Australian Tapestry Workshop

Although I last visited the actual Workshop a couple of years ago, I frequenty order their yarn online. Their customer service is excellent, and their in-​house dyed yarn is beautiful quality (which is why it isn’t cheap!).
Formerly mail-​order only, you can now buy their yarns via their online shop … not as personal, but much more convenient ;) I use them for my cross stitch kits, as well as woven tapestry.
They are currently transitioning from Corriedale wool to a higher-​twist Merino — good to know if (like me) you purchase wool for particular projects.

C and I went to see the Australian Tapestry Workshop. C. is more interested in textile arts than I am but I still enjoyed my visit. There is a small entrance fee to see the workshop but it is well worth it.
An observation deck allows visitors to watch the tapestries being made on the four large looms on the main floor. When C and I visited they were working on John Young’s «The Navigator» (2.3×3.02m.) for the National Library of Australia. The weavers work in teams across large tapestries. Watching the one of the weavers mixing strands from half a dozen colors to create exactly the right blend of color.
The observation deck also allows the visitor to observe the yarn dyed in the small color laboratory safely from behind glass. The workshop produces a 366 standard color range of wools for sale at their shop and also dye their own wool specifically for certain projects.
The Australian Tapestry Workshop was formerly the Victorian Tapestry Workshop. It is still located in the same 19^th century building in South Melbourne that once held a knitting mill. The large work floor has become the tapestry workshop. Lace ironwork pillars support a saw tooth roof over the main floor.
There is also a shop selling tapestry wool and two gallery spaces exhibiting work for sale. Over the 30 years of its operation, the Victorian Tapestry Workshop has made most of the large tapestries that currently hang in Australian public buildings.