Thistle and Broom

My first trip is memorable for a thousand reasons but most critically for what happened as I sat on The Flying Scotsman bound for Edinburgh from London. Bucolic landscapes slipped past the window in the late November drizzle. Quite suddenly my palms began to perspire, my heart pounded, my throat caught, and my eyes swelled with tears. I wondered, reasonably so under the circumstances, if I had put off coming to Scotland because I was destined to die there! There was no physical explanation as the tea I was drinking was my own decaf. Everything about Scotland is like this – places familiar without basis.

I have always believed in the concept of preordination. Our lives and our greatest life’s work, are structured by the Divine. We can attempt to deny or avoid it, but inevitably whatever it is will seek us out and make it impossible for us to ignore what we are ‘supposed to do’.

What I feel for Scotland is the sense of hopelessness one ‘enjoys’ in loving fiercely. Each day Scotland courses through my veins, demanding my capitulation and utter surrender. She is unrelenting in driving me ever deeper into an inescapable and unrequited love that few will ever understand. Is it madness to love a place rather than a person to such an extent?

To the uninitiated how can you explain the scent of Highland winds caressing broom and pine or the joy of delicately lifting seaweed on the shore, as crystalline waters cascade in frothy white? How do you describe the sense of homecoming you feel as you gaze across the peat coloured ribbons over rock, moss and heather and heath or take in the glorious air, that is so pure you can taste it. Drive through a stand of Caledonian Pine in Wester-Ross, with her ancient forested mountains looming against a sky filled with snowflakes, as angels feathers fall. Wind down hairpin roads on the Isle of Harris with lichen covered granite boulders, only to surmount a rise in the road to face the pure white sand beach and azure waters of Luskentyre. Scotland is a land of contrasts and infinite beauty.

Following my first trip in November of 2002 I became obsessed with all encompassing research about Scotland and I discovered something truly astonishing. While England has Asprey and Burberry, France Hermes, Italy Brioni, Gucci and Fendi, and Germany Escada, no one had ever thought to establish a definitive luxury brand of products made exclusively in Scotland? How many others desirous of exquisite products made in Scotland would experience frustration in not being able to find some illusive object of desire, or the perfect ‘guilt’ gift in exchange for that week of golf at St. Andrew’s? To be able to say, “You have to wait but I ordered something truly special for you from Scotland.” Heroes and heroines are made of much less. My new found passion for Scotland was about to gain wings, as I set out to create the definitive source for luxury from Scotland, with a twist. My venture would be Fair Trade modelled (33% mark-up on more than 90% of the offerings) with each purchase having a specific beneficiary charitable organisation in Scotland. The John Muir Trust being our first. Finally, I would dispense with the brick and mortar store front and with warehousing (thus eliminating overhead costs). Along the way to launching Thistle & Broom accountants would ask ‘how are you getting to 19,000 units a month?’ Thistle & Broom will never be about commodity sales, everything will always be made to order, with all the intensity and passion Scotland’s inspired artisans can muster.

The Saltire GownAs part of our launch of Thistle & Broom, we commissioned Glaswegian couturier Spencer Railton to design something poignant. That something turned out to be The Saltire Gown. Spencer was given creative licence but confined to use our exclusive St. Andrew’s Cross. I also wanted it to be for ‘a saucy Scottish wench’. For Spencer’s part he knew he wanted the gown to be representative of the Thistle & Broom brand and thus luxurious, unique and a definite ‘Headliner’. Along the way we somehow managed to create a glorious statement that captured national pride and became an icon for Scots the world over.

The reaction to the dress has been overwhelming. In April 2005, The Saltire Gown made her debut on the runway during Tartan Week New York celebrations, worn by Kelly Cooper-Barr. Enthusiastic men and women alike offered to buy her off Kelly’s back! Pictures of the gown were flashed across the world and the Scottish media in particular. In early May 2005, a photograph of The Saltire Gown was featured in a supplement of The Scotsman, around the necessity to protect Scotland’s intellectual property. Later in the same month, Katie Targett-Adams modelled The Saltire Gown at Historic Scotland’s ‘Fashions at Stirling Castle through the ages’. The Saltire Gown then made her Canadian debut in Toronto in October 2005, as requested by Scottish Executive, at a special event they were hosting. The gown wowed an appreciative audience. Photographers clicked madly, as she made her way down the catwalk at the beginning and the end of the event. In December she was back in New York for a reception at the American-Scottish Foundation, Scotland House. As one of the only five available globally, she was subsequently worn at a gala benefit staging of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.This year, Miss Commonwealth Scotland, Amanda-Jane Taylor specifically requested permission to wear The Saltire Gown at her crowning in July at London’s Palladium Theatre for the Miss Commonwealth International Beauty pageant. In late March 2006, The Saltire Gown made its diplomatic entrée on the front cover of the Scottish government’s new online magazine Scotlandnow. Less than a week later, a special insert to the New York Times featured The Saltire Gown supporting Tartan Week New York. In turn Thistle & Broom were asked by Scottish Executive if the Saltire Gown could be worn at official functions, following her appearance at a gala benefiting ScottishOPERA, as part of Minnesota Tartan Day festivities.

I am very happy that The Saltire Gown has struck a nerve with the people of Scotland. It seems to have become a symbol of Scottish pride and modern Scotland. At Thistle & Broom we hope to provide the very best of Scotland. With The Saltire Gown, it would seem that we are well on our way to accomplishing what we set out to do – to honour and promote Scotland.

As soon as you come home to Scotland, whether you are about to make your first visit or your hundredth, you’ll intuitively understand Scott, and Burns and Stephenson. She’ll provide you with all the awe and inspiration that could only be captured by a thousand lines of poetry. Moreover, Scotland could make you alter the course of your life forever, as she has with me.