Waverley Mills 150+ | Design Tasmania

Waverley Mills was the first commercial weaving factory of Launceston's once great textile industry and is the last remaining manufacturing facility of its kind in Australia.

With a rich history, Waverley Mills once produced 80% of the Australian blanket market, making products for Qantas, the Australian Army, Melbourne Airport and other iconic Australian businesses.

Waverley Mills 150+ celebrates this legacy in an evolving exhibition, during which the public is invited to contribute to the establishment of a Waverley Mills design archive.

For the first time, contemporary Tasmanian artists are collaborating with the Mill's skilled weavers and dyers to craft works that will be unveiled during the exhibition. Artists include Tasmanian Aboriginal elder Lillian Wheatley, contemporary artist Tricky Walsh, and weaver and sheep-farmer Sharon O’Donnell.

Sharon will be in residence at Design Tasmania every Saturday from 12-3pm, hand-weaving a piece using local wool and factory offcuts, that the public is invited to help make.

The exhibition design is by Tasmanian designer Dee Dzelalija.