Making feature
Making feature
photograph: Dot & cross
photograph: Dot & cross
Making room Abi Cox travels to the city to visit two fifths of Dot & Cross, purveyors and makers of beautiful things for home, work and life.
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photogrpahs unless otherwise stated: callum dickson
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ucked away in a residential street in Leytonstone, East London lies the creative hub of Dot & Cross; a contemporary home and lifestyle brand. Although the products have the air of East London cool about them, this is a distinctly homespun, family operation. The talented Roberts family have been working together for a couple of years, creating minimalist accessories and stylish stationery to sell online and at the achingly hip craft fairs popping up all around the East End. Founder Isky is the only member of the family full time on Dot & Cross as it stands, meaning much of the admin falls to her but along with sister Sara, she also creates beautifully bound notebooks: the other sister, Ella, is in charge of the jewellery section; mother, Ülya, used to be a seamstress so sews the almost-wasted-in-a-bathroom wash bags, whilst father, Huw is a cabinetmaker, thus responsible for the hand turned oak products.
www.craftsinstitute.com
When I meet Isky and Sara one sunny afternoon in May, it’s clear that their parents’ creativity and artisan skills have been the primary inspiration and main motivation for Dot & Cross: “They were always making, so that must have really shaped our ethos of handmade, British made, quality products.” The girls tell me they are resolutely against disposable fashion and stick to a classic, faintly scandi-chic outline: “a few years ago, we went to a Paul Smith lecture and he said he never paid attention to what other designers were doing, he was influenced by art and architecture instead. It’s definitely noticeable in his work!” Sara, a graphic artist by day and notebook binder/leather worker by night, says she looks to the latest fashions for inspiration, but doesn’t let it influence her work too much: “I really like the work of Margaret Howell; she’s quite a purist but still manages to inject her personality into her clothes.” The girls give me a list of artists and designers they look to for inspiration, including Ann and Paul Rand, Yoshitomo Nara and Langlands and Bell, all of whom I shamefully Google later and find they exhibit similar minimalist tendencies with a splash of quirkiness to the products on the Dot & Cross site. Considering the number of strings to the Dot & Cross bow, their studio would be best described as an office: a small printing press and cutting mat the only concession to their artistic endeavors. “Although it’s small it does work for us at the moment, as everything we produce is equally small! But when we’re in full book production mode we do spread out down to the kitchen.” The kitchen, designed and made by their father, is likely to become a space for Sara’s leather cutting as her projects increase: “The cutting mat upstairs is fine while I’m making pencil cases and key chains, but I’m starting to make prototype handbags, so I will need more space!” Luckily, their father has his own workshop in which to turn his bowls, tea light holders and kitchen paraphernalia, and the girls also rent a corner of his space for storage. “Space is something we’re going to have to address in the near future, Sara wants to build a shed or something at the back of the garden where we can work.” They are clearly a very close-knit family, and these two make a great team, but does the dynamic work in a business sense? “I’d be lying if I said there weren’t any disagreements, but that’s the same in every company. With us, I feel I can speak my mind totally without hurting any of our relationships.” Sara agrees with Isky’s account and explains how they always attempt to separate family and work over dinner for example, as they’d never be able to escape it; however, admits the professional side often slips while in the midst of those rumoured disagreements! Dot & Cross have clearly only just started their rise to design stardom. With an ever-increasing list of craft fairs and pop-up shops under their belt, it won’t be long before their products will be gracing every style bible. With the mix of contemporary cool and traditional values, this is a brand worth buying into.
photograph: Dot & cross
To find out more, visit: www.dotandcross.co.uk
www.craftsinstitute.com
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