Interviews of Donald Mackay

Identifier	EERC/ES/ES6/8
Dates	interview: 2024-06-11
Extent	1 digital audio file(s), 1 digital photograph(s)
Subject	Working life Industry Weaving Mills Material Culture Gender Community Life Education Aird (Àird an Rubha), Isle of Lewis (Eilean Leòdhais), Scotland Flesherin (Na Fleisirean), Isle of Lewis (Eilean Leòdhais), Scotland Stornoway (Steornabhagh), Western Isles, Scotland
Interview summary	In this interview, Donald Mackay, aged 70, talks about his life and associations with the weaving industry. Donald was brought up in Flesherin and went to school in Aird and then Lews college in Stornoway, where he studied textiles. He had a long interest in the weaving process and family connections to this through 2 unles who were weavers. His interest and studies led him on to college courses in Dewesbury and time in the mainland before he returned to the islands to work with Mackenzies. For the past twenty years he has been working with Harris Tweed Hebrides. He says that his main interest has always been in the finishing part of the mill weaving process, whereas his brother, John, went to the carding - which happens at the beginning of the process. Donald reflects on change over time in the industry, including: changes in the number of weavers and the role of female weavers; changes in the product itself, from one that was used mainly for menswear to the much finer wools available now which are suitable for a wide range of uses across clothing, furnishing and accessories. Towards the end of the interview, the interviewer recalls what it was like to work under Donald's supervision, knowing he would be checking your work. Rather than being scared of getting a row, Kelly recalled that no-one wanted to disappoint Donald by putting in work that didn't meet his standards. Donald continues to work at the mill and takes only one and a half days off per week, spending most of that time working with his flock of sheep and he ends by reflecting that the wool on the island is also much better now than it was in the past.
Access	The recordings of Donald Mackay are currently being catalogued and prepared for release. Audio files and transcripts will be added to this record as soon as possible.
Usage Statement	We give permission for the re-use of our collections material for non-commercial purposes under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International Licence.

Interviews of Donald Mackay

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