A Tribute to Ken Kennedy
18th February
Ken Kennedy, the former head of design for Harris Tweed Hebrides, has died at the age of 77. This is a terribly sad loss indeed and our most sincere condolences go out to Ken’s family at this difficult time, and to all those who will so fondly remember him as a great colleague and friend.
Ken was a true craftsman, who worked in our industry most of his life with many different Harris Tweed® ‘hats’ on, with plenty of knowledge and stories to share as a result. His last post before retirement was Head Designer at Harris Tweed Hebrides.
The Harris Tweed Authority (HTA) team benefited greatly from his wisdom of the Harris Tweed® industry over the years, and we so appreciated his advice on many different occasions.
Most of all, we looked forward to his occasional ‘drop in’ visits to the HTA office on a Friday, for a catch-up and a cup of tea and we are ever thankful to have these fond memories to remember our friend by.
A 1993 flashback of Ken at the warping frame is photographed below (thanks to DI Macarthur for the photograph), but a 21-year-old Ken can be seen in the linked video – a video Ken himself shared with us one Friday afternoon when he called into the office. ‘ISLAND OF THE BIG CLOTH’ (Ken is first spotted around 7 minutes in).
A full online tribute by Harris Tweed Hebrides can be read here: Harris Tweed Hebrides – A tribute to Ken Kennedy
