Made in Hastings UK
My name is Sally I am based in Hastings East Sussex which is a British seaside town. The name om pom pom is a play on the seaside song 'I do like to be beside the seaside tiddly om pom pom. ‘ as I seem to migrate to the seaside towns to live, Gt Yarmouth, Brighton and Cardiff being other places.
I have taken to sea swimming since November 2020 each morning which makes me feel alive and is an immune booster as I live with arthritis too (he’s been here a while 30 odd years),
My heart is in Scotland. I cry every time I leave it. If you’ve been, you’ll know, If you haven’t, Go! I married a Scotsman so am very lucky to visit several times a year with my boys Rufus 9 and Arlo 5 . The weather is a major problem for me to live there though but the knitting industry could pull me there one day.
It is because of my arthritis my work evolved as it has. One day I arrived at Brighton University where I was studying Fashion and Textiles and they were installing a motor for my knitting machine and with a motor you can knit and knit and knit and your wrists and elbows aren’t going to swell and scream.
This lead to my knitted felted graphic work. Although I struggle with its unpredictability, the felting process, I keep going back to it. I only work with British wool, usually sourced from Scotland and everything is knitted here in my home studio. Designing patterns on a computer and working with a domestic knitting machine I knit and felt fabric which may then be cut and sewn.
The unique, bold geometric designs 'have an element of Bauhaus about them' described a Berlin based customer in Dec 2019
Continuing this theme from then I have been experimenting with different colour ways and styles.
Producing simple T shaped Poncho jumpers, Coatigons and Cardigans as well as hats and scarves.
In homewares I produce hot water bottle covers and cushions.
Everything is designed and made by me and I am happy to discuss made to order for you. You can email me on mailompompom@gmail.com for more information.
Previous Work
Over the past few years working around the kids, I’ve been making (non felted) Baby map blankets maps of where babies are born with an X marks the place of birth I had planned to knit all the countries in the world. I have managed, Austrailia, Japan, Germany, Spain, India, USA, UK, Finland, Sweden, Bulgaria, I am still open to this work.
I also created felted tea cosies with text IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, DRINK TEA, and text hot water bottle covers DON’T GET COLD FEET and LOVE HATE mittens.
I also knitted my son’s whole class a drawing into a toy cushion when I went in to talk about my career. Their drawings of forest creatures translated into felted creatures and they really did love them. There are images in my instagram @ompompom
I love colour too and in 2019 when I was having a studio sort out I came across an old To Do list from 2015 with poncho jumper still not crossed out, I’ve avoided clothes because of the sizing issue, but a poncho style jumper I’d always wanted to make, so I stopped every other task in hand and set too on this old idea, I should have been stock piling for Christmas, but Sometimes you’ve just got to do what feels right. Left are the 2 jumpers for my youngest and me.
It made me really happy, excited, I made clothes for friends, but I wanted to keep them (I didn’t) I’m still waiting for my coatagon. So, I am focussing on bold colour pieces for the home and to wear. Wearing pieces of art. I hope to soon be wearing several new pieces from ompompom but orders come first and time isn’t plentiful till Arlo starts school. So until then I’ll knit for you.