Sharing her love and knowledge of hand embroidery, Diana van der Walt established SPiNNeRiN in 1995, starting off as a small shop in her home in Kempton Park, teaching and selling the products and notions needed. This was born out of her frustration, as the products were not readily available.
Diana travelled all over South Africa and the south of Namibia to teach. Soon the shop was too small and a move into a larger premises followed.
Focusing initially on the art of hand embroidery, traditional as well as modern, the larger premises allowed us to expand and offer quilters the luxury of classes and materials. In much later years the yarn ranges were added and nowadays workshops and classes are presented in Hand Embroidery, Quilting, Knitting, Crocheting etc. An even bigger premises presented loads of opportunity to expand the business and offer more teaching facilities in a much more tranquil environment.
Since 2004, our shop on the small holding in Benoni has offered various class rooms, tranquil gardens and a stoep for long, relaxed sessions with friends, fellow students and crafters. This is the ideal setting to develop, practice and execute the various art and craft forms on offer.
On 1 September 2015, a new edition to the now well known SPiNNeRiN, d'Wolhuys was introduced as the yarn division. They offer a wide variety of products ranging from cotton, wool, bamboo, silk, synthetic fibers etc., as well as classes, workshops and friendship gatherings.
Regular classes and workshops are hosted by experienced tutors, each outstanding in their field. Various hand embroidery styles such as Hardanger, Counted Threadwork, Ribbon Embroidery, Mountmellick, Whitework, Cutwork, Drawn Threadwork and other general embroidery are presented by the owner, Diana, as well as other visiting tutors. Patchwork, Quilting and applique classes are presented by two tutors, offering different styles, techniques and designs, ensuring that you find a comfortable spot to meet your requirements. Open classes are presented for knitting and crocheting where the tutor concentrates on a project of your choice, providing assistance with the technique and teaching the skill where required. This enables us to provide a service to all skill levels. Other various project-specific classes such as Amigurumi, Macrami, Felting, etc. are also presented as and when on offer. These are advertised.
We have a coffee shop facility for students attending classes and offer a tea-time treat or light meals. Friendship groups sitting on the stoep enjoy time spent with friends and fellow crafters or have a cup of coffee when you come to shop. We have a delicious new menu,
SielenKUNS (Stitches 4 the Soul) was our own event, hosted in April 2019, offering various workshops over a period of 4 days with tutors from all over South Africa. Workshops was presented in two sessions per day and included a wide variety focusing on hand/needle work only. For example embroidery with Lesley Turpin Delport, Petro van Rensburg, Colleen Goy, Sue Clegg, Bridget Price. Teddy Bear making by Liesel Lubbe. Crochet by Hilda Steyn. Hand applique by Shan Day
Embroidery and Quilt Exhibitions are being hosted regularly and are very big days on the SPiNNeRiN calendar.