Kilt Maker Disappointment

[Howard Clark]

Ok, I am not a professional kilt maker, but I am a professional bladesmith. I make one style of stuff (Japanes style swords) at this point for money, period. Nothing else. I do not care what you want if it is outside that box. I will happily reccomend others more accomodating, but I am rigidly inflexible about what I make and how I do it. It is not up to the customer to tell me how to do what I do. I just simply say no.

Which is what said kilt maker at the strat of this thread did. Least amount of trouble for everyone, trust me.

If she "had" taken the order, and then become unhappy with the way it was going during the project, this can lead to a very unhappy cascade of events. I have seen it happen to crafts people of all stripe when they do not know how to say no.

A minor disspointment about a bit of wasted time is better than a huge wound over money and unhappy makers and customers of hand made goods. Life is too short for things like this.

Be glad she said no.

I am an amateur kilt maker, and just "how" amateur became abundantly clear when I got my kilt from Matt Newsome. I will never be that good. I do not have time to become that good at that skill, and it is quite a skill I must say. Other than "work kilts" to trash in the shop I am done fooling with it and buying from the pro's.

I am in hopes of being able to get one from Barb too at some point. I am hopelessly hooked at this point.

But back to the point. Being told no, is the least amount of trouble this kind of thing can be if the crafts person you wish to employ is not happy making the project you propose.

Be happy, spend your money somewhere else. And smile, it's good for your face.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

As someone who is not only a kilt maker, but a regualr wearer of kilts, who has also purchased from a number of other kilt makers, I think I can see both sides of the issue.

First of all, if you want a kilt that is made a certain way, or that is somewhat "outside the box," your instincts were right in going to an individual kilt maker. Usually, an individual kilt maker will have the ability to be more flexible than a shop who only retails other people's kilts. Plus you will actually get the chance to talk directly to the person who will be making the kilt, to explain just what it is that you want.

The first thing to consider is that this is your kilt and you should be able to get the kilt that you want. A good kilt maker will listen to your requests, and try to accomodate them as much as is possible.

BUT, that does not mean that the kilt maker needs to accomodate your every request. As Barb and Howard have both pointed out, sometimes the best answer is, "I'm sorry, but I can't do that." Let's face it -- you don't want a craftsman doing somethign that he or she is not comfortable with. You go to an individual craftsman because you are seeking their competence in their skill. A good craftsman will be competant enough to know what they can and cannot do.

Also, kilt makers will have their own idea of standards. Barb has already pointed this out. Do I really want to sew my label into a kilt that I don't think is "up to snuff?" I have periodically had potential clients approach me about making kilts from their own cloth, which for whatever reason was not suitable to kilt making. If the cloth does not meet certain minimum standards, I I have to turn down their request. I simply don't want to make a kilt -- and take their money for making a kilt -- that I think will be sub par.

On the particular issue of velcro, I think it is safe to say that for many people, velcro in a kilt implies a lower quality garment. I'll be blunt -- I've never seen velcro used in a high quality kilt. The only kilts I have seen that utilize velcro have been children's kilts, or inexpensive casual kilts for adults. So it is very likely that this kilt maker you want to did not want to make a kilt with velcro because she didn't feel it would be to her usual standards. I can't blame her for that.

Now, I would hope that any kilt maker would be able to listen to whatever requests you have, and if they could not be met, explain to you why, and maybe offer some alternatives. For instance, you could have had the kilt made with no straps and buckles at all, and just worn it with the belt holding it on. I've done that before and it works just fine. If you decided later on down the road you could have added your own velcro.

Anyway, without having first hand knoweldge of the treatment you recieved, I can't comment. I certainly hope she wasn't rude to you, and if she was, shame on her. However, I don't think she can be faulted for simply declining the request. Lots of other kilt makers would have made the same judgement call. But others may have decided differently. In the end it was her call to make.

Aye,
Matt