Hire of the month - The Highland Mist Tartan

The Highland Mist tartan is one of our most beloved designs, evoking the wildflower meadows, shifting light, and misty skies of the Scottish Highlands. You might be surprised, however, to learn that this beauty was not originally designed here at GNK - although we do certainly have a talented tartan design team!

There, a young textile designer, by the name of Claire Donaldson, created the Highland Mist tartan with rich, jewel-like tones - deep blues and purples, vivid magenta highlights, warm golds, and rich greens.

Years later, Highland Mist might have remained a design known only to a few, created for Harrisons of Hamilton, a Highlandwear retailer no longer in operation. But fortune intervened. During a visit to the Perth design room, Louise Nicolson obtained a remnant of this stunning cloth and began creating a small collection of accessories for our LoullyMakes brand. 

These pieces quickly sold out, and requests for more soon followed. Then came the calls, the permissions, and finally, Highland Mist Tartan returned to commercial production - this time, exclusively available through the GNK family.

Among the Edinburgh Kiltmakers Academy’s most recent Class of 25, we had the pleasure of teaching a wonderfully experienced textile designer and weaver named Claire Hunter. Her surname has since changed, but the moment of recognition was magical: Claire had once designed tartans for House of Edgar. And yes - she is the original designer of Highland Mist Tartan!

Claire now runs her own business, Taffled Threads, specialising in custom fabrics using natural yarns, and has worked on many exciting and meaningful projects. 

Her design for Highland Mist, however, remains as vibrant and evocative as ever. Thanks to her vision, the discerning eye of Louise Nicolson, and the support of House of Edgar, this tartan was rescued from obscurity and is now woven once more in Scotland, available exclusively from the GNK family.