Limited Edition Socks!
Crafted in collaboration with luxury British knitwear designer Genevieve Sweeney.
A Perfect Fit
After meeting at a female founders event, our founder Claire & Genevieve knew the collaboration was a perfect fit.
Like Air & Grace, Genevieve Sweeney is devoted to slow fashion with a seamless blend of tradition, innovation and sustainability.
"We worked closely with Genevieve Sweeney to create a collection of gorgeous socks, to perfectly complement our shoes, boots and trainers. With a special glitter yarn woven through, each pair has that extra sparkle we know you'll love."
- Claire Burrows, Founder
"I met Claire a few years ago at a trade event and loved her values and ethos of Air & Grace. I always felt an alignment with manufacturing and fit being so important."
- Genevieve Sweeney, Founder
We caught up with Genevieve to talk all things socks, knitting & her journey so far...
When did you first start knitting?
Knitting has always been a big part of my life. After my mother passed away when I was just five years old, my nan taught me to knit so I had something to do in the back of the car while my dad travelled for work. I would use a space dye yarn and become transfixed with knitting, unravelling and knitting again, finding the colours hypnotic.
When I met a Fashion Knitwear student on my summer job, I couldn’t believe that there was a degree and even a career path for my secret hobby, and instantly decided what I wanted to do with my life.
What led to you wanting to start your own business?
When I moved to London, I began to buy and restore old knitting machines called Dubieds so I could spend weekends and evenings knitting in my studio.
I would find these machines on eBay, spending time with their owners, engrossed in their stories of the golden age of knitting.
I was frustrated with the carbon footprint and wastage I saw in the fashion industry, and this was a big incentive for starting my own brand. I wanted to launch a knitwear brand that would make a difference.
What inspires each design?
My colour palette and combinations are often inspired by abstract art, as well as hues I see in nature when out on walks or visiting gardens.
Often I will be thinking about combining yarns and colours together for quite a while until I find the right fibres.
Tell us more about your socks...
The story of my socks began when I discovered a beautiful yarn that was unfortunately too fine for knitting sweaters.
I remembered a meeting I had when I was first setting up my brand, and I got back in touch with him to discuss turning this yarn into socks.
At first he wasn’t convinced, but he then called me when he had a free day and offered to teach me how to knit socks on his machines.
If I learned the skills and passed his ‘test’, I could try knitting with my own yarn. The result was the Solline sock, and we have now worked together for over eight years.
Tough question, do you have a favourite pair?
It’s so hard to pick, but I really love my sparkly socks because of their shimmer of colour and how soft they are.
I love the Selina two-tone socks - a great weight to with all styles of shoes, from trainers, boots to even heels! The gold is so uplifting and has a great party vibe.
Slow, responsible fashion is at the heart of your brand, how do you make this a reality?
I manufacture in small batches to avoid any wastage and over-production. I create a lot of my own marls by twisting colours and fibres together to create a very unique production.
This is a slow process and one that not many manufacturers would usually do, but it’s a fantastic way of using small cones of yarn at the end of a production run that would normally be discarded.
We also take the time to ensure the highest standards of quality when making our socks, ensuring that they are a good fit and are made to last.
What’s next for Genevieve Sweeney?
I have just moved into a new studio space and am really excited to be knitting in my own studio again, and am now looking to take on an apprentice and start internships.
It’s amazing to have the space to grow the business, and also to have a space where customers can visit, try on the collection and see what goes on behind the scenes.
I am currently working on a summer collection for next year, and often dream about starting a homeware range!
