The Market Edition
This week, we’re inspired by flower markets and local creatives
Hello Knit Clubbers! This time of year, as spring turns into summer, always reminds me of strolling through markets and the joy of picking up fresh flowers and choosing seasonal produce to cook with (aka Max cooks with!). With some recent trips to Hamburg’s markets as well as feeling inspired by flowers in what we’re crafting, buying and our floral pop-up in the store this month, this week’s newsletter is a small love letter to mornings like this. Expect pictures from times we’ve spent browsing blooms as well as a shout-out to beautiful products inspired by market culture, and our recommendation of where to go in the city for faible and failure locals.
As well as this week’s theme, we’re getting ready for a month away as I travel Portugal and the South of France, so get ready for lots more market content to come. I’ll be sourcing vintage cloth for our hand-made jackets and looking out for French antiques, so follow along with me on Instagram. While I’m gone, I’m so excited to welcome some of our fellow Hamburg-based, independent brands into the store for a pop up. It’s going to be an amazing month with new products to see and some events, too, so make sure you come by and say hello!
In the neighbourhood: Isemarkt
For our market edition, we think there’s no better recommendation for Hamburg readers than our favourite place to wander on Tuesday and Friday mornings; the Isemarkt in Eimsbüttel. Stretching a kilometre underneath a suspended railway, you can find everything here and its beauty lies in its authenticity. There’s a whole cart dedicated to mushrooms, a herb stand decorated with whimsical woven baskets filled with fresh basil and parsley, and countless flower sellers with seasonal blooms - take a walk, grab a coffee and enjoy chatting to the regulars from 8.30am until 2pm. It’s also a great place for people watching; we particularly love the elderly shoppers who come dressed in their best clothes and feel inspired every time.
Plan your visit to Isemarkt here.
f&f happenings: our pop-up
As mentioned, we’re so excited that our Hamburg store is being taken over by some brilliant, creative brands over the next month, offering our local shoppers a new view of faible and failure throughout June and July. From this week, we’re welcoming Yvonne of Morgens Studio who curates vintage homewares and decoration; Nora of Burau Dumont who specialises in hand-made, foil handbags and Viola of von.flowers, who will be offering floristry workshops and an installation of home-grown flowers taken from her garden in Witzehave. The pop-up will run until 13th July with opening times: Tuesday to Friday from 11-7pm, and Saturday from 12-6pm. Watch out for von.flowers event on the 5th July which shows you how to hand-tie your own bouquet, accompanied by a glass of bubbly and snacks. You can drop in anytime to shop and chat to the founders, so we hope you have time to say hello!
f&f recommends: STRAW London
If markets are your thing, there’s one more to put on your list: Columbia Road Flower Market in London. While this isn’t around the corner for our German Knit Clubbers, it is a must visit next time you’re in the UK. Held every Sunday in East London’s Hackney, this small street comes alive with flower sellers, food and drink stands, and well-dressed locals and tourists alike.
What makes it special are the brightly-coloured independent stores that line the street, including a favourite of ours, STRAW London. Both Isabelle, faible and failure’s founder, and Megan, our freelance copywriter, not only have a special love for this market, but actually met after striking up conversation about Megan’s STRAW tote bag - she used to live close to the store and is friends with its talented owner, Emily Attrill. So, you could say we have a very personal connection to it! STRAW specialises in wicker baskets, vintage curation and huge, gingham bows making it a haven of earthy-toned Englishness. You have to see the market-themed bags which are crafted from recycled organza and embroidered with a basket design, featuring a hidden pouch to house your own bunch of flowers - it’s genius!
Knit Club basket: Florette pin
Looking for the perfect outfit to visit flower market in? We might be biased, but for us, it starts with the Florette pin. Inspired by Chanel’s iconic Camellia brooch, our sweet woven rosettes are created using leftover yarn and crafted in collaboration with RITA IN PALMA, based in Berlin. Ann-Kathrin, the founder of the brand and organization, employs and supports immigrant women from all over the world with a vision to bring together unique design and techniques with empowerment and long-term employment for women who need it most. We’re so happy to be working with them and seeing how crafts(wo)manship can lead to empowerment. We have a selection of ready-made Florette pins in-store, or talk to us about a particular colour that you’re looking for and we’ll make it happen.
Inspired by: WAA Podcast x Hila Limar
Last week, some of the faible and failure team headed down to stylish events and co-working space, Eeden, for a live edition of Daria Suvorova’s Women Authors of Achievement podcast, which spotlights the careers of accomplished women in Berlin and beyond. This episode shared the story of Hila Limar who moved to Hamburg from Afghanistan as a child and is now Chairwoman at Visions for Children, a non-profit organisation that seeks to improve education in areas of conflict. Not only does Hila put her efforts into supporting children through school, she collaborated with her sister Wana to create their own jewellery brand, SEVAR Studios, so that they can train women and now disabled people in goldsmithing and go on to offer employment, too. As you can imagine, listening to Hila’s journey was incredibly inspiring but her designs are stunning also, so please check out the brand and follow their on-going story. And, if you’re looking for more responsible, women-led brands, you can find SEVAR and many more at White Label Project, a digital concept store that champions impactful independents.
Listen to WAA podcast here or have a look at SEVAR’s beautiful jewellery.
That is it for this time! Our next issue is straight out of South of France! Imagine blue waters, long promenades, amazing food and loads of vintage textiles. Our stops are:
L‘isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Marseille, Nice, Antibes, Ezè, Cotignac and Lyon.
Please let me know if you have any recommendations what’s not to miss! I’ll keep you posted with our must-dos in two weeks.