Its a generational thing.

It started with my grandad, an Argyll and Sutherland Highlander, handing down his regimental kilt to my mum,
then onto me. Mum wore hers and made ours, in the 60s and 70s and her timeless fashion has fostered my love for kilts
ever since.

I studied graphic design in the early 90s, developing a passion for print in the letterpress studios of Central Saint Martins
and the Royal College of Art, which grew into a love affair with traditional crafts. Then later found a niche in the
design world that brought curious minds and craft makers hands together — environmental design.

For the last 20yrs that’s been my playing field. Since co-founding the design collective—Acme Studios—in 1999,
I’ve been collaborating with craft makers and designers to interpret the stories of people and places within museums
and heritage experiences across the world.

The epilogue to each of those stories has been the making of a kilt. This garment, that historically associates its wearer
with a place or a people, was already a familiar part of my wardrobe, then became a commemoration of my work
and a (slightly eccentric!) personal tradition that spans nearly three decades —yep, that’s a LOT of kilts! 

In my early days I commissioned my kilts from the modern kilt pioneer; Howie Nicholsby of 21st Century Kilts,
until I began training at the Keith Kilt School to learn the traditional, handstitched art of kiltmaking for myself.
My passion is to uphold this historic craft skill, whilst fusing it with contemporary design and promote a responsible,
resourceful means of production, on a small, sustainable scale.

I’m an experimenter. An unapologetic fiddler and faffer. I potter with something until I’ve pulled it apart and put it
back together as something else. I’m pretty patient— and that helps when making kilts.

Andrea Chappell