About us
Not your average craft magazine
The story behind Twisting Tales Magazine starts in 2020, on our daily walk. Every day, rain or shine, we take a walk through the beautiful nature surrounding the small town where we live in the Netherlands. As mother (Ilona) and daughter (Lisanne), we spend quite a lot of time together and we often talk about our hobbies, in Lisanne’s case, about textile crafts. While I, Ilona, do not feel the need to craft myself, I did enjoy hearing the stories, which convinced me that we needed to share them with others. That’s how the idea of starting our own craft magazine was born.
Twisting Tales Magazine
After another six months of walking and brainstorming, planning and research, we started Twisting Tales Magazine in 2021. The name is a combination of the twist required to start nearly every textile and the way we like to give our own spin to the stories, traditions and techniques we write about.
Having started her own marketing and communication business over 20 years ago, Ilona has a knack for colour, design and writing. “I started out mostly as a writer and PR-consultant. Over time, I moved into graphic design, website building and maintenance until my firm became a full-service advertising agency. My main focus is translating the unique feel of a company in marketing and communication for various forms of media. I’m not much of a crafter: I can knit, crochet, embroider and sew, but I don’t find much joy in it. The graphic design, photography and layout of our magazine is what I truly love to do.”
Lisanne is mainly responsible for writing the articles. “My grandma taught me how to knit in 2013 and ever since then, I’ve not put down my needles. Using books and the internet, I’ve taught myself many different techniques. Over the years, I’ve also picked up spinning, sewing, weaving and dyeing in much the same way. When I’m interested in a topic, I want to know everything there is to learn about it. I truly believe that the more you know about your hobby, the more enjoyment you can find in it.”
With our magazine, we aim to write in-depth articles that will expand your knowledge. We cover five different crafts: knitting, spinning, weaving, dyeing and sewing. We share histories, explain techniques and do various experiments. Our goal is to inspire and encourage our readers to try something new or to approach their favourite crafts in a different way.
Sustainability is an important aspect of the way we work. Not only do we write articles on how to craft more sustainably, we also try to run our business as sustainably as possible. Our magazines are printed on recycled paper, by a local family-run business who print our products on demand, so we can reduce stock. We also offer a digital version of the magazine. If you purchase a physical magazine, the digital version will be added to your account for free. Every magazine is published in two languages: English and Dutch.
Unlike most other craft magazines, ours does not contain any patterns. We much prefer to try things ourselves and encourage you to do the same. By covering a wide variety of topics, we hope to inspire and challenge you to tackle your craft projects in a different, creative way.
Happy crafting!
Ilona en Lisanne
