Article: To the Letter with... Smock London
To the Letter with... Smock London
Welcome to our new interview series, To the Letter... one of the best parts of Memo Press are the collaborators and clients. Each month we'll be talking to one of the fascinating people we get to work with, this edition features Kajsa McLaren & Laura Burch, the founders of Smock London.
Kasja and Laura met at university and together founded Smock London in 2019, the artisan fashion brand on a mission to modernise the art of smocking for the 21st century. Their designs weave the treasured art form of smock with contemporary design. In recognition of the artisans who hand work every piece, each order supports the makers through a donation to girls and women in need in their community whether Vietnam or Madagascar.
What was the last letter or card you wrote? A thank you letter to dearest friends for a holiday of a lifetime.
If you could be pen pals with a well-known person (dead or alive) who would it be? Please may we cheat and ask for two? Caitlin Moran and Mo Gaudat (author of A Billion Happy) Wise and funny in equal measure, just reading them makes me feel like life is under control. Like a daily prescription. What a gift it would be to have them at the other end of a stamp on a regular basis!
If you could receive a letter from one person (dead or alive) who would it be?My Grandfather Edward, who sadly passed a decade ago. He was not only a champion letter writer but also a man who had lived a thousand lives, an RAF pilot, an Opera singer, a Lord of the manor etc – he had a thousand stories to tell.
Email, text or handwritten thank you letters? Handwritten, on Memo Press notecards of course!
What is your favourite thing to give as a present? Anything from edit58 – utterly unique, exquisitely beautiful, hard to justify for yourself but divine to receive as a present. All our godchildren will be receiving our collaboration hand smocked Smockings this Christmas!
What’s the best present you’ve ever received? Two tickets to three consecutive opening night Operas at the Met New York: Carmen, Cinderella and La Boheme - From my father, who is hands down the most sensational present giver I know.
If you could only shop in one place, where would it be? ABC New York
What is your best piece of advice when it comes to choosing a present Crafted and creative, hard to justify for yourself, slightly obscure (doesn’t make it onto a standard present list), extra points if it can also feature in the recipient’s everyday.
What’s currently on your wish list? Edit58 Paper Flower Geranium, Matilda Goad Large Shell bowl, Bastide Rose Olivier Eau de Toilette, Sandra Alexandra Pearl Earrings – they go with everything!
What was the last thing you read? Novel – Manhattan Beach Jennifer Eagan
and also Alicia Waite’s Picture Papers substack on photography.
What three books would you take to a desert island?
1. Jane Austen’s Persuasion – comfort reading for the romantic in me
2. Dona Leon Brunetti Series – I love crime and being transported to Venice every time is a joy
3. Philip Pullman Book of Dust
If you could only read one writer or publication, who or what would it be? One of the joys of today is we get to patchwork a personalised editorial through Instagram – curating the people, the images and styles we want. However, if forced to choose just one it would be The World of Interiors - we do still love a physical magazine and find interiors endlessly inspiring for pattern motifs and colour combinations.
What is your favourite quote or motto?
“Comparison is the thief of Joy” so important to the creative industries especially in a social media world, so simple, and once mastered, of such significant benefit to one’s every day wellbeing.
