Liesl’s
STUDIO
The talented Liesl Gibson from
Oliver + S shares her creative
workspace with us
54 | Yarn forward
SEW Hip
L
iesl Gibson started Oliver + S from her
small apartment in New York City’s East
Village neighbourhood. But sharing her
workspace with a husband, toddler and
cat didn’t last. “We knew I needed to get a proper
studio when my husband came home from work
one night and couldn’t find a place to sit,” Liesl
says “All the furniture and floors were covered
with fabric and pattern-making tools.”
a solution presented itself at just the right
moment. a painter friend had taken a studio only
two blocks from Liesl’s apartment and was looking
for someone to share the space. Liesl quickly moved
Oliver + S out of the apartment and into its first
home. “I loved having a separate studio space so
close to home,” Liesl says. “I was able to leave the
apartment, walk my daughter to her pre-school, which
was also in the neighbourhood, and arrive at work –
all within 15 minutes.”
For the first few months in the new space,
everything went well. But misfortune promptly
paid a call. Pipes for the building’s heating system
ran through the
studio and one night “My floor used to be a book bindery.
the boiler pressure I like that the building has always
exceeded its capacity,
bursting a pipe and
been home to needle and thread.”
spewing water through
the room. “We were fortunate,” Liesl recounts. “My
studio mate lost a few of her drawings, but Oliver + S Liesl Gibson
didn’t lose any inventory. Sewing patterns and water welcomes us in
don’t mix, so we decided to move.”
Last September, Liesl found a new studio in a
recently renovated Brooklyn building. “I knew as
soon as I saw it that this was the place for me,” Liesl
recounts. “The landlord did a great job of repurposing
this old factory. He refinished the original wood
floors, polished the exposed brick walls and put in
new fixtures. The space I chose is on the top floor of
one of the tallest buildings in the area, and I have
views north across the city.”
The high ceilings and two walls of six-foot-tall
windows give the space plenty of light and an airy
feel, making it seem larger than its 350 square feet.
“My floor used to be home to a book bindery,” Liesl
says. “Shortly after I moved in, I started noticing
sewing needles in the crevasses between the floor
boards. I’m not much of a believer in karma, but I like
the idea that the building has always been home to
people working with needle and thread.”
She hasn’t done much to adorn this former
industrial space. “It’s definitely a working studio,”
comments Liesl. “I wanted the space to be simple
and clean, without a lot of decoration. When I’m
designing, I strongly prefer a neutral space without a
lot of colour, so I’ve kept almost everything white. But
I do really love working next to those big windows,
Gorgeous eclectic
looking out over industrial Brooklyn, and watching
crockery and
the changing light of the day.” handmade teabags
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Feature | InSIdE StudIO
a b C
G H
“It’s definitely a
working studio.
I wanted the
space to be
simple and clean,
without a lot of
decoration, so
I’ve kept almost
everything white.”
M
L N
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Feature | InSIdE StudIO
D F
E
J K
I
P
inside the studio
A • Part of the fabric stash
b • Handmade toys
c • Samples from the Oliver + S collection
d • Fabric birds perch above the table
e • Tools of the trade
f • Candy-coloured vintage threads
g • A few of the many jars of buttons
h • Vintage notions used for inspiration
i • Kid-sized Mary Janes for shoots
j • Liesl’s daughter’s tiny tea set
k • Inspiring neutral-coloured prints
L • Pencils arranged by colour
M • Threads in a spring palette
N • Books from the studio’s library
O O • A portion of the inspiration wall
P • Threads kept in old typesetter’s cases
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