Meet Carolyn, the Designer and Creator of CF Knitwear.
There is no denying the passion, care and craftsmanship that lovingly goes into her collections. Once you are able to get your hand on one of her knits, it is easy to see just how special they are! There is truly only one way to achieve this and Carolyn wholeheartedly believes, it is by loving what you do!
Originally from Toronto, Canada Carolyn began working in the fashion industry for a number of major retailers. She quickly felt the need to expose herself to more experiences, culture and influence from all around the world. Her journey has allowed her to live and work in pretty incredible places including Australia, Italy and New York City. All of which have helped shape and refine the CF brand you see today.
You don't often hear the two words luxury and sustainability together, but after years of learning about the process that is exactly what CF Knitwear achieves.~ Lillie Louise Major @This Little City
The first CF collection launched in Milan in 2019 where Carolyn built her trusted partnerships that still provide CF it's signature cashmere and natural yarns today. In 2020, she moved back to Canada settling in the West Coast teaching fashion to young aspiring designers while continuing to develop her dream of building her own brand. Unlike some fashion brands that depend on changing their collections seasonally, Carolyn believes in doing away with the “fast fashion” concept and instead producing timeless pieces that can be cherished for years to come.
At CF, we believe in the importance of quality over quantity and buying clothes that are made to last. ~ Carolyn Ferreira
Now located in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia Carolyn Ferreira Knitwear can be found in multiple retail locations. Carolyn truly enjoys sharing her knowledge of the craft and offers classes available in studio to learn knitwear design. Registration for the next course begins this September! When she's not working on her business she loves spending time with family, friends and her dog Bailey outdoors :) To learn more about CF Knitwear, visit carolynferreira.com where you can shop the collection and course offerings.
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How did your team of three come together?
We each had our own design companies when we initially met and came together to work on jobs together, as our skill sets were all very complimentary. Eventually we decided, why not just team up under one umbrella (in 2018) and the rest is history! We are all visionaries, and spend a fair amount of time bouncing ideas off of each other to see what we can make stick and what ideas need to be put aside for now (that list is usually long... there is no shortage of creative ideas in our studio). One word we have always gone back to as our company's core value is: collaboration. We started our company by collaborating and we believe we can all do better with people around us with different perspective and skill sets.
Where are your go-to places to find inspiration?
Taking time away from the screen and getting out in nature, other designers work on Instagram or Pinterest, and a trip into our sample library at the studio will do just the trick ( we are always bringing in interesting new samples even if we don't have a job to use them in at the time - it keeps things new and exciting at all times!)
How do you choose artisans to include in Shoppe x Artisans?
We bring on Artisans that are Canadian and love that we can use our shoppe to support local makers in our country! We value artisans who create original work that feels like it can't be replicated by large manufacturers. For example we have abstract artists, a wood crafter and a glass blowing company that we work with. All of the artisans we work with are incredibly gifted in their craft.
What are your favourite kinds of projects to work on? Residential, commercial space, or sourcing decor items for Shoppe Refined?
I think the reason we do what we do is because we enjoy variety, especially when it comes to being a creative entrepreneur. It's nice to break up the day with a mix of Refined Interiors to dos, and Shoppe Refined to dos. For design, we typically take on mostly Residential projects, and are selective in taking on commercial projects that allow us to be very creative and push the boundaries a little more than a Residential project. I always enjoy the first phase of every design project, the conceptual phase. It's like making a vision board for the space and pulling all the materials to see what our client likes/doesn't like or maybe they realize they like something they had never thought of. In Shoppe Refined, I love sourcing new pieces that I think our clients and customers will love. Between both Refined Interiors and Shoppe Refined, it's also always rewarding to see a design project complete all the way down to styling with pieces from our shoppe. Even though from the outside, it looks like we may just be designing spaces, we put our hearts into each project and they are often a labour of love!
Do you have any future goals for Shoppe Refined or Refined Interiors?
We are working on getting furniture up on the Shoppe Refined website by Spring/Summer! We would love to expand our reach to those who appreciate beautiful furniture and decor and are not local. We ship decor Canada wide, and are eager to add furniture into the mix.
Thank you to Courtney for answering our questions and congratulations to the Shoppe Refined team on their beautiful new storefront!! Read the article of Carolyn's interview for Shoppe Refined here.
In the slow fashion world, community is everything. We have been lucky to make some great connections with other local businesses this past year. One of our most recent collaborations was with the beautiful Nomi Designs for their upcoming fall 2022 collection photoshoot.
Founded by Nomi Levi, Nomi Designs makes minimalist, eco-friendly clothing that is sourced ethically and produced locally in Victoria, BC. Like CF Knitwear, Nomi garments are focused on minimizing fashion waste and impact on our planet. Their designs celebrate simplicity, minimalism, and high quality comfort. Naturally a matter of time before we were going to photograph our clothing together.
Just like our all natural knits, Nomi loves to specialize in materials such as linen that can be recycled back to its natural form after its lifecycle has ended embracing the true slow fashion philosophy.
Featured below is the cotton cashmere CF Rib Tank in birch and two effortless ways to style with Nomi's linen pieces. There's nothing more breathable than a head to toe outfit of organic cotton and linen. With elevated basics, the possibilities are endless.
These Carolyn Ferreira knits pair beautifully with Nomi Designs. Coziness in abundance: Spend a cozy morning with your coffee, draped by Nomi's Rumi Wrap Skirt or CF Esra Half Zip and Nomi Luna Dress. Or go monochrome with a CF Rib Tank in birch or onyx.
To view more of Nomi's pieces and to shop some of your very own visit their shop here.
To celebrate the end of our summer and our fellow West Coast Canadian Brands, we've partnered with four woman-owned businesses based on Vancouver Island for a giveaway! It is important that as entrepreneurs we can collaborate to encourage the growth of each others’ businesses and to give back to the people who support us. Below we introduce to you the wonderful sustainability-focused brands we collaborated with.
Lumia Botanicals' herbal medicinal remedies are created to encourage daily mindfulness through rebalancing mind, body & soul. Founder Mia has been trained locally in BC on how to sustainably plant, grow, and harvest the plants necessary to make the herbal medicinal remedies. Her products are high quality and all-natural, how nature intended. Winner receives the Bare rose geranium + patchouli body oil as well as the Calm infused roll on essential body oil.
Loops Jewellery founder Jill takes inspiration from our beautiful west coast environment, making items that add some shine to your everyday accessories. All of her pieces are made by hand with ethically sourced materials for production and packaging. Her collections have a wide variety of shimmering styles and she has set aside one of her beautiful timeless Forget Me Not necklaces for this giveaway.
Jewellery made at Forged and Co. All packaging is made from biodegradable materials. Wherever possible the designer Ilana, creatively reuses metals in the smallest of ways so that no material goes to waste. She also ensures all suppliers are local with the majority of all items handmade in Vancouver.
Hair of the Dog scrunchies are handmade in BC, using locally sourced materials, and divert whatever minimal fabric scraps there are into other patchwork projects or pillow stuffing. It’s always been interesting to me to see how ‘waste’ from production can be used for other project - another creative way Erin recycles? Turning scrap fabric into cat toys!