A Day At Twinkle

My all-time favorite jobs as a photographer are those that involve shooting artists' spaces, and, of course, the artists that they house. So I was completely thrilled when Knit.1 asked me to pay a visit to designer Wenlan Chia's studio in Manhattan to spend the day with her for a few portraits and studio shots. We had such a great time together - and I thought I'd share some of the shots with you, as I'm sure there are some big Twinkle fans out there.




In the handknitting community, Wenlan is probably best known for her signature super bulky merino yarn - Soft Chunky (pictured below) (kinda looks like cotton candy, doesn't it?) and the wonderfully chunky fashion knits she conjures up with it.


She carries two other yarn lines, which I hadn't ever experienced in person - and let me tell you, being surrounded by handknit samples of throws everywhere you turn isn't a bad way to experience a new yarn either.

And while of course I had plenty of delicious knits around to keep my lens busy all day... there were certainly a few other things that I had a hard time keeping away from...


Wenlan's dog, Milan, has a huge personality and wanted to be a part of the action all day. Aside from being a photogenic little canine, he serves as inspiration for many of Wenlan's home designs as I soon found out.




I think I mentioned in a previous post about my Twinkle Chunky throw (Finished! Photos soon!) that I had come into a small stash of Soft Chunky in a special circumstance - well this is how. I saw these luscious throws in the studio and had to have one. And since Wenlan basically forced me to take yarn... what was I to do but gracefully oblige?







If you'd like to read up on Wenlan's inspiring story, check out the article in the current issue of Knit.1 for more. My very own Chia-designer-throw will be featured here in just a few short days... if I can pull myself out from under it long enough for a photoshoot.


I hope you are all enjoying the holidays and giving your knitting some extra special face-time. It feels like the first time I've been able to take a breath and truly enjoy my knitting for some time. And it's wonderful.

[If you haven't gotten enough of Ms. Chia, see more photos from Twinkle here]