Kateri operates at the intersection of craftsmanship and everyday wear, creating made-to-order garments and textiles with a considered, enduring sensibility. Rooted in a slow approach to making, the studio explores softness and structure through natural fabrics, gentle volume, and hand-finished detail. Each piece reflects a balance of utility and poetry — designed to feel lived-in, personal, and quietly expressive rather than seasonal or trend-led.

Kateri pieces are created to be worn, loved, and held onto. We work with natural materials and time-honoured techniques to ensure each garment or textile is made with longevity in mind. Every piece is cut, sewn, and finished by hand in Melbourne, Australia by designer and maker Ruby Farley-Steere, allowing space for care, intention, and individuality in every stitch. The aim is to build a small, thoughtful world of pieces that can be returned to again and again — shared, restyled, and woven into the rhythms of everyday life.

Ruby Farley-Steere grew up in Warrnambool, Victoria, where a closeness to family, making, and everyday life quietly shaped the way she approaches design. Some of her earliest memories are tied to home — a small, unchanged family house filled with creativity, care and a sense of ease — something she continues to return to through her work.

Now based in Melbourne, Ruby founded Kateri as a made-to-order studio, something she has built slowly over the past few years. What began as creating pieces for friends and family gradually grew into a small, loyal community. Still working independently, she designs, cuts and sews each garment by hand, allowing time, instinct and emotion to guide the process.

Kateri has always been deeply personal — a space of comfort, a way of communicating, and something she chips away at with intention. Rather than following trends, Ruby focuses on creating timeless pieces that can be worn, loved and returned to over time. Many styles are revisited across seasons in new fabrications, with the hope they might one day be passed on.

Her work is grounded in natural materials, traditional techniques and a belief in slow production, but just as much in feeling. Each piece is designed with the wearer in mind — how it might make someone feel when they put it on. There is a softness, but also a sense of confidence in volume and shape — ruffles, puffs and silhouettes that hold presence.

Often inspired by her own life, Ruby holds a deep emotional connection to what she makes, believing that if something is created with care, that feeling carries through. Through Kateri, she continues to build a small, thoughtful body of work — one that values craftsmanship, longevity, and the quiet beauty of something made by hand.