History of The Isle Mill

The Isle Mill is part of the Macnaughton Group, a family company which was founded more than 200 years ago. It is recognised as the foremost weaver and wholesaler of soft furnishing and upholstery fabrics in Scotland.

Combining the finest natural fibres with time-honoured techniques, the Isle Mill designs and weaves distinctive fabrics, many of which take their inspiration from the natural splendour and breath-taking colours of the surrounding Scottish Highlands.

The Isle Mill originated in Dumfriesshire, in the fortified tower which still features on the company logo today. It started out with only four looms and a handful of local workers, but due to its significant growth under the management of the Macnaughton family, the business was relocated to Aberdeen in the early 1970s.

Here it diversified from traditional tweeds and tie cloths into tartans and throws. The business flourished, and in the late 1980s the decision was taken to expand further, into soft furnishing and upholstery fabrics. This successful move into the furnishings market precipitated the mill's relocation to the Highland town of Keith, located between Aberdeen and Inverness, where it is situated in spectacular countryside, nestling beside the same burn that feeds one of Scotland's most famous distilleries.

The Isle Mill benefits from two Showrooms, one at its Perth headquarters and the other in London's prestigious Chelsea Harbour Design Centre. Clients and customers are most welcome to visit both Showrooms.

Raw Materials and Production Processes

The Isle Mill terms itself a "specialist weaver", offering its clients the facility of long and short runs, stock collections or custom designed fabrics. Our designers select yarns and raw materials from throughout the world, with compositions varying from simple pure wool, to more complex structured yarns that might contain blends of linen, silk and angora.

To enable us to provide our "specialist" service, we are equipped with a variety of process machinery, ranging from the most modern jacquard and dobby high speed Somet weaving machines, to rather older looms that are more suitable for heavier fabrics.

Once woven, all our fabrics are hand inspected at least twice, with any flaws or missing threads being corrected by our highly skilled team of hand menders. Only once our discerning menders are happy, will we allow the fabric to proceed to finishing.

The finishing process allows us to finally "tweek" our fabrics, by dyeing, washing and pressing them to provide the finish specified by our design team. All dyes and chemicals involved in any of our processes are approved for use, and all chemical byproducts meet SEPA standards.

Perth Headquarters

Whilst the company's weaving mill is based at Keith in the north of Scotland, all other functions are located at our headquarters in Perth. Having moved to the purpose built office and warehouse in 1999, these new premises houses all non-manufacturing processes, including sales, design and finance. Perth, situated in the very centre of Scotland and with direct motorway links to both Edinburgh and Glasgow, is not only an ideal location for the distribution of our products, but also an ideal location for welcoming guests!