We were lucky enough to pinch some time out of Hamish Munro’s schedule to sit down (virtually) for a chat about travel influencing some of his collections, his Wool Project and how he created a feature wall in his studio using Tint paint.

Earlier in his career, Hamish spent a year in Paris enjoying the culture, the food, the wine and the architecture throughout the city. Not only did he grow personally, but also creatively by absorbing himself in how the city is put together, which heavily influenced his Orders Collection. 'I did the orders collection and that looks around the classical languages of Western architecture — specifically Paris. I was looking at all the layers and all the cornicing and each curve. It’s called a language, because each layer is built up to create something similar to that of letters in a word. That collection in Paris is still with me in what I design today.'

His project using Tint paint was also inspired by travel—this time from the other side of the world in Vietnam. Hamish recalls seeing this beautiful wall that had pieces of rock sporadically sticking out of it, which created an eye-catching texture. So he decided to create his own version of it in his studio space as a bit of a feature wall. He describes it like 'a rock climbing wall or a prickly pear or even ostrich skin.' There was quite a bit of trial and error when it came to the colour of the wall with a few different grey attempts. Each time he decided to go lighter and lighter until he hit the perfect hue: our ‘Head In The Clouds’, which he describes as 'a soft and light grey with dark qualities to it. The shadows from the rocks give more variation on the colour and the morning light gives it more personality.'

Then there’s the animals. Hamish has this amazing project on the go—and we’ve never heard of anything like it — called the Wool Project. It started off by rescuing a black sheep, because the wool industry is usually after white sheep as they’re hair is easier to dye. So he had this sheep and decided to start this idea of giving it a personality on Instagram and allowing people to get to know it more. When the hair was sheared, a designer used it to create something beautiful.

'The project started because I wanted people to follow the lives of the sheep and get to know them. And by the time that they’re feeling and holding one of the garments that’s been produced, that piece means so much more than just the fibers. It wasn’t about focusing on wool itself or how it’s spun, dyed and knitted, it’s more about the animals and getting to know them.' Since then, he’s adopted a few more sheep and even a couple of goats who produce mohair (okay, we know you want to know their names: Audrey and Angus. Don’t worry, we melted too).

If you want to get in on the Wool Project, follow on Instagram @wool.loow and see Audrey and Angus live their best lives. And of course, give Hamish a follow @hamish.munro or check out more of his work at hamishmunro.com. We hope you enjoyed another part in the Colourful Language series—catch you next time!