Next week were off to New York, not for a holiday unfortunately but to work. We’re showing our prodcuts in the US for the first time in a number of years. We’re at the ICFF show at the Jacob Javits Centre New York, Stand No 2308, Hall 1A, from 19th – 22nd  May 2012.

If you’re in town please come and see us.  

Jayne Pierson graduated from the University of Glamorgan with a First Class BA Honours degree in Fashion Design, combining additional units of study from Central St. Martins, London. Jayne went on to win the London Graduate Fashion Week Ecological Design Award amongst many other national competitions. Jayne Pierson also gained a wealth of luxury brand experience interning and working for couture designers  Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood.

She used our Knot Garden design, specially woven for her in an exclusive colour, in a number of outfits shown below:

You can find out more about her here.

Those of you who have rung the mill will have spoken to Steve and/or Helene. Steve is our mail order guru (and secretly a very good artist) and Helene is also very talented and French, so she adds some much needed Gallic charm and sophistication to our office.

   Steve did the beautiful hand drawn illustrations and type and Helene and I played around with various bits of Adobe software to get the layout, add photographs and the final printing. I hope you like what you see.

Celebrations: As the date for our centenary grows closer (it’s May, June or August depending on whether we take the date of the first payment of 10% deposit in May, or the final payment in August) we have various events planned to celebrate. We’ll be telling you more about these events as they occur but here are a few highlights.

Water Wheel: We’re restoring the old water wheel here at the mill and planning improvements to the visitor experience: more information, old pictures, more explanation about the weaving process and some video footage for weekends when the mill isn’t working.

100th Birthday Party: Our local centenary event will be a pig roast and twmpath (it’s a welsh dance/party) in a marquee here at the mill, on Saturday June 16th. More details will appear on our website and facebook pages soon.

Blanket Coverage: Welsh tapestry and Tupperware Tea Party: On June 24th the people of Swansea and beyond will be invited to bring their own retro Welsh tapestry blankets and packed Tupperware for a communal picnic. This picnic will take place around an aeroplane whose fuselage will be completely covered in a specially created blanket  based on our signature Madison design. This retro-inspired geometric pattern was influenced by a lime-green maxi skirt owned by my mum in the 70s.

The event is part of Adain Avion a project being organised by Marc Rees for the Cultural Olympiad in Wales. Blanket Coverage is Adain Avion’s unique take on the iconic artwork by Christo who famously covered the Reichstag in Berlin with silver fabric, transforming it into a social sculpture and immensely popular gathering point. Click here for more information about Adain Avion.

EISTEDDFOD:  We’ll be participating in the Adain Avion event at the Welsh Eisteddfod 2012 in the Vale of Glamorgan, 4th - 11th August.  

LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL: From 15th - 22nd September we’re the featured company in Heals for the London Design Festival. We’re producing a range of special colours and designs for the store and they will have Melin Tregwynt pop-up shop for this period and a special design talk/drinks event on 18th September.

LATER THIS YEAR: We’re also doing special designs for John Lewis and participating in the Prince of Wales’ Campaign for Wool. We’ll be also exhibiting in the U.S. and Japan later this year. More details about all these events will appear soon. We also hope to publish a book on the history of our family’s involvement with the mill from 1912 to the present day.

He travelled the country from the Scottish borders to West Sussex via Cumbria, Yorkshire, Pembrokeshire, Worcestershire, Somerset & Buckinghamshire and met some very interesting people on the way, and took a lovely set of pictures.

Amanda Griffiths, my wife and partner in Melin Tregwynt is on the left and Marie Wallin, Head designer at Rowan is on the right. I thought they might have followed the example of the WI and gone topless but apparently not.

Here are more heroes

Victoria Stapleton, Founder & Creative Director of Brora – Liz Cann, Design Director of Zoffany.

Kelly Butler, Creative Design Director at Brintons carpets & Georgina Cardew Co-founder of Fleetwood Fox

Fashion Designer Eloise Grey & Jane Exley of The Wooly Rug Company

Jessica Cross, Co-founder of Southdown Duvets & Christine Armstrong, Founder & director of Second Nature.

You can see more of Alun Callender’s work at http://www.aluncallenderblog.com

Exclusively handmade in Wales by Clems Daughter

available in colours shown from top left: mondo sage, mondo slate, mondo natural, back, mondo babymix, mondo rose, mondo babypink, mondo aqua

price: £11

to order call us on +44 (0)1348 891 644 or email us

seconds (traces of glue on the fabric)

walk softly in these moroccan style slip-ons, light, comfy and warm which come in sizes 37-40

available in mondo red berry and mondo slate

sizes 4-7

reduced price: £22.75

was:£35

to order call us on +44 (0)1348 891 644 or email us

50% off on selected blankets and cushions

Exceptionally, we currently offer 50% off on a selection of blankets and cushions including discontinued broadstripe colours, waffle and pebble designs and discontinued metro colours (oakwood, lilac and lime).

There is a limited stock of sizes available. Please come and visit us to browse our sale corner.

picnic blanket in Multicheck pastel

Picnic blanket made with the same design than the world biggest picnic blanket featured in the Waitrose advertisement. It is lined with royal blue nylon backing.

square 150x150 

half price: £50

was: £100

rectangle 150x200

half price: £75

was: £150

to order call us on +44 (0)1348 891 644 or email us

Cuddly and fabulously soft and warm striped in colours as shown from the left :     

lilac/purple . teal/brown

half price: £70

was: £140

to order call us on +44 (0)1348 891 644 or email us