traditional Woolens

[ChrisKavanaugh]

It was 92 fahrenhiet today in sunny California today, so my thoughts naturally turned to my winter gear :shock: I have a much loved welsh shirt by Melin Teifi that has served me well for almost 25 years. Good commercial woolens over here are disappearing or being churned out in Red China. Filson is still excellent, the famed Pendeltons and Woolrich stuff now gone to China. Are there any makers of commercial woolens over there? I still fancy climbing the Himalayans in Harris tweed or Dachstein kit.

[Brynglas]

It was 92 fahrenhiet today in sunny California today, so my thoughts naturally turned to my winter gear :shock: I have a much loved welsh shirt by Melin Teifi that has served me well for almost 25 years. Good commercial woolens over here are disappearing or being churned out in Red China. Filson is still excellent, the famed Pendeltons and Woolrich stuff now gone to China. Are there any makers of commercial woolens over there? I still fancy climbing the Himalayans in Harris tweed or Dachstein kit.

Chris,

You'll be glad to know that Melin Teifi is still working, having just received a £2m makeover, it is now the National Woolen Museum for Wales. They're still making fantastic quality wool shirts in limited quantities, I live less than a mile away from the mill, I just thought that they were my secret!!

Best Regards

[gurushaun]

Hi Brynglas

Could you find if there is a web address for the mill Melin Teifi? Or failing that could you find the snail addy so I can send for a current catalogue?

Cheers

Shaun

[Brynglas]

Hi Brynglas

Could you find if there is a web address for the mill Melin Teifi? Or failing that could you find the snail addy so I can send for a current catalogue?

Cheers

Shaun

Shaun,

Unfortunately I don't think that they have a mail order service, just a small factory shop selling blankets, shirts and stuff to visitors. The website address is www.nmgw.ac.uk/mwwi/ which may be worth a look. Otherwise a good excuse to sample the delights of the Teifi Valley and West Wales.

[gurushaun]

Cheers Brynglas

Your only about 11/2 hours away, I'll have to pop over :-D . On a slightly different not Aldi still have some of the Merino wool mid layer shirts in (I even managed to get the last XL) at under a tenner a pop they have got to be the best value i've seen for ages.

Cheers

Shaun

[ChrisKavanaugh]

THANKS! There is a marvelous company in Washington State called David Morgan ( they should be online.) They are from Wales, via Australia. David makes incredible whips and imports Akubra hats, welsh language materials and other oddities you never knew existed, and cannot live without. I had two shirts. One remained on a lovely greek girl on a cold desert archaeological dig.

[JakeR]

There is a David Morgan arcade in town about 10 min cycle away. What is a whip? (am i being stupid or is it not what i think it is)

Cheers,

Jake

[ChrisKavanaugh]

Bullwhips, Blacksnakes,stockwhips of Kangaroo leather.You know, all the stuff our GF's want for Valentine's Day :shock:

[Justin Time]

Differnt David Morgan I think Jake.

Chris, You'll have seen a lot of mention here of Swannie's, ie Swanndri from New Zealand,. Great woolen shirts, I have seen an American seller or two with them on eBay and you can get them via the net at Swanndri (http://www.swanndri.co.nz/) and a few other online sellers.

There's bound to be companies in Scotland selling woolen stuff for tourists, but most of the outdoor stuff is dominated by the artificial fibres.[/url]

[JakeR]

Differnt David Morgan I think Jake.

:oops:

I woudnt have been suprised, they seem to sell a heckuva lot!

[bigjackbrass]

Search for "Guernsey" and "sweater" and you'll find any number of small businesses in the Channel Islands producing (more or less) traditional oiled wool jumpers, generally selling mail order too. I was in Falmouth this week and found a place called "The Bosun's Locker" which had Guernseys (or Ganzies, as they are often known) for about £55, and they also stocked the excellent Norwegian Devold sweaters. Jonathan Dorn reviewed a Devold Nansen jumper for Backpacker magazine a few years ago (www.backpacker.com) and it's interesting to see how this old-fashioned bit of kit compared to the ubiquitous fleece.

Barbour also make a good range of woollens.