We’ve been having a wonderful time sitting down to interview some of Aran Woollen Mills’ trusted employees as part of our Meet the Makers campaign. This next blog is incredibly exciting, as we sat down to chat with one of Aran Woollen Mills’ longest serving staff members, Marion (Include surname here.) Marion has worked for the company for over 40 years and has brought so much in her time here. Still working and lighting up the workplace, we had a quick chat with her about her work and passion for the craft.
Marion, tell us a little bit about your journey with Aran Woollen Mills.
I started working for the company over 40 years ago. At the start, as you can imagine, the technology was a lot simpler than it is now. Then, there was only one knitting machine and one linker so I started off learning how to repair the mistakes that the machines had made. We wanted the pattern to be perfect and to make the mistakes invisible, so that was my job at the start! Then as time went on, I moved into quality control. Then when I reached retirement age, (I’m 70 now!)Vincent asked me to stay on and I went on to working with the designer and the samples and dealing with the returns and repairs. That’s what I’m doing now!
Wow, that’s incredible. You’ve worked here for so long, so you must enjoy your work?
Yes absolutely, and the atmosphere is very good. There’s always been a great relationship between management and the staff. Vincent Hughes has always been so approachable and cared about his staff, which means it’s a great, positive place to work. It’s the same with our supervisor, and I think that if you treat people with respect, you get more out of them, and I have always felt respected and wanted to return that with good work, you know? They’ve always been understanding and great and I think that’s why people are there for as long as they are!
Definitely. What is your favourite thing about the pieces you work with?
I think we do a good job here at Aran Woollen Mills to keep the traditional patterns and styles so that anyone can wear them, whether you’re a baby or you’re 70! The pieces really do suit young and old and our colour range is really beautiful, which I think keeps things up to date with current style. The patterns we can create now are just so beautiful and I don’t think they’ll ever be out of style. They’re all so easy to wear and so warm and cosy.
The pieces are often inspired by Ireland and its landscape. Can you tell us a bit about this?
Well for me, I just love Connemara, it’s one of my favourite places. And I often think, when I visit and you can see the heather all abloom, how you can see that landscape reflected in the Aran range. The colours of the land are in our knitwear, like your hues of orange, purples and the colours of the scenery. I think it’s great to have that link to Ireland and I feel proud of where I’m from and what I do and they’re so linked. I often think that we, as Irish people, don't appreciate enough how lucky we are to live where we live and be surrounded by all this beauty all the time. That’s why I love that the clothes also celebrate the landscape and maybe help us appreciate it that little bit more too.
Chatting with Marion was incredibly inspirational, she is a perfect example of the kind of passionate, talented and dedicated people that make up the skilled Aran Woollen Mills team. We’re so proud to have her on the team and can only wish that our other staff follow in her footsteps and continue working with the company for such a long time.
If you’re feeling inspired by Marion’s Connemara scenery, why not shop some landscape inspired pieces at this link.
