Lidgetton Crafters Guild

Lidgetton Crafters Guild started off  as an upliftment group for our local community.  This grew from 5 Gogos in Lidgetton Upliftment learning how to crochet and sew, to what it is today.  We have been fortunate to have received donations of sewing and knitting machines, as well as a complete pottery.  We now offer a wide range of hand made goods, from crochet rugs  to hand crafted pottery and ceramics as well as beautifully made beaded necklaces and portraits.  We are situated on the P133, best known as the road to Caversham Mill.  Open Thursday to Sunday from 10 am to 3 pm and all public holidays except Christmas. Enquiries 0825545717.

Lidgetton Crafters Guild has now a shop at The Horse Shoe Bend on the R103, just before the Nelson Mandela Monument and Museum, Howick side.  The shop is open from 9am – 4pm daily

OUR STORY

In 2019 we had 73 children that we were teaching bible study to. Our little church was now too small so we decided to clean up our unused milking parlour and turn it into a hall where we could teach the children after school on a Wednesday.

That same year, some of the children’s Gogos approached us with a view to using the ‘hall’ as a meeting place where they could get together and chat over a cup of tea, while doing hand work once a week. Eddie and Simphiwe learnt to weld, and we put burglar guards in all the open window spaces. This now secured the building.

We now fetched the ladies every Wednesday morning, which encouraged other people giving up their time to teach them other hand crafts. They learnt how to crochet, not only with cotton but also with plastic. Another friend offered to come in and teach weaving and as people learnt about it, we started getting donations of fabric, cotton and wool. A notice in Howick Buzz brought in 3 knitting machines, and 4 sewing machines. The ladies group now started to grow and those that knew how to use a sewing machine, helped and taught others. This all took place in the ‘hall’.

When Covid-19 arrived, we were advised that due to our age it would be better for us to put everything on hold until things improved. During lock down we had a full pottery studio donated, and we used this time to convert the second half of the dairy into a little shop, as we felt the ladies would need an outlet to sell their wares. With people restricted to their homes, they obviously had time to tidy up and increased donations arrived. These included some shelving for the shop and various other things.

When stage one was announced, the ladies asked if they could come back to sewing. It was not long before sewing was increased to three days a week. A lot of people had lost jobs or been retrenched during covid and were desperately looking for ways to earn money.

Lidgetton Upliftment was formed.

We had no money to set up the pottery, and we were very blessed when a dear friend offered to pay for the electricity to be put in for the kiln. The pottery took off with many local potters coming in to either sculpt, use the wheel or moulds. They brought their own clay, but we paid the electricity.

Shuttleworth weaving donated several large bags of leftover wool for the ladies, and they used this to crochet rugs and mats. With all the extra people now producing, we had to extend the shop into the ‘hall’. So, we converted two of our unused stables into a sewing room, which was ideal for the ladies, as off this room was an unused tack room. This room was under alarm and now the sewing and knitting machine could all be locked up at night, as well as material and wool donations.

The shop opened in 2020 and was run on the format of a “home industry”. All participants get a number and price their own wares, but they agree that the shop takes 20% of the sale which goes towards electricity. The shop had to close again due to Covid. We then re-opened again and in 2023, the Pottery had a group of potters who come regularly to work here. The ladies have now been taught to use a knitting machine and two of our ladies with health difficulties work from home on their machines. Others embroider, crochet and knit by hand. Thanks to us receiving 9 looms we have several ladies now.

In 2024 we had a lady come into teach them quilting, and Shuttleworth weaving again continue to donate their leftovers, and are a huge support and we could not do this without their help. We launched Lidgetton Crafters Guild, as this name would cover all and/or any new craft the community can do. Michaelhouse Old boys donated an Industrial Over-Locker, and another benefactor donated an Industrial sewing machine.

The beginning of 2025 brought Thuli our beader to join us. In June 2025 we were approached by Horseshoe Bend with an offer to move the shop there. Eddie opened their own bank account at Capitec who supplied a credit card machine, and by the end of June they were in business under the name Lidgetton Crafers.

Four of our original Gogos have now retired but we continue to get new people joining the crafters and recently members from Lions River have joined them in the shop.

This is not our business, the shop is a community run project, we merely help and facilitate whatever we can.

Eddie & Lynn