Networking
Having the opportunity to work at Jaime Creates has opened up many opportunities for networking with the people in the industry. This includes Jaime herself and her connections and the wider knitting community in Europe which places great importance on having networks that are established, maintaining these relationships as well as being free and open-minded to connect with anyone to create a diverse welcoming community in the craft.
The main network that was established during the time at Jaime Creates is Jaime Dorfman herself which opened up more potential relationships within the industry. During the industry placement, there was great exposure to a variety of knitters in the community as well as people that she generally works with including fellow knitwear designers, yarn dyers, test knitters as well as different publishing companies. Networking with Jaime through this placement opportunity has been a valuable experience not only for her large connections to others in the industry but also for the experiences and skills that she is able to share.
Discussion with Jaime on her recent Europe trip opened up the knitting community there. Her shared experiences and views of the knitting culture in Europe have provided more opportunities to connect with the people there, naming a few knitwear designers as well as yarn labels and publishing companies. There, the craft is more widely practised and richer with more innovations in pattern designs as well as the quality of yarn. There were evidently more yarn options that had sustainability values embedded in them with a variety of natural fibres, weights, and colours. Hand-dyed yarn is also quite big over there which has provided inspiration as well as the types of people to contact, sharing the craft of knitting from across the world.
From the networking and relationships made, it has been understood that the hand-knit community is very tightly knit, where people are very supportive and active in promoting, featuring, and encouraging one another in their works. Realising this in the case of test-knitters, where people are not necessarily paid to test-knit pattern sizes, building connections where people are willing to help test-knit and provide feedback with compensation for having the final pattern is a valuable connection to establish. Engaging with people in the network has also been important as this keeps a healthy relationship between the two groups which can not only be seen with people directly working with you but also with the audience and your followers. Keeping up with frequent posts and social media content engages followers which potentially may be included in future networking opportunities.
