New X Marks the Scot Kilt PIn

[bear]

If you make a kilt pin that is round with an X in it, it will stand out from the sword type pins and be immediately recognisable.
Howie Nicholsby understood this when he made his lightening bolt pin a standard on his kilts.
You want to get noticed?
Be different!

I like the idea that the circle with and X in it looks like a Texas Ranger badge. (There are so many kilts in Texas!) Use knotwork on the circle and the X and you have a unique, Celtic themed pin that is immediately recognisable as an X Marks The Scot pin.
Keeping it simple makes it more easily remembered, too.

[Alaskan]

I've given it another go. See Version C in my personal album.

I understand the ideas about not making it look like a sword pin to make it unique, but it is possible to make it unique and recognizable without changing the formula for a kilt pin too much.

Using the car analogy again, someone might say, "Lets make it unique from other cars, instead of having wheels lets put an airbag and a fan underneath it!" Yeah, that would be cool and unique, but now we are talking about a hovercraft, not a car.

At the same time there are hundreds of instantly recongnisable, unique cars which stick to the formula of what a car is.

Bear, you say the circle with an X is nice because it is unique, but at the same time you say it looks like the Texas Ranger badge. I also thought it is reminicent of the X-Men mark. Is that really unique?

Also you used the example of Howard Nicolsby's lightening bolt. I haven't seen it, but usually lightening bolts are long and thin. Again bringing back my question of whether a pin that is not long and skinny might look gaudy or disrupt the pattern of the kilt.

I know that I probably sound like I am being anal, but I think if are really going to go through with designing and producing a kilt pin, we should do it right. What right is, I don't know, but the only way we can figure that out is through discussion and debate.

[Graham]

Alaskan, not all pins are long and thin even at Scottishkilts, see the Lion pin http://scottishkilts.net/store/themed_kilt_pins.html

I rather like it.

I think my initial reaction to Hanks design may have been a little harsh, I repent and now agree with Bear - it's a little different, I like it.

While I appreciate Hank allowing us all some say in the matter, I think he should run with what he thinks best.

I pledge at least one purchase if made.

[Alaskan]

Obviously the final decision will be up to Hank.

Obviously we aren't going to come up with a kilt pin that everyone thinks is absolutely perfect.

Also, I wasn't saying that a kilt pin must be long and thin, or that all of them are. I was just saying that perhaps there is a reason why the vast majority of them tend to be so, and that we can make a pin that is long and thin, yet still unique and instantly recognisable.

For those of you that think it needs to be a completely different shape to be recongnisable, I would suggest that is not the case at all. People who don't wear kilts are going to be more focused on the kilt itself than they are on the pin. Yes, I have had people comment on the kilt pin, but they aren't nearly as common as those that comment on the kilt itself. On the other hand there are other people who wear kilts (everyone from people who wear it once a year, to people who wear it full time). These people will notice that our kiltpin is not the kind that they see all the time no matter how we make it.

Like you, Graham, I am definitely going to buy one if this project comes to fruitition, no matter what the pin ends up looking like. For that reason I would like us to all take this seriously and try to make the best kilt pin we can.

[Graham]

I understood what you were saying Alaskan.

I had some good news today, the pin I lost from Scottishkilts....it was found.

My wife and i were standing, chatting in our driveway, a driveway i run up and down a dozen times a day, she looked down and there it was. It had been there a week, run over by our car at least once and was still in good condition.

That has to say something about the quality of the workmanship.

[bubba]

Graham, glad to hear you found it.

[bubba]

Alaskan, I am taking this seriously. True, most kilt pins are based on the sword design, but not all. I have pins that are round and one sheild shaped and they work fine, in fact they look very nice and show up better. They don't interfer with the tartan at all though they are more noticable than the sword pins. The symbolism of the circle is well known in all cultures, and a knotwork circle would be a great representation of the Celtic influence in the world as a never ending thing.

[Casey]

What ever the design, I want at least one.

Casey

[GMan]

I second that sentiment Casey!

Glen

[highlandtide]

I am in agreeance with Bear and and good portion of the group on this.

I am going to do the Celtic knot circle with the plain X on top I do believe. I think it will be instantly recognizable even from a distance.

I just got the Rampant Lion one and I love it. It is big and noticable and doesnt look like others.
That is how I want ours to be.

The only problem is the email I sent to Billy from Scottishkilts.com bounced! I guess I will have to try again!

Have I said lately that all of you guys rock! I know we all dont agree on everything but man you guys make my day!


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