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Cushendale Woolen Mills (Graiguenamanagh, Ireland)
128 Plays11 months ago
On this episode we welcome Miriam Cushen from Cushendale Woolen Mills. Cushendale is a sixth-generation family-run mill that produces highest quality woven products from all natural fibers. Tune in to hear about the village's 800-year weaving history, the legacy of Irish wool, and a family business that succeeds by keeping with tradition.
Want to buy something from Cushendale? Check out their website or visit them in Kilkenny, Ireland!
Website: https://cushendale.ie/
Instagram: @cushendale
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Wide Eye Buy'
00:00:03
Speaker
Hello, everyone. Welcome to Wide Eye Buy, a podcast where we bring guests from around the world to talk about artisanship, authenticity, and craftsmanship for the modern conscious consumer.
Guest Introduction: Miriam Cushion
00:00:14
Speaker
I am thrilled to welcome to the show Miriam Cushion of Cushiondale Woolen Mills. Cushiondale is a sixth generation family run Irish woolen mill.
The Legacy of Cushiondale Woolen Mills
00:00:24
Speaker
Miriam, thank you so much for being here and welcome. Thanks for having me, Louisa.
00:00:28
Speaker
Yes. So I would love it if you could introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about, you know, what is Cushion Dale? What do you make and who are you? Okay. So I suppose, so I'm Miriam Cushion and I suppose that's where our business, uh, derives its name. It's a, it's a family, family business in name and in, in terms of how we, we, we run the business. So I'm sixth generation. Um, and I am lucky enough to today be still working beside my father, Phillip Cushion.
00:00:58
Speaker
and continuing our family legacy, which is, I suppose, master craftsmanship in working with always natural fibers. So working today with Irish wool, which is a very particular aspect of what it is that we do. It's a very rare kind of fiber that we work with. And then other natural textiles and fibers like merino, lamb's wool and mohair.
00:01:28
Speaker
We are a we would describe ourselves, I suppose, as an artisan woolen mills. So we are a, you know, making small batch, making making small batch textiles and yarns in a kind of slower and more traditional way than I suppose maybe kind of maybe more commercial volume producers would be. So
Historical Roots of the Mill
00:01:52
Speaker
we have over the years retained
00:01:56
Speaker
more traditional skills and processes because we're very passionate about wool and we are passionate about making the best quality wools and textiles and fibres and we believe that in maintaining those slower processes where we have
00:02:19
Speaker
more hands and eyes and I suppose love really going in at every stage of the process. That's what we try and achieve kind of exceptional quality in everything that we do. Amazing. Can you tell us a little bit about the history of your milk?
00:02:34
Speaker
Yeah, so the town that we come from is so our military is is embedded in in our in our village. So our village is called Greg Nemana, which translates in Irish into Grog Nemana, which means village of the monks. So our town was established in 1204.
00:02:57
Speaker
by Cistercian monks who came to our area. They chose this area because of the lovely lush land, but also the water, the water quality here.
00:03:10
Speaker
And the first mill that was built on our site was built in 1204. So the monks would have used the mill here, you know, the buildings have changed over time but the mill at that time would have been used for
00:03:27
Speaker
probably brewing, you know, running the water wheels that helped to brew beer, to mill flour, to mill wool, to do lots of, you know, and their general livelihood. So monks, it's funny, we often, when we think about them, we probably think of the religious nature of what they were up to, but they were very industrious people. And they established, so they established the first mill here
00:03:55
Speaker
And I suppose what's special today and connects us to that period 800 years ago is the mill race that we use today. So the waters that we use in all of our washing, our colouring, our softening processes.
00:04:11
Speaker
that water is coming off a, what we call the mill race, it's a channel of water, but that channel of water, it's a man-made channel, and that would have been originally dug out and channeled by the monks. So we still use that water today for, as I say, all of our processing. In its original time and probably up until the early 1900s, it would have also been used
00:04:38
Speaker
for power, the wash, the millerase was used for power as well. So we don't use it for power today, but we do use it still as a really integral part actually of what, of the textiles and the irons that we produce.
00:04:51
Speaker
So you said that the monks are very, or they were very industrious people, so they would have been producing things from the woolen mill to sell? Yeah, so the abbey itself, and this is the even, I think probably local people in Gregnam and I don't realize this, but the abbey here that was built was, it was one of the biggest abbies that was built in Ireland at the time. And it was actually built based on the monks got a loan from a merchant family in Italy.
00:05:20
Speaker
And it was repayable in wool. So wool was back in medieval times. If you traded in wool, you were very well off. That was the commodity to be in. So that was a key part of what they did. So the Abbey was rebuilt on
00:05:42
Speaker
wool that was gathered here, processed, probably would park processed here on our site, and then it would have been shipped from Gregnamana to the continent.
The Value of Wool in History
00:05:54
Speaker
So that was another, one of the other reasons why they chose Gregnamana is because the river that runs through, the main river that runs through Gregnamana is tidal in the next village.
00:06:05
Speaker
that brings you out to the Irish Sea so it was water you know it was the waterways were the main medium of transport at that time if you wanted to kind of move things off the off Ireland as an as an island and that's how they they trade it so wool has
00:06:21
Speaker
I suppose wool in our mill is really integral to our town and the abbey of course, but we've a very strong connection with that history 800 years ago. That's so interesting. And you said that wool was such a precious commodity. Is that because it was so warm? Were there any other fibers that paralleled it in that or why was it so valuable? Yeah, it was just that it was the...
00:06:49
Speaker
It was the main fiber that was being used. If you take the garments, even of the Cistercian monks actually, their garments were made of just ecru wool, so it was a white garb that they would award.
00:07:07
Speaker
if you think of all the aristocrats and so on, it would have been, wool was the, I suppose it was people at that time using the natural fibers that were within their catchment, I suppose, and that was what, so Great Britain and Ireland was known back in medieval times for having the best source, the best wool
00:07:34
Speaker
So the trades that I'm talking about that happened between Greg Nemana and Italy, that would have happened with lots of other kind of areas across Great Britain and Ireland as well into Italy. So our Italy and other parts of Northern Europe. But it was in Northern Europe that they had more of the expertise on kind of tapestries and
00:07:58
Speaker
actually weaving skills and so on. So it was more the raw materials. And you can probably, that can probably resonate with people if you think of places in Belgium and that where, you know, they're known for their tapestries and they're known for very intricate lace work and weaving and so on. But the source materials, the best source materials were coming from
00:08:22
Speaker
coming from, as I say, Ireland and Great Britain. And what would you say was the quality difference? Why were they the best and what was special about them? I think it's largely to do and it's still the case today to do with the weather. So Ireland and Great Britain, you know, it's
00:08:43
Speaker
The land is very lush because of the rain that we have. It's really to do with that sort of environment. And this is still true today. If you take materials, fibres such as cashmere or merino lambswool, which we work with as well, but some sheep live in different climates better. So if you take a merino lambswool,
00:09:12
Speaker
that's better suited to warmer climates. So like Spain, that's where actually most marina sheep in Europe would have been grown and there's still some marina sheep there. So it's really to do with the climate. But I suppose the other thing to remember is back in medieval times,
00:09:34
Speaker
fibers and yarns and textiles were, you know, it was and today we talk, we always talk about softness, you know, that's kind of a key aspect of people's decision making. Back in medieval times, it was about durability and warmth that we had to be functional.
00:09:51
Speaker
So if you take the sheep that are being bred, the textiles that were being made back in medieval times and take our Irish wool as it is today, that is an animal that has, yes, growing up in very lush land, but also with that environment, the fleece itself is quite robust because they obviously have to live through a lot of wet weather and winds and so on.
Evolution and Resurgence of Irish Wool
00:10:17
Speaker
But that means that that material, that fleece is naturally water resistant, it's naturally very warm, it's naturally very durable. And the kind of element of softness wouldn't have been a big criteria back in those times. But obviously, life has moved on since then.
00:10:39
Speaker
Interesting. So that kind of seamlessly leads us into a conversation about Irish wool as a classification of fiber, as well as something that has world renown for being something emblematic of Ireland itself. So you just talked a little bit about the toughness of wool coming from Ireland, but what is the history of Irish wool itself?
00:11:02
Speaker
Yeah, so Irish wool, it's funny, you could probably run parallels with the life and the kind of evolution of Irish wool as the role that it plays in the world today with lots of other things as life has probably become faster.
00:11:20
Speaker
as I say, consumer needs and wants kind of changing from, you know, take it back in the 50s and 60s, it was still about, you know, electricity was just being introduced. We were, you know, it was still about warmth. It was about buying things. You know, we talk today about lifelong pieces and moving away from fast fashion, you know,
00:11:45
Speaker
back in the 50s 60s that was still the way that that life was that's what people invested if you bought whether it's a blanket or whether it was clothing it was made you you were buying something that you weren't just going to get one season or one year out of you were going to get a lot of life out of it maybe pass it on to your to the next generation as well i suppose the story of irish wool is is uh
00:12:10
Speaker
kind of followed that whereas there was a there was a big demand and lots of Irish wool all Irish wool would have been used be it from you know domestic spinners and weavers or mills like ours um back in those times there would have been you know there would have been a mill like we've 32 counties in Ireland there would have been a mill in every county at least um
00:12:32
Speaker
but then as life changed coming into the 70s and 80s, things like synthetic fibers were introduced, duvets were introduced, just as when you talk specifically about Irish wool. And with that, and I suppose our incomes changed, people got more disposable income. So with all of that, the necessity
00:13:01
Speaker
for Irish wool, unfortunately, kind of reduced significantly. And with it, I suppose it was probably the coming together of a few different things. So the demand for for Irish wool, which would be seen as a robust, you know, it's quite a robust, as I say, it's not a next to skin, but very like it's a robust, durable fibre. The demand for that reduced synthetics were introduced.
00:13:31
Speaker
and consumer demand changed. And then with that, mills started to close down across Ireland. Sheep farming then evolved because sheep farmers then saw that actually, instead of having a dual purpose, what we would call dual purpose sheep. So a dual purpose sheep has got value in both its fleece and in its meat.
00:13:57
Speaker
So sheep farmers then saw that actually there wasn't as much value in the wool itself. So moving then to sheep which are bred primarily for the value of their meat with a fleece then which is less suitable for textiles. So there's probably a coming together of a number of things over that kind of 80s
00:14:23
Speaker
80s period, 90s period. And it's only now that we're starting to see a kind of a comeback, probably somewhat linked to maybe the COVID kind of time out that we all had, where people are actually stopping now and maybe looking back to the way things used to be done and those lifelong textiles and lifelong, you know, the kind of fast fashion versus slow fashion or slow making.
00:14:51
Speaker
And hence for us, that's that's a good thing because we still work with Irish wool, but unfortunately, as I say, you know, mills have closed down. Even mills that exist today, other mills that exist in Ireland don't have, say, the processing, they are not able to process Irish wool because they don't they don't have the kind of skills or equipment anymore. So it's been a
00:15:14
Speaker
It's been a funny journey, I suppose, for the Irish world, but probably there's parallels with the journey that the Irish world has taken as maybe other crafts and the way other things have evolved over time. A hundred percent, and that's totally what this podcast is geared toward talking about.
00:15:32
Speaker
how do we think about how things used to be made and relate them to our modern world and the extent to which consumers might want to look back on how things used to be done or reflect on how to innovate them for our modern world. So that's so interesting how the story of Irish Will has taken that arc and now you said it's starting to kind of slowly come back, maybe because of COVID, consumer behavior, people slowing down, climate crisis, what have you.
00:15:57
Speaker
I'm also interested to know if you could talk a little bit in terms of technicality, the classification of Irish wool, is that in the sheep itself or is that in how it's processed to become, you know, quote unquote, Irish wool that you might see on a tag or in a label? So for us, there are particular qualities that we look for. So we have identified, so there's lots of different breeds of sheep.
00:16:23
Speaker
um we have identified a it happens to be um Ireland's native and only indigenous sheep it's called the Galway breed so it's a particular breed of sheep it's it's called the Galway uh not because they all reside in County Galway um
00:16:41
Speaker
But it was a it was actually a crossbreed. It started its life back in the 1800s in the kind of Galway Ross Common region. So that's where it is. But why we like that breed and that fleece is because it is first of all, it's got a it's a very long fleece. So to make to make strong yarn, you know, the fleece needs to be long. If you if you can imagine when you're spinning yarn and you want to get some strength
00:17:07
Speaker
If it was a very short fiber, it wouldn't hold as well. So this fleece can have maybe five, six inches length. So you can imagine if you're spinning and you're making a yarn, that's going to give you a lot more hold. It's a snow white fleece as well, which is very good in terms of
00:17:27
Speaker
particularly when we're processing it and dyeing different colors and so on, it just takes it takes it very well. It's got a lovely crimp in it. So the crimp is the kind of elasticity that you would have in it. So that gives a natural just kind of
00:17:42
Speaker
I give I suppose in the fleece when we're making our yarns and textiles. And then the micron of it is about 2930 so the micron is the diameter of the individual fiber itself. Merino as an example would be down at around 20 microns.
00:18:02
Speaker
you know that goes to the point of it it is a more durable a more robust but for for us the Galway at that for an adult sheep's wool that is you know that is quite soft um so we we are quite selective one it's obviously of a particular breed but even then of that breed we're quite selective as to the farmers where we source it so we
00:18:27
Speaker
We literally travel the length and breadth of the country every year. My husband in a van going to visit these beautiful characters across Ireland, which is a lovely as well as being able to visit the farm and
00:18:46
Speaker
see the animals and see how they're being bred, you know, because we have an interest in that as well, how they're being reared. But also to see their environment, it's amazing what different different land, like different soil, different environment, you can actually feel that in the fleece itself. So it's a
00:19:06
Speaker
It's a really actually enriching part of what we do to be able to visit those farmers because they're quite lucky farmers. Most farmers in Ireland now share their sheep and then wonder where or how they're going to move their fleece because it's not suitable for textiles.
00:19:28
Speaker
it's
Emotional Impact of Authentic Products
00:19:28
Speaker
not at that textile grade so for these farmers it's quite an enriching process because we get to meet them and they know that the fleece of their lovely sheep is kind of going and it's been made into beautiful textiles.
00:19:47
Speaker
So that's kind of an exciting part of what it is. And I suppose it probably comes back to our whole ethos. Why are we doing what we're doing? We do a lot of it just because we love it. It's amazing to be able to do that and to kind of sustain and continue to do something that's... I suppose it's enriching lives at the same time as making
00:20:14
Speaker
make a lovely textiles. So we actually have one of the sheep farmers coming to visit us tomorrow. He's never, we visited his farm loads, but he's never actually visited our farm, our mill. So he's coming to visit us tomorrow. So that would be really special as well, just to show him kind of what, where it all ends up and how we transform it.
00:20:38
Speaker
Yeah, what a beautiful opportunity to kind of end-to-end be able to be engaged with the broader community of Irish wool making, not just in the back-end process, but also in that raw material generation that's so great. And I guess I, based on that, would love to hear a little bit more about, from a theoretical sense, what is the broader
00:21:00
Speaker
benefit of doing what you do the way that you do you know i feel like we talked about from the consumer perspective why consumer might want to buy traditional irish wool versus a synthetic alternative but what is the reciprocal value you know to bringing back this traditional way of not only processing irish wool but also growing and partnering with farmers i think for me like doing what we do and you know we have we've
00:21:30
Speaker
We have had to work quite hard to create a demand for Irish oil, you know, be that through new designs to make it more accessible to people.
00:21:42
Speaker
you know, to, to, to convey those, those, that's the kind of the benefits of it. But I think for us, when I suppose when people buy it, or when, when we sell it, or when we're making it, it is, it is so much more than it than just a functional warm throw or blanket. It is, it's a story, you know, it's full of story, it's, it's this story about the, you know, the farmer, where, where it's coming from, it's,
00:22:09
Speaker
It's the piece about the makers here. We have a small team of 10. All those hands and eyes are all over every stage of the process. It's the lovely water that we use from the monks. So I think for us, we want to create pieces that really enrich people's lives. I suppose in today's world where everything is, I suppose everything,
00:22:39
Speaker
everything has got faster maybe everything has got easier as well you know you could go on to to any global platform and buy a blanket in seconds on your phone you know but will will that actually be the same and as fulfilling as um as buying say a blanket made by an artisan it's the same i suppose if you take pottery or glass you know other artisan pieces i think at a time when
00:23:04
Speaker
At the time when life is going so fast and people are so busy, I think people are craving. When we see people buy our textiles and when they come to see our shop and when they feel them and see and when you smell the aura in the mail, you can see when they go home, I'm sure every time they snuggle into that blanket.
00:23:30
Speaker
It's an emotional impact as much as...
00:23:35
Speaker
the warmth functional piece. So I suppose that's a really important part of it for me. And to be able to share that, you don't necessarily have to buy a blanket to kind of feel that even here in our community, just to kind of share something that's kind of special and very rare today. Because I think, yeah, I think with the world going so fast, I think people are kind of starting to crave those sort of experiences or
00:24:04
Speaker
connecting with things on a more emotional level, because we can buy things quite easily now. It's not a case of always the functional piece, but that emotional connection is probably harder to find.
00:24:20
Speaker
Yeah,
Sustainability and Heritage in Textiles
00:24:20
Speaker
and it ties into the idea of authenticity and how it seems like consumers are craving a degree of authenticity when they choose to invest in a piece. And that's very, very clear and easy to puck up on on such an
00:24:36
Speaker
artisanal piece of art, which is truly what you're doing at Cushingdale, right? And I think part of that story is this word that I've heard you use at Cushingdale, which is provenance. And that's not something that I feel like I've heard a lot as a consumer, as somebody interested in artisanal products. Can you talk a little bit about provenance and how that relates to the value that you bring as Cushingdale to the Irish woolen or just broader community?
00:25:04
Speaker
Yeah, so for us, Provenance is all about, you know, where, you know, I suppose it brings it back to the depth of the piece. So, you know, where is it coming from? Where would the, you know, the source fiber is there? The kind of how has it been transformed? What are all those aspects that kind of go into making that ultimate piece? Because I think for us, that is,
00:25:34
Speaker
That's probably very special for us and important for us because in a time when, you know, as I say, the world is very busy, it gets very crowded as well with a lot of marketing, you know, so, you know, people can be a little bit loose-lipped about kind of language around where maybe things are made or designed or whatever it is. For us, provenance is deeper than that. Provenance is
00:26:04
Speaker
is real depth of authenticity about the individual pieces. And as I say, that links to the raw materials, the craftsmanship, all of those deeper facets, I suppose, that go into making a textile.
00:26:25
Speaker
That's amazing. And how would you say that today in the things that you design, the things that you make, how are you tying in the past of the mill, you know, the historic site on which your mill sits today, as well as the broader history of wool and its role in our society? How are you tying that into the way that you make and or design the pieces that you sell today?
00:26:50
Speaker
Yeah, I suppose for us, we try, I always try for us to get a balance between what is so important to us, our heritage, and also, but also being, you know, contemporary and relevant. You know, we don't want to, I suppose I would like for people when they see our textiles to
00:27:18
Speaker
you know firstly be attracted to them by their eye that they're beautiful pieces that are attractive and they love the color and then then you moving to that sensation of the handle and you know that they really like the softness that's there and then it's it's near it's like you know peeling the peeling an onion kind of analogy you know then you move into the depth of
00:27:39
Speaker
understanding how this has been made, that's been made with a rare Irish wool, that has been made at a heritage mill. So we try to always get a balance across those pieces because whilst our heritage is very important to us, to have a sustainable business, we have to be making products that people are attracted to and people love. And they want to have in their home.
00:28:07
Speaker
So I suppose it's in our designs, I suppose we try and balance that too to, I suppose not have, we've got some product that is more in the maybe the heritage line, maybe more traditional kind of line, but certainly we have some product that's very contemporary and I suppose it demonstrates that in
00:28:31
Speaker
In using older skills, I suppose it's our user or older skills or old techniques, you can still be very contemporary and you can still make beautiful pieces, but you you're you're using, you know, tried and tested.
00:28:47
Speaker
methods, very sustainable kind of processing to make something that actually is extremely contemporary. So it's trying to get that balance, but I suppose even in saying those words, trying to get that balance, it's not really
00:29:07
Speaker
It's kind of inherent in what we do. Our people who visit the mill here, it's an old building. We have older machinery. That's kind of just absorbed in what it is that we do.
00:29:23
Speaker
It's nice, it's nice then on those old machines to see like beautiful, bright colours and contemporary, you know, that people might that you might actually expect to see. But it's it's important to go with running a business that you to keep all of these skills alive that we're making product that is relevant for people and that people can can love it for both its contemporary look, but also understand and appreciate and value.
00:29:49
Speaker
the heritage, you know, how it's been made in terms of heritage, traditional, very sustainable skills and processes. Yeah. And you, you hinted at the, you know, intrinsic sustainability angle of making things in the more traditional way. But for our listeners who are interested specifically in sustainability, can you speak to that a little bit?
00:30:11
Speaker
Yeah, it's interesting. Sustainability is a phrase, you know, that's like it's on point and we've started to talk about it a lot over the last number of years. But for us,
00:30:24
Speaker
like what we do today is extremely sustainable, but it's the way we've always done it. We have never been, we have never operated anyway, but, and I'm not being, it's just part of, it's just part of who we are. I suppose even as a child growing up, and I always, because our home house is like two doors away, so I spent every
00:30:48
Speaker
day after school, every holiday, every time down here, but it was just there was never a there was always a way of just doing things
00:31:00
Speaker
uh sustainably be it from our waste or how you're making or just you know just being doing it the right way I suppose um
Balancing Tradition and Business
00:31:08
Speaker
and and my father always carry you know it was obviously always natural fibers that before his time because that was what was available but even in in my father's time when synthetics were being introduced he was very very clear
00:31:23
Speaker
on not using synthetics, always choosing natural fibers. That's just been part and parcel of our DNA. That's just what we do. And it's funny when I think to those times, when I reflect on those now, that was at a time when everybody was moving to synthetics. But my father was, I suppose it's about being clear on your values. And that's why I say it kind of,
00:31:51
Speaker
For us, that just comes naturally because it is it's not even a question. It's just that's just the way that we do things. So we we try and reduce our waste as much as possible. We try and send as little to landfill as possible, be that, you know, if I take the ends or waste cones or whatever that we have here, I
00:32:11
Speaker
send them to schools or I send them to kids with autism to kind of, you know, so that's just, I think that's just the way, that's just the way we've always been. And thankfully the team that we have here have always, have kind of embraced that sort of way of working as well. So, but it does come with, I suppose that whole ethos of making slower, making better and just doing everything in a,
00:32:40
Speaker
in a better, sustainable way. But as I say, it's just always been part and parcel of what we have always done. It's just who we are, I suppose. Right. And I think that really speaks to the balance to be struck between keeping with the tradition that imbues your products and your business with value, as well as innovating, so as to make sure that you're keeping up and maintaining the success of the business itself.
00:33:10
Speaker
Yeah, like there's different ways, you know, because at times I did, you know, you do have to look sometimes objectively and say, okay, we do all of this extra work we do, you know, we only work with natural fibers. What if we did something, you know, did more like other mills are doing and we did it in a different way but
00:33:29
Speaker
for that we just jar with who we are. It just wouldn't be. And I suppose maybe that's probably what has helped our business continue the way it is, is being kind of clear on who you are and being able to just stand by it. It's funny, like my grandmother died about 16 years ago.
00:33:53
Speaker
And she was part and parcel of the business here, but we sometimes talk about her now as it relates to bed blankets because when the duvets came in and the demand for bed blankets reduced in Irish wool.
00:34:09
Speaker
my grandmother always said they will come, you know, there will be a day that they will come back, keep doing it, you know, don't, you know, don't write the machine, like, let's keep doing it. And she was right, you know, these things, these things come, come about like people do come back to that kind of
00:34:29
Speaker
authentic truth in the end. So sometimes you just have to be a little bit patient, but being clear on who you are, I suppose, being clear and not maybe, I suppose we don't really follow fads or trends. We just want to make beautiful pieces that people will have for life. And that's so interesting that you're able to
00:34:52
Speaker
tie in the wisdom of the past generations who have run Cushiondale into projecting the future and thinking about what direction your mill will go. So I guess that's the question I have next is what is the future of Cushiondale you think?
00:35:07
Speaker
So the future of Cushingdale. So we're still like, it's interesting, we've kind of since COVID, as I say, maybe more people, more people becoming aware of us through work that we have done. And I suppose probably that was, you know, had you asked me that question five years ago, I would have said the future is we need to start telling people more of what it is that we do. So within Ireland,
00:35:35
Speaker
within the textile trade, people were very familiar with Cushingdale because they knew that we were making exceptional textiles, but we weren't very good at translating and communicating that. So over this last, say, five years, we've done a lot to kind of just be transparent and let people in and understand exactly what it is that we do.
00:36:02
Speaker
That's not just about bigging us up, it's about sharing, giving something to people because as I say, people are kind of craving to find kind of where are these places and this level of authenticity. So we're kind of from here, we want to continue to, like every year we're taking on more Irish sheep, which is great, of that particular breed, which is wonderful. So we want to continue to grow that.
00:36:31
Speaker
I want to continue to hopefully take on some new stuff because with all of this and the beauty of what it is that we do, it is largely reliant though on skills and kind of, you know, people are a key part of what it is that we do.
00:36:49
Speaker
to be able to maintain and sustain that into the future, it's about kind of making sure that we transfer all those skills and maintain those over the years. But with all of that said, I'm always very conscious that we grow the business in a way that is always anchored in who we are. And I think maybe being the sixth generation
00:37:18
Speaker
in some ways that comes like with a little bit of weight but in other ways it actually in ways when you're coming to those maybe some decision points it's actually easier because you've a you've a strong reference point about you know all the trials and tribulations and what has kind of kept us sustained us over over the years so I think it's
00:37:39
Speaker
It's about growing in a way that's sustainable and not losing any of our values. I suppose being clear on who we are kind of staying true to that. But I really want, I suppose I get a great
00:37:56
Speaker
Like I love, I love sharing our story with people. Not as I say, yes, it's, you know, it's a way of getting our story out, but I do think people really, people really love hearing and discovering what it is that we do. I think lots of people can be in awe sometimes when they, when they come here, they don't think that such a place can exist.
00:38:20
Speaker
So I love being able to enrich people's lives. So sharing our story with the world, I suppose, more and enriching people in that way is really important to us. Yes. And I mean, oh my gosh, the way that you articulately and passionately talk about what you do in such detail, it's clear that
00:38:41
Speaker
It's clear that you've had some practice really talking about what you do and sharing that story. And so I'm so happy to have you on this podcast to discuss it. And I would love to know, as someone who's so experienced and educating about what you do, for a listener hearing this episode, what do you think you would want their takeaway to be? What do you want them to have learned from what it is that you do at Cushingdale? I think for anybody
00:39:07
Speaker
And you know, cause I, and I have to be conscious of this myself, you know, when you're buying, like the world is so fast and it's so easy to buy things now when we, we consumerism, you know, we buy so much, but it's, um, it's always to be, to be more, uh, um, I supposed to think more, um, about what it is that we're buying and actually who are the people that we're buying from and you know, who are we, because I think when you're buying,
00:39:37
Speaker
When somebody buys a Cushiondale piece, it's not just money into the till, it is. That's about sustaining jobs, which are sustaining skills, which is sustaining a key part of Irish. I said it to somebody recently, if we stop doing what we do in Cushiondale,
00:39:57
Speaker
a key part of Irish heritage is gone. We are the last of the the Mohicans as it relates to Irish wool in Ireland. So I would always think and as I say, that relates to other things as well, whatever it is that you're buying to maybe think about who you're buying it from and how, you know, how how much more value can you get out of your your money in terms of contributing to people and contributing to the to the world? Because
00:40:27
Speaker
And I think people enjoy that. I know I take pleasure from buying from other artisans wherever it is that I go to know I made a little bit of an impact on their lives as well. So I think it's to be more discerning and
00:40:48
Speaker
yeah considerate I suppose about about your purchasing decisions and to one you're contributing more but you know are you are you buying something that is more lifelong and that you will have and as I say I often think of people wrapping themselves in the cushion in a cushion down blanket have they you know particularly if they've been here to the store
00:41:09
Speaker
are to the mill and visited the mill and the emotions and the memories that must come flooding back to them when they wrap themselves, that must be a lovely feeling. So I think if you consider all of those things, it makes life
00:41:28
Speaker
I don't know, make your life more enriching. So yeah, those little memories, those little memories that come, I've got a piece of jewellery I bought recently in England and every day I put it on. You know, it brings me back to the lovely conversation I had with the lady and where I was and it just, it's a little nice thing at the start of every day. So I think if you can spend your money on things that
00:41:53
Speaker
not only give you something practical, but also give you a little bit of an emotional, positive feeling. I think that's, yeah, I think that's really, really enriching and you can't kind of buy that. I
Explore More: Visit Cushiondale
00:42:07
Speaker
mean, you can buy it, but, you know, you have to be thoughtful about that. You should be thoughtful.
00:42:14
Speaker
And how rewarding to be able to offer that experience to the people who do buy your things, that's awesome. So for people who do want to buy your things, where can they find you? So we are, people can visit our website, so cushiondale.ie. And we have a website there where we have all of our products are on there. And then for anybody who likes to visit us, we're based just about an hour and a half south of Dublin.
00:42:43
Speaker
in a beautiful picturesque town. And we always love having people to come visit. It's probably a key
00:42:51
Speaker
A key thing that we're very passionate about doing is that anybody who comes through the door, we love to have time to have a chat, talk about world, talk about craft, talk about where they've come from, and just have a really nice conversation with people. So yeah, we love people to come and visit us here in Kilkenny as well.
00:43:19
Speaker
Yeah. Amazing. Thank you so much. Those are all of the questions that I have for you today. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. Thank you, Louisa. And thank you for giving me the opportunity as I was talking earlier, like this is exactly the you know, the opportunity to share our story with the world and with like minded people. So thank you for the opportunity.
00:43:42
Speaker
Yes, amazing. So for our listeners, thank you so much for being here. I hope you learned something. I hope you were inspired and definitely go check out Cushingdale online and learn how you too can engage with this beautiful craft. Thank you.