Jacquie Severs

My father is from England. I don't know my family there very well, though I have met a few members here and there. As an adult I realized it was my grandparents who were the ones who 'left' and 'lived far away'. It is odd to think of that way because as a child I thought of my extended family in England as being the ones who were far away. I do recall when I was growing up I would get occasional updates about my cousins. There was one second cousin right around my age, so I guess my family felt in some way I would be curious to know about her, though we've never met. Recently my father forwarded a clipping about my cousin's new business venture. I thought it was a really interesting project, so I looked her up on facebook, and now we're 'friends'. The internet really has made the world small. And it a lot of ways, it was small to begin with.



The company is called The North Circular, named partially for North Circular Road, which is a trunk road that crosses North London, linking West and East London. It, together with the South Circular Road, forms a ring road through the inner part of Outer London. The company is also named for their first product, the circular shrug. 



The brand is modern and forward thinking, because it is well designed, hand made and ethical. Everything is so deliciously drool-worthy. The line was created as a partnership between models Lily Cole and Katherine Poulton and knitwear designer (and Central St Martins graduate) Alice Ashby. The wool is ethically sourced from rescued animals at a Wensleydale sheep sanctuary in North Yorkshire, while the knitting is hand done in England by "real grannies". Which I can attest to, since my aunt and great aunt are two of them. The hand knitting process creates unique items each time.

Shop here.
Read more here.
Meet the sheep here.