By Emma Reynolds, Journal Correspondent
MANCHESTER — A former Manchester resident with a track record of successful outdoor clothing startups and a deep connection to the Northshire will debut her newest line of knitted headwear at an open house Friday at The Mountain Goat.
Poppy Gall has launched her newest company, Popia, which will feature a premium collection of limited edition knitted headwear to be released this fall. Northshire residents, however, will get an early look when The Mountain Goat hosts an open house Friday, Jan. 25, to celebrate the new company.
The owners of The Mountain Goat are long-time friends with the well-known knitwear and apparel designer who has roots in Manchester and a string of successful outdoor startups.
Growing up in Manchester, Gall attended BBA while her mother was the editor of the Manchester Journal. She is excited to be releasing her new brand in her hometown.
Manchester was also the site of her initial foray into outdoor apparel and knitwear, Mountain Ladies & Ewe, which sold colorful hats hand-loomed by 40 knitters based in Southern Vermont. The company was later consolidated into Turtle Fur, but the Gall’s original hats can still be found online—evidence of their high quality and alluring designs.
Gall went on to co-found her second successful brand, Isis for Women, which was the first women’s only outdoor clothing company. Isis set the standard for style, fit, and technique. Isis provided a large platform for a formerly niche area of outdoor apparel and became one of the top brands in the outdoor industry.
But Gall missed the intimacy and color of smaller, knitted pieces. Knitting is like a canvas that “you can tell a story on” she explains. Though she loved working in technical apparel, she always “came back to the knitting aspect of it.”
Gall can still remember how it all started.
“I learned to knit when I was 8,” Gall said. “My mom left me with a babysitter and took off for a tour of Egypt, and the babysitter taught me how to knit in the 10 days she was gone.”
Later, she would order sewing kits for outdoor gear.
“I remember my dad and I sewing down jackets in my mom’s sewing room,” Gall said.
After running Isis for many years, peers and retailers encouraged her to start designing hats again. Gall explains that in the past few years, she kept seeing “a need for this type of hat in the marketplace.”
She founded and designed Popia in Stowe where she currently lives. She remains the lead designer and creative director for Poppy Gall Design Studio, a freelance design studio where she has clients in the outdoor and ski industries.
“I still get my technical fix,” Gall said.
Gall adores bright colors and playful designs.
“I’ve gotten a reputation in the design world for being fearless with [color],” she said. “I use [it] in a way that will enhance people’s moods.”
She is drawn to the blues, yellows, and greens — the brighter colors that are found in nature.
Popia’s women’s hats are produced by a family-run business in Italy.
Gall first met the family — whose business is based in the textile-producing region of Italy near Milano — at a trade show almost 30 years ago. She initially worked with the father, but now works with the son and his daughter.
The hats are made with Merino wool sourced from New Zealand and Australia. Gall creates the designs in Stowe, but the lightweight wool is spun and died in small lots in Italy. Her inaugural collection will include eight styles designed to brighten winter wardrobes.
Europe has extremely high standards for dying and producing textiles, which was one of the many reasons why the hats are crafted in Italy.
In order to have a low environmental impact, Gall is thinking sustainability “all the way through.”
The hats’ wool will biodegrade, and the packaging will be reusable and recyclable.
Gall will be setting up an online store within the next few weeks, and the line will be available in stores beginning this fall.
A limited number of hats will be for sale at The Mountain Goat.
Ann Houser of The Mountain Goat is excited to have Gall back in Manchester.
“We’ve all worn her hats and coats” she says, and they’re delighted to host the part-launch, part-celebration of Popia.
The feeling is mutual. Gall is grateful to the Mountain Goat for their consistent generosity.
“I have so many people that have supported me through the years,” Gall said. “It seems like the right place to have a launch party.”
The Mountain Goat was a customer of both Mountain Ladies & Ewe and Isis, and the owners have remained close friends of Gall’s.
A selection of limited edition Popia hats will be for sale at the Open House on Friday, Jan. 25 from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Mountain Goat. Drinks and light snacks will be served. Hats will retail for $60.
For more information or to follow Popia log on to www.popiadesign.com or follow on Instagram at popia.design.
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