Interview: Anna is knitting her way through Mauritius

Can you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about your background?

 My name is Anna Götze. I was born in Poland and have lived in Mauritius for the past 24 years. I am happily married to a German gentleman who, like me, became a citizen a long time ago, and we have two beautiful children.

 What are you doing currently?

My most essential and most important role is that of a mother. We live far away from our relatives as an expat family, and we believe that raising our children will be done without the use of babysitters. So I'm a very busy person, driving up and down and assisting the children in their development. I also work at our Goodlands-based company called Aremo, where we make jewellery and findings. 

For a while, I've also been able to call myself a knitting designer and a yarn lover. I knit with enthusiasm and take pleasure in designing new garments.

 What brought you to Mauritius?

I relocated to Mauritius from Poland with my husband to manage the company Aremo. I used to run seven jewellery stores in Mauritius under the name Passion, but after the birth of my son, I decided to close the stores and focus on my family.

When I first arrived in Mauritius, there was no internet. We wrote letters to my Polish family, it took a long time to get there and even longer to get answers. There were no mobile phones at this time so communication was very limited, but they gradually made their way to Mauritius. In those 20 years, the country has changed so much, and it continues to change and amazing me every day.

 What do you think of the knitting, arts and crafts sector in Mauritius?

 There are large companies in Mauritius that produce knitted garments, and they all use beautiful yarns, but they are all made by machines. As far as I am aware, there is a significant community of crafters of all kinds, crotchetiers, and knitters. People who live here are very creative; I know a lot of painters and sculptors, and most of the materials can now be purchased in Mauritius.

 When it comes to knitting and yarn supplies, I must say that the options are limited. There are three places where you can buy yarn, but because Mauritius crafters prefer to crochet, knitting needles are limited. The yarn available for purchase here is either cotton or polyamide.

Merino, Mohair, Alpaca, and Camel are some of my favourite natural animal-based yarns, all of which are not yet available here on the island. I buy yarn spun by hand and dyed with natural dyes from a variety of crafters on the internet. My yarns are all natural, and I don't use plastic in any of the garments I knit.

I understand why yarn and knitting needles are in short supply here; people don't wear pullovers very often, and when they do, they don't pay attention to the quality of the yarn because it's hot here and we don't need very warm clothing.

I became fascinated with natural yarns and began knitting for myself and my family. I knit for my Polish relatives and send them parcels. I knit for the purpose of design and sell my patterns on Ravelry (http://www.ravelry.com). The world is returning to natural-based supplies, and the knitting design industry is going the same way.

 What is the most exciting, island- inspired item you have knitted?

I always think of a beautiful place, flower, or fruit from Mauritius when I design my knitted garments. You can listen to my knitting progress and love for Mauritius every 3-4 weeks on my YouTube podcast, Knitting in Mauritius. It is simple to be inspired and to share your love of nature in your creations when you are here. Mauritius is an amazing place for creators, with its bright lights and vibrant colours. Art can be easily created here because the natural environment has such a positive impact.

When I first begin knitting for a pattern that will eventually be sold around the world, I look at the yarn and imagine it to be something from my surroundings. For instance, I designed the Exotic mix caftan, which is available as a free pattern on Revelry. The Beach and Shells pullover was created by me and I was influenced with the beauty of the beaches here. One of my other pullovers is the Dragon fruit, which reminded me so much of the dragon fruits growing here. My Poncho is called The Flamboyant Tree because it resembles the glorious trees from Mauritius.

I'm currently creating the Erupting Volcano Top; this is the name of the new design, which will be released on November 30th. Not that we have an active volcano here in Mauritius, but as I was knitting the top it made me think of how it was 700 000 years ago when Mauritius was formed by a huge volcanic eruption.

As a point of interest, did you know that the island contains 20 volcano craters?

What was the impact of the global health crisis on your professional activity and how have things changed now the island is open again?

During the pandemic, the number of people knitting around the world increased significantly. Many people were unable to leave their homes, and stores were only open online. The quality of knitters and crotchetier is increasing around the world but I do not see the trend here. We couldn't buy or import goods for many months in Mauritius, so it was difficult to create something new. Everything became much more expensive as a result of the pandemic, as the cost of transporting goods rose sharply. People became more homely and creative during the pandemic, but their creativity is suppressed by the high costs of transportation and shipping, and the trend continues.

 What's your favourite part of Mauritius and why?

 I enjoy many things in Mauritius, but the sea side is without a doubt my favourite.

 Tell us something fun about you Anna!

 Oh, that's a tough one! But here goes: 

I'm a mother who adores her children. I'm a yarn admirer who enjoys knitting. I'm a podcaster who loves interacting with people from all over the world. Knitting in Mauritius is a YouTube channel that you can just check out and subscribe to.

I've been here for 24 years and still have my Polish accent and attitude, as well as a poor level of English! 

Because of the pandemic, I'm missing my family terribly.

I have six dogs, three cats, ten parrots, six chickens, three turtles, and one duck.

On Facebook, I started a group called Knitting in Mauritius, where you can join and share patterns and yarn information.

I used to tutor knitting lessons, but since the pandemic, I've stopped because I don't want to be exposed to the virus too much.

I'm trying a new project – I have yarn kits for my Dragon fruit Pullover, and you'll be able to purchase the yarn needed to knit it in my IstaShop - #annamadewithasmile.   

In connection with the Shave a Sail, I created project bags for knitters and many others, which I will soon be selling over my Instagram.

What are the main challenges you have faced as an expatriate in Mauritius?

Oh, I arrived in Mauritius so long ago that the challenges were significantly different from those that expats will face today. There was no internet, no DSTV (or, as we now have Netflix on the internet), and no mobile phones.

Oh, there weren't a lot of things! 

There was no Super U, no GBLC, or no Bagatelle. There were only two small supermarkets in the north, the Grand Baie Store and Store 2000.

Later, shopping malls such as Sunset Boulevard and Caudan in Port Louis were built, and it was there that I opened my Passion jewellery stores.

Life was different, but it was lovely.

What piece of advice would you give to budding knitters in Mauritius?

Please join our Facebook group for daily interaction if you are a knitter, crotchetier, or yarn lover. I'd like to introduce knitters to the Interchangeable Circular Knitting Needle Set in order to create modern and simple knitted products - they are the best to be used.  The needles have made such a significant difference in the lives of knitters. You can knit while sitting comfortably, eliminating the need to sit upright and hold a project on your straight needles. In knitting, the cord connecting the needles is also improving the ability to knit colour works. You no longer need 5 double-pointed needles to knit in the round; instead, you use the interchangeable. You can knit faster and more comfortably with that king of needles, and you can also knit new and more complicated patterns. However, I was unable to locate any of it here in Mauritius. I bought all of my modern needles from online stores.

 What are your plans for the future?

It's difficult to make big plans when the future is so unknown and uncertain. We are not as mobile as we once were, especially in the midst of the pandemic. But we must smile, be optimistic, and take small steps forward to the next day. As for me, I plan to continue creating patterns and recording my podcast in which I promote my knitting garments as well as Mauritius. Definitely, I will continue to support my husband and children in their daily lives and run my home with a large number of animals.