The idea originated in the 80’s when Martin Hohwalter, the founder of the company HOLZ & STEIN, was thinking about what to do with the wood left over from the production of his musical instruments. So in the beginning it was only about utilizing the valuable hardwood.
Knitters, however, discovered very quickly the special properties of these instrument woods and slowly started to replace their collection of knitting needles with needles made of rosewood or ebony and later of kingwood. As a result these needles quickly became a kind of insider tip as they outclassed knitting needles made from more common material such as metal, plastic, and bamboo.
In 1996 Ursula Huppertz took over the manufacture supported by her husband Dieter Berens.
Since then the manufacturing techniques and the quality standard were improved and the product range was enlarged.
Without a doubt, it was incredibly helpful that Ursula Huppertz brought a lot of experience to the business. For over 22 years, she owned a yarn shop where she sold natural yarns and offered classes in weaving, spinning, and plant dyeing. As a woman of the craft and a store owner she knows about the problems and wishes both of the consumers and the retailers. This experience has influenced her approach to the business in a variety of ways—first among them exceptional service and further development of Holz & Stein’s range of custom-made products.
Today, HOLZ & STEIN remains true to its traditional ideals as the needles are still manufactured by hand. We also still use wood left over from the manufacture of musical instruments. For the production of the needles, brooches and buttons we use mostly rosewood, kingwood and ebony.
Despite the continuing growth of our company, the personal contact with our customers remains very important to us, because it allows us to continue to be aware of all their wishes and problems. To accommodate our customers, HOLZ & STEIN offers very special services such as the production of
custom-made needles
and a
repair service.
