Phoenix Shop - Featured Artist

Flower Shawl | ZigZag Turtleneck | Jack's Back | Butterfly Vest

"Kaffe Fassett- the Mick Jagger of Knitting!"

Vogue Magazine © 1989

"What I wanted to do was take the fear out of working with color," says celebrated textile designer (and Big Sur native) Kaffe Fassett. "Color is everywhere. Just look out any window!"

Creator of breathtaking wearable art, exuberant needlepoint tapestries and inspired textiles, and a best-selling author to boot, Kaffe has recently released his ninth book, "Glorious Quilts," published in America by Crown, N.Y.
For Fassett, work and play are synonymous. "You see," he explains, pausing between rows, "designing is becoming a child again. Simply playing with color.

Son of Nepenthe's founders, Lolly and Bill Fassett, Kaffe grew up in the stimulating natural beauty of Big Sur, where he was rarely without some mode of self-expression. A prolific creator who knits as fast as he talks, Kaffe is an internationally renowned designer whose work revolutionized knitware in the 60's. He has designed costumes and sets for the National Ballet Company of England, tapestries for the Edinburgh Tapestry Guild. In 1998, he designed and created the Gold Medal winning Hilliers booth at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show, in London.

The Phoenix Shop at Nepenthe is proud to showcase Kaffe's knitwear, tapestries, and inspirational books on design.