Stitch Your Troubles Away with Aitor Saraiba

For the Spanish multimedia artist Aitor Saraiba, craft is nothing if not personal. Not only is his distinct blend of ceramics, illustration, and stitchwork totally unique, but his subject matter is often autobiographical.

Aitor’s vibrant colours and whimsical images are so well suited to his emotive narratives. In all his chosen mediums his signature style comes through, but naturally we especially love his textiles. Wildly creative, thoughtful, and thought-provoking, his stitchwork re-frames old traditions for modern eyes and opens up huge inspiration about what the craft can do.

We’re not the only ones who have taken note. Aitor’s list of collaborators include everyone from big brands to prestigious museums. And we are so thrilled to join their ranks when we welcome Aitor to Loop in February for a Stitching Workshop. This is a super rare opportunity to get to work closely with this artist and see how his style and approach could become part of your own practice.

Participants will receive a stitching kit developed by Aitor, which they’ll begin to play with during the workshop. With a gorgeous linen fabric base, unique textiles for stitching, a picture of Aitor’s own stitching art for inspiration, and step-by-step instructions to create your own, you’ll soon be stitching your own story. And since it’s your very own, we encourage you to bring something of your own to add — a favourite piece of fabric, a little charm, stitching threads you’ve been saving for a special occasion, anything that means only you could have made this. You’re also welcome to stock up on some unique bits from our Haberdashery collection, which includes special things from Minä Perhonen, Sajou, Cohana, and more!

This workshop will take place at our neighbouring coffee shop, Frequency Coffee. Aitor will host two workshops on Saturday 22 February: A morning session from 10:30am to 2pm and an afternoon session from 2:30pm to 6pm. Join us!

New Colours

We are loving these new gem tones and fab neutrals from Big Bad Wool! Weepaca is one of those great all-rounder yarns. It’s soft enough for baby knits but robust enough for grown-up accessories, and it’s got a drape that makes it excellent for blankets. We love it so much that we carry it in every colour available! If you’re looking for pattern inspo, Big Bad Wool has designed a range of knit and crochet projects for this yarn, and it’s the yarn used in CocoKnits’ adorable Baby Bear onesie as well!

mYak Baby Yak Lace brings wool from nomadic herds in Tibet to your needles. This fibre harvested from baby yaks is truly miraculous. It’s as soft as cashmere and even warmer than sheep’s wool. It’s perfect for any lace garment or accessory, and makes extra cosy winter warmers. These fibres are ethically sourced and sustainably produced, resulting in a yarn that shows all the richness of its unique journey.

We’ve had a shipment from Gepard as well, with four new colours of Woolia and five new colours of Teddy Dear! These yarns are so different and yet both so awesome. Woolia is almost too good to be true. This versatile sustainably produced organic merino from Italy that can be knit on a range of needle sizes and works great held together with other yarns as well. Teddy Dear on the other hand is a statement yarn that’s perfect for making cosy yet fashionable pieces with tons of volume. A chunky bouclé, Teddy Dear is a blast to work with and even more fun to wear!

Holiday Hours

With the holidays on the horizon, we’re looking forward to seeing so many of you come through the shop as well as visiting neighbouring shops and restaurants on our beloved Camden Passage. In order to make the most of the holiday spirit, we’re extending our weekday opening hours at the end of November and beginning of December. First up, we’ll be open until 6:30pm on Friday 22 November to celebrate the Angel Central Christmas Lights Switch On event, which takes place that day from 4pm to 7pm. On Wednesday the 27th, Thursday the 28th, and Friday the 29th of November as well as Wednesday the 4th, Thursday the 5th, and Friday the 6th of December we’ll be open an extra hour and a half in the evenings, until 7pm.

Over Christmas and New Year we will be closed on weekdays during the weeks commencing 23 and 30 December, but open the weekend of 28 December. We’ll be open as usual until Sunday 22 December and then again from Saturday 4 January. For more information on our opening hours and more, see our Visit Us page.

Hope to see you in the shop!