emske

Stills from a busy studio practice 📸
Designing and being creative everyday is the best gift 💝
As always… more to come… SOON! Hopefully 😅
1 - emske garment tags!
2 - pic of Em at Toronto studio where garments are made (:
3 - a few favourite items… and books, always books around!
4 - Chloe, the best studio dog anyone could ask for.
5 - model lineup from last weeks fashion presentation!!!
6 - home away from home, downtown studio space
7 - escaping at the Toronto reference library
8 - loom threading, to experiment with some weaving ideas
9 - trying on samples 🙂
10 - a fun woven textile project!

Visualization of the emske design process over the last few months behind the scenes ✨✨✨
Image description: digital illustration sketches collaged on top of a photo of bright pink red and green petals and plant bits for botanical dyeing. Sketches are of a woman standing and taking a pic of garment being tried on during a fit session, a desk with a sewing machine and laptop on it, scraps of fabric and scissors and thread, the back of a person carrying rolls of fabric.

Montreal summer snaps 📷
Who else is always taking pictures? For inspiration, to remember something interesting or fun, to capture a mood or just because. 💫
Image descriptions:
1 - top of an old brick building taken on an upward angle with a blue cloudy sky behind it.
2 - a variety of baked goods behind glass on a counter and a marble floor below.
3 - concrete steps and a platform completely covered in brightly coloured tags, throw-ups and graffiti.
4 - the top of a blue, beige and orange abstract mural on a building, with a cloudy blue sky in the background.
5 - the front of a grey stone row house with minimalist grey concrete terrazzo stools out front on a small patio.
6 - the back of a woman with long brown hair in two braids and a ball cap staring up at huge blue hued mural of the back of a person with long hair in two braids and a ball cap.
7 - close up of a person wearing black baggy cargos and their hand holding a clear plastic bag with cauliflower and carrots and apples from a farmers market
8 - to of a building that is covered in a black and white geometric mural with a blue cloudy sky in the background.
9 - an old white sink basin filled with soil and green leafy plants attached to the outside of a brick building.
10 - a green spiral staircase in between two brick buildings that are covered in graffiti on the bottom portions.

designed to last, to go back to the earth as food, to adapt to our bodies as they change throughout life ✨ 🌱 💫
Image description: Black text on top of background image of white piles of fabric. Text reads; designed for long term use, emske logo, collaborative - thoughtful - creative

happiest when being creative 🤩
to anyone new here - hi! I’m Em the designer and founder of emske. there are two sections of the design studio, services & products… the products are in prototyping stage and not yet available (but hoping some will be soon! 💕). working collaboratively with others is a huge part of the work done at emske, so thanks to all who have hired/collaborated/engaged with the studio!
Find out more on emske.ca and/or reach out whenever via email [email protected] or DM - always happy to answer questions & chat 🙌
📸

They may not be in the final fabrics or colour-ways yet…. But they are getting much closer to production ready!!!
Big thank you to for being thoughtful and patient in their prototyping processes with me 💕 and shoutout to .studio.202 for being a beautiful space to cultivate creativity!

Springtime moods 🌅✍️📦💗💐

Everyone likes a selfie 🤳 📸
Thinking this might make a nice repeat pattern for textiles… thoughts?

Custom tote bag co-designed with to hold art supplies. Made out of thrifted Carhartt work pants 👌
Alt text image descriptions included.

Some photos from the archive 📸 Anyone else not able to walk a few blocks without having the urge to snap a pic of something or someone?!

WE-CAN Client Profile: Em Harmsen is the owner and founder of emske Design Studio in Kingston. She is also a recent participant in the LEAD Program delivered by Invest Kingston as a part of the WE-CAN Project which is led by Queen’s University.

Emske is an early-stage business with a social conscience. The company provides products and services that fill in the gaps between responsible, accessible and inclusive design.

Offering an array of design services, Em’s goal is to launch a small collection of ethical slow fashion apparel and home goods products in the new year.

“Having a background in fashion, technology and accessibility, I started the design studio to channel my abilities into something that could fill a gap in the industry,” she says. “I also wanted to raise awareness around the importance of accessible design from a designer’s perspective to a broader audience that may not know much about it.”

Emske has been operating for about 18 months, and has been slowly taking shape, offering design services as Em completes her graduate school studies, develops prototypes and co-designs custom products.

“This design studio provides an outlet for collaborating and connecting with communities and individuals in a creative way, and that is fulfilling and exciting for me,” she shares. “I'm really excited about launching products soon as well, and have been thoughtfully working behind the scenes to ensure they will have a minimal impact on the environment, be of high quality and very comfortable.”

Em hopes her business will help to create design that mitigates stigmas around disability.

“I would like to think that after learning about my design process, it will help people think differently about how to approach design in a more inclusive way, and how anyone can make a difference by being empathetic to alternate lived experiences beyond their own,” she notes.

“My experiences with LEAD and WE-CAN have been nothing but positive so far,” Em adds. “I've broadened my network, learned lots of new things and found support from this amazing diverse group of entrepreneurs.”

To learn more about Emske, visit https://www.emske.ca/.