A while back I had the great pleasure of meeting Bear at a Vancouver Kilts night.While everyone I met there was friendly, Bear took the time to not only chat with my wife and I, he also made us feel very welcome, and part of the group. That was really nice, especially considering how it felt like everyone else knew each other from a long way back, and that we were outsiders.

I knew right away that I would want to have (at least) one of his creations in my closet at some point in the future. Through reading these forums though, I wasn't sure when that day may come. Fortunately, through the magic of Facebook, I saw that he was starting back up into kiltmaking (which I believe he now does full time!!) and found out that he would be at the Celtic Fest in Vancouver. I contacted him, and asked what tartans he had available. When he saw what tartans I was requesting, he suggested one that wasn't on his list on his website. The Edinburgh tartan. A quick google search later, and I knew that was the one.

The only problem though, was my desire for pockets. Oh well. I'd do without, just because I wanted/needed a Bear Kilt.

I met up with Bear on the Sunday afternoon. In chatting with him, he said that he was pondering some pocket options, and I asked/begged for him to try something out with my kilt. And he agreed!!! He then measured me up, and I was on my way.

Well, the pockets seemed to be causing him a bit of problem. Bear worked out so many different designs, and even though I am VERY happy with what he worked out for me, when I picked it up, he said that this model probably won't be the final version of the pockets. On my kilt, he put in two cargo pockets on the sides (which also act as belt loops) , and a hidden inside back pocket.

The only negative in the whole transaction was that Bear is sometimes hard to get ahold of. There would be times when we would email back and forth as quick as a conversation, and other times when it would be days (yes, *gasp* days) before he'd get a chance to reply to my constant badgering. If you made it through that read, your reward is some fuzzy pictures.











This one shows the back inside pocket.


This shows the trademarked grizzly cut style two rows of fringe.

Mike