McNair Shirts ‘staggering’ local production in the spotlight for Another Escape

Another Escape is one of our favourite magazines, so we were delighted when they came to our home in Slaithwaite, Yorkshire, to document the unique process involved in making our shirts.

The article is entitled ‘It Takes A Town to Make a Shirt’. It is particularly apt; we couldn’t have produced it anywhere else. For Volume Six of Another Escape, co-founder Rachel Taylor with co-founder and photographer Jody Daunton, followed the process from yarn manufacture using the expertise near us in the Colne Valley to weaving, milling and finishing the fabric, before we cut, stitch and complete the shirts in our workshop.

Rachel wrote: “Their 10-mile radius of production is a staggering triumph by industry standards.

“For them, it was important that their product be British-made, with a low carbon footprint and that it was created by skilled people; all these factors were satisfied by setting up in the Colne Valley and by leaning on the expertise that is still found there today. However, to really understand the feat of engineering their own fabric and of controlling their supply chain, you must first understand the exceedingly lengthy production processes involved.”

Over the coming newsletters we’ll be looking in more detail at what is involved in making a McNair Shirt from start to finish, a process that takes months. But in the meantime, do pick up volume six of Another Escape. They wrote of it: “This volume is inspired by those who, in the chilly fold of winter, have found creativity, innovation and respect for nature; it unearths the personal narratives of those who have carved out their own path and pedalled against convention to do something meaningful, from a spirited entrepreneur changing the face of the British wool industry, to a talented craftsman keeping old woodworking processes alive through his love for the mountains and passion for fine woodworking, to an artist and cartographer who believes that the pencil and paintbrush remain the best tools to produce effective and experiential maps.”

Buy Another Escape here: http://anotherescape.com/shop