Studio Donegal
Studio Donegal
5
Monday
09:00 - 17:30
Tuesday
09:00 - 17:30
Wednesday
09:00 - 17:30
Thursday
09:00 - 17:30
Friday
09:00 - 17:30
About
Studio Donegal is a family run hand-weaving and clothing manufacturing business located in the picturesque village of Kilcar, County Donegal. Visitors are invited to tour the facilities and observe our hand-weavers at work Monday to Friday. Admission is free. In our factory shop we offer our tweed throws, men’s and ladies clothing, hats and accessories as well as Donegal Yarns knitting wool and a selection of contemporary and traditional knitwear. We also stock a selection Irish made jewelry to complement our tweeds and complete our range.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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5.0
51 reviews
Excellent
47
Very good
4
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
0
John G
Warsaw, Canada58 contributions
Oct 2023 • Couples
This is Irish Tweed country and there are many shops that feature "weaving demonstrations" but Studio Donegal is so much more. You are invited to visit the work areas and speak with the weavers working at their 100+ year old hand looms as well as the pattern makers, cutters and sewers. Every piece sold in the shop is made on-site. Hand woven yard goods ranging from traditional tweeds to gorgeous blends of rich colour are transformed into throws, pillows and clothing. If you're headed to Slieve League you owe it to yourself to stop in.
Written 10 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lorief
Manitoba, Canada133 contributions
Sept 2010
I can't believe I'm writing the first review of Studio Donegal! One of my goals on a September trip to Ireland was to spend some time in Co. Donegal and, if possible, come home with something in Donegal tweed. I had seen the Studio Donegal website before leaving home, so my mother and I set out to find it. Kilcar is off the main road between Killybegs and Glencolumcille, very well signed, and Studio Donegal itself is impossible to miss.
Parking is no problem and, the minute we walked through the door, we were made to feel like welcome guests by everyone we encountered. The showroom is large and bright, filled with jewel-coloured woven products: everything from multi-coloured throws to cozy scarves in any colour you might imagine to lovely jackets in a number of different styles and colours. The only problem was trying to make a decision, but Mom and I both left feeling well-pleased with our choices. The time we spent at Studio Donegal was an important part of our feeling that the visit to Co. Donegal was a highlight of our trip.
But wait . . . that's not all! No website can substitute for an actual visit to Studio Donegal, but www.studiodonegal.ie is, in many ways, an extension of the real thing. At the time of our visit, I'd had to make a choice between two jackets but, after being home for a while, I decided to try ordering the second choice through the website. I was 110% impressed with the speed and efficiency of preparing and shipping my order -- so much so, in fact, that I've just this month placed and received another order (a special order this time, and it was handled so smoothly that a co-worker couldn't believe how quickly everything had happened). In addition to the efficiency, the people at Studio Donegal have a real knack of adding warmth and a personal touch.
To sum it all up, I've been absolutely delighted with (a) the shopping experiences, both real and virtual, I've had with Studio Donegal; and (b) the excellent quality and selection of the products available. Before deciding to buy our tweed there, we had visited several other places in the surrounding area, so my recommendation to travel to Kilcar is based on a sincere belief that Studio Donegal -- both its products and its people -- stands head and shoulders above the rest. I will definitely be returning to the online shop and, if at all possible, I'll be back to visit Studio Donegal in Kilcar as well.
Parking is no problem and, the minute we walked through the door, we were made to feel like welcome guests by everyone we encountered. The showroom is large and bright, filled with jewel-coloured woven products: everything from multi-coloured throws to cozy scarves in any colour you might imagine to lovely jackets in a number of different styles and colours. The only problem was trying to make a decision, but Mom and I both left feeling well-pleased with our choices. The time we spent at Studio Donegal was an important part of our feeling that the visit to Co. Donegal was a highlight of our trip.
But wait . . . that's not all! No website can substitute for an actual visit to Studio Donegal, but www.studiodonegal.ie is, in many ways, an extension of the real thing. At the time of our visit, I'd had to make a choice between two jackets but, after being home for a while, I decided to try ordering the second choice through the website. I was 110% impressed with the speed and efficiency of preparing and shipping my order -- so much so, in fact, that I've just this month placed and received another order (a special order this time, and it was handled so smoothly that a co-worker couldn't believe how quickly everything had happened). In addition to the efficiency, the people at Studio Donegal have a real knack of adding warmth and a personal touch.
To sum it all up, I've been absolutely delighted with (a) the shopping experiences, both real and virtual, I've had with Studio Donegal; and (b) the excellent quality and selection of the products available. Before deciding to buy our tweed there, we had visited several other places in the surrounding area, so my recommendation to travel to Kilcar is based on a sincere belief that Studio Donegal -- both its products and its people -- stands head and shoulders above the rest. I will definitely be returning to the online shop and, if at all possible, I'll be back to visit Studio Donegal in Kilcar as well.
Written 1 April 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John-RockySkier
Calgary22 contributions
Jun 2015 • Family
The colour in the goods here is stunning. It's one thing to wander around the shop, but do so after doing some hiking about the local area if you get the chance. You will see the colours from the fields, mountains, sea and heath repeated in many of the weaved goods. We bought a wonderfully soft blanket with a soft and subtle colour scheme that, more than anything, reminded me of Monet's use of colour at the height of his powers. Achingly beautiful. There's the artistic sophistication!
We did visit another mill store which has a very glitzy display area and shop. To the contrary, Studio Donegal is wonderfully non-glitzy. No need for promotion as this stuff stands on its' own merit. The shop area is part of the working mill, as the sales person (Anne) was also busy trimming the fringe to the right length on newly finished blankets. The owner (Tristan) was helping bag the blankets into large tubes with her until Anne was called away to the cash register. It was the most natural thing in the world to simply pitch in and help him continue with the packing while having a very nice chat with him. For the life of me I can't remember the several topics of conversation now.
Although I'm not a shopper by nature, Studio Donegal makes things that you will treasure for the rest of your life. Our test for what to buy was twofold. First, would we kick ourselves later for not buying something. Second, was there room to carry it home to Canada. Test number one won, as we had to buy another duffel bag to carry our purchases home.
A visit here was one of the high points of our trip to Ireland. Although seemingly contradictory, there truly is a mix of homespun honesty mixed with superb artistry - hard to find in our modern world.
We did visit another mill store which has a very glitzy display area and shop. To the contrary, Studio Donegal is wonderfully non-glitzy. No need for promotion as this stuff stands on its' own merit. The shop area is part of the working mill, as the sales person (Anne) was also busy trimming the fringe to the right length on newly finished blankets. The owner (Tristan) was helping bag the blankets into large tubes with her until Anne was called away to the cash register. It was the most natural thing in the world to simply pitch in and help him continue with the packing while having a very nice chat with him. For the life of me I can't remember the several topics of conversation now.
Although I'm not a shopper by nature, Studio Donegal makes things that you will treasure for the rest of your life. Our test for what to buy was twofold. First, would we kick ourselves later for not buying something. Second, was there room to carry it home to Canada. Test number one won, as we had to buy another duffel bag to carry our purchases home.
A visit here was one of the high points of our trip to Ireland. Although seemingly contradictory, there truly is a mix of homespun honesty mixed with superb artistry - hard to find in our modern world.
Written 15 June 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wendy S
Irmo, SC27 contributions
Jul 2019 • Family
Watching the hand weavers is interesting and they are more than happy to answer questions. The clothing items are exceptional and we were able to get a good deal wool knitting yarn.
Written 26 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gabe
Sonora, CA6 contributions
Oct 2013 • Couples
On my wife and I's recent trip to Ireland I wanted to find one of those iconic flat caps but didn't want the run of the mill ones you find everywhere in Ireland. We stumbled upon Studio Donegal while driving around one day and were thrilled with what we found. They do EVERYTHING! Its a fully vertical operation. The only thing that would make it more integrated would be having sheep wandering the shop. Anyways we ended up spending a bunch of money because we were so thrilled with the quality and the fact that they had their hands in every part of the process. I'm now writing this from the foothills of California where I'm loving the warmth of my new hat on a cool fall morning.
Written 15 October 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MarilynAthens_AL
10 contributions
May 2011 • Couples
My husband and I went on a tour with Andy Quinn from Quinn's Taxi's and this was one of our stops. The woolen sweaters and other items were beautiful. The young lady that helped us was very nice and friendly. We toured the mill and watched a gentle man who had worked for this mill for over 40 years weave a rug on a loom. He told us about a loom that was 200 years old and how it worked. Fascinating! We were so glad that Michelle at Donegal Town tourism office told us to stop at this mill. Well worth your time!
Written 17 June 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tis_herself49
New York5 contributions
May 2011
When I bought a hand-knit sweater from a lady in Glencolumbecille, she said had no leftover yarn; however, she bought yarn from Studio Donegal in Kilcar. We went to the store to try to match the pure Aran wool and leather buttons. To my delight, we found a vast assortment of beautiful colors of yarn at very reasonable prices. While there, we went upstairs to watch the hand-weaver at work. He was most congenial and pleasantly answered all of our questions, as well as consented to allowing photographs. When I inquired at the desk about the buttons, Sandra Byrne introduced us to Tristan Donaghy, who made every effort to locate the size, even from outdated styles; he measured the button (36 line), so I could make further inquires on-line. He could not have been more accommodating. Customer service such as this gives Ireland its unparalleled reputation for hospitality. If you knit, I highly recommend you purchase Aran wool from Studio Donegal as a souvenir gift to yourself!
Written 12 June 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mph333
Oxford, UK7 contributions
Apr 2011
They do the whole process from spinning & dyeing wool to finished garments. Top quality weaving.....watch the weaver on his loom! The shop itself is their original building; tidy and welcoming! Shop for wools, jackets, waist coats, sweaters, caps, scarves, throws, blankets, slippers, children's, gifts, ... Traditional and artistic designs boast all the colors of beautiful Ireland! A must stop for every traveler!!
Written 16 May 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AgnesBDublin
Dublin2 contributions
Sept 2010
I'm from NNW Donegal and this is the first time I've been to the Donegal Studios, can't recommend it enough. The tweeds are divine and the clothes have been updated to more modern styles yet they're very classic, nothing gimmicky at all. Also there are very very cute little bootees for babies and tweed slippers....check the website! Like the person who wrote the last review, it is difficult to choose! there are colours to suit everyone's 'palette'! and the shop is lovely and airy, no one breaths down your neck and hovers to push you to buy...all in all an excellent experience. You'll find that a trip here is well worth the effort.
Written 15 May 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BadgerFan77
Denver, CO138 contributions
Mar 2019 • Couples
This is our 3rd visit to Studio Donegal and all have been great. They do not offer a formal tour but permit people to visit their weavers while they are working and walk through their operations. It is an authentic visit to see the true Irish weaving process. In addition, their products are superb.
Written 4 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John B
Ballymena, United Kingdom
hi we are visiting kilcar and would like to see around your mill we have a small dog
what is your policy regarding pets kind regards john burke
Written 12 March 2017
Hi John,
Thank you for your enquiry. You are very welcome to visit us, however the Mill is not a suitable environment for dogs or indeed pets of any description. We would suggest you either leave your pet in the car or arrange for one of your party to take your pet for a walk while you visit the mill.
Best regards,
Tristan Donaghy (Manager)
Written 13 March 2017
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