Founded in 2021 by Nelly Bellegarde, napalosa_ is a knitting atelier in Antwerp, Belgium.
Nelly Bellegarde is a knitwear designer from south of France, Avignon. She discovered knitwear during her textile design studies in Lille, it was love at first sight 🤍.
Since then, she is knitting by hand, crochet, and on domestic knitting machine.
Everything start with a sample. I Like to explore knitting techniques, mixing yarns, playing with prints.
Then the magical aspects of knitwear happens: it's never exactly how you imagined it, most of the time it's even better.
Sometimes, your mistakes are your most brilliant creations.
I wish my creations will make you feel special and remain timeless.
It's like this one sweater you choose when you want to feel yourself and confident.
I want your body to feel free, your mind to feel at ease, your personality to feel listened to.
Everything is made on domestique knitting machine, the finishing are done on a industrial linking machine, all the yarns are woven in by hand.
In conclusion: everything is handmade.
The knitting machines can be capricious, they all have their own personalities.
"Just as the sculptor has their chisel, I have my knitting machine"
In the heart of Antwerp, Belgium.
All the magic is happening here. You can see knitting machines through the windows, neons lighting up the making process, the focus of the maker.
If you're passing by, say hi!
It's a contraction of Nelly and Apalosa.
When I was a child my first email address was created by my big sister, and she wrote nelly_apalosa (coming from Appaloosa).
Since then I decided to keep it as a nickname.
