My Tale...

I wrote a short introductory letter, sacrificed one of my precious blankets by cutting it into swatches, and posted off 27 bulging envelopes including swatch and order forms to the waiting MacCallums of London.

Silence!

Silence that is until the first orders started trickling in. Not having the confidence to do that horrible telephone selling stuff, I hoped that the personalised MacCallum letter along with a piece of blanket of their own actual tartan might be enough. And it was!

Within three weeks, I'd actually sold every one of the 27 blankets and, heaving a sigh of relief, thought little more of the world of tartan except for a small niggling voice in the back of my mind that kept nagging at me about why it should be so difficult to source quality tartan products through the shops.

If I'd been through it, other people must find it equally frustrating.

I then started taking an interest in the Internet and, really this brings us pretty much up to date.

I've discovered that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people with some link to Scottish ancestry either through their own name or adaptations of the original Scots.

As I am keen to share the amazing product quality from the Scottish woollen mills, I'm keen to try the exercise again and have sourced some more MacCallum tartan products, but, this time added Clan Campbell to the offering.

In addition to blankets, I now have ties and scarves. Thanks also to a bit more planning this time (!!), I have appointed some associates in Florida to handle orders and product mail out. This means, unlike me, you won't have to wait weeks for your order to arrive. In fact, you can get it within a few days, UPS allowing!

Please have a wander around the site. Hopefully you may even give us a try. I know you'll enjoy the quality and I think you'll find the prices quite competitive.

A FREE OFFER TO EVERY RESPONDENT

EVERY ORDER COMES WITH A FREE HISTORY RELATING TO YOUR VERY OWN CLAN.

UNIQUE TO TARTAN DIRECT, IT IS A DETAILED GLIMPSE INTO THE ORIGINS OF YOUR CLAN NAME AND ITS HISTORY

Any feedback is appreciated including comments on the site, order form, products, designs, preferred tartans, new products, etc. In fact, anything to help me make my endeavours worthwhile.

I know this sounds strange, but I am genuinely anxious that my customers get the "real" thing from Scottish woollen mills, not a poorly produced sham from some factory on an industrial estate.

Make no mistake. These items are genuinely produced in Scotland by Scots and every item carries a certificate of authenticity.

Thanks for reading this. If there is anything I can do, please let me know.

Sophie MacCallum