Derry woman Leona's 'Elsie Tweed' weaves its way through generations to craft unique designs

Leona Harkin, nee Cregan, is the woman behind ‘Elsie Tweed,’ – contemporary Irish tweed with a modern twist.

The business, named in homage to the initials of Leona’s maiden name – LC/Elsie – has just been relaunched after she took a break to have her two children.

Leona, who now lives in Moville, is a third generation designer, proudly carrying on a long tradition of textiles and design as she follows in the footsteps of her great-grandfather and grandfather.

She is also handing down her knowledge to other budding sewers and crafters and set up sewing classes that not only helped others, but also brought her ‘back to life’ after she experienced Post Natal Depression.

For Leona, ‘Elsie Tweed’ is not only a business and a passion, but also a way of ‘putting Derry tweed on the map,’ just like her grandparents before her.

Leona’s great-grandfather was the late Roger O’Kane, the head designer and managing director in Derry’s Wilkinson’s Shirt Factory. Leona told the Journal how he was described as a ‘master of his craft’ and made all the sample shirts for the shirt factories across the city.

"He would have done up the patterns, scaled them to the right size and then they were sold to the other factories too.”

She revealed how, in the 1930s, Roger designed a reversible buttonhole shirt for the Canadian Navy and British Army, which was produced by Wilkinson’s. As it was Roger’s design, the family still holds the design patent, but unfortunately, all the information about it has been lost through the years.

"It was a shirt that had button holes and buttons on either side, so the soldiers could turn it inside out and button it. We don’t even know what it looks like, but I’d love to find out more about it.”

Leona said she believes her love of fashion, design and textiles has been passed down to her not only through Roger, who was her granny, Carmel’s father, but through her grandfather, Michael Cregan.

In the 1940s, Michael trained in the prestigious Burton’s in London’s Savile Row – which is famed for tailoring. He then returned to Derry and married Carmel, before starting as his father-in-law Roger’s apprentice in Wilkinson’s. He went on to rent his own space in Foyle Street and made his own woven, tweed ties. A father of 12, he later opened an insurance company, but his love of creating never left him and he was delighted when Leona followed in his footsteps. He gifted Leona with a wages book from Wilkinson’s, which details names and dates.

"I always say that my heritage is where I get my passion from,” said Leona.

"I was at the North West Regional College, where I studied Fashion and Textile Design and I always wanted to open up my own business. I fell in love with weaving and crafting and that’s where Elsie Tweed was formed. I opened it in 2019, before taking the break.”

In the past, Leona has secured contracts for companies such as Randox Health, for whom she created a bespoke tweed and made soft furnishings, ties and gifts.

While she took a break in recent years, she ‘missed it so much and always had some sort of project going on.’

Leona’s tweeds are all unique to her. She designs all the patterns and colour ways and creates samples on the traditional handloom. The tweeds are woven West Donegal and returned to her in a large roll, which she transforms into scarves, wraps, handbags or accessories.

Leona’s inspiration for her designs, which are made from 100% Merino lambswool, comes from nature and the world around her. For example, she has a rainbow scarf that was inspired by a family walk in Falmore Woods in the Autumn.

"It was a gorgeous Autumn day. All of a sudden, as nearly always happens, a big cloud came along and a massive rainbow appeared over the top of the autumn trees. The warp of the scarf is the colours of the rainbow and the weft is the colour of the trees.”

Leona is now passing her talent on to others through her sewing classes, which she recently ran at Greencastle Community Centre.

She told the Journal how she experienced PND following the birth of her son and her husband, Conor, suggested she do something just for herself. When she couldn’t find any classes, he suggested she set one up.

"I thought I could never do it, but I wanted to do something just to get out of the house, really. Thirty people showed up on the first night and I couldn’t believe it.

"Those classes and those girls are nearly what brought me back to life. They pulled me back and showed me that I do have a talent. They’re such a lovely group. When we started, back in September, some people couldn’t sew on a button and now they’re sewing dresses. They’re a great group and everyone helps each other. It really gave me the spur on to start up Elsie Tweed again as I found my confidence.”

Leona is hoping to set up more sewing classes in Inishowen in the near future. She is also attending craft fairs with Elsie Tweed and will be at the Clonmany Agricultural Show in August as well as the Guildhall Craft Fair at Christmas. Her designs are also stocked in Walled City Crafters in the Craft Village.

To find out more, see Elsie Tweed on Instagram and Etsy.