Manufacturing in the Scottish Borders

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been asked “are you not fed up of factory filming yet?” - but the answer is absolutely not. 

Visiting manufacturers in Scotland is one of my favourite aspects of running Make Works. Meeting the people going to be listed on the directory means getting a real feel of where they are coming from - what it is they do best. We get an understanding of the production process and materials, which means that we can explain it to other designers, makers and artists looking for these local manufacturing services.  

Last week, we were visiting new factories, fabricators, workshops and suppliers to add to our list of manufacturers in Scotland. Working alongside our long-term film partners; Luke, Simon and Steven from the Edinburgh Film Company, the focus was on manufacturing and fabrication in the Scottish Borders.  

The Borders is well known for the textiles trade, as historically the area was awash with knitwear and weaving mills. Well known international brands like Brooks Brothers, Ralph Lauren and Chanel are still consitently manufacturing textiles, garments and cashmere in these small towns like Hawick, Galashiels and Peebles.

As long as you have the capacity to put 100 meters into production too (this is the equivalent of 140 scarves or 50 throws), the mills welcome emerging designers and artists who are new to the process to get things manufactured. The best place to get a feel of it all, would be at Schofields Dyers and Finishers, where the fabrics from many of the weavers and mills end up.  

However, textiles is not all that the Borders has to offer. On Tuesday we visited Real Wood Studios, a sawmill, wood workshop and hardwood supplier in Jedburgh. Surrounded by the forest, timber is simply felled nearby before being used by the designer-makers in the workshops. It reminded us of Scottish Wood in Dunfermline - a passionate husband and wife team, building up an honest, sustainable industry.  

Afterwards, we headed to Calzeat, a weaving mill near Biggar. The family run company manufacture custom upholstery fabric, scarves and throws - employing over 70 people in two huge industrial production sheds. By this point, we’ve seen our fair share of Jacquard looms - but there is still always something in what makes this mill, different from the other we’ve listed. Some of the stories are remarkable, like the day Michelle Obama called, asking if the company would make curtain fabric for the White House.  

A last minute cancellation from a mill in Selkirk meant heading west on Wednesday morning - visiting Kingscroft Packaging in Irvine. Again, a family run team with an incredible list of clients. We watched the rigid boxes in production; a process involving die-cutting, guillotining and foiling. In the hallways were samples form the likes of Dreamworks, NBC and Grey Goose vodka scattered around. 

Our next tour is in Dundee in September. Dundonian factories, workshops, makers, suppliers and fabricators can sign up here.