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Future is knitting together nicely

Model Grady Wulff and designer Stephanie Caulier. Picture: Richard Jefferson

It was love that brought Stephanie Caulier to Perth but the designer’s move has paid off in more ways than one.

The Belgium native first came to WA four years ago when her now-fiance Adam Commens was appointed coach of the Australian women’s hockey team, the Hockeyroos.

They had been together for only 10 months at the time but Caulier was prepared to pack up her life in Antwerp and start again in Perth, where she soon launched her knitwear label I Love Mr Mittens.

“I started knitting when I was six or seven years old,” Caulier toldAAA .

“Everyone in my family knits and then at school we had a lot of knitting as well. When I moved to Perth four years ago I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I thought I would give it a go and try to build it up.”

Caulier’s signature chunky knits in custom-dyed wools soon garnered a cult following on social media but it’s her latest accolade that the creative is most proud of.

She was this week announced as the winner of the annual Zomp STYLEAID Creative Designer Award, which aims to foster new design talent with a $5000 cash grant.

Not only were Caulier’s garments praised by the judging panel but also her label’s “heartworking” philosophy, which provides employment opportunities to local women who hand-knit each and every I Love Mr Mittens piece.

“It’s me and about 20 other women,” Caulier explained.

“Their ages vary from 25-75, so it’s a mix of students, retired people and housewives. Everything gets knitted in their own homes and it’s really working this way. Some of them don’t have good enough English to go out and get a job, so it’s the perfect opportunity for them.”

Now in its 18th year, STYLEAID will be held at Crown Perth on July 31 and Caulier is hoping she may have the chance to showcase some of her creations at WA’s biggest fashion fundraiser which has, to date, raised more than $1.25 million for the WA AIDS Council.