Having recently launched a new collection of Tartan designs, Nicola is as delighted with them as her customers are.

“I have fallen in love with Tartan over the years of working with it, and whilst official tartans (like Macdonald, Stuart, etc) are what we know and love, the design structure and colours need not be limited to these. 

On creating these new designs, I knew I needed to have a better understanding of tartan - what each meant, and how they were designed. And, in doing this, I discovered a world of tartan possibilities.

It was a fun adventure, playing around with shapes, colours and patterns and watching them come alive on the paper.  Some of them were fantastic, and others just didn’t work on a visual level.

From the huge selection I created, I chose the best and began drawing them digitally into tartans I could use for my products.”

Nicola’s new Tartan Digital Range can be found across the Bute Gifts shop on a range of clothes and accessories. Each is named after a bay on the Isle of Bute, where Nicola resides and draws inspiration from.

And her favourite item? The hats! 

“With their fresh, vibrant colours, the tartans really add life to the hats. Yes, traditional tartans are steeped in history, and should be revered for the stories that they keep alive in the hearts of Scots.

However, I like to think that my new digital tartans are a modern representation of today’s Scot: inquisitive; creative, and still with the resilience we’re known for, represented by the strong bands running through the tartan design.”

Shop for New Bute Tartan or check out Rainy Mackintosh for a full selection of Nicola's custom tartan designs.