Where do Kiltmaker's Learn Their Craft?

[Riverkilt]

I'm realizing I asked a two pronged question. My original intent was to find out how people learned to sew traditional kilts. That's sort of evolved into how individual kiltmakers learned their craft.

Some display their training and credentials - like Kathy Lare on her website http://www.kathyskilts.com/ if you click on the "About Kathy" link.

Howie Nicholsby says in the introduction to his 21st Century Kilts catalog that, "I first created 21st Century Kilts in 1996 at age 18 whilst doing a crash course in the wokshop of my parent's busines Geoffrey (tailor) Highland Crafts Ltd." So his training seems to be growing up in the trade.

In an article (2003) about the growing contemorary kilt market Robert McBain of the Keith Kilt School was quoted, "
Robert McBain, who trains a dozen students each year in traditional kiltmaking at the Keith Kilt School on the Moray Firth, believes the industry as a whole needs to define the kilt, come up with a set of standards and endorse it as a group.

"Every industry has its own set of standards and its own specification about what an item actually is and what it should be," said McBain. "We need the same sort of standard for when a customer buys an item, they know they are buying a genuine article."

The Kiltmakers' Association of Scotland began stamping kilts with a "quality assurance" label in 1999, when it was feared that some of Scotland's kiltmakers were beginning to produce kilts of substandard quality.

As a regulatory body, the association also seeks to establish the "highest standards" in Scottish kiltmaking. The art of kiltmaking, however, is largely subjective" http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...6/ai_n12586578

Which is what I was trying to figure out. If I as a buyer of an expensive, traditional, hand sewn kilt want to know the craftsman's experience, training, and credentials - how do I find them out? Many Scottish companies subcontract to unknown craftsmen. Many of the individual craftsmen seem to have just evolved somehow.

Who is my craftsman? Where were they trained? Is traditional hand sewn kiltmaking something that can be learned from a book? Does one need to apprentice? Does one need to attend school? Are there other kiltmaking schools than the Keith Kilt School?

Robert McBain learned kiltmaking in the Army. Now he runs a famous school that graduates are rightly proud of attending. Yet others llike Robert MacDonald earn the craft in the Army too, but go into business.

So the question seems to be well wrapped around both aspects of where does a person go to learn the craft and where did the person we want to order from learn the craft.

There's a difference between the enthused on this board who venture into kiltmaking for others for a fee and kiltmakers like Kathy Lare who invest in an education and credentials and guild membership or Jimmy Carbomb who I believe apprenticed with a kiltmaker.

Not questioning anyone's ability. Not saying anyones gooder than anyone else. Just wondering how we find out about individual kiltmakers or where an interested party would learn the craft.

Ron