Aoibheann Mac Namara discusses The Tweed Project and handmade, one-of-a-kind garments
This year is the Year of Irish Design, which forms part of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs –
something that is extremely exciting for the Irish clothing industry, Aoibheann Mac Namara tells
Jessica Thompson.
The Year of Irish Design will include all major design disciplines, with events taking place throughout
Ireland and internationally. The initiative is being convened by the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland,
in collaboration with partner organisations, on behalf of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise &
Innovation and Enterprise Ireland.
The Year of Irish Design 2015 aims to increase the awareness, understanding and use of design in
Irish society, and to promote Irish design capability internationally, in order to sustain employment
and generate new jobs in the sector.
This is all excellent news for Aoibheann McNamara and her friend and business partner, Triona Lillis,
who currently run a business called The Tweed Project (www.thetweedproject.com).
“The Tweed Project is Irish linen and Irish tweed, made and produced in Ireland. We’re very
committed to reigniting the manufacturing industry here. A lot of the time, tweed is being produced
here and manufactured into garments outside Ireland,” Aoibheann explains on behalf of herself and
Triona.
“So our motivation is to create a manufacturing industry here, and we’re working with somebody in
Dublin who’s doing that. I’m from Donegal, and that’s where we get the tweed. Fortunately, we’re
now able to get linen from the same manufacturer in Donegal, which is extremely exciting.”
The Tweed Project creates handmade, one-off pieces that combine beautiful Irish fabrics with
modern tailoring for a truly authentic expression of Irish design. The collection is made entirely of
Irish fabrics, in Ireland for the world.
Bridging the gap between tradition and contemporary design, Triona and Aoibheann are both
passionate about Irish fabrics, but they noticed that despite the excellent production of highly
sought-after Tweed and Linen, nobody in Ireland seemed to be using them to suit a modern
sensibility. So with true DIY spirit, the Tweed Project was created.
“We’re hoping to internationalise how Irish fabrics and designs in relation to clothes are perceived
internationally. We are motivated by that desire to bring it to the world,” says Aoibheann.
Operating from a small Atelier in Galway, the Tweed Project’s collection is completely handmade
from specially-selected cuts of premium Donegal Tweed and Irish Linen. Thanks to the small size of
the business, each garment gets all the love and attention to detail that makes for an authentic one-
off piece of Irish design.
The Tweed Project is also part of the Slow Fashion movement, where fabric, time and craft take
priority over trends and fast consumer culture. Each piece is made to order and designed to last a
lifetime.
“So it’s about buying endless pieces of clothes; it’s about buying and considering buying one very
expensive piece of heritage clothing. And I suppose it’s like the difference between buying fast food
and making a commitment to having quality,” says Aoibheann.
Aoibheann also owns the very popular Spanish Arch-based restaurant Ard Bia, which has seen its fair
share of success over the years. But despite the differences in the two businesses, Aoibheann still
sees business as business, so matter what industry it may fall into.
“I don’t see my life compartmentalised into different areas. All my worlds are the same. I don’t see
myself with different business hats. I see myself with the same business hat, saying the same thing in
a different language,” she says.
“I don’t believe in one job for life. Obviously Ard Bia is something I adore and I’m working
continuously with the whole space and it’s very exciting. We’re reinventing the menu in a new way,
just like we’re reinventing the Tweed Project out of the tweed into Irish linen and beautiful Irish
dresses for the summer, with Moroccan-inspired blanket coats.
“So we’re just moving with procedures and responding to how people are responding to us.”
But the diversity is something that makes life interesting for Aoibheann, who is highly motivated by
the “aesthetic world of Ard Bia” as well as the beauty and attention to detail she experiences with
the Tweed Project.
In fact, she loves her work so much that she doesn’t seem to experience the same challenges and
difficulties other businesses face – or at least not in the same way.
“I don’t see things as challenging. Obviously the recession was so difficult but Ireland is completely
on a fantastic wave right now. It’s a totally different Ireland,” she says, but it’s Galway that
Aoibheann sees as a strong point for her businesses.
“Galway is fantastic and has changed so much even in the last year. It feels so different. The food
scene is growing and it’s so exciting. We’re heading toward, possibly, City of Culture 2020. We’re in
the Year of Design and the Tweed Project is riding that wave,” she says.
“We’ve just been internationally recognised as the food capital of Ireland, which I completely agree
with. I mean, I go to Dublin and I still don’t know where to eat, but in Galway I’m so excited by the
endless opportunities. Right now I see the sky as the limit. I don’t see any obstacles I see a very
exciting future.”
Ard Bia is located beside Spanish Arch. More information can be found at www.ardbia.com. For more
information on The Tweed Project, visit www.thetweedproject.com.
Profile: Aoibheann MacNamara
Occupation: Owner of Ard Bia Café and Restaurant, co-founder of The Tweed Project, along with
Triona Lillis.
Location: Galway
CV: Aoibheann studied Art History and Archaeology in UCE and did a Postgrad in Arts Administration
in NUI Galway. She has travelled the world working in various art festivals. She is also an art curator
and previously had an art gallery in Galway and another in Berlin.
