Full Circle at The Borders Textile Towerhouse
There is a saying attributed to Teri’s (pronounced Tee-re AKA natives of the Borders largest town, Hawick). It goes “A day oot o’ Hawick is a day wasted.” It’s a somewhat tongue in cheek way of summarising the pride Hawick folk have in their town - why leave Hawick for anywhere less? There is probably an edge of truth in it, the good folk of this town love Hawick and aye defend its traditions, its independence and its reputation for excellence in sport and fashion. This excellence in fashion is still on show with a number of high end cashmere and textile manufacturers still operating in the town, and it is also home to the Borders Textile Towerhouse, a fine building with a very interesting past. I found myself in Hawick today and visited the Towerhouse which is home to a permanent museum documenting the industrial, woollen textile heritage of Hawick, and the wider Borders. As well as textiles there are exhibitions on the town itself, with of course a big smattering of The Common Riding, the festival every June which stops the town in its tracks for celebrations and commemorations.
Spinning Wheel in the Textile Museum
As I alluded to, the towerhouse has an interesting past. This part of Hawick today has been branded ‘Heart of Hawick’, and it’s an apt description. The early town of Hawick grew up around this area at the confluence of the rivers Slitrig and Teviot. The building that is now the Towerhouse was originally a Borders strong tower, so characteristic of the region in the 16th century and the vaulted chamber inside, which can be visited, is Hawick’s oldest building. It was built for the Douglas family, well known across Southern Scotland, and performed this function for several generations until the pacification of the Borders and the Union of Great Britain made these types of Uber defensive homes a bit redundant. It then became an elegant townhouse for The Scott’s of Buccleuch (think 18th century Borders Kardashians) and eventually a The Tower Hotel, key in the Common Riding festivities. Indeed, if you stand outside here early on Common Riding morning you will witness The Snuffin’, a curious ceremony where men ‘playfully’ wrestle each other to obtain a pinch of snuff from a rams horn. It sounds daft written down, doesn’t it, however get yourself to Hawick for the first Friday after the first Monday in June and just see it for yourself. Better felt than telt!
As well as the permanent exhibits on Borders Textiles and the town of Hawick, the Towerhouse hosts visiting exhibitions and two caught my eye this time. Firstly, an exhibition of the work of Innerleithen based artist Rachel Hunter named ‘Skylines’. Rachel uses layer upon layer of stunning colours in print, collage and paint to capture landscapes in a bold and exciting way. The 25 works on display are all inspired by her home in the Tweed Valley and it was great to see the unmistakable Lee Pen putting in several appearances - helped by the fact Rachel has a pretty decent view of it from her house! Rachel’s exhibition runs until 2 September 2023, and I want to congratulate her on the quality of her work, as well as the fact that many of them have been snapped up by consumers of good taste!
The second visiting exhibition is for FINDRA, the active lifestyle clothing brand created in Innerleithen back in 2014 by Alex Feechan. Initially set up to serve the poorly served female outdoor clothing market, FINDRA branched out into men’s clothing in 2018 and has now gone full circle by returning to it’s roots, exclusively producing clothes designed specifically for women. The exhibition is entitled Full Circle to reflect this and tells the story of FINDRAs evolution, including plenty highs and lows in the competitive (and pandemic struck) retail sector. FINDRA specialises in merino wool products, with design studio, warehouse and offices in Walkerburn - a real throwback to the villages textile past which I have dipped into in the past on the blog. I am a customer and use a lot of FINDRA gear on my hikes and at work, so while I am sad to see the end of the menswear line, the good news is I have enough of it to see out my days! More than my personal feelings however, I am delighted for Alex that she has found the focus needed to take the business back to its roots and really offer something different for women. With changes to the shop in Innerleithen upcoming, really focusing on the community aspect of the business, it looks like a great future for FINDRA.
The Full Circle exhibition showcases many of the products produced, as well as the creative process and the ethos of adventure, community and sustainability - an excellent way to take stock of the progress made since an idea at a kitchen table in 2014. It runs until 21 October, and is free to enter, as are many Live Borders museums. I also want to take the opportunity to thank Alex for asking me to write for her website three years ago, which gave me the push to develop my writing, and in no small measure pointing me towards creating this blog site and new business. So thank you Alex for being a good friend and helping me along the way - good luck with the exhibition.
So, to summarise, a Day Out in Hawick, is no a day wasted!!
