Love and joy knitted through every piece.
Our Story
How it all began.
You could say Catherine's future in textiles was inevitable. Catherine grew up in the Malvern Hills surrounded by the soundtrack of her mother's various craft projects; whether that was the soft thrum of a spinning wheel in the lounge or the click of knitting needles each evening.
A child of the 80s, Catherine immersed herself in all things fashion from a young age ('The Clothes Show' was the highlight of her week).
After many years of dreaming of making beautiful things, Catherine earned a place to study Constructed Textiles at the Royal College of Art, where she developed her signature style: bold, playful and always made using the finest materials.
Hand-made happiness for you and your home since 1999.
Catherine Tough graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1999 with a vision to turn heritage craft into playful, modern pieces that are a pleasure to wear and use. Inspired by nature, travel and colour, she and her team continue to make products to cherish.
Now a well-recognised brand, our products are found in many of the finest stores across the UK and around the World. Our lovely patterned socks, woollen hats and scarves, slippers, lavender doorstops and cushions are widely coveted, and we're expanding our range all the time.
Catherine and her dedicated team handcraft beautiful, quality products for you and your home from the finest natural materials. By fusing traditional craft practices with contemporary, elegant design, we lovingly create pieces that you'll treasure. Manufacturing in the UK, where possible, has always been at the heart of the business; our mini factory at the studio in Hackney and a selection of highly skilled, knowledgeable manufacturers and suppliers now work together to produce our entire range.
Though she was brought up in the peace of the Malvern Hills, Catherine now lives in East London with her family. Inspired by the chaotic mix of urban sights and sounds around her, she combines them with a very English sense of style and whimsy to create individual, charming products that feel luxurious and make you smile.
Catherine has written or contributed to many books, and the press regularly features our products. As hands-on knitters, we love the challenge of bespoke projects and have created a diverse collection of one-off specials ranging from a knitted memorial cat to matching mother and daughter legwarmers.
You can keep up to date with life at our studio on Facebook and Instagram. We genuinely enjoy creating our range, and if you're interested in collaborating with us or featuring our products, we'd love to hear from you.
Welfare & Ethics
All the yarn we use in production is ethically sourced from high-quality spinners with animal welfare policies in place.
The fleece used in manufacturing the yarns can be traced back to Australia and South America from non-mulesed sources (a very nasty practice of removing the skin around the sheep's bottom to prevent flystrike, which is associated with the yarn used in high-volume, low-cost garments)The spinners are members of Wool Mark who have signed up to the RSPCA best practice in Support of the International Wool Textile Organisation Working Document of Animal Welfare and 5 Freedoms.
- Freedom from Hunger & Thirst
- Freedom from discomfort
- Freedom from pain.
- Freedom from injury
- Freedom from disease
We have worked with the same team in Portugal for over twenty years and have visited them many times; everyone is treated fairly, and health and safety policies are in place.
Our UK production takes place at our studio in Hackney and a traditional mill in Scotland.
We are a very happy team, and you are most welcome to visit us at the studio where we knit, wash, dry, iron, sew, and finish many products by hand.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with us at support@catherinetough.co.uk