Northumberland has its own tartan and but is has never had its own Tweed.
With the help of The Duchess of Northumberland one young Northumbrian’s entrepreneurial dream has come true with the creation of the FIRST Northumbrian Tweed
Northumbrian born and bred, Susanne Hume, has announced the launch of ‘The Northumbrian Tweed’, at the Meet the Maker event in Hexham on Thursday 17th March at 10.00am. As unbelievable as this may sound, for one of the UK’s counties renowned for its countryside, agriculture and hills, Northumberland has never before had its own tweed. Officially registered and licences by Susanne Hume t/a The Northumbrian Tweed Company, this new fabric will be available in a range of products on-line and in various outlets across Northumberland.
“I am really impressed by the finished Northumbrian Tweed, and wish Susanne the very best for her business venture, it deserves to do well,” says the Duchess of Northumberland.
Susanne, who owns and operates The Northumbrian Tweed Company, has worked together with the Duchess of Northumberland to create the exclusive tweed, selecting the colours of the tweed to symbolise the county. The Northumbrian Tweed has a traditional green background with a touch of heather and pebble running through it to symbolise the heath and hills of the county. The checks of the fabric are made up of brown to symbolise the rich farm land, and yellow and red which are the colours from the Northumbrian flag; the ‘Harry Hotspur’.
Woven by Marton Mills in Yorkshire; the closest English mill to Northumberland, the Northumbrian Tweed Range currently includes, cushions, draft excluders and home personal accessories.
Susanne launched The Northumbrian Tweed Company one year ago, making and selling a number of products using ‘off the shelf’ tweeds from the Cairngorm and the Cheviot ranges. Whilst selling her items at The Alnwick Garden Christmas Market it became apparent that there was a demand for a dedicated Northumbrian Tweed. After completing detailed market research Susanne ascertained 80% of those surveyed would welcome a tweed specific to Northumberland.
Commenting on her new venture Susanne said: “I was absolutely staggered when I found out that our beautiful county didn’t have its own tweed, I have really enjoyed the process of creating and designing it. I am originally from the south of the county but when I moved to north Northumberland I fell in love with the rolling Cheviot Hills, and that is where my inspiration really came from.
“It has been a pleasure to create the fabric with the support of Her Grace, the Duchess of Northumberland, and to create something associated with the county, as well as putting the textiles industry on the map for Northumberland is wonderful. I hope to work with the Duchess to extend the Northumbrian Tweed range, and it is with much excitement that I look forward to the future of my new company.”
Within the Northumbrian Tweed range there will be headbands, draft excluders, cushions and lampshades. The range is already available at Ruby Tuesdays, at Alnwick, with further stockists soon to be confirmed. For further information on the Northumbrian Tweed company visit www.thenorthumbriantweedcompany.co.uk or follow on Facebook or twitter @NorthTweed_Co.