Weave Got News 🍀
Long-standing Fabworks aficionados, and those who follow high quality lifestyle brands, may well recognise the name Avoca. Located in County Wicklow, Avoca boasts the oldest weaving mill in Ireland, with 300 years of creative expertise in woollen fabric manufacture, which has become the brand’s flagship product, oozing quality, history and heritage. Nowadays, the Avoca brand also has concessions selling ceramics, home fragrances and fashion, however it is most famous for its immaculate quality wool, cashmere and mohair textiles, in vibrant and colour-rich designs that retail for eye-watering sums.
Avoca garments and accessories, made using 100% wool, manufactured in County Wicklow, Ireland
Fabworks’ association with Avoca began in 2011, when Fabworks Mill Shop was only a fraction of what it is today, and way before Fabworks Online existed. We were approached by Avoca with an offer to buy their surplus fabric from the previous seasons' collections. What an opportunity! A deal was struck, and what arrived at our warehouse a few weeks later was the most amazing selection of Irish-made pure wool fabrics, plus all the accessorising elements within the Avoca ladieswear collection (elaborate trimmings, gorgeous embroidered silks, lightweight satins, Liberty jerseys) and the cherry on top of the cake – Irish-made Donegal Tweed!
The first Avoca surplus fabrics & trimmings at Fabworks Mill Shop, 2011
Avoca surplus fabrics, 2015
In 2024 it is far more difficult to source deadstock fabrics. Garment manufacturers estimations of fabric requirements are now extremely accurate, which means there is far less deadstock than existed in 2011 when these photos were taken
The working relationship between Fabworks and Avoca blossomed over the next few years and allowed Fabworks to develop its focus on high end ladies’ dressmaking fabrics and away from the lower end of the textiles market.
Four years and several thousand metres of fabric later, Fabworks took a bigger step than ever before, and collaborated with Avoca to commission its own range of Irish-made pure wool fabrics which marked the launch of Fabworks Online, November 16th 2015. This was a defining moment for Fabworks, being the very first collection of fabrics that we commissioned ourselves. With a range of herringbones in iconic Avoca colour-rich palettes, this was Fabworks’ first taste of proper manufacturing in the 21st century, as shown below.
Sadly, the Avoca x Fabworks partnership came to an end in 2017, when Avoca’s new owners tightened up on their production leaving no surplus available at the time. However, so inspired were we by what we had achieved with Avoca, Fabworks commissioned its first collection of local, Yorkshire-woven tweeds. Thus, our famous Heart of Huddersfield range was born, and continues to this day.
We never completely lost contact with our friends at Avoca, but after seven years we were surprised to receive a call one cold January afternoon, from a once familiar Irish telephone number. The result of this call was a couple of tickets booked to Dublin, and a return to old haunts in the Emerald Isle.
A behind-the-scenes tour around the historic weaving shed, inspections of lines currently in production, and an excellent lunch in the famous Fern House café in Kilmacanogue (Kil-muh-ka-nog) later and ‘the band are back together’.
Can you guess what is coming next?
Visiting Avoca Weavers, Spring 2024
Action Shot!
A peaceful-looking photo, but a crashing of noise as the looms work away weaving woollen fabrics for Avoca's current collection
Finishing Touches
Cosy wool throws freshly woven in signature Avoca colours, ready to go to the finishers for that extra soft handle
Discussion Time
Reviewing colour combinations, weave details, and availability of surplus yarns on-site at Avoca HQ
It’s taken some time, but we can finally and very officially announce that Fabworks has collaborated with Avoca and will launch its own new collection of Irish-manufactured Avoca woollen fabrics for A/W 2024!
As part of our mission to reduce the tonnage of textiles that go to waste annually, we are delighted to announce that, using only surplus Avoca yarn, we have commissioned our very own collection of exclusive pure wool fabrics, all made by the Avoca Weavers in Ireland. Not only that, Fabworks will also be bringing you a further selection of goodies, including (at last) their surplus fabrics and unique trimmings. A double dose of delight – one commission-made collection of eye-catching colourful wools AND a host of deadstock trimmings and fabrics designed by the team at Avoca.
As you can see from the photos taken on our visit, the Avoca tradition of stunning jewel-bright colours remains. We are genuinely very excited to be able to present these one-off fabrics, which we hope will be ready to go on sale in October, both at Fabworks Online and Fabworks Mill Shop. As with all our end of line fabrics, this specially commissioned collection cannot be restocked once sold out. If you love colour make sure that you don’t miss this one. Start planning your colourful autumnal sewing projects to brighten those cold winter days.
Of course, these will not be ‘bargain price’ fabrics, but we are sure that when you see the premium quality of what is on offer, you will soon be creating (for far less than the retail prices) your own stunning ‘self bespoke’ garments and homeware classics, combining outstanding quality fabrics with your own individual flare. We’re sure that you will love this very special limited edition collection, and we cannot wait to show it to you.
A few more snaps from our day trip to Avoca, Spring 2024
A peak of what to expect in A/W 2024 at Fabworks: Finally, Irish-made surplus wool fabrics on their way to Yorkshire!
Note that the Fabworks x Avoca collaboration is in addition to our annual Heart of Huddersfield collection, which will be launching in September 2024. The Irish and Yorkshire-made woollen collections are only the start of a very exciting A/W for Fabworks followers. Watch this space!
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See you on launch day!