When she’s not busy yarn-bombing telephone poles after feminist book club meetings, Laura Hopf is crafting our favourite knitted accessories. A veteran of freezing cold Montreal winters, Hopf knows a thing or two about keeping warm, and she’s channeled that wisdom into a collection of scarves, hats, braided headbands, and even cute friendship bracelets.

With designs inspired by friends (the Haley cowl is named after Haley Mlotek, publisher of Worn Fashion Journal) and Hopf’s own creative impulses, her Etsy shop is packed with covetable pieces. We love the chunky braided headbands, and the cowls, which eliminate the winter-long struggle of scarf tangle. This season she has a new design:  Slouchy Pomfaces, adorable hats with contrasting pom poms.

Every piece has an unexpected touch, like highlighter-hued yarn accents or layered yarn to give amazing texture. The Braceface knit bracelets are a great token to gift to ladyfriends, and when festival season comes back, we’ll be all about the cropped highlighter halter. She also does commission work if you love a design and want it in a specific colour combination.

Hopf’s pieces first gained popularity amongst her friends and NYU classmates, and she encourages new designers to get their pieces to people they know to start spreading buzz. Now based in Toronto, we bet we’ll be seeing a lot of Scarffaces on the streets this winter.

Check out Laura’s Etsy Shop, or her Instagram, which in addition to great style shots features multiple pictures of her adorable cat Meowla.

~ Haley Cullingham