Megan Crook Textiles: colourful slow fashion from a rainbow studio in Sneinton Market

Step into Unit 15 at Sneinton Market and the first thing you notice is the colour. This is the home of Megan Crook Textiles, a Nottingham fashion label that describes its work as colour filled, joy inducing slow fashion, and every piece is made right here in what the team calls the rainbow studio.

Megan Crook is a self-taught textile designer who has been developing her craft for the best part of 20 years. Her skills range from hand and machine knitting to pattern cutting and tailoring, and her eye-catching designs have built up a loyal following. In 2018 she launched Megan Crook Textiles, a brand built around machine embroidery and embellishment, using mixed materials and novelty knitting yarns to create unique surface patterns.

For more than a decade the business was largely events based, alongside selling online. Then came the first bricks and mortar space in Nottingham city centre at Sneinton Market. It doubles as a shop for Megan Crook Textiles and its sister label Get Crooked, a working studio where garments are designed and made in-house, and a space for workshops, with a selection of haberdashery, knitting yarns and fabrics.

The range runs from bestselling velvet wrist warmers, cowls and scarves to chore jackets, linen trapeze dresses and hand-embellished boiled wool coats. Everything is designed, cut, sewn and finished by hand. "Colour, for me, is life," Megan told LeftLion, and it shows in every print.

The brand rests on three cornerstones: sustainability, inclusivity and feel-good fashion. The studio runs on renewable energy, orders go out in biodegradable packaging, and many items are made to order so there is no excess stock. Off-cuts are cycled back into production or used in craft kits and workshops, while deadstock fabrics, trims and yarns are sold through a third sister business, The Textile Guru. A wide range of sizes is offered, and custom sizes can be made to order.

It is a lovely example of Nottingham's long textile tradition living on in a fresh, playful form.

The Sneinton Market studio is on Gedling Street, and appointments can be arranged through the Megan Crook Textiles website, where the full collection is also available to order.