Tea towel design © McCaw Allan
McCaw Allan - a tea towel collection
22 April to 19 May 2023
11am - 5pm
Tuesday to Saturday
Free Admission
McCaw Allan - a tea towel collection
Robert Peters & Fiona Mc Kelvie
In the 18th Century tea towels were companion objects, found alongside the finest chinaware and crystal, designed to match the other table linens. Fast forward 200 years and the tea towel had become essentially an undervalued yet accessible and ‘democratic’ art form bringing creativity and design into households across Ireland.
Alongside Belfast and Lisburn, Lurgan was one of the leading centres of linen production in Ulster and this exhibition celebrates the work of one Lurgan company in particular. McCaw, Allan & Co Ltd, now part of the Samuel Lamont Group, was founded in 1904, a partnership between Robert Johnston McCaw and Harry Allan. Former classmates from Lurgan College, R. J. McCaw and Harry Allan brought complementary skills to the table – RJ, as he was known, was an expert on the production and administrative side, and Harry a specialist in sales and marketing. The firm was what was known as a merchant converter. They didn’t produce linen themselves, but purchased cloth, which they then transformed into a wide variety of items using different finishing techniques to create the final product. They worked closely with the local community of outworkers to produce heirloom quality linens which were sold by prestigious stores in many parts of the world. From the 1950s onwards they added printed tea towels to their collection. The printed tea towel epitomises the spirit of McCaw Allan. Innovation, collaboration, the international nature of the business and their relationships with many world-famous brands.
Artist Robert Peters was introduced to Douglas Mowbray, Purchase Manager in the Lurgan Samuel Lamont Group Factory who showed him a sample of the McCaw Allan tea towels. This started the tea towel story to present an exhibition reflecting the breadth of tea towel production from the days of the traditional florals of the 60s to the English & Irish Souvenir Tea Towel design of the 70s and the use of the promotional Tea Towels of the 80s. The exhibition is supported with additional funding kindly provided by the Lurgan Townscape Heritage Scheme toward an accompanying publication researched and written by Fiona McKelvie.
The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the R-Space Gallery, supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland; and the Lurgan Townscape Heritage Scheme, an initiative supported by the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and National Lottery players through The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Robert Peters
Robert has over 30 years experience of working in the visual arts sector as an exhibiting artist, curator, arts facility manager and educator. He established Arts Creative to realise the potential of art activities beyond the restrictions of bureaucratic constraints. The visual arts provide a limitless source of material and techniques through which to foster skill development, personal growth, community development, emotional wellbeing and issue awareness.
Robert has been the Creative Director of Seacourt Print Workshop, a founding director of Catalyst Arts, a founder of Ards Arts Collective and a Rudolf Steiner Art Teacher, devising numerous innovative programmes for engaging the public in creative activities. His specialist areas include creativity, wellbeing, education and community development. Peters’ artwork is held within the collections of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Trinity College and the Hong Kong Open Print Studio, having exhibited regionally and internationally including at the Halls of Science NYC.
Fiona McKelvie
Fiona McKelvie has had a career in textiles for more than 30 years, much of that time with Liberty of London. Originally from Belfast, she has a particular interest in Irish Linen, collecting since the 1970s.
Fascinated by the history and heritage of the industry Fiona has spent many years researching the connections and legacy of Irish linen, flax and textiles. In 2013, she launched her website McBurneyandBlack.com, specialising in the sale of antique and vintage Irish linens as well as vintage haberdashery. More recently she has contributed to the British Textile Biennial via the Cloth Cultures podcast with Amber Butchart and worked closely with R-Space Gallery in Lisburn on the heritage aspects of the first Northern Ireland Linen Biennale in 2018.
Fiona’s lectures on flax and linen illustrate her extensive knowledge and have been delivered to international textile tours and museums.