We have worked with Andrea for many years, she tailors exquisite kilts using a wonderful range of textiles.

We thought we would share more about what she does and why…

Tell us about yourself?

I studied graphic design in the early 90s at Central St Martins and the Royal College of Art, back in the early days of Apple, when typesetting was still a tactile experience with hot metal and wood blocks. In the letterpress departments at both schools I developed a passion for print that grew into a love affair with traditional crafts. 

After graduating I leaned naturally towards environmental graphics and in 1999 founded the design collective Acme Studios, bringing traditional craft practise into contemporary interpretive experiences within museums and heritage sites worldwide. It enabled me to connect curious minds and craft makers hands to tell the stories of people and places and create a very personal epilogue to each, which was the making of a kilt—a garment that historically associates its wearer with a place, or a people and something that had been a familiar part of my wardrobe since childhood. Each kilt was made to commemorate each project and it grew into a long-standing personal tradition. 

After more than 20 years that personal tradition became my profession. Re-training in 2018 in traditional kiltmaking at the Keith Kilt School, not far from where I now live in North East Scotland. I combine the heritage craft skills of kiltmaking and printmaking with those of contemporary design, promoting the traditional hand-stitched method, whilst exploring more possibilities for construction techniques and textile creation. It continues to provide a means to collaborate with other craft practitioners and to tell stories with textiles, they are now other peoples more often than my own and it is a privilege to be commissioned for personal events that mark moments in time that are passed onto generations of a family in the way kilts have always been.

Tell us about your latest work?

The O’Leary of London was a particularly special commission, as it came from a lady who wished to commemorate the life of her aunt, a particularly glamorous and well travelled lady with an excellent taste in accessories—particularly sunglasses! My client, a ceramicist and designer herself, Pat O’Leary, is an Irish born Londoner married to a Scot. Pat briefed me with photographs of her aunt, Terry, taken in the 50s and 60s, posed in a variety of glamorous, global locations, wearing a series of even more glamorous outfits, accessorised by a collection of stylish spectacles, shoes, bags and occasionally an exotic looking male, or the odd classic car.

Pat wanted a kilt that recalled her style, but allowed for the ease of everyday wear, taking its owner from informal to formal occasions in an understated, but individual manner. Dashing Tweedsend of roll collection came up trumps again, providing two pieces of modern merino wools woven in Scotland, that both use a slate grey base incorporating a rainbow flecked Irish Donegal yarn, one checked, the other striped, the Square Kink and Straight Kink.

They cloths both jointly reflected the wearers heritage perfectly, whilst being easy to wear, but unique in design. Pat chose my side pleat design which uses a traditional Kinguissie pleating formation that creates a deep inverted box at each hip. Here we added a bold coral orange feature in a lambswool deadstock cloth from my local mill Johnstons of Elgin. Creating a deep inset that offered a flash of hidden colour that would really sing when she walked.

The lining was designed by Pat, as a digital print onto cotton that records the places and phrases of special memories that encapsulate a life well lived. The kilt carries her memory as a modern family heirloom and I feel very privileged to have played a part in her remembrance. When I was searching for just the right kilt pin, as I always do as a gift given to clients with their kilt, it normally takes some time to find something to support the story of the kilt, or client. This vintage pin caught my eye and couldn’t be better suited to honour the lady of stylish spectacles.

We hope you enjoyed reading about Andrea’s work. To find out more, and to see more of her work, do visit her website.