OTTO HOFFMANN HANDWEAVING is a family owned business that started up near the Benedictine Trappist Mission station of Mariannhill in Natal.

We share a pride and passion for our work, knowing that every item is handcrafted from the best natural materials and to the exacting standards the company is known for. Pure raw wool and mohair is carded ( combed ), dyed and spun into varied textured yarns and hand-woven on antique wooden looms into floor rugs, according to a clients specifications.

Grandparents Weinberger, immigrating a year earlier with their sons Georg and Josef and daughter Elizabeth followed a call from the Catholic Bishop of the Mission to come and teach the local people their hand craft : spinning and weaving of wool and cotton into floor rugs and other home accessories. Weaving has been a family tradition since 1731 in Rosenheim, southern Germany.

In a rented two-roomed house at the Monastery, together with a few Zulu women the small company started and gradually grew over the years into the successful operation it represents today.

Relocating some 6 years later to bigger premises, everything from cut-up cloth remnants (rag rugs) through Nylon and Trevira, then Karakul wool and Mohair and more recently English, New Zealand and Anatolian wool has been experimented with, spun and woven into a wide range of floor rugs, curtaining, throws, tablecloths and cushion covers.

Today the company specializes in a variety of textures for its discerning clientele in South Africa as well as overseas.

OHHW works closely with Interiors Decorators and Architects on large or small corporate, domestic and hospitality projects.

Throughout the years, the family-owned company OHHW has kept close contact with the Mission and its dedicated people.

The company's aim remains synonymous with the Mission's aim : Providing work and education to the local people thereby supporting local communities in their holistic development and promoting their self sufficiency.