Just before Easter we traveled across the Atlantic to visit our partner in Germany. They are the friendly folks who are dyeing the yarns for SKEINO. We thought it would be a nice idea to show you a little more about how it all looks behind the scenes, as our dyer is an important part of what makes SKEINO what it is.
Our partner is a so-called “Inclusion Company” meaning that over 50% of their staff have special needs. That is a little different than a “normal” company and we think it’s a great endeavor to support for us as a yarn company. Of course, this is not a common workplace because more than anywhere else you have to support your employees and in this case, you have to count on specially trained people to give that support to the people who are working with you.
When we visited the staff we found out that they even came up with some new ideas and so the dyeing process is working better and more efficient than ever.
The main goal of such an Inclusion Company is to help people with special needs to find their place in society: They earn a competitive wage and they feel needed. After training the workers we found them to be extremely motivated and accurate in the process of hand dyeing SKEINO yarns. When we visited the staff we found out that they even came up with some new ideas and so the dyeing process is working better and more efficient than ever.
The company is located in a beautiful country estate in Germany and you can just breathe history there! First of all what you will see is the big mansion with its 3 giant bells in front of it. Taking a closer look you will read the name “Luther” on one of them and some prayers. It was in Germany where Martin Luther lived, where he translated the bible for the first time and where he started his Reformation movement. Looking at those bells just made us stand in awe!
The workshop itself is inside a beautiful timber-framed building, called “Fachwerk” in German, one of the many buildings of that style in the complex so there is lots of storage room and of course to dye yarn in.
As you know we are constantly looking for new yarns, styles and of course colorways. Right now we are working on some amazing new things but those are still top-secret for now.
We hope you enjoyed our little insight and that you feel as excited about it as we do. As always please feel free to ask questions or give us suggestions in the comment section below.