Scotland is having quite a revival as of late with Brooks Brothers promoting their dapper Highland Heritage Collection and many a menswear designer looking for tartans from the Hebrides. And don’t get us started on the Whisky boom. So it’s the perfect timing for two Scots to launch a premium accessories line for the lad and lass alike.
Set in the foothills of Peebleshire, the Strathberry of Scotland mill is a dream come true for co-founder Clare Robertson. Previously, when Clare worked for larger corporations she witnessed the making of tweed in factories in China which were as large as some of the Scottish towns she knew so well. She found this heartbreaking and decided to partner with Guy Hundleby to open Strathberry of Scotland in July of 2013.
As Guy explained to us, “Scotland has an outstanding reputation in areas including film, art, music, sports and tourism, however it currently has no standout luxury accessories brands.” This reminds us of the fact that Scotland has been on the ‘made locally’ train for, well, forever. They have the best woolen mills, leather suppliers and craftsmen. At Strathberry, there are about 12 hours of work involved in each bag, and the equestrian bridle leather is ‘edge finished’ by hand – a six stage process in itself.
Strathberry has also developed its’ own unique blend of yarns made from silk and linen fibers resulting in a tweed that is lighter weight and great for year round use. And the cloth in the menswear collection has a Teflon finish making it more durable and showerproof, since Scotland is rather rainy.
The collection is well rounded and includes everything from card holders made with bridle leather to serious golf bags in Silver Birch or Portmore tweed. While the leather pieces are exceptional (especially those music cases), when we buy Scottish, we want the full shebang and the tartan pieces such as the briefcase, iPad case and wash bag have us itching for a bagpipe and Lagavulin.
If you are in Edinburgh, swing by Strathberry’s flagship store in the old town at number 81 Grassmarket before you hit those stellar pubs.
