Creatively Capturing Scotland

Tartan, bagpipes, kilts, haggis and the Loch Ness Monster - the easy list of how Scotland is identified.

But how about a different list?

Writers, architects, engineers, artists, musicians and jewellers. They are all here, and, unlike Nessy, don’t make remaining hidden a virtue.

Scottish jewellery dates back to Neolithic times; in many of our museums you can wonder at the skill of these early craftsmen, working only with rudimentary tools to create such delicate pieces.

Today we have many jewellers all over the country. They draw their inspiration from the land and the water; the jagged peaks and the gently rounded hills, angry seas and sunlit mirror lochs. The turbulence of the weather provides ever changing light, elixir to our artists.

Some of our jewellers work with the story of Scotland, developing their own designs from those of a thousand years and more ago.

A penannular is an incomplete ring. It has ancient Celtic beauty at the heart of its design. It was also functional; in the absence of buttons, it fixed together two sections of a cloak. With the pointed end of the pin, in dire straits it became a weapon!

Penannulars were definitions of status during the medieval period. It has to be said they were not unique to Scotland- why would they be? After all we had extensive trading links to Europe and North Africa as far back as the 13th century.

Now they are beautiful pieces of jewellery, often worn on jackets and winter coats, (as well as cloaks). The traditional designs are overlain with the work of the modern artist. They are part of our continually evolving story.

I can tell a good story…

I can guide around this beautiful country. I can research details. But I am neither a jeweller, nor a photographer.

Some of the photographs for this website were taken by my brother and his family, but most were taken by my friend Soozie, who is both a photographer and a jeweller. She creates bespoke jewellery, from chunky penannulars and tiny rings to mourning pieces. Each piece she creates is unique. You can view her work here.

I am also not a website designer. The story of how this website came into being is a tale in itself, best told by the two women who happened into my life when I was musing aloud with a friend that I might need a website in order to survive as a guide beyond the pandemic.

Karen and Abi of Little Waves have now become a fantastic new part of my story.