Stitch by stitch — the success of Olga’s Own Craft Studio in Ballincollig
Olga Prins pictured at Olga's Own Craft Studio. Previously located in Ballinspittle, the much-loved craft store has relocated to a new, vibrant community, bringing with it a wide selection of high-quality yarn, notions, and expert-led crochet and knitting classes. Picture: Alison Miles/OSM PHOTO
From nursing in her native South Africa to running her own craft studio in Ballincollig, Olga Prins has weaved a productive life for herself. When her surgeon husband was offered a locum at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, the couple and their two children, aged six and four at the time, moved to Ireland in 2006.
“We decided to move for a year-long adventure — and we never went back,” says Prins, who recently moved her studio from Ballinspittle to the centre of Ballincollig where she lives with her son. (Her husband works in Cavan Hospital but Prins opted to stay in Cork to pursue her business. Her daughter lives in Sweden).
Prins was introduced to cross-stitch by a colleague in ICU in South Africa. Although she is from a family of knitters, Prins says her mother and sister lost patience while trying to teach her how to knit. She says she was all thumbs as a girl.
But now, this accomplished crafts woman does knitting, crochet, embroidery and quilting and is keen to pass on her skills.
When her husband was in his final year studying hard to be a surgeon, Prins decided not to watch television during that time as she felt it would be unfair on him, as he was trying to concentrate on his studies. This gave her the time to practice her handcrafts.
She wasn’t allowed to work in Ireland until she got her Irish citizenship in 2019. So she did voluntary work and reared her children.
And although she was a qualified ICU nurse in South Africa, she was only allowed to work as a nurse’s assistant here which is why she made the decision later on to go into business in 2021.
But before that, in her native country, Prins signed up for a course in quilting in the city of George: “I joined a quilters’ guild and I was invited to learn embroidery. Then I learned how to knit and crochet.”
At the moment, Prins facilitates 15 people, including a woman in her 80s, to knit and crochet over three sessions of five people per week. She plans to rearrange her studio (which stocks myriad skeins of good quality yarn and balls of wool) so that she can make space for quilting and embroidery.
Prins doesn’t miss nursing: “I’m doing something very different. It’s very fulfilling. Most of the time, it doesn’t feel like work. When people ask me about not nursing anymore, I always say that the most you can lose in knitting is a stitch whereas you can lose a life in nursing.”
There has been a revival in knitting, coinciding with the growth of the internet as well as the ‘Handmade Revolution’ and an interest in DIY crafts. Celebrities such as Julia Roberts, Winona Ryder, Dakota Fanning, and Cameron Diaz have been seen knitting. And there has reportedly been a return by men to the art of knitting. (Men used to knit in professional guilds, particularly in Europe.)
Prins doesn’t have any males attending her knitting classes but would welcome them: “I’ve been trying to connect with men’s sheds. A lot of men knitted before the world wars. During World War I, people used knitting patterns to send code. In World War II in Belgium, knitting was banned because of this.”
In our 21st century throwaway culture, Prins says that knitting is sustainable when garments are made from decent quality yarn.
“The Slow Fashion movement is important. If I make something for a baby out of merino yarn, when the baby grows out of it and if there is no one to pass it onto, I can rip the garment, steam the yarn and use it for something else.”
Wool is expensive because of the high cost of processing, limited processing facilities and a declining demand for raw wool.
Knitting and crocheting are labour intensive activities. “I would not sell anything that I make because people don’t want to pay for your time. But I have a lady from Ukraine who does knitting for people. If someone wants to buy a hand-knitted garment, I put the two of them in touch.”
Knitting sweaters is something that people like to do: “I teach people to knit from the top down instead of from the bottom up. It’s all in one piece with no seams involved. You can fit the sweater on while you’re knitting it to see if the sleeve is long enough. Lots of people at the moment are learning how to crochet. These crafts are good for your mental health. Knitting is a very calming activity. It can take away your stress. I always think that repetitive actions are very good for you.”
