At Tartan Terrors we hand make every item you see on the website. Finish and quality are very important to me, as I always have in mind that your lovely little dogs will be using or wearing my items so I want you and your dogs to be happy with my products. It was my love and passion for my own dogs that inspired me to start up Tartan Terrors.
A little about me
I am Fiona McGregor and I live in Ayrshire. I am married to Fraser and have a son called Sean. I also have 2 wonderful little Border Terriers, Rosie and Jock (the best companions anyone could wish for).
Tartan Terrors started as a small venture to raise funds for The Scottish Television Appeal over 4 years ago now. My son, Sean, is the Weather Forecaster for Scottish Television and each year he was given a challenge which was sponsored to raise funds for the appeal charity. In that particular year he was tasked with training a dog in agility and competing in the Scottish Kennel Club show. He did not have his own dog at the time and borrowed our little Border Terrier, Jock. Here he is below in his office with Rosie & Jock:
From small beginnings
While he was doing his training I wondered what I could do to also raise funds. As Jock was going to be on show I wanted him to look his best and bought him a bandana. When this arrived it was a bit too large for him and I decided to alter it. Whilst doing this a seed formed in my head. Could I make bandanas myself to raise money? I bought myself a cheap sewing machine, some tartan fabric, and off I went.
I made loads of bandanas and sold them at a local dog show. While at this dog show I was asked if I made tartan collars as people were having difficulty buying tartan collars, and the business started growing arms and legs then . . . I do love a challenge! Making collars involved lots of research and trial and error, but I eventually came up with a product I was happy with. I made lots of collars and attended another dog show, and again these went down really well and the business grew from there.
A passion for my Scottish heritage
You have probably guessed by now, but my products all have a Tartan connection. Being Scottish I have a passion for tartans, and the history they carry with them. Each tartan tells a tale of long ago and has a rich heritage, that if you had a couple of days spare I would love to tell you all about! However, I hope to cover all our tartans in later blogs, sharing their rich history while exploring the myths and legends that surround each Clan.
Tartan has experienced quite a wonderful revival over the last few years and is no longer considered something you only see on a shortbread tin or Scottish souvenirs. Even if you think you do not have a clan tartan, believe me your family name will be affiliated to some clan tartan that your family is connected to somewhere along the line.
I also now use Harris Tweed as one of my favoured mediums, I love working with a fabric that is so unique. It has wonderful luxurious qualities, but is extremely hard wearing, robust and resilient, which makes it perfect for dog accessories. Believe it or not Harris Tweed is warm in winter, but cool in summer. Genuine Harris Tweed comes from the beautiful Scottish Island of Harris. The colours of this tweed are inspired by the wild and beautiful landscapes of the island. Next year Tartan Terrors will be taking a trip to the Island to meet our weavers. We'll be writing in a future blog about our trip, where we will introduce you to the wonderful weavers and we hope to capture some photographs of this beautiful Island.
Join our Clan
It is lovely to meet you, please do have a look through our Tartan Terrors Clan to see pictures of all our lovely doggie customers sporting their Tartan Terrors products. If you purchase from us, we would love to see pictures of your dogs so we can add them to our page so they too will be part of the Tartan Terrors Clan. You can send them to us on facebook or twitter, or email them to us.
I am always open to new ideas and challenges, so if there is something you have in mind, but don't see on the site, please contact me. I'm always up for a chat about new ideas.
