We love all of the amazing independent designers out there. In order to find out more about just what makes all of these creative types tick, we present to you an ongoing segment called Indie Designer Interviews.

Today's interview is with Amy Twigger Holroyd, the UK-based knitwear designer who runs Keep & Share, an alternative luxury label of timeless knit pieces for both men and women.



Tell us a little about yourself and your company. Keep & Share is an alternative luxury label offering unconventional – yet infinitely wearable – knitwear for both men and women. Each piece is designed to satisfy over time, and is lovingly knitted in our UK studio by me (the designer) and my small team of makers. As a sustainable 'slow fashion' label, we seek to reverse the effects of throwaway fashion by creating 'best friend' pieces that will transcend trends and age gracefully. We also run creative hand and machine knitting workshops for beginners and those with more experience.

How did you get started as a designer? I studied Fashion Design with Technology at Manchester Metropolitan University and then specialised in knitwear for my MA at Winchester School of Art, Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht (the Netherlands) and Institut Français de la Mode, Paris in 2003. During my MA I developed the concept for Keep & Share and decided to start the business 'for real' after the course. I started out as a part-time designer-maker but in 2006 began to employ additional machine knitters and expanded the studio earlier this year.

What inspires your work? I have quite an evolutionary design philosophy, so there are some themes which run from season to season. I love to use the capacity of the knitted structure to create seamless three-dimensional shaping, and I'm constantly inspired by the capabilities of my machine (and my hands!). These ideas have developed into some signature shapes which are reinvented in every collection. Additionally, each collection has its own concept, inspired by a combination of elements that have grabbed my attention during the design process. The current collection for spring/summer 2008 takes inspiration from the literary tradition of magical realism, which led me to combine historical influences with simple, sporty shapes and finishes.

Who are your favorite designers? I love Lucy Jane Batchelor's greetings cards, which contain activities to give them a second life, and Susan Bradley's fantastically different 'Outdoor Wallpaper'. I'm also a big fan of my husband Simon's collage work, which he sells under the name Master of None. We're collaborating at the moment on a new children's range called Riot & Return. He's designed a beautifully crazy collage for use as a textile screen print.

What are your top fashion & beauty must-haves? Crochet ankle socks from Tabio. I buy myself a pair every time I go to London!

Any advice you would give to aspiring designers? Instead of trying to stand out from the crowd, aim to stand alone! I admire designers that find their own unique niche and philosophy.

Where can people find your work? The whole range is available on my website, www.keepandshare.co.uk. We ship internationally with a charge of just £5 per order. Key items from the range are also available at our Etsy shop: www.keepandshare.etsy.com. From time to time we set up the Travelling Store, a 'pop-up shop' which appears for just days at a time at surprise venues around the UK. We pop up at galleries, festivals, craft fairs and summer events - tour dates are available on our website.