Given the habits of the Berlin ‘creative class’, it was probably inevitable: knitting and whisky tasting! What’s next, roller derby and crocheting? But this €25 event, held at year-old wool store Wollen Berlin in Friedrichshain, is more than the sum of its parts.
On a particular Wednesday, Wollen has been beautifully prepared for rowdy whisky lovers and their needles. Klaus Pinkernell, of Pinkernell’s Brandlager down the street, appears in a kilt with an array of Irish spirits from his shop. The teacher of the night, LA-based textile artist Marc Smollin, eagerly awaits fresh blood to be inducted into the cult of knitting…
It starts off with a (somewhat disappointing) female majority – all in their twenties and thirties, with and without experience. As the night progresses, however, the male talent rolls in, first eyeing up the whisky and then giving the knitting a bash. Pinkernell passes around a new bottle every 20 minutes, while Smollin on the other side of the room goes through slipknots, casting on and binding off. The adorable host of the premises, Ruta Sluskaite, watches proudly from the sidelines as the whisky lubricates minds, fingers and conversation. It’s the perfect place for shy first-timers, eligible singletons and hardcore knitters although purists might enjoy the more sober and challenging fun of knitting and crocheting races on November 10, Wollen’s birthday.
The boutique celebrates its first birthday from 11am until 8pm, where there’ll be a free gift of wool with every purchase. Marc Simon will also be on hand to oversee a Crochet competition at 2pm and Lisa and Stefan, the acoustic duo from Leipzig, will be performing at 5pm.
