Knitting sisters will not reopen Grindavík shop for now

Sisters Marta and Lilja Karlsdóttir do not currently plan to return their knitting shop to Grindavík, a town in Iceland, mbl.is reports. The sisters now run Prjónasystur from Keflavík after relocating their stock following the natural disasters that struck Grindavík.

They opened the shop in Grindavík eight years ago with the aim of preserving the town’s handicraft community. The idea for Prjónasystur arose when the existing knitting shop in Grindavík was due to close.

“We felt it was very important to be able to meet and knit, and to offer this in such a small community so people would not have to travel to Keflavík or Reykjavík for it,” Marta said.

The sisters both maintained full-time jobs alongside running the business. Lilja is an auditor and owner at KPMG, while Marta works at the offices of Þorbjörn ehf. in Grindavík.

Marta lived in Grindavík with her husband and three children before the natural disasters. After the evacuation in November 2023, the sisters took part in short trips into the town and gradually removed the shop’s stock.

Their home, called Bakki, stood between fissure valleys and was not affected by the ground movement. Marta said they were fortunate that the house suffered virtually no damage.

At first, the entire stock was taken to Lilja’s home in Njarðvík. Marta had been unable to return to her own home, while Lilja had space for the stock, leaving her house crowded with yarn.

The sisters later stored the stock in an almost empty laundry room in the basement beneath their friend Piotr Jakubek’s Mini Market in Reykjanesbær. Marta said Jakubek had effectively saved both the shop and her, as he also allowed her to store her household belongings there.

Prjónasystur’s online shop reopened as soon as the stock had been retrieved from Grindavík. Lilja said their customers were understanding, while the residents of Grindavík were naturally focused on other matters.

“We will not return to Grindavík for now,” Marta said. Neither sister lives there anymore, and few of their customers are going there. She added that she would never rule out a return completely.

An extended interview with Marta and Lilja appears in Morgunblaðið’s Sunday edition.