By Quinn Riley
For those of you who haven’t yet been acquainted with our friend Kate Loudoun Shand and her wildly good textile line, please allow us to properly introduce you... You’ll soon see why we think she’s so insanely cool, genuinely kind, and one of the most talented textile artisans around!
“For me, so much of it is about the sensuality of the space… the smells, the textures around me, the overall feel.” Kate starts her day with a refreshing 45-minute walk along the English countryside, covered in green pastures with sheep and deer. Upon arriving to her office, she lights one of her favorite candles “to get the smell of the space right” and begins the workday—painting, reviewing samples, and corresponding with clients. Her current world in Wiltshire, U.K. is a far cry from her old neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY, but this slower pace of life gives Kate and her husband and business partner, Chris, the opportunity to spend more time with their elderly mothers and extended family. Kate and Chris, along with their three children, George (12), Sophie (8), and Burt (6), have been back home in the U.K. for almost two years now, and Kate is enjoying her time as a beautiful blend of textile design and family life.
ABOVE // Kate’s walk to work in Wiltshire, U.K. + Photographs from over the years of Kate’s children with KLS patterns in Chris and Kate’s family homes
Kate has been working with fabric for over 20 years. During her undergraduate education at Saint Martin’s College of Art, she visited the United States for an internship with Calvin Klein: “I came to New York and that kind of blew my mind having come from quite a traditional English background.” Soon after college, Kate started her own textile business, working with surface, texture, and pattern. “That was all about being inventive with cloth… and that sort of snowballed into me going back to the Royal College of Art and doing a masters in textile design,” Kate notes as she describes her background in fabrics. During her time at the Royal College, Kate focused on the historical side of textiles, diving into the Victorian Period when fabric innovation was really thriving. Kate praises the Victoria & Albert Museum as one of her greatest sources for research and inspiration.
ABOVE // Scenes from Kate’s Studio: KLS Textiles and Painting of the KLS Jangalee Pattern
After completing her masters, Kate served as creative director for a product design company with offices in New York and London. During this time she also had her own line at Anthropologie. After several years of working for big firms, Kate craved something that she could call her own. This is when her textile brand, KLS was born: “I had this corporate career but I really wanted to do my own thing, and that is exactly what KLS it. Once you have a good amount of knowledge it’s really good to go off on your own.” Her husband, Chris, with a background in television production, handles all of the manufacturing details and showroom correspondence. Their current work space in the U.K., an old glove factory that was converted into studios, is covered with brightly colored textile samples and situates itself nicely for a natural view. “I can see a flock of sheep out of my window. It’s quite lovely,” says Kate.
ABOVE // Kate’s Rescue Dog, Pepper on the KLS Edwardian Pattern in Ochre
Kate fosters a household of creativity and free spirit: “as a creative mum, I like it when the kids are painting. I don’t tell them to move away from the sofa and I don’t stop them from building a fort out of our sheets.” She uses her textile designs throughout her home to experiment with new colorways and pattern movement. Kate has recently been exploring embroideries, wovens, and blockprints, one of which she has upholstered to her headboard at the moment; “using textiles in the home is really brilliant because you get to really see how they work in a space.” These new textiles will be coming out sometime at the beginning of 2021 and we can’t wait to see how Kate’s brilliant patterns have grown and evolved.
ABOVE // KLS Textiles in Chris and Kate’s Bedroom in Wiltshire, U.K.
Before the release of her new fabrics, we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of her absolutely classic bold prints and colorways. The Dash, for example, was inspired by the graphics from Kate’s collection of 80’s album records and some of the artists that she listened to avidly growing up. There is a compelling duality of traditional and modern in her textile designs from these 80s-inspired patterns. “I love this idea of a contemporary line on a very grounded linen. The linen that it is printed on is the complete opposite of 80s pop and I really enjoy the play of those two aspects.” Record cover inspiration includes Duran Duran, The Human League, Squeeze, and A Taste of Two-Tone.
ABOVE // KLS-Patterned-Pillows upon a couch upholstered in the Dash Pattern + Some of Kate’s Favorite Records from the 70s and 80s
Another pattern, Meander, was inspired by a Victorian mourning jacket Kate found at Portobello Market in London: “Black Moire silk on the outside, wildly colorful on the inside. There’s often a vivacity to the hidden detailing of otherwise sedate Victorian garments.” Kate’s Meander pattern comes in 3 different colorways—black, grey, and blue—all of which she paints by hand. Kate also has an incredible collection of vintage textile books that she draws on for inspiration. A sweet moment of history, Kate explains, “Merchants in the 1700s and 1800s used to travel with these leather-bound books filled with pages and pages of the latest silks and textiles. They would then go around the countryside selling these silks and dressmakers would turn them into clothing.” Kate’s rich historical background in textiles informs a number of her contemporary twists on traditional motifs. Kate also references the Bloomsbury Group and the Huguenot artists and weavers that came to the U.K. from France as sources of inspiration.
ABOVE // The KLS Meander Pattern Upholstered to a Chair + Meander in Blue, Grey, and Black
KLS has been involved in a number of large-scale projects, including major textile appearances in the interior of The Wing, the network of community spaces design for women. For this project, Kate designed several custom patterns in addition to her own line of classics. Her pillows add incredible pops of color to these light-hearted and joyful rooms.
ABOVE // KLS Textiles x The Wing
Kate is truly a rare and wonderful talent and we are so very fortunate to have her bold and happy patterns represented in our to-the-trade showroom! Stay tuned for her next line of fabrics launching in 2021 - YAY!!! - and, as always, don’t be shy about reaching out for memos. You can also explore the full collection of KLS textiles on our site.
