Classic, contemporary Harris Tweed clothing, accessories and gifts handmade in Scotland.

November 2007

NEW SCOTTISH COMPANY OFFERS “A PROSPEROUS AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURE” FOR HARRIS TWEED

The Harris Tweed industry has been given a major boost with the re-opening of a mill at Shawbost on the Isle of Lewis by a new Scottish-owned company, Harris Tweed Hebrides.

Today’s announcement that the mill – which has been closed for the past year - is about to resume production has been greeted with relief and enthusiasm on the island where concerns have been mounting about the future of the industry. Harris Tweed Hebrides intends to supply customers at the top end of the fashion market who might otherwise have been lost to the industry.

The main shareholder in the new company is Ian Taylor, a Scottish businessman who has spent the last 30 years in the oil industry and has a home on the west coast. He said: “As a long-standing admirer of Harris Tweed, I see this as a tremendously exciting opportunity to promote it as one of the world’s great fabrics. I believe that Harris Tweed Hebrides can bring a new approach to a classic industry”.

By a unique law, Harris Tweed can only be produced in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland by weavers working at their own homes. The cloth is then finished in island mills. A large mill, located in Stornoway, was recently sold to a Yorkshire-based company which has said that it intends to limit its production to a small range of patterns which will be used to manufacture men’s jackets.

Mr Taylor said: “Recent developments in the industry created an opportunity to acquire and re-open the Shawbost mill. This will ensure not only that existing markets can obtain Harris Tweed but also that there will be innovation and new ideas to take forward its huge potential. What we are doing is complementary to, rather than in competition with, the other business model”.

The new company’s chief executive is Ian Angus MacKenzie who, for the past 14 years has been chief executive of the Harris Tweed Authority, the industry regulator which protects the Orb trademark and guarantees the authenticity of the cloth.

Another vastly experienced figure in the industry, Rae Mackenzie, becomes sales director of Harris Tweed Hebrides. Mr Mackenzie said that customers around the world had responded with “enormous relief and enthusiasm” to the news that supplies of Harris Tweed, bearing the Orb trade mark, would be available again from the Shawbost mill, which has always enjoyed a particularly high reputation within the industry.

Former Government Minister, Brian Wilson – a long-time supporter of the industry – is the non-executive chairman of Harris Tweed Hebrides. He said: “Everyone involved in the day-to-day operation of the company is steeped in the industry. We have a superb local team and there is huge enthusiasm for what Harris Tweed Hebrides can achieve, both for the industry and for the Western Isles economy”.

He said that, while the acquisition and initial capital of the company have been fully funded by Mr Taylor, an opportunity will be created for local people to invest in it. There will also be a profit-sharing scheme. Mr Wilson said: “These two features are completely new to Harris Tweed and will help to strengthen the company’s roots in the community. The message is that we are all in this together and that the potential is enormous”.

The other non-executive directors of the new company are Ian Taylor and Alasdair Morrison, the former MSP for the Western Isles, who lives in Lewis. The company will adopt from the outset a bilingual business policy; its Gaelic name is Clo Mor Innse Gall.

Among those to welcome its formation are the 30 plus small businesses in the Western Isles which depend on Harris Tweed for the production of items such as handbags, waist-coats and ladies clothing. Mr Morrison said that there had been concerns among these producers that they would be unable to access Harris Tweed in future and that there would be an early meeting with them in order to establish their requirements and how the Shawbost mill could best meet them.

Among the first to welcome the news were Donald John and Maureen MacKay of the Luskentyre Harris Tweed Company whose customers include the sportswear firm, Nike. Mr MacKay said: “We are delighted with this news and are inspired by the competence and commitment of the experienced people now running the Shawbost mill. We are confident that both the Shawbost mill and the Harris Tweed industry have an exceptionally bright future given the calibre of the team in the new company, Harris Tweed Hebrides”.

Callum MacLean from Ness in Lewis, who has been a weaver for 30 years, said: “This is great news for weavers. We should now have a prosperous and sustainable future. I am delighted that those running the new company, Harris Tweed Hebrides, have ambitions to take this industry to a higher level and satisfy global demand for Harris Tweed”.

For further information please contact John Morrison at McGarvieMorrisonMedia; 07740 096 046. Interviews are available with Ian Taylor, Brian Wilson and Alasdair Morrison

Web address: www.harristweedhebrides.com

October 2007, Harris tweed update

Since June, there have been positive developments with 2 mills, independent of Mr. Haggas and the company Kenneth Mackenzie which he bought over,.

Hopefully there will be a secure source of yarn supply and Harris tweed in contemporary colours in the forseeable future, which will be available to everyone. There is still a lot of progress to be made, and although I am not sure about the stock facility, or whether the tweed will be single or double width, this is heartening news.

So, the future is looking a little more rosy, and I am hopeful that things will continue to improve for the Industry, although there is a long way to go yet.

It will mean quite a bit of re-jigging for Roobedo, but change can be positive and I am sure my next collection in the future will reflect this. I will keep you posted.

(Thank you to everyone, for their kind enquiries and heartfelt comments about the threat posed by Mr Haggas to Roobedo and the industry as a whole.)

July 2007

You may be aware from articles in the press, that the biggest Harris tweed mill in the Outer Hebrides, Kenneth Mackenzie Ltd (KM Group, which owns 95% of the industry), has been bought over.

This has resulted in major changes to the industry, and has in turn severely affected Roobedo’s future.

I have just returned from a trip to the Islands to see the state of the Industry with my own eyes and I am sorry to say that my worst fears have been confirmed. The new owners are returning to the old-fashioned colours of Harris tweed associated with men’s jackets and coats, and no longer weaving for the ladies-wear market.

Sadly, I no longer have access to the same quality or choice of Harris tweed, and I am no longer able to offer the same range of products and designs. Certain colours have already run out and are not going to be available again. Eventually all the colours that I have offered will no longer be available. This is devastating for me from a business point of view, being cut off by my main supplier, after purchasing Harris tweed and supporting & promoting them for 7 years.

I buy Harris tweed from another small weaver, but even they are affected by the unavailability of yarn that they bought, up until now, from the KM Group. I am currently in talks with a new mill in the west of Lewis who are developing a new range and they are my last hope. Quality and choice is very limited, so this may take months to get up and running.

My heart is in the islands and I care deeply about its people and its culture and history woven into this historical and unique cloth. My work is inspired by the islands and Harris tweed has been a huge influence in my work, as I have enjoyed experimenting and developing new and innovative ways to treat and manipulate the fabric to create exciting, contemporary work.

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