Article by Katherine Samuels

Photography by Joey Toller

" I was a total disaster at school" admits Brandon, the soft lilt in his voice telling of a childhood spent in Wales. "I had too many passions, never could concentrate at anything for a moment, always on to the next thing. When I left all I knew was that I wanted to do something creative and work with people." How to channel all this energy worried his mother - but not him.
 

Today, happily, after a few false starts he is settled in a career that allows him both satisfactions. The freedom to be creative and to mix that creativity with his very obvious enjoyment of people. He has worked in Kaffe Fassett's design studio for the past ten years designing many of his own successful knitting patterns for Rowan. He is writing his first solo knitting book (to be published next year). Now, after assisting Kaffe in the varied workshops the studio organizes, he has taken over responsibility for these sessions in the UK.
 

Eleven years ago life wasn't such a perfect mix. The small boy whose enthusiasm for knitting needles was definitely weapon based, studied hotel management and catering after leaving school. He worked at a chef in hotel kitchens and in an American summer camp, tried his hand at tele-sales, and did a stint on the fish counter at Selfridges. Each job was attacked with enthusiasm, each one eventually failing to provide the right combination. "My mother firmly told me it was time to buckle down and stop all this to-ing and fro-ing."
 

It was a chance meeting, during one of those interminable waits for a London bus, that set him on the right course. He began chatting to his next-door-neighbour in the queue. The neighbour turned out to be Kaffe, who told him about his work and his search for the perfect cover for Glorious Inspirations, the book he had just finished. Brandon was intrigued and asked to visit the studio. "As soon as I walked in I knew it felt right. I loved the colour and the creativity. There were eight people working in the studio at the time and I took to spending as much of my free time there as I could. I asked Kaffe for a job. Twice he said No! - after all I had no art training, no knitting or needlepoint skills, nothing much to offer." On the third time of asking Kaffe agreed - this time his enthusiasm obviously showed signs of lasting. He began his apprenticeship.
 

After six months in the studio he dared his first design, based on an Indian straw basket. It gave him inspiration that was completely in tune with his instinctive design preferences. Colour certainly, in vivid green, grape, blue and yellow, used harmoniously; geometric shape but because the original was worked and stretched with use, the eventual look was slightly irregular. "I love design that has movement which might mean a wobble, not a strictly regimented patter." The learning curve was steep but proved to be endlessly fascinating.
 

At this point his enthusiasm for taking over the workshops is evident. "What I so enjoy is being able to share what I've learnt to do with other people." he says "To show them how to look at colour, break down the psychological barriers about colour and let them play with their ideas." I feel I know exactly what he means. Most of us say we love colour but after a decade when fashion in clothes and home decoration has dictated chic, bland, monochromes, I for one have forgotten how to dare more that just a splash in my dress or my surroundings. "I love showing how colours harmonize, how much you need to tickle a shade to bring the picture to life. But above all how to look. Look really well at something. I'm often astounded that people beaver away at some work for ages and don't ever stand back, look properly at the whole scheme and have the confidence to make personal choices."
 

Brandon travels a lot. As Kaffe's assistant he has accompanied him on trips to India, Guatemala, South Africa and Vietnam to name a handful, working with Oxfam or government sponsored bodies to help indigenous skills adapt and find international markets. They went back to Australia in May for patchwork and knitting workshops; there's the exhibition in Stockholm to organize, the on-going projects for Rowan, furnishing fabrics for Designers Guild, tapestries for Ehrman and the books. "I have ten designs to finish before Christmas for my own book" said Brandon, trying hard not to sound panicky.
 

When it all gets too much he flees to his cottage in Rye, Kent which he bought with his twin sister Belinda six years ago. "I wanted to be back near the coast. I was brought up close to the sea and the ocean has a very powerful pull. I found this house at the very end of an exploring day. I peered in through the window of a fisherman's terraced cottage and saw this wonderful kitchen with 9 inch wide wooden floorboards and an orangerie at the back. I fell in love with it. I had to have it." Belinda felt the same way and now lives there full time, working at a local Art College.
 

Brandon manages to get to what he calls his "paint box" a least once a month. "I drop the keys and go for a long walk on the beach, around the town. I relax eventually. It's as if I've taken my mind out, given it a good wash and then put it back completely refreshed." Then it's time to get the paints out; the living-room is warm red with an orange ceiling; the kitchen butter yellow with diamond painted blue and ochre floor. Kaffe has painted cacti all over the orangery. Brandon fought hard with the local council to be allowed to re-instate the garden privy "Every house needs two loos" he laughs. The privy is now his favorite room, decorated with shells from the beach and painted in strong pastel hues.
 

Back in London, clear-headed, he's ready and enthusiastic for any thing the studio throws at him. Could be a new knitting design; could be a visit to Wormwood Scrubs to work with the Lifers. "That was a fantastic experience. You might think I'd get some flack but I didn't. These guys were so proud of what they were doing; it helped them relax, they had something to send out as presents and they were allowed to continue sewing in their cells after lock-up.
 

"It made me realize that anyone who works with their hands has a chance to achieve a much higher sensibility of beauty. You are focused, centered and never take anything for granted."