Knittingcommunitiestogether
‘KNITTING communities together’ is a fitting motto for Shuttle Knit, which is a partnership between the settled and Traveller communities.
Seven employees from the Traveller community, three fulltime and four-part time, create and design an innovative range of knitwear from the Shuttle Knit base in the CEART building in Crinion Park, Wicklow town.
According to manager Evelyn Murray, business at Shuttle Knit continues to go from strength to strength as they deal with an ever-increasing number of stockists nationwide.
‘We are really busy at the moment and sales are going very well. We have 16 stockists, including the Irish Design Gallery in Powerscourt. We are also stocked in numerous small craft shops. We recently received dormant account grant of €20,000, having provided our own funding of €5,000, and used it to purchase some new knitting machines. We also now have a semi-electronic knitting machine which should help improve the design end of things. We also hope to upgrade our embroidery section as well.
‘We will be attending the Knitting and Stitching Show in the RDS, which should be great because it mixes together the social inclusion side of things with the business end. We are just growing all the time,’ she said.
Shuttle Knit’s story began in the mid-1990s when Sr Caitri- ona set up a meeting place for Traveller women to come together and enjoy some crafting. She went on to purchase some knitting machines and the group moved into the old Methodist Hall in Wicklow.
The group then moved on to Rathnew, converting the old hall into classrooms and taking on a manager and knitting teacher. In 1999, enough money was raised to build CEART on land donated by the Dominican Order. The women moved into the building with their knitting machines and looms in 2001 and Shuttle Knit Ltd was formed.
‘It provides a space of togetherness and safety,’ explained Evelyn. ‘It gives the women a chance to talk about different issues, while also providing an income. There is such a thing as “Traveller’s Pride” and they will never let you down. We had to prepare our stock for the upcoming Knitting and Stitching show and they were finished three weeks in advance.
‘ They are a very tight group and are always very supportive of one another. It’s a respectful environment for everyone to enjoy.’
Last year Shuttle Knit won the Traveller Pride Award for Social Enterprise. There are also plans to hopefully expand the business and provide additional employment.
‘It would be nice to get some new blood and provide an opportunity to someone else. We needed some maternity cover recently and we had ten people applying.
‘All you heard from each woman was “I just want a job”. We are providing the work and a suitable environment.
‘ There is a big drive within the Traveller community to work but unfortunately they often come up against so many obstacles. There are so many who want to work. The impact is phenomenal, especially for what amounts to what is a small cost overall. The wee ones come in here regularly and see the women working away and take that experience home with them.’
The latest collection features the use of a lot of alpaca in vibrant and warm colours and each season new and exciting collections are designed and released.
‘It’s all about inclusion so everyone here had a voice and has input into what we do. Our focus is on wholesale and we spread out our production over the whole year, mainly because we wanted to avoid any peaks or dips.’