Website Upgrade

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Matt, would you mind describing the Nevis cloth in a bit more detail? I'm very intrigued because of the stain resistant treatment. Is it available in only one weight? Is it made the same as other tartan cloth but for the stain resistance? How does the treatment affect the look and hand of the cloth? Does it breath less than untreated wool? etc. I'd love to know more about it as I've never heard of it before. Perhaps you could put more info about it on your site. Thanks.

Well, I've only made a few kilts from it for clients, and I have never worn one myself. But from what I can tell, it differs from House of Edgar's normal heavy weight range by the following:

- it is woven 54" wide rather than the 30" width of HoE's normal heavy weight.
- it is woven with a tuck selvage rather than a traditional woven selvage
- it is treated to be stain resistant.

Yes, it only comes in heavy weight. And I honestly could not feel any difference in the cloth in terms of the stain resistant coating when I was making the kilts.

[Steve of Lansing]

Matt,

I like the new setup, however there is one thing I'd change.

The picture of yourself, up at the top in the banner looks like you either have a migraine headache or just sat on something sharp.

Outside of that, great job on this. Very intuitive and easy on the eyes.

5 stars, -Steve

Oh, one more thing. About the teasle, are they the seed pods from thistles? Seems like I've seen them in the wild here in Michigan, but I can't quite remember where.

[Ryan Ross]

Matt,

I like the new setup, however there is one thing I'd change.

The picture of yourself, up at the top in the banner looks like you either have a migraine headache or just sat on something sharp.

I couldn't disagree more. Every time I see that picture, I think to myself "Man- Now that's what a hard-working kiltmaker looks like." Very artistic and expressive shot.

Keep it, Matt.

P.S. The website looks awesome.

Easy to navigate, highly informative, all of the sections and features are well illustrated, it has a good beat, and you can dance to it. I give it a 97.

[TheBrus]

Do you still offer kilt-making using a customer's own material? I worked myself into a corner, having already ordered just about everything I need to make my own kilt, but now haven't the time nor inclination to carry on with the project. I'd love to have a kilt from the cloth I purchased, and would probably be more satisfied with something a professional could make, anyway. Drop me a line if this is still something you do.

Thanks!
Jared Brus

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Do you still offer kilt-making using a customer's own material? I worked myself into a corner, having already ordered just about everything I need to make my own kilt, but now haven't the time nor inclination to carry on with the project. I'd love to have a kilt from the cloth I purchased, and would probably be more satisfied with something a professional could make, anyway. Drop me a line if this is still something you do.

Thanks!
Jared Brus

Yup. That's called CMT (cut, make and trim). I still offer that service, with the caveat that I need to approve the cloth first.
http://newhousehighland.com/cmt.html

[JRB]

I couldn't disagree more. Every time I see that picture, I think to myself "Man- Now that's what a hard-working kiltmaker looks like." Very artistic and expressive shot.

Keep it, Matt.

Yep, I really like that picture as well.

Thanks for the info on the Nevis cloth, Matt. If I ever scrounge up enough money to have a hiking kilt made I'll definitely consider going with something from the Nevis line. I haven't yet been able to get away from wearing a traditional kilt even for woods walking so a wool kilt with fabric protectant might be the perfect solution.

[Steve of Lansing]

I couldn't disagree more. Every time I see that picture, I think to myself "Man- Now that's what a hard-working kiltmaker looks like." Very artistic and expressive shot.

Keep it, Matt.

Yeah, I was just playing about that. It really is a nice shot.

The other stuff I said is true, though. A very well thought out and well executed website that's easy to use and still gives the kiltmaker a ton of info to keep the customer satisfied.

Well done, again! -Steve

[Tartan Hiker]

Site looks great, but I have to say I'm not a fan of the banner photo, either. I find it distracting...the popped-up collar...is this an antique shirt or are you in the middle of tying your tie. If you are in the middle of tying a tie, what stopped you...and why do you look like something tragic just happened...

Perhaps I read too many detective novels....

[MacMillans son]

Looks good Matt, and not surprisingly, with lots of historic information not typically found on retail sites.

A bit of feedback on the language of the selvage page, if I may?

The last line of text before the selvage photos says: " You can compare the quality of the selvages..."

I'm not sure that the photos really show the 'quality' of the selvages as they do the differences in selvages. And a complete novice may not be able to even see much difference without an accompanying photo by photo explanation of what they are looking at. The only one that appears significantly different to the untrained eye is the uneven line of the HOE traditional selvage. But, as we recently saw with Paulhenry's thread, Dalgleish can send out some pretty uneven material as well.

I'm not trying to be unnecessarily critical, my point is that, for novices, your layout may not be accomplishing what I assume you are attempting to accomplish. And for those who know the difference in selvages, it may be an unnecessary comparison. For what ever that's worth.

Respectfully,
Brooke

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Looks good Matt, and not surprisingly, with lots of historic information not typically found on retail sites.

A bit of feedback on the language of the selvage page, if I may?

The last line of text before the selvage photos says: " You can compare the quality of the selvages..."

I'm not sure that the photos really show the 'quality' of the selvages as they do the differences in selvages. And a complete novice may not be able to even see much difference without an accompanying photo by photo explanation of what they are looking at. The only one that appears significantly different to the untrained eye is the uneven line of the HOE traditional selvage. But, as we recently saw with Paulhenry's thread, Dalgleish can send out some pretty uneven material as well.

I'm not trying to be unnecessarily critical, my point is that, for novices, your layout may not be accomplishing what I assume you are attempting to accomplish. And for those who know the difference in selvages, it may be an unnecessary comparison. For what ever that's worth.

Respectfully,
Brooke

Thanks for this feedback, Brooke. I may have to revise the text on the comparison page. I'm fully aware that I may be entering the zone of "too much information" and potentially confusing people; there are simply some aspects of tartan and kilt wearing that, while I may find them fascinating, the average joe simply does not care about! However, I decided to delve into all this on my web site because, if anything, X Marks has shown me that there are a lot of discerning kilt wearers who appreciate all of this information, and really do care about things such as how the selvage of their tartan is woven.

Equally, there are those who have no idea what a selvage even is, and so may be confused by the fact that their kilt does not have a hem in it when they receive it!

So I decided to err on the side of more information. But I do want it to be clear and helpful information, so I will take your comments into consideration for possible revision. Thanks!