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My Tartan Day

Article added by: David on 13 August 2008

As webmaster here at kiltmakers.co.uk you can guess that Tartan Day is quite a big deal! Here’s my Diary from the day:

An air of excitement filled my house on the morning of Saturday 2^nd August; it was Aberdeen’s 5^th annual Tartan Day. This day is close to my heart as thousands of people celebrate our Scottish heritage, culture, language and the way tartan keeps our traditions alive.

As I left my house to catch the bus to our shop in Schoolhill I was stopped by a young man who asked if he could take my photograph as he was intrigued by my kilt, funny to think I will now be in his photo album, this made me feel very proud of my heritage!

Looking around me on my way to the shop I could see the streets busy and adorned with tartan and on approaching the stall that we had set up outside the shop I was thrilled to see it was buzzing with activity. As I got closer I realised why our stall was so busy, we had teamed up with the local distillery Glen Garioch to offer people a taste of the local whisky, it’s smooth taste proved to be a very popular choice!

At 11 O.clock the Junior Buchan Pipe Band warmed up their pipes, the drummers their sticks and we were treated to an impressive music delight. The band drew the crowd in to enjoy the performance, although they didn’t seem to stray too far away from the whisky! Jill McHaffie who is in charge of the band told me that the youngest member is eleven years old and the Pipe Major who leads the band as they play was the oldest at nineteen. They have competed in competitions and next year they will be in contention for the top honours.

At midday a mass tartan march began along Union Street by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, made up of 10 pipe bands and comprising 120 pipers. Following on from the pipe bands was the pageant parade which included performers from the Aberdeen International Youth Festival costumed historic characters, dignitaries and some local celebrities, I later learned that the characters were a battle re-enactment group and they were to perform later in the afternoon.

After lunch I went along to Union Terrace Gardens where Stephen Robertson officially opened the afternoon’s proceedings. He was part of the famous comedy group from Aberdeen called “Scotland The What” along with George Donald and Buff Hardie. In more recent times, he has been awarded with the freedom of the city and been made Rector of Aberdeen University. Suffice to say, he gave a very funny speech to open proceedings. This was followed by a Scottish tribal drumming band called Albannach that features a piper, accompanied by energetic drumming.

I finally headed back to our shop to discover the Junior Buchan Pipe Band was still playing at 3:30, still managing to draw in a crowd. Unfortunately this was the end of my tartan day, but what a wonderful day and a wonderful event, I can’t wait until next year!

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Wearing a Tartan Sash

News Category: Latest News

Article added by: Andrew on 24 July 2008

Wearing a ladies Tartan Sash.

The manner of wearing tartan sashes has had customary significance for the last two centuries.
The wearing of a sash in any particular manner has so far no legal significance, hence the sash is worn as respect for tradition and is consistent with custom. The different methods mentioned below are appropriate for ladies in different circumstances.

The different ways to wear a sash is based upon a careful study of old portraits, prints and traditional practice carried out by the Lord Lyon King of Arms and thus bears the authoritative approval.


1. The sash is worn over the right shoulder, across the breast and secured by a brooch on the left hip. A more modern way of wearing a sash, that can be worn by any woman, usually with an evening dress.	2. Style worn by Clan Women: The sash is worn over the right shoulder across the breast and is secured by a pin or small brooch on the right shoulder.

3. Style worn by Wives of Clan Chiefs and by Wives of Colonels of Scottish Regiments: The sash which may be fuller in size is worn over the left shoulder and secured with a broach on the left shoulder.	4. Style worn by country dancers or where any lady desires to keep the front of the dress clear of the sash. Perhaps to wear a sash of some chivalric order or any orders and decorations. The style is similar to the belted plaid and is really a small arisaid. It is buttoned on at the back of the waist, or is held by a small belt, and is secured at the right shoulder by a pin or small brooch, so that the ends fall backwards from the right shoulder and swing at the back of the right.

Due to a new ruling by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, permission has been granted by her majesty for Members of the Scottish Country Dance Society to allow them to wear sashes on the left shoulder. This is an honour bestowed upon the Society because she is Patron.

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Exciting new products………

News Category: Latest News

Article added by: Andrew on 18 June 2008

Things are hotting up here at kiltmakers.co.uk.

We now have a range of gents and ladies t-shirts available for lazy summer sunny days.

Two of our personal favourites are:

‘dialect’ t-shirts designed to leave a smile on the face of friends while you enjoy the summer sun.

‘oot n aboot’ t-shirts would make an ideal gift for the outdoor enthusiast. These t-shirts are exclusively designed by Scottish cartoonist/designer Inglis Thorburn and made in Scotland. Inglis is one of the most prolific cartoonist/designers working in Scotland today and his quirky drawings have appeared in many well known publications.

Looking for that perfect graduation gift, retirement gift, birthday present, wedding gift? We now have a full range of Clan Quaichs. They come on a lovely wooden plinth and can be engraved to add that personal touch.

We also offer engraving on a lot of products now and it is proving to be very popular. Add a personal touch to our stunning products by adding engraving to Quaichs, Sgian Dubhs, Hip flasks, Tankards and Dalvey Products.

Something for the ladies! The Ness range is growing all the time, we now have a wide range of bags, luggage and smaller accessories like purses and passport holders all finished in the lovely vibrant ness tweed.

Want a tie that is a little bit different to compliment your suit or highland wear. We now have an ever growing number of Tartan Ties available. We have Modern and Ancient tartans to choose from.

Use our ‘find your clan’ search that is available to find out what clan you are to get the right Clan Quaich and Tartan Tie and more clan products.

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A visit from Whiskyföreningen vid TF

News Category: Events, Latest News

Article added by: David on 7 April 2008

Last week Alex Scott (the physical store of kiltmakers.co.uk) were delighted to welcome some visitors from Helsinki. Whiskyföreningen vid TF is a whisky appreciation society with a current membership of about seventy. The members are mostly students at Helsinki Technical University but also include some post-graduate members.

The main activities of the society are to organise whisky tastings and excursions. They are also keen to introduce their members to Scotland as they feel it is important to see the home of whisky!

We were lucky to meet some of their members and show them another aspect of Scotland, the Highland outfit. We were able to let them see kilts, and in some cases try on kilts. They also met Margot who is our kilt maker.

We enjoyed meeting the society members and we wish them all the best with the expansion of their society.

If you are interested in whisky and can speak Finnish, you can view their site at
http://whisky.teknologforeningen.fi/

If you are interested in kilts, you are already in the best place. We will be happy to help you buy a made-to-measure kilt in your tartan.

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A New Team Member

News Category: Latest News

Article added by: David on 21 March 2008

The kiltmakers.co.uk team is proud to introduce our new team member. Andrew has been taken on to help with the day-to-day running of our ever growing website.

Kiltmakers.co.uk already provides quality goods, with exceptional customer service and a website that helps our customers find exactly what they are looking for.

We’ve plans to add many more products in the coming weeks, including some exciting new product lines and with our latest addition to the team, we’ll be progressing even faster than before.

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