Join us for the second in a series of online talks focusing on the shawl collection cared for by Paisley Museum. The online talk series is funded by Museums Galleries Scotland. It will be hosted by author and broadcaster Vanessa Collingridge. Vanessa will be joined by different guest speakers highlighting a variety of stories related to our shawl collection.

Subjects will include the history of shawl production in Paisley and Renfrewshire during the 19th century, the wider international context of the shawl and pattern, and how the collection is now cared for. Paisley Museum is currently closed, undergoing a major redevelopment as part of the £42 million Paisley Museum Re-imagined Project. It will reopen in 2023.

Weaving a 19th Century Paisley Shawl, delivered by Dan Coughlan

The Paisley shawl has been described as the final and brilliant expression of the European craft of handloom weaving. The production of this technically complex fabric involved a series of successive operations. Each of these were an integral part of a manufacturing system which culminated with the finished shawl. By illustrating these operations in their natural sequence, Paisley Museum's Textile Curator Dan Coughlan will try to give some idea of the knowledge and technical expertise required to weave a Paisley shawl.

Dan Coughlan trained and worked as traditional handloom weaver in Ireland before studying textile design at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. He completed his studies with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Textile Design at the Scottish College of Textiles, Galashiels. Dan was awarded a PhD by the University of the West of Scotland for his doctoral thesis on the draw loom, used for the weaving of Paisley shawls. As Curator of Textiles in Paisley Museum, he has expanded the collection to include a number of historic looms and other equipment related to the traditional handloom weaving industry. These are now an integral part of Paisley Museum’s textile collection which is a Recognised Collection of National Significance in Scotland.

For several years, along with his curatorial work, Dan has demonstrated and taught weaving in Paisley Museum. His principal field of research is nineteenth century hand weaving technology and design, and this presentation will reflect his research on the 19th century shawl weaving industry in Paisley.

This online event will include a short Q&A session with the speaker at the end of the talk.

Paisley Museums’ shawl collection is one of the Museum Galleries Scotland Recognised Collections of National Significance.