Avoca Handweavers is Ireland's oldest handweaving mill and was established in the small village of Avoca in 1723. In 1973 the company was purchased by the Pratt family who have in the intervening years turned the company into a multi-faceted operation with the wholesale customers around the world and retail stores throughout Ireland. Most of these stores contain wonderful restaurants with a warm welcome for the weary traveler. They specialize in homemade soups, breads, and salads. We are always amazed when we visit compant headquarters at Kilmacnogue to see the lines of visitors and locals alike waiting for lunch at the very popular restaurant.

Avoca village is the center of the weaving operation. Here, both handlooms and power-assist looms in quaint whitewashed buildings are used to produce the colorful tweeds and mohairs that are the hallmark of Avoca cloth. Here too Avoca products are packed and dispatched around the world. The classic clothing for which Avoca is renowned is made at a modern custom built factory in Kilmacnogue in the grounds of the old Jameson (as in Irish Whiskey) estate. The building was sensitively designed to fit its surroundings and resembles the old stables of the original house.

Irish Design Center has had a long and fruitful relationship with Avoca for almost a quarter century now. The store carries a lovely selection of Avoca cashmere capes, tweed coats and jackets, as well as accessories such as scarfs and shawls. Avoca Handweavers first made its reputation making blankets for horse drawn carriages. Today, these blankets have become throws to ward off the chill of a cold evening or accent a contemporary living room. In our online store you will find a selections of sizes and colours in mohair and lambswool.