UK designers and small brands are driving growth at Stoll GB’s Knitwear Design Centre in Leicester, United Kingdom. The company, which is the sole agent for Stoll flat knitting machines in the UK, has been operating the facility since May 2013.

The centre, which is based in Leicester city centre at the heart of the East Midlands knitwear industry, offers knitwear development facilities and training for manufacturers, designers and retailers, as well as technological solutions. Managing Director, David Williams, recently told Knitting Industry that the centre had been very successful since opening, and is in fact expanding, taking on more staff and adding more equipment, due to demand from the UK’s vibrant design community.

The centre has the full backing and support of Stoll (H. Stoll GmbH & Co.KG) the leading German flat knitting machine manufacturer, which has been building knitting machines for over one hundred and forty years, and is equipped with the latest generation Stoll flat knitting machines.

Need for knitwear development centre

David Williams, owner and Managing Director of Stoll GB, who has many years of experience in supplying machinery and services to the knitwear industry globally, said at the time of opening that he aimed to offer services which currently do not exist.

Williams told Knitting Industry prior to launch in 2013 that there was a need for a knitwear development facility in the UK which ties designers and retailers, who are predominately London based, with the manufacturing base here in Leicester and the surrounding area.

Progress to date

In its first two years the Design Centre has worked with a wide range of designers and retailers and amongst the up and coming knitwear designers there have been a number of success stories. Designers are full of praise for the initiative, especially those who are faced with the dilemma of where to go to get their early collections developed.

Although the Knitwear Design Centre has been busy this year, it has been a difficult year for the UK’s knitwear manufacturers generally according to David Williams, especially when you compare it to recent years where there has been significant investment. “Don’t get me wrong,” David Williams says. “The trade is not growing but it is not contracting either. Knitters are buying machines for efficiency gains whilst the business is there.”

The idea behind launching the centre was to encourage knitters to produce fewer garments but to sell at better prices.

Stoll GB’s Knitwear Design Centre currently caters to three designers per day. In other words, three different designers per day are at the centre working with Stoll GB’s experienced technicians to develop new styles. According to David Williams, it can have around ten ongoing projects at any given time.

Designers and start-ups

When the centre was launched in 2013 it was hoped that the big UK based retailers would use it to develop new products which could be manufactured by UK knitters. Although this has happened to a small extent, the biggest surprise has been the large numbers of designers and new start-ups that have used the facility. Many small design led new start companies who are looking to have small lots knitted are using the centre as a development and manufacturing facility. The idea is that is that if the quantities required grow then manufacturers are introduced.

The centre does a lot of training for UK retailers but the retailers do not seem to have the budgets for knitwear development. According to David Williams, the retailers have budgets to buy knitted swatches from swatching agencies and to shop for directional knitwear, but not for development of knitwear. This contrasts with the big US brands and retailers who regularly use Stoll Fashion & Technology Center in New York City.

“We are awash with small design lead companies wanting to buy access to our facilities. When you think about it, because we have machines in all gauges and the facilities to link, sew, wash and press garments, we are the ideal solution for them. We have a total open door policy for designers.

Apart from being a sole distributor for Stoll flat knitting machines, Stoll GB also represents Exacta foe sewing and linking, Mentasti for pressing equipment and now Miele for washing and dry cleaning machinery.

Companies like London based The Albion Knitting Company have worked with the centre and the centre has passed on potential customers on a number of occasions.

“One of the main purposes of the Knitwear Design Centre is to create interest in what Stoll machines can do and pass interested parties on to our customers,” David Williams explains.

According to David Williams the centre has proved to have a number of advantages. “The centre is not a great profit centre, but work carried out has lead to machine sales. We also learned how to make garments through the centre and it helps keep our finger on the pulse in terms of fashion and retail.

The Design Centre is fully equipped with garment making up and finishing equipment as well as a full range of Stoll flat knitting machines.

More established brands and retailers use Stoll GB’s Design Centre to develop prototype garments which are subsequently refined and put into production by experienced manufacturers in the UK or elsewhere in Europe.

All of the technicians at the Design Centre have a vast knowledge and understanding of stitches and techniques and it has been invaluable discussing and exploring my design ideas together with them. They have also helped me to evolve my designs to be more commercially viable and production friendly, without losing my creativity.”

Design Centre facilities

Stoll GB currently has two experienced technicians programming for clients, together with two trainee programmers, who have been trained at Stoll in Germany.

Stoll GB’s Design Centre is a combined knitwear design studio and machine showroom - floor to ceiling glass doors separate the two. The design studio is equipped with the latest Stoll M1 design and programming systems and the showroom houses a range of the latest generation Stoll CMS models in a range of gauges, which are:

CMS 502HP – in gauge E2,5.2

CMS 530HP – in gauge E3,5.2

CMS 520C – in gauge E3

CMS 530HP – in gauge E7.2

CMS 822HP – in gauge E7.2

CMS ADF3 – in gauge E7.2

CMS 520C+ - in gauge E1,5.2

Stoll GB has also been running knitwear training courses for major retailers where retailers can learn the basics of knitting technology and knitwear sample development. Training courses already held involve learning basic knit structures and fabrics analysis, together with garment assembly.

Managing Director David Williams comments: “The Design Centre is a unique concept within the UK, where designers can work alongside technicians to develop and realise their design ideas. We’re also conveniently located in the centre of the country with good rail and motorway links, at the heart of the manufacturing base.”

“Knitwear designers and product developers can access highly qualified and industry experienced technicians. Usually we recommend that the designer or developer works on site at the Design Centre with our technicians so that they can be on hand to input into and oversee the complete sampling process.”

“We look forward to welcoming the UK’s knitwear designers, manufacturers and retailers to our new Design Centre,” David Williams concludes.

Further reading

Stoll backs UK Knitwear Design Centre

Contact

David Williams

Stoll GB Ltd

Craven Street

Leicester, LE 1 4BX

United Kingdom

Phone: 0044-116-253-8296

Fax: 0044-116-251-4145

Email: [email protected]