The John Muir Way Tartan Celebrates 10 Years ! 21st April 2024 Marks the 10th anniversary of the opening of the John Muir Way. The 215Km route stretches from John Muirs Scottish birthplace of Dunbar on the East coast, to the West coast town of Helensburgh where the Muir family departed on their emigration to the United States of America.  The route planned by Scottish Natural Heritage celebrates Muirs life & legacy, covering coastal, rural and urban landscapes in its path, reflecting his endeavours as a farmer, naturalist, botanist, inventor, explorer, mountaineer, writer and pio ..read more

The John Muir Way John Muir was a man of many talents; farmer, naturalist, botanist, inventor, explorer, mountaineer, writer - but is best known as a pioneer of nature conservation. Muir was born in the coastal town of Dunbar, East Lothian on 21st April 1838. During his childhood in Scotland, he developed a deep love of the natural world, which grew into a lifelong cause, earning worldwide recognition. April 2014 marked the centenary of Muirs death and the opening of the 215km celebratory John Muir Way. The trail stretches from his East Coast birthplace, through coastal, country and urban c ..read more

As most of you who follow our Social Media channels will know - the GNKfamily flagship store on Edinburgh's Historic Canongate is currently in the midst of a rather overdue refurbishment.  In the decade and a half that we have occupied this wonderful old building's ground floor and basement, we have experienced much. Notwithstanding the establishment and growth of our heritage craft enterprise into a commercially viable business, we have also welcomed visitors form every part of the globe, cheered the resurrected Riding of the Marches, survived pandemic lockdowns, witnessed the final Roya ..read more

Failte !  Isle of Skye tartan is as recognisable as it is evocative of the landscapes of the famed Misty Isle. Heathery purples weave with harmonious tonal shades of green, grounded with peaty brown. A flash of bright sunray white illuminates the scene... ...Can you hear the waves lapping and the song of the skylark? Throughout the month of March, every customer who hones in on Isle of Skye tartan outfit packages can enjoy 10% discount on the package price.      Browse our selection of Isle of Skye Hire Outfits here.  Use code GNKFEB10H at checkout. T&C's Isle o ..read more

Our flagship store premises at 189 Canongate have been home to GNKfamily for more than 15 years now. The ground floor and basement of this sturdy 17th-century tenement have housed, protected, and nurtured our growth from very humble beginnings back in 2009. When you build an enterprise from almost nothing, things tend to evolve rather organically - with furnishings & fixtures gleaned from various sources over the years and functionality often taking precedence over aesthetics - the resulting interior has a somewhat eclectic ambiance! And le ..read more

Hire of the Month!    Brave the stormy seasons in style with our exclusive Hebridean Hoolie tartan ! All Hire customers who decide upon our cool grey and ocean blue-toned Hebridean Hoolie tartan outfit packages throughout the month of February can enjoy 10% discount on the package price ! Browse our selection of Hebridean Hoolie Hire Outfits here T&C's: Hebridean Hoolie Kilts Outfits can be booked in February for any Hire occasion throughout the year - while stocks last. Any Kilts hired before and after February will not be eligible for this discount. No other offers ..read more

  In honour of St Andrew’s Day, our Creative Director Louise Nicolson and seamstress Niamh Laffan present Wicked lead Laura Pick, who will play Elphaba this festive season, with a bespoke tartan cape made especially in honour of the Wicked 2023-2025 tour and displayed in the Boards Bar at the Edinburgh Playhouse on 12 December and then in our St. Mary’s Street store from 14 December until 14 January 24. Inspired by the character of Elphaba, House of Emerald, the bespoke tartan named for this cape only features green and black to represent her skin and costume, with the line of white a ..read more

GNK All Stars: Hamza Yassin What an honour to end a fantastic year here at GNK with another beautiful kilt by our own talented EKA graduate Rachel Bell featured on Strictly! For the third time we were asked by BBC's Strictly Come Dancing to create a handmade kilt, for winner Hamza Yassin. We loved following Hamza's amazing dance journey to win the Strictly trophy, congratulations from all the GNK Team! Hamza wears the Bruce of Kinnaird kilt with matching waistcoat created with our tartan by the Strictly wardrobe team.     Watch Hamza's and Jowita's incredible Charles ..read more

The 1872 association fooball between the national teams of scotland and England is official recognised by FIFA as the first ever international football game. The game took place on the 30th of November 1872 at Hamilton Crescent - the West of Scotland Cricket Club in Partick, Glasgow. The match was watchd by 4000 spectators, culminating in a 0-0 draw. To mark this special occasion, we took an excited group of Scotland fans to Hampden Park and enjoyed a day in the official Scotland National Team Tartan at the home of Scottish football. Featuring the Scotland National Team Tartan kil ..read more

Vicky has been with GNK for a while now. Having originally worked on a tartan and heritage craft related project while studying HND Textiles at college - Vicky was hooked and wanted to become a kiltmaker! We were more than happy to welcome her to the team and Vicky has taken on her apprenticeship exceptionally. She has turned her hand to everything and anything; from studying kiltmaking to polishing shoes, hosting talks to creating anything in tartan you could think of! Let's hear a little more from Vicky... "As I was finishing up my HND in textiles just a few years ago, I would never ha ..read more