About Lauren & the LADs
We do chunky knitting and we have a lot of fun doing it.
Thanks for dropping by
I’m Lauren, the one holding the needles and basking in a room full of knitting. In the interests of getting to know each other, some quick fire things I love include – High waisted skirts, DIY, tea & biscuits, staying in and colour coding things.
I imagine you’re here to learn a little more about me but I’ll try not to bore you with too many details (that’s what the blog is for).
I live with my husband Alex, our delicious bebe's Livi & Norrie and bonkers Cockapoo Harry .
My grandmother taught me how to knit when I was 11. I wish I could say it was love at first attempt but that would be a fib - it took a few more years hard work and a degree in knitwear to really appreciate it.
LAD (Lauren Aston Designs) consists of a small team based in Devon - we have a shop round the corner from Exeter's beautiful Quayside.
Inbetween juggling two bebe's and renovating a house, I spend my work days* hand knitting and pinching myself to confirm that I actually get to do this as a job!
*Most of my days, some are of course spent pulling my hair out doing admin & trying to find VAT receipts... those days feel very real.
Inbetween juggling two bebe's and renovating a house, I spend my work days* hand knitting and pinching myself to confirm that I actually get to do this as a job!
*Most of my days, some are of course spent pulling my hair out doing admin & trying to find VAT receipts... those days feel very real.
“My favourite project is a quick one you can do in front of the telly”
I imagine you know by now but just in case – we design a whole range of super chunky knitting kits as well as some commissions too. Many of our kits are designed to be suitable for beginner knitters or those who just know the basics, as I love getting others hooked to my favourite pastime!
We sell a huge range of yarn, tools, accessories and all the kits and patterns so you can create any kind of project – regardless of your ability or style.
From celeb worthy Christmas ready made products right through to pompom making kits, we sell almost everything you could think of for your super chunky knit needs.
Our aim is to use the traditional art of knitting with modern, fun and bright designs to suit creative folks all over the world.
Please do have a browse & feel free to get in touch if you have any questions, or just fancy a chat.
Lauren x
Meet my tight knit team...
Without my incredible LADs, our knitting studio would probably just be me, sat on my deck with Harry and thinking of smutty knitting puns to post on Instagram.
Helen
She/Her
Business Manager
Helen is our Captain of Multitasking & Chief Operations Manager; She’s in charge of customer communications (if you’ve ever messages or been on our facebook group you’ll have come across our babe Helen.) She does a huge portion of our LADmin from product listings to marketing emails and fills our days with frivolity and joy.
Chloe
She/Her
Content Creator
Chloe is our Top Photographer & Connoisseur of Photoshop: she does basically all of our photography and graphic design work, she now mainly works remotely (although we LOVE when she visits the studio!) Essentially, she makes us look bladdy great. She’s is considerate and fun and a style goddess!
Sally
She/Her
Studio Manager
Sally is our Director of Everything Woollen & Head pompom maker; She’s in charge of our studio from orders to organisation. The fact that Sally owns a laminator tells you basically everything you need to know. She is reliable and kind and while she’d deny it, she’s definitely the naughty one!
Claire
She/Her
Studio Assistant
Claire is our Lead Enabler & Main Getter-Doner; She is a fantastic whirlwind of a woman whipping round the studio, making multitasking look easy. Claire can be found packing orders on LADmin, wrapping needles or winding hundreds of balls of yarn. She’s the sunshine, if the sunshine laughed out loud.
Charlotte
She/Her
Charlotte is our Head of Buzz and LADmin Sorceress; She’s in charge of our LAD social media accounts and also works hard behind the grams, helping us to update all our knitting patterns. Charlotte is a burst of energy that somehow manages to keep track of what on earth we’re doing and transform that into content that our community can understand. What a woman.
Jo
She/Her
Shop Assistant
Jo has brought with her SO much knitting knowledge! She’s a sock expert and constantly wow-ing us with her tiny knitting skills and exceptional top tips about the best way to approach projects. Her bright and friendly nature is a hit with all our customers and she’s open & approachable when it comes to helping and advising. Jo’s best skill – being able to read a book while knitting…. after she told us that in interview, we knew she was the one!
Harry
He/Him
Top Model
Harry is our top model, but don’t worry – he’s paid better than I am (the £ to Treats conversion rate is ridiculous since Brexit) He’s also a stickler for employee regulations so helps ensure I have a break every 20 minutes to walk, feed or play with him. He generally keeps up morale by being a total dreamboat and although he spends about 50% of his day licking his own bum, we love him dearly and LAD genuinely wouldn’t be the same without him.
