Founder Story

It began with a bit of knitting...

Hello, I’m Fiona Courtman, founder of Threads of life. I wanted to share a bit more about myself and the inspirations behind starting Threads of life. 

I can’t remember exactly when I became interested in textiles. What I do know is that being taught to knit and sew by my grandmother at an early age instilled in me a love of creating that has not waned over the years. The designing, making and adjusting of beautiful things provide solace and satisfaction. I like to knit, sew, crochet and paint. Sometimes I am inspired by the natural world; at other times I simply enjoy pairing combinations of fabrics, colours or textures. One of my favourite things is creating things that can be used again and again. Seeing them enjoyed by multiple people (big and small), passed along and appreciated over time. Making well once. 

This view is in stark contrast with the fast fashion, same-day-delivery world we live in today. 

As a teenager studying Textiles GCSE in London, I began to see the potential for textiles as a catalyst for change. It was amplified when I visited a country that was utterly different from my own and met others with a passion for textiles. People who were connected with the earth and the animals they had raised: spinning, dyeing, weaving or knitting using the fleece of a known animal. End products that were meaningful and steeped in beautiful design traditions. Poring over the intricacies of the handmade cloth, I could appreciate not only the skilled hands that had made it, but the generations of teaching that had contributed to its construction.

In 2016, my family and I found ourselves living in Peru. I had the privilege of meeting the residents of a remote Andean village with exceptional knitting and crochet abilities. Seeing these people at work in a purposeful way using skills passed along generations to support local people and their environment was deeply inspiring. It felt a million miles away from the world we were accustomed to, but I was certain people back home would value this craft and quality of product. 

In 2019, having moved back to the UK after our time in the Andes, I began to wonder whether there could be a way to link these two worlds that felt so far apart. It was at this point I came across Purnaa, in Nepal. They are a not-a-sweatshop facility that prioritises people over profits, bringing hope to those on the margins of society. They encapsulated much of what I’d seen in the remote village in the Andes; purposeful, skilled and quality products. Having built a relationship with them, I began working with them to produce some diabetes kit bags I’d designed (and still sell today!) and followed up this with the laptop bags on offer. Hearing individual stories from those who work at Purnaa is hugely inspiring. They speak of restored dignity, of fresh starts and the hope of breaking the cycle of poverty for the next generation. 

Most crucially, these stories are the stories of people we ordinarily don’t hear. So often when we purchase an item, we have no idea where it has come from or the story behind the hands that made it. 

All of these experiences have taught me so much about how textiles can be used for good purposes. Ultimately, it is an absolute joy to hold a quality product that has been made by someone who is highly skilled, fairly treated and takes pride in their work. 

There is so much potential and it takes time working together to design and make quality items that will last. That is sustainability. It flies in the face of fast fashion, which celebrates quick results, raises order-today-arrive-tomorrow expectations and shrugs when we throw away that which is broken or no longer on trend.

I knitted a pair of socks recently. It took more time than I had imagined. In the process several things happened: my mind slowed down as I focused on a single task; my brain forged fresh connections as I grappled with new techniques; my confidence grew as I progressed through the project with others. The result of a single sock being made is hugely rewarding. 

My hope is that the process of manufacturing a quality item, in a purposeful way, can help bring about positive change and bring joy at both ends of the supply chain. If just one laptop bag can bring satisfaction to the user as they do their daily work and make a difference to the life of the person who manufactured it in Nepal, then Threads of Life is a success. To me, that is a transparent supply chain that prioritises fairness over profits and long term sustainability over disposability.