Skills

Templeton's spinning mill 1904

The founder of one of Scotland's most famous carpet companies was Alfred Stoddard, an American.

In 1862, Stoddard took over a tapestry factory in Elderslie and soon this factory gained a reputation for weaving fine carpets.

Traditional carpet manufacturing, producing colourful patterned carpets from jute and wool, demanded many people with a range of skills. The people and their skills were no longer required when fashions changed and new technology began to be introduced. These picture sources illustrate the changes over one hundred years of carpet making in Scotland.

Workers on spinning machine, Templeton's 1964

Workers on spinning machine, Stoddard's 2004