For the last 18 months or so, we have been working on a project to look at our retail offer and how it can be more sustainable. This has resulted in a number of exciting outcomes, including the redeveloped shop space and new stock ranges. This blog looks at one of those ranges in more detail.
Dunfermline has long been a centre for linen, and the story of linen manufacturing is central to the story of Andrew Carnegie and his family. It was the industrialisation of linen production that changed his family’s fortunes and drove them to make the move to the USA. The museum itself is home to an Irish Jacquard handloom that dates from around 1840.
By the early 20th Century, there were eleven linen factories in Dunfermline, each with its own design team. In 1929, the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust approached James Mathewson & Sons to commission a souvenir napkin to commemorate the opening of the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum which had opened in 1928. The napkin was designed by their head designer Alexander (Sandy) Robertson, who had learned his trade at the firms’ Bothwell Works factory.
Blakckand white image showing the pattern for the Carnegie Linen.
The resulting napkin (above) is a masterpiece of damask design, incorporating imagery and symbols that tell the story of Andrew Carnegie, all surrounding an image of the Birthplace Cottage itself. These napkins were manufactured by Mathewson & Sons until they closed their mill in 1932.
Fast forward 65 years to 1994, and an original pointpaper design for the napkin was rediscovered in the museum collection along with two original napkins and a test sampler. The Trustees of the CDT approached Ian Dale of Angus Handloom Weavers, Brechin, to put the design back into production. The linen has been woven ever since, and continues to be a popular item in the museum shop, particularly with international audiences.
Master weaver, Ian Dale of Angus Handloom Weavers, working on the Jacquard loom in the museum
In 2021, we started to look at the stock in the museum shop and think about new and exciting ways to produce exclusive products. The linen stood out to us as a resource that could be utilized as a raw material and turned into something really beautiful. However, we stalled at a number of hurdles – manufacturers had large minimum orders requiring a large financial investment and a big risk for the museum.
Fate was on our side – in early 2022 Dunfermline became home to Kalopsia Collective. Assemble by Kalopsia Collective is a textiles product service with a unique offer – they manufacture items efficiently and quickly in small numbers, while also aiming to reduce waste. They have curated a range of beautiful, contemporary products to which clients can apply their own textiles. This model appealed to us on so many levels – we can produce unique, local, hand made, high quality items items that can be ordered quickly in response to demand, which ultimately allows us to try out new products and experiment with very little risk.
When the museum opened in March for the 2022 season, we stocked a range that included messenger bags, purses, make up bags, scrunchies and lavender sachets. These proved popular and we have since added aprons and rucksacks. The quality of the linen alongside the quality of design and manufacture makes for products that are not only beautiful but practical and useful.
The museum shop is open 11-4 daily.
