Steven Patrick Sim
THE TARTAN ARTISAN ®
Hello, my name is Steven Patrick Sim (Stevie) from Arbroath, on the east coast of Scotland ...and I'm passionate about designing tartan!
I created this website - theFreedomFlag.scot - to showcase the FREEDOM FLAG, and the newly launched second INDEPENDENCE edition, and I would like to say a few words to let you know how I feel about tartan design…
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Here goes…
All my tartans are created from the actual REASON for their existence!
In other words it's the rationale that results in the tartan; in the colours chosen, the numeracy in the thread count, also the formation of imagery in the tartan itself. Can you believe it? ’Images’ in tartan ...that's what I see!
However, in some ways I don't feel I actually design my tartans …I don't create them. I simply ‘discover’ them like they already exist somewhere in the fabric of the universe. Deep? Maybe. Like a sculptor who states he simply reveals the form of a Greek goddess from within a block of marble! She already exists, and he simply reveals her, exposes her form. He brings her into the light.
That's how I feel about the creation of a tartan.
So, If there's a reason for a tartan to exist... It will come into being for that very purpose! The tartan then has the power to unite, in one purpose and one thought. A meaningful and tangible fabric, creating a form of identity …a sense of family, and belonging.
Before it, it didn't exist. Afterward ...unification!
That's what I find amazing about tartan creation. All the countless possibilities ...the untold tartans that are not yet revealed, that are simply to be discovered …somewhere out there!
So... I'm passionate about our glorious Scottish plaid (including all the ancient and historical tartans) …and I invite you to follow me along in my journey wherever it may go. If we should ever meet along the way? …please do say hello :)
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THE DECLARATION OF SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE TARTAN
In 2014 after witnessing the passionate mood of the nation during the run up to the referendum on Scottish independence on the 18th September that year (and seeing Scotland’s two flags everywhere) I was inspired to create the Declaration tartan!
Designed to pay tribute to the Declaration of Arbroath, the most famous document in Scotland’s history …the fabric is possibly becoming one of the most iconic tartans of the modern age, and was born from this most treasured of historical Scottish documents.
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