The Kiltmakery & ScotClans in The Press
From preserving the traditional craft of hand-stitched kiltmaking to sharing Scotland’s clans, heritage and stories with the world, The Kiltmakery and ScotClans have been fortunate to feature in the press both here in Scotland and further afield. Here are a few of the articles and features that have shared our story, our work and our passion for keeping Scotland’s heritage alive.
Can Scotland's kilts be saved by a new generation of makers?
In an Leith workshop stacked high with bales of tartan reflecting the complex hues of the Scottish landscape, two young women wrestle with long lengths of cloth.
Their hands move with precision, pleating and stitching the fabric with care, their fine needles leaving barely a trace of visible yarn on the garment they’re crafting.
There are no sewing machines humming, no conveyor belts. Just the thread being pulled through wool and the quiet concentration on their craft.
Twenty-seven-year-old Kayleigh Ivanov and 20-year-old Zoe Watson may not look like the saviours of one of Scotland's oldest traditions and yet, they may well be.
Read full article (pdf) >
Read article on The Herald >
Kilt-makers unveil drive for 'ethical' making of clothing
Sunday, 13th May 2018
Ethical clothing, where consumers pay a fair price to ensure the well-being of workers, is increasingly seen as the solution to sweatshops producing cheap, disposable fashion for high street stores
Now Scotland’s kilt- makers are on the warpath wanting better payment and conditions for their hours of hard work spent sewing by persuading consumers to source “ethical” hand-stitched kilts when splashing the cash on the iconic symbol of Scotland’s clan history.
A new enterprise, The Kiltmakery, is now making and selling hand-stitched “ethical kilts” produced in good working conditions and with decent pay.
Kilt-maker Amanda Moffet one of the directors of The Kiltmakery at ScotClan clan centre, in Sandport Place, Leith, in Edinburgh, said it was time to bring the craft “out of the shadows” and was part of the worldwide movement ensuring clothing is produced ethically and not regarded as disposable.
Read full article (as pdf) >
Read article on The Scotsman >
Kilt-making and sheet glass-blowing added to list of UK’s endangered crafts
Mon 24 May 2021
Heritage Crafts Association says Covid lockdowns and economic issues have worsened problems craftspeople face
Age-old crafts including the making of glass eyes, compasses and sporrans have been added to a “red list” of skills feared to be threatened with imminent extinction in the UK.
Venerable crafts that have been passed down through the generations, ranging from the building of currachs (boats made out of a wooden frame covered with canvass or an animal skin) to hand-blown sheet glass-making, are also deemed to be in danger of being lost for ever.
Read article on The Guardian >
Call to save endangered craft of handstitched kilts
Handstitched kilts which can sell for nearly £1000 as far away as Florida are now considered an endangered craft.
Amanda Moffet, 48, and her husband, Rodger, 58, run family business ScotClans in Leith, Edinburgh, and hope to continue the tradition before it dies out.
They sell kilts mostly made from family tartan, bought from mills around Scotland, to keep people in touch with their heritage, particularly for weddings.
Rodger started the business 25 years ago originally by selling CD-ROMs with information on Scottish clans.
He met Amanda, who helped to expand the business to other aspects of family heritage.
Mum-of-two Amanda trained in kiltmaking after their previous craftsperson left the business.
She said the kilts, which can take three days to make, often move people to tears.
Read article on STV News >
Read full article (as pdf) >
Hoping to Save Endangered Heritage Crafts in the UK
Hand-sewn kilt makers work together at The Kiltmakery in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Kiltmakery & Scotclans
What does the making of glass eyes, ballet pointe shoes, and mouth-blown sheet glass have in common? They are three of twenty heritage crafts that have been newly classified as “critically endangered” in the UK, a classification which means that those craft skills could disappear in a generation.
On May 24, a total of 130 “endangered” and “critically endangered” heritage crafts were announced, when an updated version of the 2019 “HCA Red List of Endangered Crafts” was published. The 2021 list is the third edition published by The Heritage Crafts Association (HCA). And this year, The Pilgrims Trust funded the research.
The HCA is an independent UK charity set up by craftspeople and supporters of crafts as a direct response to a perceived lack of recognition and support for traditional craftsmanship in the UK.
Read article on The Epoch Times>
From our students:
Hitomi Nomura: The tartan-loving kilt-maker from Gifu
https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/hitomi-nomura-the-tartan-loving-kilt-maker-from-gifu
Graham Bone
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-record/20201208/282029034805827
