In the Studio With... Cawley
Founder Hannah Cawley gives Liberty a tour of her studio, as the brand’s menswear collection debuts in store
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In the Studio With... Cawley
Designer and founder Hannah Cawley gives Liberty a tour of her Deptford studio, as the brand’s menswear collection makes its debut in store
In a sun-drenched studio in Deptford, South London, Hannah Cawley perches on a squashy pinstripe sofa, surrounded by the trappings of her craft. Spools of thread on the windowsill, rolls of fabric stacked in a corner and an elegant selection of new season pieces from her brand, Cawley Studios', latest collection arrayed around the walls. Next to her sits fellow Cawley designer, Esme Evans, and Sid, the whippet.
Founded from Hannah’s bedroom in 2017, Cawley Studios creates thoughtful and considered clothing, with a focus on local craftsmanship, community and sustainability. Not only that, but the Cawley world has expanded to include ceramics, jewellery and even playlists, all artfully curated with the brand’s ethos in mind.
With the entire operation run from the brand’s small London studio, each and every item is designed and made in the UK, through a network of talented artisans and makers – with some creators as local as down the hall.
As Cawley Studios’ menswear collection launches in Liberty, Hannah and Esme sat down with us in the studio, to share the story and ethos behind the brand.
The Story of Cawley Studio
How did you first become interested in sewing and design?
Hannah: I sewed from a really early age. I think I got my first sewing machine for Christmas when I was six or seven years old. And my mum used to make me lots of clothes and costumes for dance shows growing up, so she's the one that really got me started in the clothes making world.
How would you describe the aesthetic that your brand has today?
I would say it's quite nostalgic. We look at things that we would have wanted to wear and that we would want to wear now. It also has like a playful element, but it's very practical and hard wearing at the same time.
You've spoken before about craftsmanship and kind of artisanal creation being important to you. Why is that?
Hannah: It’s really important for us. We're a British brand. We make everything in London, and we really want to champion the factories that we work with and try and support manufacturing in the UK.
Esme: A lot of it is dying out and people are outsourcing overseas, but we’ve worked with so many small, independent makers through Cawley. Our bags are made just downstairs, and we commissioned ceramics from people down the hall. Being close to those people, and it's really important to us.
It feels like there's a real sense of kind of community and collectivism. Why is that something that's kind of important to you?
I think it helps working like we work with such small factories and they're proud of what they do. They often come to us with ideas too. For instance, if we're making a checked tube skirt jacket, and they suggest particular colours. They're really proud of what they're doing, so it's inspiring for us to bounce off them and make it collaborative thing
You make playlists alongside all of the collections, why is that something you decided to do? And how do you go about curating that?
Music has always been like a really big part of my upbringing. My friends have a record label, and I used to play and DJ with them, and now they make the playlists! The music we listen to in the usually very chill. That’s what we work best to, but we always fit the music to the mood that we're in. So, if we're at packing orders or something, it's over something more upbeat, but if we're having a more laptop focused, email day, we'll probably play something chill.
We're a British brand. We make everything in London, and we really want to champion the factories that we work with and try and support manufacturing in the UK.
What does a kind of typical day look like in the studio?
Hannah: It's so different day to day, We usually get in, have a meeting, have a coffee, answer emails and plan the day.
Esme: We’re such a small team, so every day is different. We are the design team, we are the customer service team, we’re everything. You just never know what's really going to happen. We have a plan, but we might get really inspired and then put the plan on pause to make bows all day or research an idea.
How do the objects round your studio inspire you?
Hannah: I've always loved collecting objects. I think they probably inspire collections more than I think about. It comes back to community and collaboration again, because we’ve got so many really talented friends. Some of the ceramics here are created by friends and local makers. Finding little treasures is what really helps with inspiration.
We want to be creating a kind of Cawley world, where we are yes, making and designing clothes, but we also want to be championing other makers, because it's important for us to show that.
What's the biggest distraction?
We just often go off on tangents from getting inspired and wanting to make everything. There's so many times where we're designing, but then it's like: "oh, that's a nice piece of pottery… Why don't we become like ceramicists or like jewellers or on top of this?"!
When are you at your most creative?
It changes all the time, we get really inspired if we've been seeing fabrics or we've been looking at different swatches, and that tends to really excite us. When we’ve got the physical things in front of us, we just want to start making!
