Emmy is one of our friendly faces greeting you in the retail shop. She will happily start you off with a guided tour of our working weavery or introduce you to our product range.

Berenice – ‘Bella’ to her friends – demonstrates the enthusiasm that brought her to approach Barrydale Hand Weavers’ previous owner, Carol, about the possibility of a role at BHW. Of all the things she’s learnt in her role, she’s found weaving the toughest but says she enjoys every aspect of her job. In the near future, she’d like to add learning to drive to her list of skills and accomplishments, and when she’s taking time out she can be found socialising with friends and family.

Lusinda came to work at BHW after directly approaching the business’s previous owner, Carol. Her love of her role stems, quite simply, from her love of weaving – though like many of her colleagues, she sometimes finds weaving rugs to be a bit of a challenge! In the future, she aims to learn to drive and attain her licence, but for the moment her free hours are often spent indulging in her favourite pastimes, singing and dancing.

Perci is one of our latest arrivals having started our trainee weaving programme in 2023. He is picking up the skills quickly and we expect he will be able to graduate as a weaver soon.

Michelle, otherwise known as Shelly, heard about an opening at Barrydale through her cousin and immediately applied. A sociable person by nature, she loves being able to interact with the team at Barrydale and enjoys conversing with the couriers, especially “Oom Bertie”. Even though she loves her role here, she finds making bobbins tricky – but works hard every day to improve! A devotee of Selena Quintanilla, Shelly dreams of a trip to Texas to pay tribute at the singer’s grave.

Lizzy Nqono, also known as Amanda, isn’t afraid to put herself out there, having approached Carol directly to join the BHW team. This ambition and self-confidence are mirrored in her long-term goal: starting a business of her own. Until then, she can be found weaving at work – where she loves applying herself to all of the processes, except perhaps warping – and dancing on her days off.

Denise joined the business in 2022 in the General Manager position. Her dedication to staff development, improving processes and overall business growth is self evident. She will be the first point of contact for most of our new wholesale partners.

Miriam joined the Barrydale Hand Weavers team thanks to her sister Jackie, who recommended her to the company. She enjoys the methodical nature of the weaving process, which in some ways could be likened to her own hobby: baking. When not at work or busy baking up a storm, she likes to get plenty of rest and relaxation and shares that she’s rarely, if ever, seen short on sleep. No doubt, she deserves it.

Known as Tammy to his friends, Ntembeko found his position at BHW thanks to the help of his cousin Lizzy. Temmy, in his own words, particularly enjoys the “physical and rhythmical nature of weaving,” but finds the knotting quite tough to do. As one might have figured out from his quote, his love of music is one of his defining traits and in his spare time, Temmy can be found practising his DJing abilities.

Erin joined our trainee weaving programme in 2021 and quickly picked up the weaving skills. He’s often seen playing rugby in his spare time and we think his quickness of hand is probably due to his hand weaving proficiency!

Jackie, as her colleagues refer to her, approached Carol directly when she sought a job at Barrydale Hand Weavers showing both initiative and interest in the craft. Now a talented weaver in her own right, Jackie is capable of creating beautiful pieces and patterns with ease. In a wholesome moment, she speaks about her love of dancing and acting with the children at her church. She hopes to one day have a career that will allow her to work with children permanently.

With all the hard work she puts in, Amanda relishes her free time: when she’s not at BHW, she can be found catching up on rest and relaxation, and enjoying quiet time to herself. When she is at work, however, she can be found ensuring that quality control is maintained to the highest standard – a process that brings her a lot of satisfaction. She’s found weaving itself a little tricky to learn, but doesn’t shy away from challenges: next on her list is learning to drive.

Matty is one of our newly graduated weavers. She has an exceptional quality record for her work and is an extremely consistent weaver. She is full of joy and a real team player.

Teresia, or Tessa if you’d like, found her position at Barrydale through the grapevine: after hearing that the business was on the lookout for a seamstress, she applied and found herself successful. Now, she’s a key member of the team and loves being able to sew every day. Although she still finds the act of weaving to have its challenges, Tessa appreciates the opportunity to grow and gain a new set of skills. At home, she enjoys watching television and baking.

She’s known as “Missy” to her family and friends, and when she’s not at work at BHW, Surellen can be found spending time with that tight-knit group. That’s not to say that there isn’t an overlap between her work and social life: it’s through Jackie, who’s one of those friends, that she found her role in the business. When she is on the job, Surellen most enjoys weaving, and finds warping to be the most challenging part of the process.

Jonene is one of our Quality Control team members and she is personally responsible for ensuring our high standards are maintained. Her attention to detail and team spirit make her a highly valued staff member.

Just as Tivane helped Vuyo to get a job at BHW, Vuyo helped Amanda – also known as Mingo – to find a position here. Mingo loves the act of weaving itself, creating beautiful things from simple materials. She finds sorting through all of the materials a little tougher, but not so much so that she doesn’t enjoy the process. Having been an entrepreneur at a young age herself, selling sweets at school, it’s no wonder she’s focused on the bigger picture.

Geraldine is a master communicator and is well-loved by her fellow weavers for her adept sense of humour. What makes this all the more impressive is the fact that Geraldine is both deaf and differently-abled. Despite what others might see as a setback, she pursued a career at Barrydale Hand Weavers and exhibited the determination that has taken her far. In her own time, she focuses on getting some much-deserved rest.

Melissa had a varied career, in mostly catering & hospitality, prior to joining the weaving team. She is one of our Quality Control team members, ensuring your product arrives in your hands in tip top condition to our exacting high standards. If you visit our weavery you are sure to hear her laugh loud at least once!

Arran, otherwise known as Mnr Skots or Ouboet hails from Scotland. He bought the business from Barrydale Hand Weaver’s founder, and “mother”, Carol Morris in August 2019.⁠⁠
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Prior to this he worked in the Oil & Gas sector as an Engineering Manager for major offshore construction projects… moving into hand weaving is therefore quite a career change!⁠⁠
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He is the self declared big brother of BHW and he’s suitably qualified being the eldest of six siblings. He actively denounces most other titles and believes that we should work together knowing that we are “more similar than different”.⁠⁠

Some time ago, Vuyokazi and Tivane had a fateful meeting that led to her introduction to Carol and Barrydale Hand Weavers, where Vuyo now works. A talented weaver, she says that she struggles with aspects such as the warping process, but maintains an enviable enthusiasm about everything. When not working, she spends time with her children as well as singing. In the future, she hopes to attain a driver’s license and further her education.

Petula works as a Production Assistant which involves receiving your orders and then labelling and packing products to suit. This requires an acute attention to detail and regular liaison with other staff members and departments. Petula also assist with tours of the weaver and covers the retail shop from time to time, she’s a real asset to the team.