Our loomshed was created by converting the garage beside our home in the Old Croft House at 9 Scarista. Inside are two traditional Hattersley Mark 1 looms. One is used for weaving Harris Tweed, while the second allows us to demonstrate the wider processes of weaving and to explore special projects and training beyond the Harris Tweed cloth itself. Visitors are welcome to watch the loom in action and learn how this world-famous fabric is made, from warp to cloth.
Borvemor Loomshed sits within a wider crofting landscape shaped by family, craft, and building traditions. Over many years we restored and built a group of self-catering cottages nearby at Borvemor, ranging from a traditionally constructed blackhouse of stone and thatch, to converted farm steadings and the reinstated 18th-century Borvemor House. These are now cared for by our family — our daughter and three sons — and run independently as Borvemor Cottages.
Our own connection to Scarista goes back many decades. We were married here in the 1960s, before spending many years in Edinburgh. We returned permanently to Harris in the 1990s, drawn back by the land, the community, and the rhythms of island life. While Margaret continued her work in education, Scott gave up his structural engineering practice to return to crofting, and in time became a licensed Harris Tweed weaver.
Today, Borvemor Loomshed continues that journey — a place where visitors can pause, watch, listen, and experience a living craft in the place where it belongs.