melin tregwynt at john lewis

This autumn keep your eyes open for special events to mark The Campaign for Wool, an initiative championed by HRH The Prince of Wales aimed at promoting the natural and sustainable attributes of wool throughout the entire supply chain from textile buyers to end users. 

‘He got together all the interested parties, including people in fashion, clothes retailers, carpet manufacturers and representatives of the wool industry, and they agreed to work together to promote wool.’

Melin Tregwynt are working with John Lewis on a range of blankets/throws to coincide with the campaign which culminates in a special week, starting October 11^th 

John Lewis are showcasing our products in their Cardiff store on Saturday, September 11th

so if you want to meet us and have a chat we’ll be at the top of the escalator on the 2nd floor. There will also be a display of our blankets.

Also this Saturday come and meet an expert! Mockie Harrison, Manager of the home design studio at John Lewis, will be showing you how to transform a blank room using this year’s themes and styles.

If you’re in Cardiff come and see us in John Lewis or visit our own store nearby at 26 Royal Arcade where we have our full range of products.

There will be more special events to mark the Campaign and we’ll keep you updated.

PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR STORE AT 26 ROYAL ARCADE HAS NOW CLOSED

My first test posting direct from the new IPhone app

This is a test to see if my new IPhone app works and I can post entries direct from my mobile. This is a sample blanket we’re weaving for a client.

The Usual Suspects - Rear View

This is a great product shot of Muji staff wearing their Melin Tregwynt scarves and stoles. I love this. It’s so quirky, full of fun and so Japanese. They really enjoy their advertising and love to create something unusual that makes you look twice. It reminds me of the film the Usual Suspects.

Birkenstock Update

Birkenstock are using our traditional Welsh Knot Garden fabric for a new range of mules. They were only going to be launched in Japan this year and Europe in 2008. Following an earlier mention here and a short news item in Selvedge magazine  (a brilliant read for those of you interested in textiles) there was such interest, that Birkenstock decided to put 60 pairs in their Neal Street, Covent Garden store.

 Get over there while stocks last or check out their UK website as they are also available online. A real exclusive.

See our full range of blankets, throws and cushions online

You can view them either by colour or by design. We also offer slippers, dressing gowns and socks, together with clothes, hats, bags and scarves, our own specially designed range of ceramics and other Welsh gifts.

New woollen blanket & throw in multicheck range

We’ve recently added to our range of clasic wool blankets. The new aubergine colourway is an addition to our popular multicheck range and was originally developed for the Nether Abbey Hotel in the beautiful seaside town of North Berwick just 30 minutes from Edinburgh. It’s a four colour check in greens and purples and co-ordinates well with our Mondo aubergine fabric. Like all our woollen blankets it’s finished with traditional blanket-stitching and the corners are hand finished.

Our throw size is 122 x 183. We also offer single, double and king-size blankets.

Call Steve on 01348 891 644 for more details or contact him at mailorder@melintregwynt.co.uk

An Interesting Start to the Week

It’s Monday and today we have a film crew here at the mill, filming a documentary for the BBC. We’ve been filmed before, but the reason the BBC are here today is that we’re getting a visit from some of our Japanese customers.  Mr. Takashi Kato, a director of Muji, Ms. Asako Kato and Ms. Naoko Yano merchandisers from Muji and Mr. Katsuhiro Saisho of Mitsubishi Corporation are visiting the mill. They’re coming here to see us weaving the last batch of a large order placed by Muji in Japan.

Those of you who know Muji in the UK. will have been to their stores selling office equipment and simple unbranded household goods and clothes. To be supplying them with a collection of fabrics based on traditional Welsh doublecloth came as a bit of a shock to us. The reason we are now supplying them is that they have developed a new concept called Muji Found. which will initially be limited to Japan.

Instead of the anonymous office and household products sold in the main Muji stores, Muji Found will be selling products sourced from around the world, made by small companies like us and which have a story.

This visit is one of a number we’ve had from various buyers and merchandisers so it’s been a very interesting period. So far they seem very pleased. We must be very different to the large industrial factories they normally deal with.

In addition to the work for Muji we’re currently producing fabric for Birkenstock. Tney are using it to cover a new range of mules called “Footprints” to be launched in Japan later this year and hopefully in Europe next year. See image below

We’ve been selling to Japan for a number of years. The Japanese like what we do. They have a very sophisticated consumer society and they appreciate small manufacturers who still make authentic products in a traditional way. They are very keen that British brands and products should still be made here in Britain. They don’t like products that all look the same and are made by large manufacturers in China.