Saturday 15 May 2010

Online shop - at last!

We finally got there - a new website with on-line shopping.

It took a lot longer than I expected but the site is now up and running. When you visit the Anna Macneil site you will be able to buy things that we already have in stock or to order something in your own choice of colour. Our full range is there - hats, scarves, wraps, bags & purses, cushions and wallhangings, draughts sets and Christmas decorations.

Also on the site is the brand new style of hat - Maggie. This bucket style hat is designed and made by my daughter, Mary - and she models it as well!
Besides making them in tweed for Anna Macneil, she is also making them in cotton drill and will soon be selling them on Ebay. She tells me that this is the style of hat favoured by young women who go to music festivals. She is hand-dyeing the cotton for those hats and they are every bit as fetching as the tweed version.

We took this hat to the Aviemore Trade Show recently and it was a great hit with several shops placing orders. These orders are being filled within the next couple of weeks and you will soon be able to buy them at Canongate Jerseys and Crafts in Edinburgh, Callanish Visitor Centre on the Isle of Lewis or Ginger at Morar on the west coast. Carron Pottery & Craft Shop will get their's on June. Of course these shops take lots of our other products along with many other shops and visitor centres. You can find links to many of these shops, galleries and visitor centres from the Anna Macneil website.

Another hit is a new design I have created for a large wallhanging. This one is two intertwined zoomorphic birds tied together with lots of Celtic knotwork. Although nobody knows for certain the meaning of these Celtic designs, some scholars have suggested that when two birds are entwined in this way it symbolises the concept of everlasting friendship. In this example the birds are stitched with metallic gold thread with golden wings using tweeds with subtle checks. The hanging measures 40cm wide and 115cm long.

Lots of other developments are in the pipeline, but at the moment we are concentrating on getting orders out to shops and to those who order from our online shop. Do visit and have a look for yourself.

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