12:00a.m. 26th August 2008

| Haylee Nissen

Expert knitter/designer Amy Heslop, wearing one of her creations.

Julia Roberts does it, so does Cameron Diaz, Kate Moss and even Robbie Williams but none of these celebrity knitters have the talent or creativity of Sunshine Coaster Amy Heslop who is taking the knitting world by storm one purl at a time.

Originally from the UK, Amy has always been drawn to knitting and enrolled in a course at the Chilterns University College in Buckinghamshire, just outside of London, when she was 29 years old. The Bachelor of Arts program was a three-year course with Amy choosing to major in knitted textile design. This was obviously the right decision for her, topping the course for that year.

“I went to a couple of the degree courses there and the end of year exhibitions it blew me away,” she said.

But Amy isn’t your traditional knitter, swapping scarves and booties for jewellery and art pieces.

“People always want me to produce a jumper, which isn’t what I do,” she giggles.

“I’ve never even made a jumper.”

Despite a passion for what she does, Amy admits there is something more than that, an obscure force that draws her in.

“I’ve always been interested in textiles. I always knew I loved it. It’s not something that I choose to do, it’s something I have to do,” she said.

It was inevitable that Amy would be creatively talented – her great grandmother was a milliner and dressmaker, while her grandmother an artist and hairdresser. She has taken a little from each and now channels her creativity into her knitting, something she says she can get her hands in to.

“I like to mix textures and colours. I like to be hands-on,” she said.

“There’s nothing new, but there’s your way of doing it. You can have the same information but what you do with it is individual to you.”

Her jewellery is a mish-mash of odd bits and pieces that she’s found as well as luxurious fabrics, Amy confessing she is a sucker for 100% lamb’s wool and linen. Her crocheted circle necklaces combine bright colours in different sizes and no piece is the same with everything custom-made.

“It can be as big or as small as you like,” she said.

“I tend to find things in bizarre places and use them. I don’t necessarily go to a haberdashery shop.

“I like to mix techniques as well.”

Amy’s husband Mark is also a talented chap with the pair collaborating together to produce unusual furniture, but while Mark is all about the three-dimensional, Amy has the soft touch.

“I like to think about the surface area, it’s more sensual. I’m touchy-feely, I like to add a flower,” she said.

Amy has also just started making a range called the knitted bead necklace, which features beads encased in a knitted capsule hanging on a strand.

“I wanted that something that was a bit more sophisticated as well,” she says.

While her focus is on jewellery, Amy is also talented at painting and interiors. But one of her biggest accomplishments stemmed from her degree and a subject called Fragmented Excess, where she spent half-a-year making a knitted hanging piece with different textures and edges that can resemble whatever you put your imagination to, (I, myself, envisioned a beautiful, flowing dress with ruffles in all the right places). These unique pieces were inspired by old Victorian fashions and using historical reference.

Always wanting to emigrate, Amy became pregnant while she was studying and when she completed the course, left her home town bound for the crystal waters of Australia.

She and Mark travelled to Cairns and Western Australia, but decided to settle on the Sunshine Coast after falling in love with the location and the lifestyle.

“I knew I wanted to live here. I just love it. I felt like this was the place and the lifestyle,” she said.

Amy tries to find time for her art while looking after 19-month-old Ryan at home. Luckily for Amy, she has a large study where she can spread out while she’s working, but that doesn’t mean her knitting is confined to the realms of the room.

“I’ll be at a dinner party and I’ll be like, ‘I’ll just get my crochet out of my bag’,” she laughs.

To view Amy’s jewellery go to www.mhdesigns.com.au

Contact: Amy Heslop

0416 684 519