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About Katia
Hi! If you’re here, you want to know more about Katia.
Where do we come from? Where are me going? Who are we?
Well, get ready to travel through time and learn about our 70 years of history.
A history full of emotions, challenges, successes and, of course, some failure.
Decade after decade, our innovation in the field of yarns and fabrics, as well as our commitment to our customers have been key to our success.
Today, we feel like one of the most well-loved European textile handcraft brands. Katia Lovers, designers and stores around the world make us feel this way.
If you’re passionate about Creativity, sharing this passion with a global Community and find Wellbeing in handcrafts, without a doubt, you are 100% Katia.
Because Katia is 100% YOU!
100%
HISTORY
Question: Do you know why we’re called Katia?
No idea? Well, we’re going to tell you this and many other interesting facts!
We wish we could see your reaction, because our story includes some really surprising anecdotes. It could even become the script of a Netflix series!
Discover the family that started everything: Ramon, Pepita and their sons Ramon and Josep Lluís.
Learn about the triumphs and adversities experienced by a team of brave, creative and hardworking people.
This is Katia’s Story: a story of love for yarn and handcrafts.
And it goes on!
Will you write it with us?
A story of love for yarn and handcrafts
Everything started with Pepita... A strong woman who was ahead of her time and who, during the Spanish Civil War, opened her own yarn store. Despite living through tough times, Pepita always fought for her dreams. She encouraged her husband Ramon to found a yarn company that their sons would expand, overcoming great challenges. Now, her grandchildren carry the family legacy forward, working hard to turn Katia into a leading textile handcrafts business worldwide. Therefore, Pepita’s will to succeed lives on through Katia, inspiring future generations to fight for their dreams.
As you can see, since its inception, yarn stores have been an essential part of Katia’s DNA.
Why Katia and not one of the other names? It’s a mystery...
Led by Josep Lluís Castelló Vila, Pepita and Ramon’s third son, we bet on innovative colorways and fantasy yarns. Without a doubt, our original yarns, full of color and textures, very different to traditional yarns, are our brand’s hallmark.
Just when we were starting to make a name for ourselves on the market, a fire destroyed our offices and warehouse in 1978.
Encouraged by the sector’s upward trend, we carried on and started exporting to countries in Europe and the Middle East.
We published our first pattern magazines with designs that amaze thousands of knitters. Some of the covers from the 1980s feature actresses like Pastora Vega, Ángela Molina and a budding top model, Judit Mascó.
In 1983, Katia’s offices and warehouse were flooded, but our team stayed afloat by working hard.
We promoted a new type of store as an alternative to franchises and developed our own software program to offer our customers a flexible and exclusive service.
• our sector experienced a serious crisis due to changing trends.
• We closed Katia International, the branch we opened in Moscow, because of the ruble’s devaluation after the USSR collapsed.
• And for the second time in our history, we suffered a terrible fire that destroyed everything... except a hard drive with accounting information!
In 1998, after some of the toughest months yet, we made a comeback (like a phoenix rising from the ashes) as Fil Katia, S.A. This was made possible by the resilience and participation of some of our team members as shareholders.
By then, we already had our own sales network in France, one of our most important markets.
One year later, we moved to Katia’s current headquarters in Castellbell i el Vilar, a village in the province of Barcelona surrounded by a unique natural landscape, the mountains of Montserrat.
After consolidating the direct sales model applied initially in France, we decided to create our own sales network in Germany (2007), the United Kingdom (2008), Belgium and the Netherlands (2009).
We want to be a leader in the European market and beyond... In fact, in 2005 we opened a flagship store in Beijing. This adventure in China was fleeting!
In our effort to become an important brand within the world of textile handcrafts:
• We launched Concept by Katia, our exquisite collection of high-end yarns alongside a magazine to knit and crochet minimalist and sophisticated designs.
• We brought back the Spanish brand Lanas Stop, adding a selection of their best yarns for babies to our catalog, alongside the Canastilla magazine.
• We started out in the world of macramé with specific products, as well as patterns and video tutorials to help people learn this technique.
• We grew beyond our comfort zone and jumped head-first into sewing with Katia Fabrics, our fabric brand with exclusive prints and modern patterns to sew at home.
• We started connecting with fans of handmade things, crafters, and stores on social media, creating a huge online creative community.
• Since we know about the creative process, we created Premium Designers to share the talent, story, and love independent designers from around the globe have for knitting and crochet.
Now, more than ever, we feel like we’re a leading brand for all those who enjoy handcrafts and we included the new Katia 100% YOU branding with three purposes: to encourage creativity, build a community, and generate wellbeing.
During this decade, we became established in Italy (2011), Scandinavia (2017), Mexico (2018) and Canada (2019).
We also wanted to help our customers to sell online, so we turned katia.com into their online sales platform. Our website connects consumers with stores in Spain, (Mainland and Balearic Islands), France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Portugal.
Suddenly, everything came to a standstill because of the COVID-19 pandemic... Well, not everything! At Katia, we never stopped suggesting ideas to make your time at home more fun and enjoyable. We gave our all managing thousands of online orders for our customers. We’re honestly proud! Thanks to those efforts and katia.com, many small businesses survived successive lockdowns.
Our curiosity for textile techniques encouraged us to create embroidery and weaving Handcrafts Kits.
Inspired by new generations interested in textile handcrafts, we created WOW! by Katia, a range of kits with knitting and crochet designs for young makers.
Our “American dream” came true with our direct online sales in the United States.
Thomas Marin joined us as the new general director, a highly international profile aligned with our vision of turning Katia into a worldwide leading handcrafts brand.
Do you want to know more about us? Follow us! Because this decade has only just begun...
100%
CREATIVITY
At Katia, we can’t —and don’t want to— stop creating!
We aren’t exaggerating when we say that creativity “brings us to life.”
It’s our essence, the reason we do what we do.
This creativity goes beyond our fantasy yarns, illustrated fabrics, or pattern designs.
Creativity lies behind all innovation, progress and adapting to the times.
We share our desire to bring our dreams to life with you.
For this reason, your imagination finds everything it needs here.
Because at Katia we are 100% YOU!
100%
COMMUNITY
A celebrity would say something like “I owe everything to my fans; I’ve made it this far thanks to them.”
For us, the Katia Community is much more than a fanbase.
They are lovers of handmade things, designers, stores... who trust our brand.
They also create and share their wonderful makes using our yarns and fabrics on social media!
A truly special Community: diverse, cross-generational and international.
Do we have the best Community?
Yes! And we’re definitely 100% fans of it.
100%
WELLBEING
We know first-hand that knitting, sewing, in short, all textile handcrafts generate wellbeing.
This is why we promote projects that include the benefits of handmade things to the entire world.
Especially, to children at schools, the elderly at nursing homes, and patients at hospitals.
As well as taking care of people and stores, we work to reduce our impact on the environment.
We want to contribute to a better world with you by using environmentally-friendly products throughout the entire manufacturing and distribution process.
We already have yarns and fabrics certified by Global Recycled Standard, OEKO TEXT, Better Cotton Initiative, GOTS, EcoVero, BPA Free, 100% Organic Cotton, Non Mulesing Wool, among others.
And, for 2030, following our sustainability guide, we commit to using 100% recycled cardboard packaging that is 100% free from single-use plastic.
5 marvelous benefits of sewing: discover the positive effects of sewing on your health
Sewing has become fashionable over the past few years, and confinement have contributed to the revival of this beautiful hobby. Sewing, the everyday pastime that we have seen our mothers and grandmothers do. Turns out to be a fantastic habit for our health. Today we are going to tell you about the multiple benefits you can gain from sewing, at both a psychological, as well as a physical, level. Discover 5 the positive effects of sewing!
5 wonderful benefits of knitting: discover the positive health effects of knitting and crocheting
A lot of studies have been made about the positive effects that knitting and crocheting can have on a person’s health. As well as being absorbing and interesting activities (in any of the existing techniques) they have a lot of physical, mental and social benefits. You only need to ask a knitter or crocheter if it is true or not… Discover the benefits of knitting and crocheting!
100%
INTERNATIONAL
From Barcelona to the rest of the world!
Our yarns, fabrics and magazines reach more than 50 countries thanks to our international team.
We speak English, Spanish, French, Dutch, German, Italian... We’re multilingual!
Also, throughout our history, we’ve created ties with thousands of stores in Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal...
Part of our team is also in the United Kingdom, Mexico and the United States.
We travel a lot to get to know our distributors and collaborators in person.
Obviously, we take part in all the main trade fairs in the industry (at our stand, you’ll always find cava to toast meeting you).
On our website, social media and blog we tell you about all the latest global textile handcraft trends and share crafting creativity across the planet.
Join us to discover the magic of textile handcrafts and share this experience with the world!
Europe
ANDORRA
AUSTRIA
BELGIUM
CYPRUS
DENMARK
ESTONIA
FINLAND
FRANCE
GERMANY
GREECE
HUNGARY
ICELAND
IRELAND
ITALY
LITHUANIA
LUXEMBOURG
MALTA
NETHERLANDS
NORWAY
POLAND
PORTUGAL
ROMANIA
RUSSIA
SLOVAKIA
SPAIN
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND
UNITED KINGDOM
Oceania
AUSTRALIA
NEW CALEDONIA
Africa
RÉUNION (ADM. REGION OF FRANCE)
SOUTH AFRICA
Asia
HONG KONG
ISRAEL
JAPAN
LEBANON
MALAYSIA
SINGAPORE
SOUTH KOREA
TAIWAN
THAILAND
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
VIETNAM
North America
CANADA
MEXICO
UNITED STATES
Central America
COSTA RICA
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
PUERTO RICO
South America
CHILE
COLOMBIA
ECUADOR
PERU
100%
PEOPLE
Welcome to the Katia family!
We’re a multicultural team, with members from many parts of the world.
We’re proud of sharing textile handcrafts across the planet and we’re excited to share this experience with you after more than 70 years of history.
These are the teams of people who work to make your handmade projects a reality!
Product Design
We’re the driving force that makes your handmade projects a reality.
We work passionately to surprise you with incredible products and thousands of creative ideas.
Marketing
We love encouraging and sharing your creativity with the world!
We do everything we can so that you can eagerly learn and enjoy handcrafts anywhere around the globe.
Sales
We work hard every day to offer you the best purchasing experience.
Our customers’ trust is the result of our professionality.
Purchasing and Production
We take care of every detail to offer you the best products of the highest quality. Surpassing your expectations with an exceptional service is our aim.
Logistics
We painstakingly prepare all orders so that they reach your home or business as quickly and efficiently as possible.
We work hard every day to improve and offer you an exceptional service!
Administration and HR
We want Katia to be the best place to work.
This is why we make sure that all our workers have a safe and healthy working environment where they can develop their full professional potential.
IT
We’re proud of promoting innovative technology resources within Katia.
We’re committed to offering quality technical support and helping our users to make the most of the tools available.
Management
Our mission is to ensure the company’s long-term sustainability.
We take decisions while always keeping in mind the organization's strategy, objectives and values.
Executive Board and Advisory Board
We’re committed to the company’s present and future stability.
So that Katia can continue contributing to the wellbeing of future generations through handcrafts!
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