Weaving with The Shetland Tweed Company

Regular readers of this blog will know that I am always delighted to hear of new fashion and textile producers across the British Isles. The latest on that important list is The Shetland Tweed Company. Set up last year to produce interesting fabrics on Yell, one of the northerly Shetland Islands, this is a two-person operation.

The two persons in question are Andy Ross, who, despite his Scottish-sounding name, was brought up in Zimbabwe, and Kirsty Brabin, who, despite her Scottish first name, hails from The Wirral on Merseyside. Andy has run a charitable concern for the creative industries called GlobalYell on the island for about a decade and Kirsty, a graduate of Chelsea School of Art, was weaver-in-residence with GlobalYell before making a permanent move to this remote British archipelago.

These maps show just how far north the Shetland Islands are. For a long time in the Middle Ages they were more Scandinavian than Scottish. Kirsty weaves using yarn from the native Shetland sheep spun by Jamiesons in Sandness, Shetland – we are talking about a very small carbon footprint here! The aim of The Shetland Tweed Company is to produce cloths that are modern interpretations of classic cloths from the islands. There is no shortage of local inspiration, as these images illustrate.

In the past year Kirsty has produced about seven collections comprising around 80 fabrics. Each collection is named with a Shetland dialect word, such as Lammas (the first of August), Veev (vivid and bright), Aert (direction) and Meid (a landmark used for pinpointing positions in the sea).

The Shetland Tweed Company, which produces 300gms (10.5oz) cloths for menswear and womenswear, is attracting attention for bespoke pieces. As Kirsty uses a hand loom, small runs are possible. Prices start at a competitive £55 per metre. It would be very uplifting to see this creative venture flourish.

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