One Day : Kathrine Plumb - Textile Designer
Location : Stockholm, Sweden
Profession / passion : Textile designer / Screen printer
Website : www.studiokjp.com
Instagram : @kjplumb
One Day is an ongoing project sparked by the Covid-19. In the days of isolation we would like to focus on what we do best; bringing people together. Read more about the project here.
We will be posting one new day of someones life every day until we run out of contributors. See our instagram stories to experience these peoples One Day in action.
A text, song or film that everyone should experience.
My Singing Bird - Gerry Rafferty : My boyfriend played this on our first trip away together and I think it’s just such a lovely, underrated song.
What is the story behind your profession/ passion?
I studied Textile Design at Central Saint Martins (2012-2016) and fell in love with silkscreen printing. I almost specialised in knit design, but there was just something about the print room that I really loved. I knew I didn’t want to go into a job where I was churning out designs for a brand and never getting any recognition, so after I graduated I joined a small south London studio and printed whenever I had time outside of my hospitality job (because you still have bills to pay!). I did this for nearly two years and managed to create and grow my small brand, although I simultaneously took on more responsibility at the restaurant I was working at and switched to a full time managerial role. It was absolutely exhausting and I don’t think I ever had a real day off for those two years.
We moved to Stockholm pretty quickly at the end of 2018, after my boyfriend was offered a job at Spotify and we decided we wanted a change - he’s Swedish so we had always talked about moving here anyway. Six months later, everything fell into place for me to set up a print studio: I found a space I could afford and the right equipment was suddenly available second hand. Since then, I’ve just been continuing to do what I love and thankfully people really seem to like it!
How has the current situation affected how you work?
Day to day, my working life hasn’t changed too much yet as Sweden isn’t anywhere close to being on lockdown... Thankfully I’m used to working on my own and my studio is only a ten minute walk away from home, so it’s not a problem for me to keep printing right now! I’ve had to take a break on letting new people come and use the studio, but I’ve adapted so that my members can come in one at a time without me there. I’m only shipping orders out once a week and it’s getting a little messy as most of my customers are international so everything is taking a lot longer to be delivered, but I’m really grateful that everyone is being very understanding and patient.
Analog or digital?
I would have to say both. For a long time I hated working digitally, but I think it’s important to have a balance.
Your best trait?
I think I’m quite honest. Not in a way where I’m going to tell someone if I don’t like what they’re wearing, but I’m always pretty open with how I’m feeling. My eldest brother died in an accident when I was 15 and for the couple of years that followed I think I bottled a lot of things up, because being a teenager is already confusing enough. I eventually did some sessions of CBT which taught me to understand my way of thinking so much more, and now I’m grateful that I have a partner who I can be honest and discuss my feelings with. I’m trying to teach him to be the same because 80% of the time a disagreement we have will come from a miscommunication or misinterpretation, and I know men especially have a hard time opening up.
What traits do you treasure in other people?
Honesty, humour, ambition, thoughtfulness, spontaneity.
Your most treasured possession?
Last year my Grandma gave me her mum's engagement ring and I wear it almost everyday, although not on my ring finger.
What was the most defining moment in your life?
I think for me it was more of a defining period between age 15-18. My parents had a bad divorce the year before my brother died and, although it was a horrible few years, it really taught me that life is too short. I know a lot of people say that, but for me it really hits home. I was so academic before everything happened, and then I went to college and realised I loved working with textiles and art so I literally put all of my energy into that class - it’s the only A-level I got and I think I only lost one mark. Getting into Saint Martins also really opened my eyes to a whole new world of careers and opportunities. I’m from a small town and never would’ve imagined doing what I do now, but there I found this drive to make sure I do something that I really love and feel passionate about.
Quality or quantity?
Definitely quality! I would love to upscale my production, but I also think a huge part of my work is that I screen print everything myself. I know there are ways to build quantity without compromising on quality, but these days we’re lucky that a lot of people are more focused on the latter.
Who do you miss?
Family and friends back home. My sister is due to give birth in May and I’m absolutely gutted that I won’t be able to go back.
When was the last time you learned something new and what was it?
I got a couple of terrazzo coaster kits from Katie Gillies and we did them last weekend! It was so fun to do something creative in a new medium, although I did mess mine up at the very end and need to have another go… I’d actually been wanting to go to one of her workshops in the UK for ages, and then when she had to cancel all of them she came up with the great idea of selling at-home workshop kits. I’d 100% recommend getting one next time they’re available, although you have to be quick because they seem to be selling out within minutes!
Have you actively chosen to live in the city/town you live in?
I’d be lying if I said there weren’t times when I wanted to move, because Stockholm is a tough city to adjust to, but I think long-term it’s the right place to be. For a while I was really serious about wanting to try New York, and I think a huge part of that is the ‘life’s too short, do what makes you happy’ outlook, but with everything going on right now I am so glad to be here. I do hope we’ll move back to London one day, but I think we would need to be in a position where the work/life balance we have here wouldn’t be compromised if we were living there.
If you were forced to sit still for one month straight without pursuing your current profession, how would you spend your time?
Oh wow, completely still? I would do a lot of reading and learn new languages!
What does freedom mean to you?
I think freedom for me means the ability to truly be yourself and of course to travel, but it should also come with the knowledge that other people have that same freedom, and that their opinions and choices may be different to yours.
Lastly, how do wish to see this current situation have a positive impact on our lives?
It’s hard because I know I’m in a relatively privileged position - I’m still working, my partner is working, no one we know has gotten sick, we’re not worried about paying bills, I’m in a good relationship and a good mental state. A lot of people aren’t in the same position and I hope that this situation makes people more aware of what they have, but also what others don’t. I hope we learn to slow down and to not take so many little things for granted. And politically I hope that this will make people think twice before they vote for a conservative government.