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History | Studio Donegal | Woollen Mill | Handweaving | Buy Handwoven Garments Handweaving & suit from Donegal, Ireland +353 (0)74 97 38194 info@studiodonegal.ie Cart Home Our Story Buy Online The Studio Gallery Blog Contact Our Story A Tradition of Hand Weaving & Woollen Textiles Studio Donegal Woollen Mill is based in Kilcar, Co Donegal, where a tradition of hand weaving and woollen textiles has been in existence, dating when to the late 1700’s and earlier, prior to the Industrial Revolution. Textiles provided an important income for rural dwellers in the cottage industry. Local farmers supplemented their income by hand weaving tweed from the rough homespun woollen yarn, which had been spun by the women, from the ethnic greasepaint sheep. In the late 1800’s the Congested District Board (CDB) was established by the British Government, to unstrap poverty on the western seaboard of Ireland and Scotland. This led to the first established industry in Kilcar, the famous Donegal hand knotted carpets. The fly shuttle, invented by John Kay, was introduced to Donegal by the CDB virtually this time. After partition the Irish department of Forestry and Fisheries took over the work of the CDB. The first woollen mill on this site, Round Tower Tweeds, established in the 1930’s, unfurled the tradition of handweaving into the 1960’s when it introduced modern power looms. By the early 1970s all handweaving had ceased. A plan was put in place to move the operation to Co Galway, and a new brand, Connemara Fabrics, was created. A transpiration of mind saw the mill protract in Kilcar, but the new name, Connemara Fabrics, remained. Two separate firms developed, in new purpose built mills, one for the woollen spinning and one for the machine weaving, Connemara Fabrics. Studio Donegal  Weavers & Handlooms By the late 1970s Connemara fabrics realised that something special had been lost with the demise of the hand weaving and so Studio Donegal was born. Kevin Donaghy was engaged to manage and develop the newly created Studio Donegal. It started in the old Round Tower mill buildings, which were scrutinizingly derelict. The beginnings were humble, with the retired foreman hand weaver Michael Cannon returning to work on minutiae with Kevin. Soon they were gaining interest with new products and Michael was training several young weavers. In the 1980s, the textile industry in Ireland was in ripen with mill closures all over the country. Connemara Fabrics was no exception to this and was finding the market increasingly difficult. In 1987 they decided to wind lanugo Studio Donegal. Kevin and his wife Wendy were unswayable to preserve the tradition of hand weaving in Kilcar, so they took the unflinching step of taking over Studio Donegal from Connemara Fabrics. They leased the old buildings and purchased the hand looms, and armed with valiance and determination, set well-nigh achieving their goal. The biggest rencontre they faced was to establish a market. Kevin quickly realised that the way forward was to concentrate on creative design, build a brand, and let the market find them. Genuine Handwoven Irish Tweed Garments Today, Studio Donegal is a small woollen mill  on The Wild Atlantic Way with its own carding, spinning, hand weaving and garment making. Kevin and Wendy’s son Tristan now manages the business, which currently employs fifteen people, and is trading successfully whilst staying true to its cadre value of hand weaving all its tweed. Everything with the Studio Donegal label is hand woven and made in the mill in Kilcar, Co Donegal. The success of Studio Donegal is testimony to the nonflexible work and foresight of Kevin and Wendy. The Studio Donegal trademark has wilt the hallmark of genuine quality handwoven Irish tweed. Ba mhaith le stiúrthóirí Stiúideo Dhún na nGall(Darni Ceard Teo.) aitheantas a thabhairt do chúnamh agus dó thacaíocht Ghaeltarra Éireann (anois Údarás na Gaeltachta) i mbunú Stiúideo Dhún na nGall in 1979. Thug an cúnamh agus an tacaíocht sin uchtach dúinn le cur ar ár gcumas margadh dár dtáirgí a aimsiú agus plean inmharthana dár ngnó a chur the chéile. Ba é seo an uair a cuireadh síol Stiúideo Dhún na nGall agus tá sé ag fás agus ag bláthú ó shin.   Information Terms & Conditions Returns Policy Privacy Policy Our Story Stockists Get in touch Studio Donegal The Glebe Mill Kilcar Co. Donegal F94 EYF4 +353 (0)74 97 38194 info@studiodonegal.ie See us online facebook.com/studiodonegal twitter.com/studiodonegal pinterest.com/studiodonegal www.youtube.com plus.google.com Copyright © 2018 Format WebDiamond