VERLOOP Is Creating Colorful Lifestyle Products From Leftover Yarn
Home Away from Home is a series highlighting BIPOC brands that bring cultural flavor to everyday items. This allows people to always have a piece of their culture in their own space without ever feeling homesick or away from their roots. We explore the stories of the people behind the brands that touch people’s hearts with their products and make people feel at home wherever they are.
Faced with a surplus of yarn at her family’s textile mill, Ella Lim started a side project to make good use of the stock. From throw pillows to blankets, Lim has created an eco-friendly and fashionable brand, VERLOOP, designed to spark a wave of colorful designs that showcase traditional knitting techniques in a unique way.
Lim founded VERLOOP in 2012 after leaving her design and product marketing job in New York to return to work at her family’s textile mill in Asia.
Designing Through Play
Part of what makes VERLOOP unique is that it doesn’t start with a product idea, but with a raw material: dead yarn.
“In the textile industry, excess yarn is called ‘dead yarn,’” Lim said, explaining the material behind her VERLOOP concept. “Leftovers are inevitable in the production process as ingredients are ordered with a small reserve to ensure they don’t run out. Sampling and human error contribute to this.”
What makes Deadstock yarn especially interesting and challenging to use is that it is only available in limited quantities, which forced Lim and others to get creative.
“We had to develop ways to mix multiple fibers together or create patterns with frequent color changes, such as multi-colored stripes,” says Lim.
Lim quickly realized that some design styles would work better than others within these constraints. For example, Dutch design typically uses bold colors and simple patterns such as checks or stripes, which are very effective.
Going Dutch
Lim explains that before founding the company, she worked with many Dutch designers and was often inspired by them.
The name VERLOOP comes from the Dutch word meaning process.
“It seemed right to play with the word ‘loop’, which is a common word in Dutch,” says Lim. “Essentially, the stitch is the building block of knitting. A word meaning ‘process’ also seems appropriate for an open pilot project.”
After deciding on a name, Lim began designing and was drawn to the playfulness and modernity of Dutch design. She was also inspired by her penchant for unique color combinations, such as orange and blue, and decided to make them part of the VERLOOP aesthetic.
Today, the VERLOOP collection is filled with pieces like blankets, pillows and slippers that showcase contemporary Dutch influences such as bold prints like 1970s florals, lattice patterns, checks and stylish op-art illusions.
Constant Evolution
Frost-resistant gloves were the first to come off the assembly line, since the factory initially specialized in the production of knitted gloves. After launching some more fashionable accessories such as scarves and hats, they quickly moved into handbags and slippers a few years later.
Customers’ love for slippers inspired the team to create new items for the home space. “We realized that people really need colors and patterns, not just to wear, but to live,” says Lim.
As a brand’s product line grows, so does its influence. Based on a purely Dutch aesthetic, the VERLOOP team began to draw inspiration from designers such as the Campana brothers and Gaetano Pesce, an experimental Italian architect.
Design styles such as the Memphis Movement, a 1980s movement that originated in Italy and is known for its use of bright colors and simple, bold shapes, have also entered the brand’s design lexicon.
“We admire furniture from industrial designers who recycle humble, everyday materials in a spontaneous and sublime way,” says Lim.
Currently, the product portfolio of this brand is very extensive. This product line includes not only basic household items such as pillows and blankets, but also rugs, placemats and coasters.
One of the newest items to join the collection, bottle caps, even aims to turn non-decorative items (like reusable water bottles) into ready-to-eat dinner party centerpieces.
Honoring the Filipino Tradition
For Lim, one of the most rewarding parts of VERLOOP is the opportunity to work with artisans in her home country of the Philippines.
“Designing with our factory team was extremely rewarding,” says Lim. “They have honed their skills over decades and are now able to use them creatively and conceptually.”
Another way VERLOOP showcases Filipino tradition is through its bold use of color.
“Filipino craft traditions tend to be colorful, unexpected and playful, so it’s no surprise that VERLOOP is the same,” says Lim.
And while sustainability is a hallmark of VERLOOP, Lim notes that resourcefulness and making use of what is available is actually a long-standing trait of the Filipino character. Essentially, turning discarded materials into something new and functional is not only sustainable, but also inherently Filipino.
What Lies Ahead
So what happens when VERLOOP goes beyond yarn supply? First, the brand remains committed to not producing excessive waste.
“Our ribbed slippers are woven seamlessly, so there is no cutting of the material after knitting,” says Lim. “Our pom poms are made from yarn on a special machine that allows us to shape them with minimal cutting.”
They also source goods from outside the Lim family’s factory, working with external suppliers. Lim said this will help others reduce waste and incorporate new old materials into their creative practice.
But perhaps the best part is that VERLOOP’s reverse engineering process has caught the attention of other brands.
“I think we’re showing other designers that it’s worth experimenting and using unexpected materials,” says Lim. “Designing this way takes more time, but what you achieve will be very rewarding.”