Knitch Magazine

Trisha Malcolm appears to have it all: a career that provides her with the kind of creative challenge most of us can only imagine, an innate talent for art and design, the opportunity to travel to all corners of the world, and most importantly, a handsome young man who happily follows her wherever she goes -- from her quiet hometown in Australia to the bustling streets of New York City. He's Garrett, the son she adores and who, she says, has become quite the intrepid traveler. This year he accompanied Trisha and business colleague, Doreen Connors to her homeland where they visited sheep farms and learned more about Australian produced fibers.

If you don't know who Trisha Malcolm is, you're probably new to knitting. For more than a decade now, Trisha has been delighting knitters with her wonderfully imaginative and beautifully produced issues of Vogue Knitting magazine, the most popular knitting magazine in North America. As Editor of this renowned publication, Trisha presents us with the must-have designs we can't wait to add to our wardrobes, as well as devastatingly dramatic pieces that are intended to inspire and motivate. How does she decide which fashions to present to her readers?

"We call for designs and get submissions in from our extensive list of designers," she tells us. "Submissions are usually a sketch and a swatch, mostly emailed these days, and we select from them. We also have designers we've worked with for many years and if we need something that is their specialty, we'll call them specifically."

Each issue of Vogue Knitting presents several intriguing fashion features developed by Trisha and her team at Soho PUBLISHING in New York. Together, they weave storylines to present new fashions to enthusiastic readers who are only too happy to pick up their knitting needles to create the knitted garments.

"We closely follow trends in fashion, knitting and yarn from all over the world, particularly Europe," she says. "When we get design submissions in we put together each 'story.' Some stories are fashion oriented, others are stitch or shape driven or have a general look that organically comes together. Our next issue takes a different approach where we are presenting an Z to Z of Design. It's going to be very interesting to see what our readers think."

The layouts are breathtaking: exquisite models set in dreamy locations, wearing fashions that are styled with expert attention to detail. The photography is, of course, superb. Any designer would feel a real sense of accomplishment to have their pattern chosen for this perennially popular publication with its impeccable quality and sophisticated style.

"We select designs based on creativity and originality, fashionability, technical execution and previous experience with the designer," Trisha says. She warns that if a designer lets them down by missing a deadline or submitting a poorly made garment, they'll get a second chance, but nothing more. She will not compromise; the risk is far too great.

It is that attention to quality that has kept the magazine at the top of its game since Trisha took the helm in 1997. She started there in the early 1990s under Nancy Thomas, and a few years later when Trisha was assigned the job she was convinced she was too young and inexperienced for the task.

"It's amazing how much you learn by getting in and just doing the job," she says,"and having worked at the magazine preciously, I at least had a head start!"

Today, the magazine continues to flourish and Trisha is not only responsible for filling the pages of Vogue Knitting magazine with riveting editorial, she also collaborates with her hard-working and talented team to publish KnitSimple, a trade magazine for the yarn industry, the custom-published Debbie Bliss magazine, and other creative projects. She also oversees a book publishing team who develop books for the Sixth&Spring imprint.

"My other responsibilities include overseeing a lot of what happens at Vogue Knitting LIVE," she says, "our web content, coming up with new ideas to build our brands, and representing the magazine to our readers by doing presentations at stores and guilds."

Like all publishers, Soho is seeing its world drastically change with the advent of the Internet and the change in consumer expectations that have resulted from the instant availability of information.

"In the beginning we were excited that we could get subscriptions online!" Trisha tells us. "Now, we have so much flexibility, and there are still more things we have planned. We are only limited by the hours in the day. Readers love our video VK360 feature and the extra photos of our designs, and without the Internet we couldn't do that."

"The biggest change has perhaps been the immediacy of feedback we receive. Years ago an issue would come out and it would be months before we found out what people liked or didn’t. Now, comments are posted on Facebook, and designs are queued on Ravelry, and this feedback makes it much easier for us to plan future issues. This helps us make a magazine that is more in touch with our readers."

She says she's a big fan of Facebook and that she learns something new every day as she interacts with her readers. There are many print editors who have yet to discover the advantages of personal online relationships and instantaneous feedback, but Trisha seems always to be ahead of the curve, an early adopter in whatever pursuit she embarks upon. She's a woman whose life revolves around a traditional craft, but who is always thinking of the future.

When asked what she foresees for the knitting community she responds, "Knitting is not going anywhere. It’s just going to get stronger. The innovators who are alive right now -- and a few who have passed -- are by far the most creative and prolific in the history of the craft. The contributions they've made have been really amazing, and while they’ve drawn on knitting’s historical roots, there has much that has been thought out and improved upon and taken to the next level, creating new ways of approaching design and new techniques."

She says the evolution of both socks, lace, and felting over the past few years are perfect examples of this. We have new techniques and tools that allow greater creativity and beautiful results.

"The myriad yarns we have to choose from is completely astounding! Innovation in technology has given us better quality basic yarns, new types of yarn construction, and a huge array of novelties. Color has exploded too—whether it’s the number of colors actually out there, techno coloring, or the hand paints that are such a trend right now, and these have evolved too, going from more mixed hues in the past to more tonal shades today. "

She speaks animatedly as she reflects on all the changes we're experiencing. "We also have access to historical information on every kind of knitting technique that has been handed down from all over the planet. There is more information at our fingertips to inspire and challenge us than ever was at the disposal of the knitters that came before us."

When we ask Trisha about the future of Vogue Knitting she tells us, "Vogue Knitting will evolve, continue to cover the new and interesting, and present a specific Vogue look."

"The future changes for us will be in the integration of technology to complement the magazine. We already have a digital version available, and I think that will evolve a lot. Our Vogue Knitting LIVE events will grow, and our goal is to be more interactive with our readers both physically and virtually. We're looking for new ways to make this connectivity happen. "

The editor is proud of her magazine's ability to integrate new technology into their customer benefits and the impact it's having on knitting community as a whole.

"There’s a revolution taking place right now that will have an effect on many generations to come. It’s mind boggling to think of what future generations could do with the simple process of knitting."

We know what the present generation has done -- they've taken this centuries old craft that was almost abandoned in the 1970s and they've turned it into a modern, much-appreciated art form that is as challenging as it is fashionable.

This is thanks to ladies like Trisha Malcolm who have brought to the industry ingenuity, energy and vision that has benefited us all. Of course, there's no one in the world who's benefiting more from Trisha's immeasurable talents and unbridled passion than one lucky little boy who gets to follow his Mum around the world. With an example like Trisha to follow, we can't imagine what Garrett will accomplish when it's his time to change the world.

Trisha told us that she has no idea what she'd be doing now if she were not the editor of Vogue Knitting magazine. But she does admit that at the end of some long and difficult days she does wish she were independently wealthy and living on a very remote beach. We thank her for taking time out of her busy schedule to speak with us and we hope she gets a little time on the beach to recuperate after the VK Live in Los Angeles this month.