All you need to spin your dreams
We have a new addition to our Majacraft range of spinning wheels! The Luna is an innovative new wheel, designed to be so smooth it makes spinning a breeze. The extra stability of the inline design and our drive system combine to provide a lovely …
A photographic look at the weekend! Each year our Majacraft Camp fills with the presence of wonderful spinners and fantastic teachers, all willing to share knowledge, ideas, and our passion for fibre art in every form. 2023 has been no exception! This year we welcomed …
It is time to get your registrations in for 2023 Majacraft Magic retreat!
2023 Class Content:
Crimp Spin Ply with Pat Old – design yarn that matches the crimp of the fleece
Beyond one Batt with Janet Day (AU) – carding for a big project
Love Linen with Leigh Morris – spinning flax strick
Terrific Tweed with Judy Knipmeijer – how to spin a tweedy yarn
Also an evening presentation with Ineke and Ans de Brouwer from Tricky Thread Studio in the Netherlands – “Inspiration and how to find it.” Suzy Brown will have all our tools available with demos and a hands-on tools time for those who would like to brush up on their skills with fibre preparation – on Sunday after lunch.
With the rising costs of everything, we have had to bump up our camp fee a little this year. As usual, we try and keep our costs to a minimum to make it affordable for everyone. Our camp fee includes – your accommodation (all bedding and a towel), yummy food made by our wonderful chef Kendal, and class materials for the duration of our weekend together. Please make sure you fill out your registration and pay the deposit to secure your spot on our much-loved retreat, as spaces are limited.
Motels / Single rooms:
Motel units will be allocated on a first-in-first-served basis, but with a preference given to couples and those with special requirements. These come with an additional fee of $70 and have a bed configuration of a queen bed downstairs, and two single beds upstairs.
The Collings Lodge does have twin rooms – please indicate if you would like to share one of these with a friend. Again, this will be on a first-in-first-served with your registration and deposit. While we will do the very best we can with room allocation, we can’t guarantee everyone will get their first choice.
Additional nights stay:
For those that like to come a night early, or stay a night later, please book this directly with Pacific Park and make sure you mention you are with the Majacraft Spinning retreat. Jenny-Lynn’s contact details are – 07 5420018 groups@pacificpark.co.nz It’s quite possible that you will need to move accommodation from or to where we have allocated you for camp.
An onsite Café!
Pacific Park can now offer us barista-made coffees to purchase between 7:30-9am, and 12:30-2pm. This can be found opposite the Beach Lodge front entrance. Eftpos is available at the counter.
Where: Pacific Park Christian Holiday Camp, 1110 Papamoa Beach Road, Papamoa Beach https://pacificpark.co.nz
When: 1pm Friday 17th March – until 3pm Sunday 19th March. *please don’t turn up earlier than 1pm – you will be turned away at the gate.
Cost: $455 (all-inclusive price)
Places are limited!
We have a couple of new products to announce! The first one is pretty straight forward so I will start with the new limited edition bobbins, and then tell you all about our new Extra Fine hand combs, with a wee story about what makes …
Once again we were so lucky to have the opportunity to gather together for three days of spinning, learning, chatting, and sharing at this years Majacraft Camp! We were all delighted to see so many old and new friends, and we hope all those attending …
We really enjoy creating custom wheels, each one is unique, and it is always an interesting exercise to turn a customer’s ideas and designs into something that will work on wood, and fit the shape of one of our wheels.
This is the story of one of our customisations, and one which we think turned out particularly well. This wheel belongs to Honnie Cameron (Australia), a hairdresser in Bendigo who wanted her wheel to blend with her surroundings in a prominent place in their new home, which is a mix of eclectic, mid century and rustic country. The request involved the placement of many cogwheels across the entire design. Here is one of the early images Andy developed to work from.
The designs always start out with the art work, which is then digitised in order to work on it along with the wheel ‘template’. From here it is refined and adapted as needed, until it is ready to go to the laser for creating the design in the wood itself.
Andrew might not say this himself, but over the years he has really mastered the use of the laser and can create some super intricate artworks with excellent control over depth and shade, it takes a lot of skill and knowledge to work in this way and to get more than simple lines and solid areas. Andrew is able to create dynamic depth and detail in the designs, which makes them a real work of art on a wheel.
Scroll through our gallery for more images of the Cogs and Gearswhee wheel!
As you can see, there is quite a process to creating a custom wheel, which also includes assembling the wheel with the artwork on, to make sure everything lines up and looks well balanced in its design as a finished wheel.
If you are interested in a customisation for your next Majacraft wheel, or if you would like to add some customised pieces to your existing wheel, do get in touch with your Majacraft Dealer with your ideas!
UPDATE: Due to Covid, Majacraft Camp 2022 has been postponed until 6-8 May 2022 – see you there! We are pleased to announce our upcoming retreat in 2022. We have chosen the theme: “Spinning a World of Fibre” and throughout the three days we will delve into …
By Suzy Brown (This article was first published in Issue 9 of tinyStudio Creative Life Magazine) Over the years I have had the privilege of being able to test new products as they come out of Majacraft’s workshop. Most recently, there has been a …
We are pleased to announce that the upcoming retreat in 2021 is going to be “Living in the Moment with Majacraft.”
Throughout this retreat we are going to focus on mindfulness and simplicity through our handcrafts. In our ever-changing world, I think it’s more important than ever for us to take stock and focus on how we can help nurture our minds and creativity through handcrafts – “When we’re mindful, we reduce stress, enhance performance, gain insight and awareness through observing our own mind, and increase our attention to others’ well-being”. – www.mindful.org
Where: Pacific Park Christian Holiday Camp, 1110 Papamoa Beach Road, Papamoa Beach
When: 1pm Friday 9th April – 3pm Sunday 11th April
Cost: NZ$425 (all inclusive – see below for more info)
Combing Gradients – with Suzy Brown – make a gradient fibre preparation and then add some extra steps to make it unique and gorgeous! Plus learn some exciting tricks with combs along the way.
Hotch Potch Yarn with Janet Day – Australia – our very first virtual class all the way from over the ditch!
Sashiko Stitching – with Cher Feary – make yourself a gorgeous azuma bag featuring sashiko, an ancient traditional Japanese mending stitching technique.
Lace Spinning with Jenny Hart – have you ever wanted to spin lace weight yarn? Have you thought of the beautiful things you can make with it? Learn the technique and more.
Drafting with Kate Mahoney – exploration of drafting techniques for different fibre types – some prior knowledge of short forward and short backward to the retreat will ensure you get the best out of this fascinating class.
Beginners & Beyond with Pat Old – for beginners or those lacking confidence in their spinning. Learn about the mechanics of your wheel, about fleece and fibre types, yarn design and how to finesse your yarn. This is a separate stream and will run alongside our usual main stream classes.
Its also a good time to talk about how we will be running this retreat differently due to Covid19 . There is a possibility of restrictions and precautions, and also a possible lockdown. Nobody knows what’s on the horizon. So in light of this fact, we have decided not to do a payment plan – this year we would like to ask for a deposit, with the balance of the payment in March. However should Covid19 “throw the cat amongst the pigeons” and cancel our event, then we will definitely be offering full refunds. We do ask however, that your deposit is still non-refundable for anything else other than Covid19 related.
The all inclusive cost for the 2021 Majacraft Magic Retreat is $425 – this includes: all accommodation (including bedding/towels), all meals (by our favourite chef Kendell & team), and all class materials/fibres etc. Just turn up with your suitcase and spinning wheel and enjoy!
If you are interested in doing the Beginners stream or know of anyone else who would be interested, please let us know. We will need a minimum of 6 people to run this very special class.
We were so lucky to have been able to run Camp 2020 this year before Covid reached our shores, it was enjoyed by all and we all have very warm remembrances of that special time! We think Camp 2021 will also be a wonderful time for us to gather and share, and we hope you can join us!
It is Spring here in New Zealand, a time of lambs, daffodils, and also fresh beginnings. This seems to be the perfect time for us to bring you our brand new range of Majacraft bobbins! We have spent the winter completely overhauling all our bobbins, and are …
