This Mill Talk was co-hosted by the Weavers' Guild of Boston and the Charles River Museum and supported by grants from the Waltham Cultural Council and the Lowell Institute.

In the wake of the 1970 closure of Cheshire Mills, a woolen mill that had been operated by the Colony family since the mid-1800s, John “Chick” Colony founded Harrisville Designs in Harrisville, New Hampshire.

Today, a half-century on, Harrisville Designs, still owned by Chick and his wife, Patricia – and whose sons are now involved in running the business - is sustaining a textile tradition in Harrisville that dates back to the late 1700s. Harrisville Designs not only spins virgin wool yarn but also manufactures a range of floor looms, table looms, and lap looms.

Harrisville yarns and looms are widely used for both weaving and instruction by members of the Weavers’ Guild of Boston, whose Centennial Celebration exhibition were on display at the Charles River Museum in 2022.

In this talk, Chick Colony, with his 50 years of hands-on perspective, will discuss ongoing developments in New England textiles since 1971, touching on sheep, scouring, dyeing, and – of course – manufacturing, and where we, and Harrisville Designs, may go from here.

--
John “Chick” Colony graduated from Harvard College in 1967 with a concentration in English Literature. After briefly attending Columbia School of Business, he served three years in the U.S. Coast Guard in New Orleans, Louisiana – the only three years of his life he hasn’t lived in Harrisville, New Hampshire.

Chick Colony founded Harrisville Designs in 1971 to sustain the textile heritage of the village of Harrisville, New Hampshire.