Two Canterbury sisters have turned a love of design and creation into a fashion brand centred around sustainability, ethical practices and bringing a smile to their customers.

Words Lucinda Diack  Photos Charlie Jackson

Listening to Katie and Roberta Thomson describe their journey into fashion, you would never believe that four years ago the two of them had no experience in the industry. ‘Everything we are doing, we are learning as we go,’ laughs Roberta. ‘This is as home-grown, self-taught as you get.’

Perhaps that is what makes them so relatable. Their joy for colour, pattern and wildly wonderful clothing is what first catches your eye, but it is their passion for sustainability, ethical practices and good, honest, hard work that keeps people coming back.

‘We grew up in rural Mid Canterbury in a family full of practical, creative women,’ says Roberta. ‘Our childhoods were filled with do-it-yourself art projects, sewing experiments, abstract food creations and hut building. Though we didn’t recognise it at the time, this is where our love of design and creation began.’

For several years their childhood creativity lay dormant – Roberta entered into a corporate career in IT and consulting, and Katie public service roles.

‘In 2019 I thought why not embark on a creative project and I made a bunch of warm, colourful rollneck skivvies for myself,’ explains Katie. ‘I thought they were a fun way to add a splash of colour to an outfit and I got so many comments, I thought … perhaps I could make a small batch and sell them at a market.’

Recruiting Roberta to come along and help, the two laugh at the ‘amateur hour’ their first market was. ‘But we survived it and the feedback was so positive we thought why not come up with something else to go with the rollnecks.’ Which is exactly what they did. ‘I honestly thought we would do a market or two and see how it went; I never envisioned it being what it is today,’ explains Katie with a smile.

 

Today ‘it’ is a comprehensive slow-fashion brand all about individuality. Their company name ‘Two + Lou’ is an ode to their children, of which they have a combined total of five. They are cementing themselves in the fashion landscape of Aotearoa by offering pieces purposefully designed to fit a busy modern lifestyle. ‘It’s all about bringing a smile to your face and lifting your spirits when you wear them,’ says Katie.

From the rollneck skivvies came dresses, pants, sweatshirts, tees, and most recently, cushions.

‘Right from the outset it was important to us that we did it right,’ says Roberta. ‘It had to be ethical and sustainable, which was easier said than done! The challenge wasn’t finding the sustainable fabrics, it was the due diligence around the validation of their sustainable certification.’

After a long six months of searching, the sisters found what they were looking for, in India. ‘We had the added challenge that we wanted to be able to order limited runs, for example 50 metres of a fabric; not 500 metres.’

Once they had their fabric supplier the girls spent another few months perfecting their designs. ‘Our FloraNova pattern was the first release we did and we learnt a lot in that design process,’ laughs Katie.

With their starting point a ‘scrapbook’ of photos and images of plants and plant shapes, they then take inspiration from their childhood – and their children – and get out the crayons. ‘We spend a long time playing and colouring with crayons and felt tips … we draw and sketch out a design until we are happy with it,’ explains Katie.

From there Roberta translates the design onto the computer. ‘I studied design at Otago at the turn of the century so I’ve ended up drawing on design skills I learned 20 years ago and never stepped into as a young person, which I am loving now.

‘Depending on how the creative juices are flowing our design process is often a combination of analogue and digital,’ she continues. ‘While doing it by hand helps narrow down the colour palette, digitally there are literally millions of colours we can choose from. Once it is done we send it off to be printed onto the fabric.’

While the designs are printed, Katie hones her skills with pattern making. ‘I have learnt a lot!’ she laughs. ‘I spend a lot of time sketching out what we want it to look like and then we take the idea 15 minutes down the road to a local pattern maker for her to finesse it.’

Roberta and Katie spend as much time on the ‘tools’ as they can in and around their full-time jobs and family life, but relish the control they have over the finished product. ‘We do all of the cutting,’ explains Roberta, ‘before taking it across town to our sewers, who do an incredible job. We then pick up all the completed pieces and pack and dispatch from home.

‘So while we don’t do any of the actual sewing – probably a good thing! – we touch and see every single item before it goes out to its new home. We can only grow as fast as we can work and we are okay with that. It is about being sustainable in every aspect of the word and remaining really connected to those wearing our designs.’ 

Bringing a smile to the face is the primary driver for these two effervescent sisters and even their beautiful tamariki get a kick out of seeing someone in the street wearing ‘one of mum’s tops’.

‘We wanted to create a responsible fashion and homewares business,’ concludes Katie, ‘but also to show our kids that you can be creative. That if you work hard you can do both – have a career and follow your passion. You are never too old to learn a new skill and that is exactly what we are doing.’

And they are having fun together along the way, which is what life is all about.