"The richness and density of Mourne Textiles fabrics are exactly what I like in hand-made fabrics. In addition, their motifs perfectly complement the vintage furniture from the 50s that we sell in our stores."  Margaret Howell

One of the highlights of our year so far is this exciting collaboration with Margaret Howell for Paris Design Week. As many of you already know we have been working closely with Margaret Howell for many years. Margaret has been one of our main supporters and championed us right from the beginning. We were delighted when she approached us about this collaboration, particularly as it uses our fabric in a new range of scarfs, so we are branching into the fashion world and keeping true to our heritage.

For this collaboration Margaret looked through our extensive archive and sample books and highlighted a design and colourway she wanted us to produce exclusively as a scarf for her stores. This collaboration will take place as an exhibition at her flagship store in Paris at La Place de la Madeleine and will include live weaving demonstrations and the launch of this beautiful scarf. Alongside this we are launching two additional colours, so three scarves in total: Black, Grey and Green.

Each scarf is individually woven displaying the selvedge or self-finished edge. This selvedge is a defining feature of fabric woven on a vintage Hattersley loom that uses shuttles to weave the yarn across the warp. The yarn mix combines merino, cashmere and silk for warmth, softness and durability.

Our founder Gerd used traditional weaving techniques on custom-made handlooms. Her broad understanding of her materials and tools allowed her to produce designs full of individual character, vibrant tones and stunning textures that continue to appeal to a contemporary audience.

To this day we stay true to this history and tradition. Our workshop sources yarns from Donegal, as it did in the past, and custom dyes them to match t­he heritage pieces and iconic designs created by Gerd. These yarns are intrinsic to the Irish-Scandinavian roots of our company.

We will be transporting a traditional handloom from our workshop in the Mourne Mountains to this exhibition at Paris Design Week. Visitors will be able to see first-hand the remarkable process of hand-weaving. Karen, Gerd’s daughter and Master W­­­eaver will be giving the live weaving demonstrations.

Photography copyright Tara Fisher

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EXHIBITION DATES
7 – 30 September 2018
 
MARGARET HOWELL
6 Place de la Madeleine 75008 Paris
+33 (0) 1 42 61 90 00
boutiquemadeleine@margarethowell.fr 
www.margarethowell.co.uk
Store open Monday – Saturday 11.00am – 7.00pm