Katie Kolodinski x The Everywoman Feature

We are excited to share an intimate feature on our founder, Katie Kolodinski, in the issue 01 of The Everywoman Magazine. Discover the world of Silk Laundry through Katie's eyes as she discusses her inspirations, her beautifully eclectic Barcelona home, and how her life's journey influences her creativity and designs. Follow the link below to read the full interview and learn more about her story.

Credits: 

• Publication: The Everywoman 
• Founder & Director: Jess Mester
• Editor: Divya Venkataraman
• Photographer: Melanie Rodriguez

Can you please describe your Barcelona home? What are some of the decorative features that motivated you to choose this space to live in? How does your home influence your creativity?

I searched high and low for the right home in Barcelona. I knew I needed something with a little soul and natural sunlight. I wanted a space with history, and a space that made you feel something. I also needed something big enough that I could practise violin without bothering anyone and we could put a piano for my kids.

How do you feel your moving around the world influences your creativity? Can you draw visual connections between the collections that emerged during your time in Australia? Connections between Canada and certain designs?

I have moved around so much in my life. I have tried to settle a few times, but have some major hiccups along the way that have prevented that. The world works in mysterious ways, and if it wasn’t for covid we would likely still be living life in Montreal, Canada. The universe had different things in store for us I guess. 

My life confuses many people, myself included. However, moving around has allowed me to expand on designs and products I never would have needed if I were still based in QLD Australia. From being based in Australia when we launched Silk Laundry, I was trying to meet my own simple needs of silk slip dresses and lightweight clothing that was perfect for heat and humidity, after this, we moved to Montreal in 2018, and I needed to layer clothing in the cooler months, create knitwear, socks, some outerwear. That's when I moved more into soft suiting and garments with linings. In 2020 we re-opened our Brisbane store, and ended up getting stuck in Australia for two years with no exemption to leave. That was a really difficult time, yet I spent it with my maternal family and threw myself into a quiet space of research of family history, environmental issues, and conservation. After this, we made the decision to move to Europe, as I wanted to be able to walk to another country if I ever needed to, I also wanted our children to know multiple languages, so we ended up in Spain. Now, being here I am able to open myself up to so many more collaborations and opportunities, as well as need European suppliers, and a wider range of products that are beginning to come to fruition.

How does the energy of Barcelona feel to you? What was it about the city that made you want to move there? Can you please describe some of your daily or weekly rituals/activities around the city?

I really do love it here. The people are kind and relaxed and there's a sense of community. I find they take little enjoyments in life like siestas and spend a lot of time with friends and family. I love that everything is so close and accessible. There are also little fruit shops on every street, pharmacies as well as a pretty good public transport system and easily walkable. We are a family of four and we don’t have a car. We walk, bike and take public transport. They also have bike lanes and the city is doing a lot to close the roads permanently and create new green spaces for the community, for fresher air and better mental health. 

Everyday I have a few nonnegotiables. I practise my Spanish for 10-15 minutes each morning and night. I am still not great at all. But I am on a 182 day streak today so I am proud of that. In the mornings after I take my children to the bus stop for school I go to a little cafe around the corner for a coffee and usually a work chat with my husband before we start the day. I try as much as possible to avoid takeaway coffee, we always sit in and enjoy 15 minutes together. Then I am in the office by 8:30. Most days, when I am not travelling, I am at work doing long stints, and I run out at 5:30 to race to get my kids from the bus. Walking, pilates, chiropractor, violin lessons are all things I try to do. And at night, I shut my phone off from 9pm (unless I have late night meetings), have a chamomile tea with two tea bags and kiss my kids goodnight. Every night. 

• Mondays: are for fresh flowers and prep for the week. 
• Tuesdays: Violin lessons, chiropractor and a lot of design work. 
• Wednesdays: I have a private yoga instructor come to the office around lunch, just to keep myself accountable. 
• Thursdays: Work all day and date night. My husband and I made a point when our first child was born to try and have a date night once a week. 13 years on, and we still try to do this. Sometimes you can get caught up with life so you need to really make space for each other when it’s possible. 
• Friday: It’s fun Fridays. I try to have a nice lunch at a local spot near the office between work. Then Friday night it’s always family night with pizza and a movie. 
• Saturdays: I actually stay in bed for as long as possible on Saturday. Drink coffee and read. Then we all get out and enjoy the day after crepes for a late breakfast. 
• Sunday: EVERYTHING is closed here on Sunday. Its beach, parks and friends and gardening and cooking. 

How does your home feed your creativity? How would you describe your decorating philosophy?

My home is my place where I am able to recharge, it’s where I can read, and draw and garden a bit. It’s where I can switch off from the world a little. 

If I had a decorating philosophy, it would be to collect things you love over time and travel. My spaces have always been eclectic, but I am sentimental so most things in my home have a special story behind them. It’s so beautiful to be able to look around a space and see not just things but memories. Acquire things you really love that you can imagine yourself keeping forever. I think a lot of things have the ability to have power and soul and can change your headspace for the better.

What was the inspiration behind the Fibonacci collection?

This collection was born from my fascination with science and nature as well as the beauty and perfection found within. I have always held a profound curiosity about the natural world and this year my curiosity led me on through the illustrations of Ernst Haeckel the geometry found in nature, mathematics, Fibonacci and the golden ratio. From here I started researching geometry found in nature, the Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio. There is a phenomenon known as "Fibonacci's spiral" and is based on the sequence of numbers written about by the 12th-century mathematician of the same name. These numbers can be used to predict outcomes all across the natural world, from the reproduction rates of rabbits to the shape of galaxies.

Can you please describe a few of the silhouettes, colours and patterns we can expect to see? 

I am always seeking fabrics which incorporate natural sources and reduce our environmental impact. For this collection, we continue to use our notable 100% silks but are expanding and experimenting with newness. We are using a new fabrication of hemp and wool which looks like denim but has the comfort of wool and the sustainability of hemp. We also have some new crochets featuring spirals and a custom grid crochet pattern, reminiscent of graph paper. Our colours and prints were inspired by women in science and we have a mixed palette of subdued blues and creams, yet also some primary colours of blue and red ink pens used in school and study. For prints you can expect rabbits, graph paper and some golden ratio line drawings.  

Where do you find your furnishings? You've mentioned you try to buy second hand. Why is that?                                                               

Yes I absolutely love secondhand, I feel many older furniture pieces are made so much better than what you can find today. I love that things are cherished and taken so much that they aren’t just dumped in landfill but worth passing on to future generations. I love the thrill of finding unique pieces and I think that when you shop secondhand or antique you are able to find pieces that others don’t have. I try to not focus on trends, and I think that when you are shopping for older pieces you generally are avoiding trends and purchasing things you truly love long after a “trend” may have passed. I also think a lot of things have energy and some sort of soul (for lack of a better word). A lot of things I have have been passed down to me from my family. The couch I have (note it’s not the pink one but another I have in AuS) was passed down from my grandparents, to my mom and dad, and now to me, so it’s already three generations old and I see so much value in that. It’s also made tougher than any couch I’ve ever seen, and it holds memories. Things that hold memories are hard to part with, and that’s a good thing! 

If you could please share the story (and brand if possible!) behind your mushroom floor lamp? Telling from the sculpture next to it, would you say you're drawn to a mushroom's organic shape?                     

This is a piece I walked past one day near my office in Barcelona. I just felt I needed it for my first home in Barcelona. It’s fibreglass and handmade and unique  (no brand to be found) and now I can’t imagine my home without it. The little mushroom you’re referring to I believe is my cat's scratching post. They are usually so ugly so when I find a fun one, I grab it. There aren’t a lot of options, but the mushroom is cute. I have a palm tree he loves too. 

Where did you source that beautiful screen/room divider? What drew you to it?       

I have wanted a big divider like this for YEARS! I found this at a mid-century furniture dealer near my home and fell in love. It’s made in Spain around 1950 I believe. It was pricey, so I thought about it for months and months. One day I walked past and it was gone, and I felt pure devastation. I missed it. The next day, I went in to ask about the piece and lo and behold, it was still there, just out the back and that’s where I knew I had to have it. When I finally bought it, my mom was with me, and she agreed it was beautiful. So now, even though the divider is new to me, that piece will hold a memory of my mother and I live it even more. It’s also not just beautiful but incredibly practical, and it hides my stationary bike (a practical and functional piece but quite the eyesore). 

Is there a piece of furniture or home accessory that has accompanied you from home to home, country to country that you'd hate to ever part with? Yes, it’s my Canadian grandparents' beautiful chesterfield couch. It was a great blue green colour. My parents had it after them and my mom recovered it in a beautiful French ivory brocade fabric, and then brought it from Canada to Australia as they couldn’t part with it, now after 65+ years and travelling the world, it’s with me, and I can’t bear to part with it (I have thought about it many many times but I can’t let it go) so it currently resides in a storage unit on the GC until I have a better more worthy plan.