Meet the dancer who swapped Swedish Royal Ballet for Fife textile factory

Nina Falk and Adam Robertson, of Kalopsia Collective, started their business in 2012 <i>(Image: Kalopsia Collection)</i>

Nina Falk and Adam Robertson, of Kalopsia Collective, began their organization in 2012 (Graphic: Kalopsia Selection)

She was a specialist ballet dancer and skilled at the Royal Academy in Stockholm.

And inspite of dancing from the age of a few she decided it was no extended for her and resolved to pursue a career in fashion.

After graduating with a degree in Manner Tailoring and doing work as a sample constructor, conceptual artist, print maker and trend designer, Nina Falk is now at the helm of a Fife textiles manufacturing unit.

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Ms Falk ran retail and vogue makes in Sweden that catered for an exclusive client base in Stockholm.

And her do the job has generally been targeted on cutting down waste in just the sector by means of considerate style and design and proficient manufacturing and they are principles in power at the Dunfermline web site.

Alongside her husband Adam, they set up and operate Kalopsia Collective with considerably of their get the job done concentrating on lessening waste in just the sector through thoughtful design and qualified production.

HeraldScotland: Former ballet dancer Nina Falk was with the Swedish Royal Ballet

HeraldScotland: Former ballet dancer Nina Falk was with the Swedish Royal Ballet

Former ballet dancer Nina Falk was with the Swedish Royal Ballet (Picture: Kalopsia Collective)

The former dancer has strived to be taken significantly and when HRH the Princess Royal, President of the British isles Manner & Textile Affiliation (UKFT) for additional than 35 yrs, came to the open up their new premises very last year, it was apparent Ms Falk suggests small business and shifting perceptions.

“Pigeon holing is a large obstacle for us all, there is continue to a deeply ingrained notion that women are machinists and males run the companies,” she explained. “It seems foolish and it is altering in new and smaller organizations but if you go to major trade demonstrates you will see nearly all male firm directors remaining followed all-around by female PAs. A great deal of people continue to think that Adam runs the corporation and I am secondary to that.”

Their purchasers incorporate the Royal Academy of Arts, V&A Dundee, Prickly Thistle, Dovecot Studios and British Contemporary Artist Anna Mac.

Kalopsia Collective released their ‘Assemble’ products and solutions in 2016.  Made with simplicity, craftmanship and sustainability in head, it is the UK’s only procedure of standardised textile extras and apparel, built from nearly any fabric equipped by the consumer.

The company was named Ethical Environmentally friendly Business enterprise of the Yr 2019 and Manufactured in Scotland Manufacturer 2018-2019 and challenging modern-day slavery.

HeraldScotland: Dunfermline-based textiles firm Kalopsia Collective

HeraldScotland: Dunfermline-primarily based textiles agency Kalopsia Collective

Dunfermline-dependent textiles agency Kalopsia Collective (Graphic: Kalopsia Collective)

Ms Falk extra: “The textiles and vogue business operates on ladies, basic and simple. We need to have to acknowledge that actuality. Textiles and Trend suffers from deeply ingrained sexism that informs each element of how our sector is structured and that includes at a regulatory and governing administration amount. It’s so deeply embedded that we hardly even look to understand the extent of the challenge. I recognize it day-to-day.

“We want to thrust for a transparent sector, to be capable to fork out everyone adequately, to see textiles as an sector to be very pleased of and an marketplace that in fact qualified prospects the way somewhat than becoming one particular of the worst offenders.”

Kalopsia Collective hosted the launch of the Scottish Government’s new circular financial state system, Producing Items Occur, in 2016.

“We became a social business in 2016 to maximise the volume of social fantastic we make whilst balancing this in opposition to our monetary goals,” Ms Falk extra.

They also worked with Zero Squander Scotland and the Scottish Federal government on past year’s launch of The Round Textiles Fund. They’ve now released a funding bid to ‘citizen investors’ to increase £100,000.

Beforehand centered in Edinburgh and now investing from new 8000 sq ft premises in Dunfermline, Kalopsia Collective is doing the job with Scottish Communities Finance Ltd to raise finance as a result of Textile Generation Bonds.

The six 12 months set phrase minibonds will allow Kalopsia Collective to develop its textile manufacturing infrastructure in line with its ethical and sustainable beliefs, supporting nearby employment and the round overall economy while minimizing textile squander.

Mr Robertson, co-founder of Kalopsia Collective, explained: “We are delighted to start out 2023 with both equally the start of our Textile Manufacturing Bonds and a take a look at from Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal. We made the decision to use bonds to elevate finance to develop Kalopsia Collective as the product is well suited to enterprises like ours with social and moral aims. Even though rising the UK’s textile producing infrastructure, we are fully commited to lessening textile waste, making sustainable local work alternatives and making sure that the circular financial state is embedded in every thing we do.”

Pauline Hinchion, Managing Director of Scottish Communities Finance said “Our objective is to match socially knowledgeable buyers – those who are seeking for both equally a money return and a social return – with  social and group enterprises seeking for ‘patient capital’. Neighborhood bonds build a partnership among investor and investee, furnishing a extended time period financial investment at beautiful prices with shared values at the heart of the proposition.”

Ms Falk said she experienced generally wanted to reside in the United kingdom because her initial check out right here.

“I experienced normally wanted to are living in the United kingdom considering that the very first time I travelled to Brighton with a good friend when we were being 14 a long time previous for a thirty day period. I arrived to  Scotland to study my Learn Degree in Edinburgh and I did not want to leave.”

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