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Introducing you to local makers of awesome things. Know someone who should be featured here? Let me know. |
Kyla Leslie is a full-time yarn wrangler and freelance writer from the Main St./Riley Park area. For her business, kove handmade, she knits and crochets deliciously chunky, earth-tone and lusciously coloured accessories that make me warm even just looking at photos. Also, Kyla was kind enough to be my first five-question interviewee for this spanking-new crafty column.
What's kove handmade all about?
kove is a line of handmade accessories that I launched earlier this year. Influenced by my west coast surroundings, the name kove sounds like I want my pieces to feel - like cozy and Vancouver, love and home.
The line features oversized scarves, cowls and wraps, as well as clutches and mixed fibre jewelry. Each item is handmade exclusively by me, either knit or crocheted, with care and a high level of attention to detail.
I love pieces that you can wrap, twist and wear a bunch of different ways, so I design for kove with versatility and functionality in mind. For example, I use double sided buttons on some of my wraps and put hoods on some of my scarves.
Who taught you how to knit and crochet?
That credit goes to my mom and my grandmothers who showed me when I was pretty young - nine or ten maybe. I picked it up again last year when I came back from traveling. We grew up surrounded by DIY home improvement projects, a busy workshop and a big sewing room, so making things has always been a way of life.
If you were stranded on a deserted island with nothing but two identical sticks and a ball of twine the size of a sofa, what would you do?
I'd be set! I could whip up a shade structure and some clothes to protect my pale skin. Knit up a few washcloths and a big net for fishing. You should tell the Survivor producers about this idea. They could call it Survivor: Crafters Challenge.
You describe your work as "inspired by life on the west coast." How does life on the west coast influence what you make?
Visually, I'm inspired by the feeling of the forests and the ocean, being up in the mountains or camping on the beach. I try to bring those textures and colours into my work. This fall's forest collection features handmade tree branch buttons and intricate branch-like textures, which I designed with Cathedral Grove in mind.
From a practical perspective, I work to offer pieces that function in our unpredictable climate. You can pull a kove wrap or warmer over your head in the rain, or wear one instead of a sweater on a warm fall day. With the winter we're supposedly in for, you could layer a cowl over a sweater or tuck it into a coat to keep the wind out.
What music do you listen to, or what TV or movies do you watch, while you're stitching?
I would very much like to tell you that I only listen to podcasts and learn new languages while I crochet, but I'd be lying - those are my goals for fall. I've actually watched an insane amount of TV this year while working – my favourites are The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, and United States of Tara. But I do like the silence too – knitting and crocheting can be very meditative.
Thanks, for playing, Kyla! You can find her wares in her Etsy store, visit her at her studio by appointment, and she'll be at Got Craft? on December 5th.
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Apropos of nothing: I'll be at the Exhibition at CreativeMix on Thursday at the Roundhouse Community Centre, with my Mighty Ugly project. It's open to the public! I'd love to meet you. Come say hi and tell me why you think Vancouver's awesome.
