emilie uses a domestic knitting machine which is operated completely by woman-power, which minimises the use of electricity.
- In an effort to minimise carbon emissions, post office trips are only made once a week.