SCOTLAND - Smithsonian Digital Repository - Smithsonian Institution

CRAFT TRADITIONS
130 Bii(;pipi's
Hatnisli Moore, Dunkeld, Pcrilishirc
Moore is an esteemed maker ot
Higliland, Scottish small pipes, and border
pipes. As a maker and performer, he has
been the key figure in the revival of the
bellows-blown pipes of Stodand as well
as in the rediscovery of older regional and
pre-military Highland piping traditions.
He is joined by his son and apprentice
Fin, also an excellent piper.
Basket -\hki 11',;
Eii'eii Balfour, Br,ie, Mauilami, Shetland
Balfour learned to make "kishie" baskets (a
backpack-type basket) from Lowrie
Coupland, the last traditional basket maker
in Shetland. In addinon to being a
dedicated artisan, Baltbur is also a crofter
and a former Guiser Jarl at the famous
Viking-inspired Up-Helly-A' Festival held
in the Shetlands each winter.
Boat-Biiildini;
Lvi Best, Fair Isle
Best grew up on Fair Isle, the most
remote inhabited island in Great Britain,
Intrigued by the historical relationship
between local Viking-inspired Shetland
"yoals" and coastal craft still made in
Norway, he served an apprenticeship to a
wooden boat builder in Norway. His
light, clinker-built 23' Ness Yoals, made
from Scottish larch, can be rowed, sailed,
or motored.
Clarsach/S(('ffL(/j Harp
'ihle HiirpV/iJiA' Vn/c, Midlothian/Colorado
Born into a family of plowmen and
foresters in East Lothian, Yule served a
formal apprenticeship as a boat builder at
Cockenzie on the Firth of Forth before
establishing himself as a jomer and
cabinetmaker. He turned his skiUs to
harp-making in the early lySos, and his
instruments are now played by leading
performers of the Celtic harp throughout
the world. He recendy moved from
Silverburn, Midlothian, to Colorado.
Curliitsi Stone Making;
Kays ol Scotland, Maucldliic, Ayrshire
The only remaining curling tirni in
Scotland and the only one in the world
to make curling stones from legendary
Ailsa Craig granite, Kays is a small
fairuly-run firm that dates back to the
185OS. Master craftsmen jimmy and
Russell Wyllie demonstrate the care and
skill that go into transforming a boulder
into a t'lnished curling stone.
Golf Club Making
Hentaiie Golf of St Andrews, StAndrars, Fife
Ongmallv from Yorkshire, Heritage's
Managing Director Barry Kerr served a
formal apprenticeship to a tourthgeneration
Scottish club maker and has
been making golf clubs for more than
forty years. Heritage specializes m both
historic (pre-iy30s) and contemporary
clubs, as well as historic, hand-sewn,/
hand-molded golf balls. Kerr is
accompanied by one of Heritage
Golf's master craftsmen, Angus McLean.
Harris Tweed
Doihdd Anftis Martin, Isle of Lewis
A Harris Tweed weaver from the
Outer Hebrides, Martin weaves the
celebrated fabric at his croft. Martin
IS
also a fine Gaehc singer.
Kilt-Makiii{;
Kenh Kill School: Robert McBaui &
Martin Flynn, Keilh, Morayshire
McBain, founder and the director ol the
internation.illy renowned Keith Kilt
School, trained and served as a tailor in
the British Army for 14 years. Reahzing
that there was a shortage of kilt makers,
he established a kilt-making school m
Keith as a local economic revitahzation
project. Since 1994, he has trained more
than 75 kilt makers, who, in turn, have
established the Keith Kilt Guild. He is
joined by his apprentice Martin Flynn.
Knitting
Anfi Funsou, Shethind Islands
Eunson makes traditional Shetland
"white" or "wedding ring" sh.nvls fine
enough to be pulled through the womb
of a ring. She spins wool from her own
sheep to create the yarn.
May MacCorniick, Saih]iih,n, Dundries
MacCormick is
one of the few craftspeople
who still knit in the black-andwhite
Sanquhar style, using ancient, comple.x,
and beautifiil patterns that are rarely seen
outside her remote rural area of Dumfries
and Galloway in southwest Scotland.
,-li;m' Sinclair, Fair Isle
A master knitter, she learned patterned
knitting and other Fair Isle crafts from
her mother. Four generations of her
family currently are involved in
indigenous craft production. She has
lectured and published material on Fair
Isle history, folklore, culture, and dialect.
She IS also an excellent singer.
Orkney Cliair-Making
Jackie and Marlene Miller,
Kirkwall, Orkney
There .tre no trees on Orkney—a key to
understandmg why this handsome, distmc-
Uve type of armchair umque to the islands
north of the Scottish mainland is traditionally
nude of driftwood and braided sea grass
ropes. Jackie le.irned to make these traditional
chairs from his family and now makes
them hiU-nnie at his shop, Scapa Crafts.
Silversintthnu;
Graham Sleu'arl, Dwddane
Considered one of Scodand's leading
silversmiths, Stewart is a secondgeneranon
silversmith. His work ranges
from traditional spoons and ijuaichs
(tradinonal Scottish bowls) to modern
interpretations of such tradinonal objects
as bowls and teapots. His work is often
comniissioned by and for museums and as
presentanon pieces. Recendy, he was one
of a siiLill number of silversmiths
commissioned to produce items tor the
Scottish First Minister's Bute House
residence in Edinburgh.
Sporran- Making
Marcns Eagleton, .Murlhly Perthshire
Trained by his mother, Janet Eagleton,
M.B.E., Marcus handcrafts sporrans
in a small workshop in back of his family
house. The grandson of a cobbler and
great-grandson of a saddle maker, he
makes both very traditional and very
contemporary sporrans for customers who
include celebrities as well as the King's
Own Scotnsh Borderers, the Queens
Pipers at Balmoral and Buckingham
Palaces, and the Scots Guards.