Handmade knitwear. Winter 2017 . 2018
8-9
34 - 35
10 - 11
40 - 41
20 - 21
48 - 49
28 - 29
50
Welcome to the world of INTI The story of INTI Knitwear Frederic Edwin Church A painter inspired by Ecuador Along the dusty roads of Ecuador Travel Tintoreria & hilanderia The Dyehouse
Washing instructions How to take care of your woolen garment Alpargatas The tradional Ecuadorian sandals Leftovers woven into precious scarfs The story behind the scarf Colophon Contact . Agents . Magazine Cardigan Opra MY 7701 Blanco Cardigan Mara MY 4708 Verde mar >
Baby alpaca Ecuador
Sweater Hanna M1706 Havana
Anna Cales & Leon van den Broek Founders of INTI knitwear
Nuestras pasiรณn es nuestra fortaleza (Our passion is our strength)
8
Welcome to the world of INTI. 25 years ago we were young and adventurous backpackers on our first travel to South America. It was love at first sight: the continent stole our hearts with its magnificent nature, colourful culture and welcoming people. We never left. We still spend about half of each year in Otavalo, located in the north of Ecuador, to support our production and our team of around 700 knitters. We are closely involved with each step of the process, from the design phase to wool dyeing and knitting and the distribution of our products. From the beginning we have successfully collaborated with local residents. At first we bought South American items to sell at festivals, but then we met a group of women who were creating immensely sophisticated and attractive knitwear. Something magical happened: everything fell into place. INTI Knitwear was born. We began to combine our creative ideas with artisanal crafts and the finest sustainable materials from Ecuador and Peru. Since then, our organisation has grown into a unique and dynamic enterprise with a yearly collection of handmade knitwear. We find inspiration in the panoramic landscapes and the aromas, colours and traditions of South America’s fascinating cultures. The essence of these influences is lovingly translated into contemporary knitwear designs. Pure wool, the most natural material there is, forms the basis of each INTI garment and accessory. Women worldwide enjoy the feeling of a beautiful garment that warms and gently embraces them. For this reason we only use silky baby alpaca wool and a particularly fine quality of merino wool. The creative use of a natural colour palette gives our clothing a unique and authentic look. Wearing INTI makes you feel cosy, snug and precious. INTI focuses on items that are hand-made with respect for nature, cultures and people. Stitch by stitch each piece is lovingly developed from high-quality materials, on two needles, by local knitters working in their own homes. You sense its history: there is an individual behind each item. To us this is the essence of sustainable fashion. Each item carries the knitter’s autograph on its label, always reminding you of its origins. You feel the care, attention, expertise and passion that have been put into your garment. INTI Knitwear does not only embrace your body – it will warm your heart forever.
Abrazo! Anna Cales & Leon van den Broek
9
Cardigan Hazael MY 2705 Blanco
10
View of Cotapaxi from the hacienda San Antonio, Ecuador (1853)
Frederic Edwin Church 1826-1900
Inspired by geographer and naturalist Alexander from Humboldt, the American landscape painter Frederic Edwin Church visited Ecuador twice. He developed his travel sketches into epic paintings. These spectacular works of art are also a documentation, a scientific study of every natural feature that exists in that area of the Andes. Every species of plant and animal is readily identifiable; even climatic zonation by altitude is delineated precisely.
11
Sweater Jahel MY4711 >
12
13
Sweater Mahia MY1707 Navy Sweater Medad AB1717 Gris
14
15
Sweater Talitha MY1708 Havana
16
17
Stola Ojales SM1730 Vulcano
Laguna Cuicocha Ibarra Ecuador 20
Along the dusty roads of Ecuador.
Sometimes we want to get away from our house in Otavalo. On the weekends we often take a local bus to one of the many beautiful spots in our province, Imbabura. The bus ride is an adventure in itself. Once you’ve bought your ticket it’s a matter of sitting down, enjoying and soaking in everything around you. A mother with a live chicken on her lap, the children with their school uniforms and endearing smiles, a father with a briefcase on his way to the office, a grandmother in her colourful traditional clothing and hat. The sounds of the bus are wonderfully soothing. ‘Normal’ life still exists on these dusty, unpaved roads. This time we are on our way to Mindo: a spectacular area that is home to gorgeous butterflies and intensely colourful birds. You can fly across the rainforest here: there is a cableway! Everything in this region breathes a sense of pureness. The nature is unspoiled, the accommodations are basic and the restaurants are simple. You eat Patacones (a non-sweet type of banana), rice, and chicken with aji – a spicy sauce that is served all across this region. By now we have been enjoying this small and yet grand Ecuador for 25 years. We spend half of the year living and working here for our company, INTI, at 2850 meters above sea level. We once arrived with our backpacks to discover this place, filled with excitement and adventure. The simplicity, the population and the artisanal working methods immediately captured our hearts. Who could have ever thought that craftsmanship would come to fill our lives? For years we have been able to employ about 700 people through INTI, and this is something we cherish. Through INTI we contribute to the small-scale domestic harmony of people working from their homes, combining family care with knitting. In peace, with happy thoughts and without stress. Most of our craftswomen experience knitting as a form of meditation. ‘Yo me relajo así’, they say: ‘this work relaxes me.’ We, as westerners, are still trying to learn from this.
21
Yo me relajo a sí Señora Suzana Ortega
Senora Suzana Ortega
22
Cardigan Noa M1713 Naranja
23
Long sweater Cayambe MY7606 Navy
24
25
Long cardigan Tirza MY1709 Mora
26
Senora Miriam Lema Pueblo Carabuela
27
Sweater Rebekka MY1726 Mora
28
Tintoreria & hilanderia. The dyehouse
The colours of INTI wool are based on a natural, earthly beauty. They are developed in close collaboration with our colour master, Darwin Esparzam. He and his wife run a dyehouse, or ‘tintoreria’, in Ibarra, Ecuador. Darwin has enchanted, surprised and inspired us with the most amazing colours and hues for 20 years. This colour master and his wife run a dyehouse, or ‘tintoreria’ in Ibarra, Ecuador.
29
Cardigan Julia MY4709 Havana 30
Tweed jacket Zorah T2704 Old gold 32
Palm leaf Ravenala Madagascariensis 33
Washing instructions. Wool is self-cleaning. After wearing, hang it out to air. We wash wool at 0 degrees in the washing machine on the wool cycle, and we also use the wool spin cycle. (Of course it is possible to hand wash too, but why hand wash when the result is just as good when using the machine?) If hand washing, make sure that you are using a sufficient amount of water. Also, don’t rub the material in the water; this can be avoided by using the right amount of water. Don’t spot clean; always wash the whole garment, not just the part that has the stain. Use a pH neutral detergent, or preferably a special wool washing detergent. Wash different colors separately. Do not use bleach! When rinsing, make sure that the temperature of the rinsing water is the same as the washing water. Never hang or lay a wool garment to dry when it is saturated in water. Try to remove as much of the water as possible and don’t lay it out on anything that absorbs moisture (such as a towel). Colors might run and the natural elasticity of the garment may deteriorate. Never put wool in the tumble dryer! (Unless the object is to make it into felt). When ironing, use a steam iron, or put a moist protective sheet between a regular iron and the woolen surface. Pilling and balling of your purchase is perfectly normal. To remove pilling, and keep your item looking fresh and recently bought, we recommend using a wool comb or a product like the Sweater Stone. It is natural and uses no chemicals or batteries.
Sweater Eva MY1718 Manzanilla Cardigan Yucca MY1701 Manzanilla
Maxi tweed coat Nadab T2710 Avena
36
Pequenos momentos, grandes recuerdos. (Small moments, great memories)
San Pedro de Atacama Chile
37
38
Alpargatas.
Most OtavaleĂąos wear traditional clothing, although the modern world has found its way here as well. The women wear embroidered white blouses, checkered aprons, scarves, and beads around their wrists and neck. The men wear flowing blue ponchos and white trousers. Men, women and children all walk on alpargatas, sandals made from the fibres of the agave plant. This traditional footwear is the origin of the espadrille sandal.
Sweater Ezra MY2701 Verde mar
Ser tu mismo es todo lo que tienes que hacer. To be yourself is all what you can do
Tejiendo a mano no hay errores solo originalidad. In handmade knitting there are no mistakes just unique pieces Donna Rosa Martinez
Cardigan Calabaza MY97021 Havana
45
Sweater Hanna MY1706 Havana
Sweater Medad MY1717 Queens Cardigan Evi AB4716 Queens 47
Elsa Fuentes 48
Leftovers woven into precious scarfs.
The multicolour scarf is the most sustainable item in our collection. The idea for this scarf arose from the wish to recycle our leftover wool. Remainders from all the colours of wool we have used in our past collections are incorporated in these scarves. The wool is still hand-woven in a traditional manner that preserves its characteristic structure. Weaving is a labourintensive process: INTI’s weaving takes place at Fabian and Elsa’s weaving shop in Ecuador. Fabian warps and weaves a wide range of colours on the loom. When the weaving is finished, he combs the scarf with a large teasel. This creates an astonishing effect: the resulting blend of colours is always a pleasant surprise. The colourful scarf combines perfectly with a basic coat or sweater, and the combing process makes the outer layer incredibly soft. Wrapping this scarf around you feels wonderful, like a warm blanket. No wonder this is one of the most wanted items in our collection. Fabian and Elsa’s life has taken a different turn thanks to this scarf: they were able to build a weaving shop next to their house. The production of the scarves gives them plenty of work, and the humming sound of the loom can be heard all the year round, The entire family profits from this: their five sons always find someone at home when they come back from school. In this way INTI contributes to a happy family life.
49
Contact. INTI SHOWROOM Leon van den Broek | Anna Cales Havenstraat 7h | 5211 WC | ‘s-Hertogenbosch The Netherlands info@intiknitwear.com | 0031 (0)73 - 612 44 14 INTI KNITWEAR intiknitwear.com facebook.com/IntiKnitwear
Agents. NETHERLANDS NORTH
Ana Luz anneloes@intiknitwear.com | 0031 (0)6 - 16 76 27 73
NETHERLANDS SOUTH- CENTRAL
Du Bois Labels marit@duboislabels.nl | 0031 (0)6 - 52 62 00 74
BELGIUM
Anne Fobe anne.fobe1@telenet.be | 0032 495 92 02 03 Sarah Schulze sas@goodluxagengy.com | 0049 172 4100 325
GERMANY
Magazine. PHOTOGRAPHY FASHION
Lisa Klappe
Anna Cales Joss de Groot | jossdegroot.nl Annie Spratt | Hailey Kean Hiroyuki Igarashi | Patricia Lara PHOTOGRAPHY SOUTH AMERICA
HAIR & MAKE UP
Nilgun Canbaz | nilguncanbaz.com
MODELS Varusa Misidjan Rebekka | maxmodels.nl Bianca | maxmodels.nl PRODUCTION
Ana Luz
DESIGN & CONCEPT Lilian van Stekelenburg lily66.com COPY
Linda Groothuijse lindagroothuijse.nl
TRANSLATOR
Laura Schuster mediafictions.net
PRINTED BY
Drukkerij Knoops drukkerijknoops.nl
SPECIAL THANKS TO Yoth | yoth.nl Westside | westside.nl
Cardigan Mara MY4708 Verde Mar > 50
Happines is a direction not a place
La Felicidad no esta en la meta, esta en el camino.