A snippet from the KnitRowan website:

Martin Storey was born in Hull and raised on the family pig farm in the village of Beeford on the East Yorkshire coast. Martin was taught to knit as a small child by an inspirational primary school teacher who saw nothing unusual in teaching needlecrafts to boys and girls alike. Martin remembers his early school years with fondness, but his subsequent education at Grammar school proved a stark contrast with Martin struggling to find an outlet for his creative side…

… Martin {became} chief designer for the Jaeger brand which was taken under Rowan’s wing in 1995. In 2005 he was chosen as the designer to spearhead the new brand of Rowan Classic. A role he is still responsible for today, pulling together several brochures a year under the Rowan Classic banner which has become the hall mark for Classic style with a modern twist.

Martin is a keen collector or porcelain and ceramics and fills his home with vintage textiles and pieces picked up on trips abroad and at local markets. He also collects vintage soft toys and puppets. All these pieces act as inspiration for Martin’s designs, but he is constantly on the look out for new ideas. “I always make sure I have a notebook close by to jot down what I see or make a sketch to remind me”.

(click here to read entire biography in full)