Our wonderful stockist Raine Studios is a clothing production, sampling, alterations and repair studio based in Penzance, Cornwall. Last year they opened their doors to their new shop and welcomed more makers and beautiful brands into their space.

Raine Studios now stock, to name just a few, a range of haberdashery by Merchant and Mills, some stunning wools from plant-grower and natural dyer Susannah Mitchell , clothing from Darn Studio, Ob Wear, Wool Gatherers Workshop and more, and lucky us- Pico underwear and towels.

Here are some thoughts from Ella- Founder of Raine on the lost art of altering our clothes- “The art of altering clothes to custom-fit our bodies was once a service at the heart of our high-streets, a hand-in-hand process of new clothes. Though we are buying and wearing more clothes than ever, the craft of alteration has become hidden, performed behind closed doors by a grandparent, a neighbour, a friend of a friend. Or, it has been forgotten altogether.

Our bodies are not mannequins; off-the-shelf clothes are not designed to fit all bodies perfectly, and sizing options don’t encompass all the individual quirks our bodies wear — the way our dominant hand may alter the angle of our shoulders; how height is not always proportional between leg and torso; the way we carry or lose weight in different areas. Our bodies also change, and what we need from our clothes may change too.

The world of fashion is big and beautiful, but without alteration services we are closed off from enjoying all it has to offer, or from fully embracing what we already have in our wardrobes. Through alteration, we are gifted entire worlds of wear. Raine Studios offers a wide range of alteration services, championing a revival of this craft as an essential part of buying and wearing clothes.”