Talou creates knitwear to accompany your little explorer on every adventure. Recyclable, natural, and made in limited runs in our small partner studio in London, Talou creates truly unique products that celebrate the joy and creativity of childhood. On a mission to become fully circular, we offer to buy back all products for a percentage of the retail price, and promise to sell it on to the next little explorer, continually adding chapters to its ever evolving story as it journeys from child to child.
Ellie the founder of Talou discusses with us why she started the business and what the future holds for the brand.
Tell us a little about yourself, and what inspired you to create Talou?
Having worked in the fashion industry for 10 years, I took a break in 2019 to look after my twins. I have always wanted my own fashion business, and seeing my two growing up and discovering their tastes and opinions inspired me to create designs that would celebrate their creativity and love of life. Childhood is full of joy and experimentation, and I wanted to make clothing that reflected that.
I’ve always had a passion for sustainability, and wool is just an absolute winner when it comes to planet friendly materials. It’s natural, renewable and biodegradable, and brilliant for babies and children as it helps to regulate body temperature. I wanted to make beautiful, sustainable knitwear that would be loved by kids and their grown ups.
Could you tell us more about your trade in/upgrade program?
Talou knits are special in that they are 100% wool, and they are knitted to the highest quality, meaning they will easily outlast one child once they have grown out of their jumper or cardigan.
Once your child has grown out of the item, we offer to either buy it back, or trade it in for a bigger size. This means you get more for your money, and that the item can stay in circulation for as long as possible as we sell it on to the next child.
The name ‘Talou’ comes from the middle english for ‘tale’ (talu). Each jumper becomes truly unique as chapters are added to their ongoing stories, as they journey from child to child.
How do you maintain the sustainable nature of your production?
We only use deadstock yarns sourced from UK factories, so all our knitwear is made from stock that would otherwise have been left over. This means our collections are small, and we bring in new colours regularly depending on what we find. Small batch production is sustainable in that we don’t create what we don’t need, which minimises waste.
All our yarns are sourced in the UK and our knitwear is made in our small partner studio in London.
We are also working towards recycling our own waste into new products, and there are some exciting projects lined up for the future.
As a company, where do you see yourself in the next 5 years? Can we expect new products/designs/ranges/materials?
I launched Talou with knitwear because of the innate sustainability and recyclability of wool, and these values are at the core of the brand. I would love to extend to other product categories as recycling options become more accessible, especially denim and even accessories. In the meantime, expect more colourful knits, new designs, and collaborations as we move forward!
Run us through your recipe for great sleep, and some do’s and don’ts that we ought to follow in our pre-sleep schedules
I have found that the secret to a great nights sleep (for me, at least!) is going to bed at roughly the same time every night and staying hydrated. I personally love all things sleep and for me, nothing beats getting into fresh cotton sheets with a really good book at the end of the day!
