Designer Bryony Ely in the pursuit to make a name for herself
24 year old designer Bryony Ely finds the intersection between knit, metal, art and jewellery in the most curious of ways.
The 24 year-old knit designer Bryony Ely has just graduated from Kingston University, and is keen to talk about her designs despite calling late at night from Portugal. Holiday-mode on, the passion Bryony feels for her work is clear thousands of miles away, as she tells of post-graduate life and trying to make her name in the fashion-sphere.
Her interests lie in the pursuit to become a multidisciplinary designer, and combine metal work, knitting and jewellery into her pieces. Of all these, knit was her main passion, and she has loved the craft since before she can remember.
“I don’t know how I got into knit and design originally, I just sort of had a fascination with clothes.” she says. “I wasn’t particularly the most stylish child, but making crafts by hand at school intrigued me, and I was interested in textiles from around then.”
The designs of Bryony are self-described as “textural, sportier and with cleaner finishes”, and found herself exploring her own style when she would “buy second hand and then alter it.” But it was with her grandma’s job as a dressmaker that reinforced her enthusiasm for craft, and when applying to Kingston University her love for art and multidisciplinary attachments crossed paths, and she found her home in the junction of the three.
“I’ll see something and I’ll doodle clothes or details on clothes from it. I like watching period dramas and noticing details on garments or in furniture and by drawing them I’ll have this new idea.” says Bryony, adding she finds her inspiration in the nuances of everyday life, and by interpreting them through her own artistic vision. Though the simplicity of the designer's influences may lie in historical periods and a degree of subtlety, her finished pieces are always modern and boundary-pushing, proving an injection of her own personality to be a fascinating factor in itself.
When asked about what drives her, the designer remains modest in saying it’s “other people. I love people-watching.” Her observational skills leave her fascinated by things many would not notice, such as “postbox colours” and the “architecture on buildings. I get really excited by things around me and I need to get it down so I can explore it.”
Bryony sees herself with her own studio in the future, and is currently working on the logistics of “producing my pieces due to the interest in them. I’m not necessarily working on a body of work at the moment, because it’s just me so it’s hard to approach the whole figuring-out process. But I’m always drawing, and there are always ideas in the works.”
“I find getting up and going into work really driving”, Bryony replies when questioned on what her perfect day as a designer would look like. “But I can't necessarily do something for too long, I like the different parts and elements - that's what keeps it exciting.”
Despite a rigid passion for what she does, Bryony also spoke about the struggles she faced post-graduate.
“My most challenging time was probably final year because of the constant battle of confidence in your work. I had tonsillitis like 8 times, and in the final year juggling all those things, I ended up burnt out and never wanting to look at clothes again. I never struggled with burnout really, just that final year with the intensity of it”.
Though she may have wavered in confidence, the work of Bryony simply speaks for itself in the translation of passion, and she still finds the process of making clothes relaxing.
“I do find knitting relaxing, I live by the sea at home with my mum. So aside from knitting, basic stuff like walking my dog or having a nice meal relaxes me. But I would say it was knitting really.”
Through an inspiring curiosity for things around her, Bryony shows promise in her dedication to knit and design, and the demand for her work speaks for volumes. Taking her time to ensure the process of production is perfected, her metal-finished sporty knit designs will be on all our wish lists in no time.
Words by Ella Chadwick
