Designer Bio

Canadian-born and raised in Slovenia – in the heart of Eastern Europe - designer Helena Margareta Cernigoj has blended her two cultures into a love of knitting and European-styled eye for design.

Helena returned to Canada as a young adult and graduated from Confederation College in Ontario with an Honours degree in Interior Design. The pull of the West was strong, gradually moving her to the mountains and rich landscape of the West Kootenays, British Columbia, where she has settled with her husband to raise their young family.

With her passion for the right mix of style and fibre, Helena discovered the affordable luxury of alpaca. Soft to the touch, light as air, hypoallergenic, the right warmth in any weather and with a beautiful drape, alpaca is the perfect medium for Helena 's subtle and flattering designs, complimenting every woman's figure and style.

With much exploration, Helena began blending her custom-spun and hand-dyed fibres, often enriching them with silk, llama, tencel and viscose, and knitting them with the finest European yarns. Because alpaca fibre is extremely durable and easy-care (it's naturally dirt-repellent), Helena began to create heirloom-quality pieces, paired with timeless design.

In 2003, Helena introduced her first collection from her studio Exotic Fibertwists which was received with widespread admiration and demand.  In 2008, Helena started her new brand Helena Margareta, a hand-crafted, luxurious line of knits, made from alpaca, silk and fine synthetic  yarns. In additon to alpaca her brand carries innovative shawls  and scarves made from man-made yarns.

Each piece is hand-knit with an artisan loom-style knitting machine, and individually hand-finished, making each unique garment a piece of functional art.

Bringing her fashion-forward and classic designs to women across Canada and North America, Helena is pleased to have fused her artistic flair and love of quality garments. Helena Margareta knitwear collection is designed for women to   indulge and wrap themselves in the luxury of beautifully designed, feather-soft alpaca shawls, wraps, hats and scarves, with new, delicious designs to choose from each year.