Time for a New York State tartan?

[Brian K]

OK, my friend has made a couple suggestions based on a design of mine from 2 weeks ago:

This one is Heart of New York 1 (she likes to name her tartans but I can never think of names for mine - I think she's named them well):



Heart of New York 2:



What do you think?

[Woodsheal]

Call them "drab" if you want, but I really like muted tartans in earthy colors!

These two are quite attractive, though. Maybe too much yellow for my taste....

[Brian K]

Call them "drab" if you want, but I really like muted tartans in earthy colors!

These two are quite attractive, though. Maybe too much yellow for my taste....

LOL, Brian. My friend is not fond of a lot of yellow, either. This much gold may be at her limit.

FWIW, I also like muted and earthy colors. I'm partial to lovat green and pine needle. The nice thing about that range is that so many other colors - bright or muted - work very well with them. They are very versatile tools in the tartan designer's palette.

[Galician]

Great that this process is moving along!

I would suggest that we who care about this matter work out which single tartan to push. Given the perpetual show in Albany, looking for them to make a decision might slow things down till we have our own Governor Schwartnegger....in twenty years!

[notlob]

if I could offer a bit of advice, I did this 7 years ago (almost) myself, in getting a tartan OK'd by my state legislators. It can be done, you just need a strategy and a knowledge of the process to make it work.

[derosa]

I think I like the heart of NY1 the best so far. To me ny is water first and is symbolized by blue. Be it the Hudson, the Erie canal, all the finger lakes, Ontario, or the small lakes in the catskills and adirondacks NY has lots of water. Water has been key to NY's exploration, commerce, and early expansion. Next is green, for the trees, fields, and nature. Next is the look of the fall leaves, muted browns or reds. Might not work well but my fondest memories of this state are the trips through the finger lakes or mountains to watch the leaves change. Something so important to the people of this state that they announce peak leaf change on the news every year. Finally there is white for snow. I hate the stuff but it's impossible to deny the beauty of our state after a fresh fallen snow or how much snow dominates our lives for 1/3 of the year. To me these would be the colors of NY.

[notlob]

if I could throw in my .02 c as someone who did get their home state tartan approved by the legislature, it's not as difficult as it might seem. If you keep to a strategy, it might work. yes, every state has their own particular process, but if you keep applying steady pressure, it can work:

[BruceK]

I like NY1 best of all as well. But I also have to agree that adding a white stripe (if possible) would be nice if it doesn't wind up looking odd.

[Wompet]

Call them "drab" if you want, but I really like muted tartans in earthy colors!

These two are quite attractive, though. Maybe too much yellow for my taste....

I like them both, but I think that's why I like Heart of New York 1 more ... that and I think it would lend itself to a box pleat better that HoNY2, depending on the size of the sett.

The redesign and Nick's action earlier take care of the concerns I had. Now we just need the folks in Albany to pass a budget, so we can bring something "less important" to their attention.
Speaking of which - now that it's May, and highland games will be starting - perhaps the idea of a state tartan should be presented to any state representatives and/or senators making public appearances?

[Brian K]

Amble (my tartan designing friend from Alberta, and a member here) and I have been discussing the Heart of New York tartans we've collaborated on and we'd like to suggest a bit of a change. Instead of the denim blue in the darker squares we think it could stand to be brightened up a bit by using Illinois navy, which is also slightly "purplish" and gives the design a bit of a lift. I know the color has the name of another state in it, but that is unlikely to become common knowledge so it probably doesn't matter. She sent me a modification of her HONY1 after I suggested the color change and she also moved the red stripe to the middle of one pivot as she said it seems appropriate to have red at the center of a design called Heart of NY. I tried my hand at changing the patter and came up with almost the same thing she did without referring to it. I think I like Ambles better.

Mine (let's call it HONY 1a):



Amble's (lets call it HONY 1b):



I think they keep the idea of the original HONY1 intact yet they're a bit brighter and more vibrant, which I think characterizes what we want to say about New York. The gold that it one of our official colors is there, the blue is more prominent because of the change and the red and gold work together to remind us of the brilliant foliage of New York's beloved maple trees in the fall.

Another idea we kicked around a little is why stop at one tartan? Arkansas and Iowa have two official tartans and there's no reason New York shouldn't. Perhaps one of the HONYs as the official "regular" (dress?) tartan and the tartan in the OP (or something like it) as the official "hunting" tartan. The HONY tartans appeal to those who want something brighter and more representative of the vibrancy of New York and the hunting tartan would appeal to those who prefer muted colors and would represent the natural beauty of our state and our rural heritage.

What do you think?

Regards,

Brian

PS - if anyone is interested in checking out any of the other designs Amble and I have done you can go to the Scotweb tartan designer http://www.scotweb.co.uk/tartandesign/ and put our user names in the advanced search field. We use the same names there that we do here. For the record, Amble is more prolific, more consistent and more talented than I am.