Karen Walker’s collaboration with Dove Hospice launches today at Playpark. Images supplied.
Karen Walker launches a heart-warming collaboration with Dove Hospice at Walker’s Newmarket Playpark store today. The mini-pop up is selling a selection of vintage hand knits curated by Karen Walker with all the funds raised from sales going to Dove Hospice.
Walker has a personal connection to Dove Hospice, who offer free holistic care and support for people with life-threatening or terminal illness from the moment of diagnosis. After the death of her mother in 2016, Walker took clothing of her mother’s to the Remuera Dove Hospice Shop for donation. “The staff were great, and there was such respect for the process of giving up these clothes and for the life stories that my mother’s wardrobe held,” says Karen Walker. The designer was really touched by the care and gratitude taken with her mother’s precious pieces, and decided she wanted to help raise awareness of the charity.
Knitwear is the focus of this first collaboration with Dove Hospice and features hand knitted wool sweaters, cardigans and vests that have been lovingly worn and then donated. Each piece has been dry-cleaned and is ready for its new owner with the range offering a fascinating mix of modern and vintage styles that the Karen Walker customer will no doubt appreciate.
“We make beautiful, well-crafted and well-thought-through pieces that will be used and loved for decades, in one, or several, wardrobes,” adds Walker. “The idea of pieces having many lives in different wardrobes is very important to us and charity stores are central to this process. We want to bring attention to the quality of product that can be found in charity stores.
We also want to share with our community the story of the good work that Dove Hospice do and help to raise funds for them to put towards this work.
Having the first Karen Walker x Dove Hospice pop-up be focused on hand knits is a wonderful start too, as anyone who’s ever knitted a piece, or been gifted a piece knows, knitting is a complete act of love and respect and there’s something about a hand knitted piece that’s impossible to emulate.”
The collaboration is something that Julie McCarthy, the Executive Director of Dove Hospice, appreciates as it will help raise the profile of the organisations six stores throughout Auckland as well as their Trade Me store and the “amazing, recycled fashion gems” that can be found. “This collaboration is a leading example to other businesses of the role they can play in growing a compassionate community through creative partnerships,” she adds.
Karen Walker’s Dove Hospice knitwear pop-up is on at Playpark on Nuffield Street from June 13 – 16. Keep an eye out for future Dove Hospice pop-ups featuring Karen’s exclusive edits of denim, vintage blouses and more.
Images supplied.