Scotland's Trade Fair - Our show preview

From Sunday 19th to Tuesday 21st January, Mary and I will be at the SECC in Glasgow exhibiting at Scotland's Trade Fair.  This is an annual event for buyers to source stock for their retail outlets.  It is a trade only event, but any buyers interested in seeing our products will be very welcome on our stand - E40.  All visitors should register on the show's website - www.scotlandstradefairs.co.uk

On Sunday afternoon - as part of our preparation for the show we were out braving the cold weather to get photographs of our new products.  Fortunately it stayed dry and the fog which had been forecast didn't materialise.  I had 4 models - my daughter Mary, her daughters Rachel and Lauren and Mary's friend Amanda and they all really entred into the spirit of the thing.

They started off at Gorgeous - Hair and Beauty Salon where their friends Lynne and Carly did a lovely job with hair and make-up - thanks girls!  Looking suitably lovely, we headed out to Clava, an ancient site (about 5000 years old) with chambered cairns and standing stones just beyond Culloden Battlefield, a few miles from Inverness.  It is a place we often go to photograph our products because there is a good atmosphere and different back-drops of trees or stones.  Today the weather was cold and dull enough that we had the place to ourselves.

Then it was down to work.   We had a few new products to photograph.  First off was our buttoned wrap.  This one fastens with a large hand-made button through a decorative buttonhole and has Celtic knotwork embroidery on the overlapping section at the front.
Lauren chose the blue one to model while Rachel (scroll to bottom) opted for a cream & pale grey version.

Our Hebridean Hoods have proved very popular over the last couple of years, but this time we have teamed them with some more new products - spats and cuffs.  Here you see Amanda sporting a rusty brown ensemble - all made with tweed that I wove at the tail end of last year.

Undaunted by the cold, Amanda then changed into her little black & white dress and teamed it with a black wrap embroidered with black & white and then donned black & white checked spats and cuffs. 

Combining different patterns of black & white is very much on trend this season and when you see it on Amanda with her lovely black hair, you have to agree it makes for a striking outfit.

In addition to the long wrist-warmer style of cuffs (which we will be selling as pairs) we are also introducing a short cuff designed to be worn as a bracelet.  Mary has both blue and red streaks in her hair, so she made herself a blue one and a red one which she plans to wear at the trade fair next week, but no doubt she will wear them on other occasions as well.

All these things are now on the website.  There is also an additional page with some of the lovely feedback we have had from our customers over the last year.  Do let us know what you think of our things - we are always happy to hear your views.