Welcome to our workshop
We are a group of women in Prince Albert, South Africa. We use our hands to create livelihoods for ourselves and our families.
Over the years we have developed many products of which we are very proud. Our baby range with the label ‘Baby Noenoe’ is very close to our hearts and it is with much love that we create the knitted animals, the crochet blankets and other items in this selection.
We give equally careful attention to the homeware range we produce. Each tea towel, potholder, door stopper or fabric container is made with care and we are always honoured to know they are used in someone’s home.
Choose your colours
The name of each knitted animal you see in our shop has more to do with the colour combination than the type of animal. If you do not see the type of animal you want in the colours you like, you can order any one of the animals you need and and tell us in the order notes or in an email whose clothes the animal should wear.
This, for instance, is Wylie the fox, but you can ask us to dress him in Jack bunny’s clothes – strange, we know, but the best system we could find for managing orders and production.
What is in a name?
‘Handgemaak’ means ‘Handmade’. The double use of the idea explains what our project is about. We take responsibility for making our livelihoods ourselves – handmade livelihoods. We do this with handmade products. We also respect our Afrikaans heritage while acknowledging a world where we must market our work in English!
As individual as the knitter
Over time every crafter develops her own unique style. If you hang around long enough in our workshop you get to look at the face of a knitted animal and know exactly who the creator was. Each animal has a personality infused by its knitter.
Featured Products
Our Gallery
International Shipping
We are happy to ship internationally. On the checkout page we include 4 options for airmail from South Africa to any international location. Please select the option based on the amount of knitted animals or equivalent you order.
Normally airmail takes 3 to 4 weeks, but there is no guarantee. There is also not a tracking number that tracks the parcel once it leaves South Africa.
If you would rather arrange for a courier delivery, please contact us so that we can request a price.
Order for your shop
We welcome orders from shops. If you contact us we will send you our wholesale prices. If you are in a hurry to receive your delightful box of items, we can send you picutres of products that are ready for immediate shipping. We do not have a separate catalogue – we are proud of our online shop and that gives you a good idea of our product list. Towards the end of the year we get a lot of large orders and by the time we close for our Christmas break there is usually nothing left on the shelves. Please get your end of year order in with enough time to allow for the time it takes to make things by hand.