George Cullen

Meet George

Hello I’m George and I have been working at Knit With Attitude since 2016 when we shared the space with Of Cabbages and Kings. Now I work only for Knit With Attitude and you can find me in the shop on weekdays.

In what decade were you born?

80’s.

Where are you from, and what brought you to London?

I was born in Somerset but I moved to London around 2008/2009 after I graduated from my undergraduate degree in Graphic Design. I came to find a job but also to study further. The part of design I really enjoyed was book making, layout and binding so I really wanted to pursue something more book related. I have always enjoyed art so I decided to combine art, design and bookbinding and studied Book Arts at Camberwell College. I also am a bookbinder that makes artists books that I occasionally show at book fairs around the country. The book above is titled ‘Exposed On The Surface Or Underlying The Soil’ and is one I made in 2018 combining letterpress and risograph. You can find more of my artists books on my website: www.georgecullen.com


How and when did you learn to knit?

I learnt to knit when I was young and me and my mum used to knit at home together and still do when I go back and visit.

What was your first project?

I can’t remember my first project but what really got me into knitting was knitting soft toys and dolls clothes. I used to be obsessed with patterns by Jean Greenhow and we had lots of her toy collections at home. My mum knitted them for me and my brother when we were kids and I was curious to knit them myself. Dogs, dinosaurs and even a bunny family I have knit quite a few of them over the years. I was also really into knitting clothes for Barbie and had this fabulous book ‘Knits for Barbie’ by Nicky Epstein. They are so much fun to make. Me and my mum would rescue Barbie dolls from charity shops and car boot fairs, wash their hair and clean them up and then knit clothes for them. I used to have them all around my room and some have even traveled with me to London like the one above whose cardigan I knit fairly recently. I gradually got more and more curious about all different types of knitting and love trying new things.


Have you ever had a complete knitting disaster?

Of course. Its mainly to do with fit, I used to find it really tricky before I understood ease so lots of things used to come out too small for me. But now I think I have got the hang of it.

What is the project you are most proud of?

By far the project I am most proud of is a jumper I knit for my boyfriend Peter. It’s all intarsia zig zags in different shades of orange, brown, grey and white. It fits him absolutely perfectly and he looks great in it. Also the yarns I used were collected from different holiday’s and places we have visited. Some from trips to Cornwall, others from Devon, also prized ones from favourite dyers discovered at yarn shows and a few extra colours added in from the shop. It’s a thing of beauty (even if I do say so myself) and I can’t stop staring at him when he is wearing it.


A moment of epiphany?

Realising you can just unpick stuff if it goes wrong and redo it. That thought has saved me a lot of worry about whether its going right or not and allowed me to try something just for the sake of trying it. If it goes wrong unravel it and do it again, you have just lost time but you still have the yarn.


What does Knit With Attitude mean to you (as a shop or an idea or both, you choose)?

As knitting became more a part of my life I really wanted to work in a yarn shop to learn from the industry but to also be surrounded by things I love. There is something I really enjoy about crafting and working with my hands and to able to share this with people that come in is a great feeling. I love that we stock only natural fibres (with some exceptions of a bit of nylon in a few sock yarns). I also like that Maya is very vigorous in her scrutiny of the fibres origin.

What is your role in the shop – and when can we find you there?

I’m the shop manager and I work Mon-Tues and Thurs-Fri. My main role is to be on the shop floor, making sure the shelves are restocked and tidy and the shop looks presentable. I’m also here to answer customer questions and help them choose yarn for projects. We are a very small team and its usually just me and Maya in the week which means I do a bit of everything. Wrapping and packing orders. Writing blog posts on new yarns or pattern suggestions. Generating social media content, that could be images or videos. Above is a heart I made on the first week of working here for a Valentine’s window display.


What is the best thing about working in a yarn shop?

Being the first to open that box of yarn when it arrives. Just being surrounded by it is inspiring. I also like moving things around, tidying and arranging the shelves. I take great joy in grouping colours together.


What is the worst thing?

Surrounded by all this yarn is very tempting. Whenever we get something new in I do want to knit it.

If you were to choose only one – what would be your favourite yarn in the shop?

This is a really tricky one and changes all the time but I think my latest obsession is Lore from the Fibre Co. This Dk weight all British wool is springy and plump and the colours are so beautiful.

What are you currently working on, and why did you choose this project?

I have a few things on the go right now as I like to have a big home project and some little traveling ones. I’m knitting a pair of socks (very slowly) as I needed something simple to do when we went to Unravel in February. I haven’t done much on them since to be honest. I have also just cast on Cameo
by Orlane Sucche from Laine Issue 16. This is going to be my big at home project and I’m planning to knit it all from little mini skeins in a gradient. Also because I am obsessed with toy knitting I’m knitting al lot of patterns by Cinthia Vallet and I am just finishing a little jumper for this lion. I am super excited about her new book Mouche and Friends of course. You can follow my knitting projects on my instagram: @georgeacullen or my Ravelry.


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