Meet the Collective: Making kilts with Paula Duncan

Preserving the traditional craft of kilt making.
Paula Duncan is a bespoke kilt maker and tutor, with over 11 years of teaching experience, who has adapted her classes to an online format, making it easier for busy adults to embrace their creativity while learning a new skill.
Paula teaches students from all walks of life, some seeking to create a single kilt while others aspire to turn their newfound skills into a business.
As a member of the Creativity Found Collective, Paula thrives in a community of like-minded creatives, where collaboration and inspiration abound. She believes that sharing ideas and experiences enriches the creative process, allowing individuals to grow and learn from one another.

Paula Duncan Kilts at creativityfound.co.uk
Join the Creativity Found Collective at creativityfound.co.uk/joinus

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Researched, edited and produced by Claire Waite Brown
Music: Day Trips by Ketsa Undercover / Ketsa Creative Commons License Free Music Archive - Ketsa - Day Trips
Artworks: Emily Portnoi emilyportnoi.co.uk
Photo: Ella Pallet

Click here to book a 1-to-1 online chat with me to understand more about the Creativity Found Collective, the promotional and networking membership for creative small businesses.

Chapters

• 4:05 Transitioning to online kilt making courses
• 6:12 Craftsmanship in kilt making
• 8:10 The importance of community
• 9:14 Business growth
• 12:05 In-person classes coming soon

Transcript

0:43

You have a one to one with me and I give you a small sewing kit and we run over all the tartans that you may be connected to and that you like as well. We make kilts that last a lifetime. We are really considerate how we sew it and we put in extra fabrics and you know, we just think the person may grow or the kilt, we like to say the kilt shrinks, so the kilt could shrink in the wardrobe. So we kind of make sure that this kilt is gonna grow with you. Everybody inspires everybody else as well. And you can be in your little zone and then some other creative could come along and be like, hey, have you thought of this? And I just feel like it opened your mind to be part of a creative community and everybody bounces off each other. Hi, Claire here. Creating this show inspired me to take the Creativity Found mission further. As well as sharing inspirational stories of people who have embraced their creat creativity and adulthood, I wanted to actually help people do this for themselves and to support artists and crafters who share their creative knowledge with adults through their classes, kits and supplies. Creativityfound.co.uk and the creativity Found Collective were born. You can visit creativityfound.co.uk to find ways to learn printmaking, try embroidery, get touchy feely with clay, make your own kilt, start weaving, learn to paint, and so much more. And the wonderful teachers and makers featured on the website are members of the Creativity Found Collective. We also have business support enterprises as members who help others grow their businesses. In this episode of the Creativity Found podcast, adapted from a live video posted on the Creativity Found YouTube channel and in the Creativity Found Facebook group, I chat with one of our members about what they do and how they can help you. And if you would like to join our merry band, simply visit creativityfound.co.uk join us and I'll see you soon. Paula, lovely to have you here. Thank you for having me. You're welcome. Tell us how you help adults to get creative. So I am a bespoke kilt maker and tutor and I've been teaching for, oh gosh, over 11 years. So generally it's mature people that come to me and they learn how to make kilts. My students are from all walks of life and some of them just come to me to make one kilt and then some of them actually retrain and become kilt makers and do it as a business as well. Wow. So what kind of things do people need to do maybe to prepare or to arrange for themselves to know what they're letting themselves in for. Well, pre Covid I did weekly classes. I did a Thursday, Friday, Saturday. So people would commit weekly and they would come. I did maximum three people in my home and we would just come and have a lovely creative time together and we would enjoy each other's company. Alongside making kilts, I also did 12 day courses. You dedicate 12 days of your time, you come to me and you can make a kilt in 12 days. Because of the pandemic, I had to look at my life and my business in a different way. So I invested in myself and I now do online training and I took my 12 day course as an example. It's like how many hours did you spend in that 12 days? So I then said a 12 week course, which means about an hour a day or a full day or something. That's a 12 week course. And you can make a kilt with me alongside your job as well. So generally people are working and this is like a hobby initially and that gives everybody enough time to make their bespoke kilt through video training and weekly zooms. It's in a Facebook group at the moment, so it's very organic. But I'm there all the time answering questions and doing extra videos and things like that. So that's the timescale that they have to or they can dedicate to me. Yeah. And do you have the pre thing of like what equipment you're going to need and how you choose your materials and things like that? When you book on the course with me, we then have like a one to one and then we discuss what tools you need. But if you join my wait list, I say it's a wait list. It's like an interest group that you can join on my email list which means you will be notified when the courses are running because they are periodically through the year and through that time I give you like these are the tools that I use. So there's little snippets all the time. But you have a one to one with me and I give you a small sewing kit and we run over all the tartans that you may be connected to and that you like as well. So that's an option within the course. Oh wow, that's so cool. I love that. And I know that you are a heritage kilt maker. This is a traditional craft. I always ask people on these calls why they think it's important for other adults to be able to get creative. But I think with you as well, why Is it important to you to keep this craft going and to keep teaching it? So it's. This type of kilt making is now an endangered craft because of fast fashion. People hand sewed these kilts. They didn't machine them. And my tutor was taught by somebody who was taught by somebody. You know, there's like this. So it was never out of a book or anything. It's like people teaching people, which is, like, really important as well, but also the considerations that go into this type of kilt making. So we make kilts that last a lifetime. We are really considerate how we sew it and we put in extra fabrics and, you know, we just think the person may grow or the kilt. We like to say the kilt shrinks, so the kilt could shrink in the wardrobe. So we kind of make sure that this kilt is gonna grow with you. And I think it's just a really important thing to keep alive. You know, when you make that kilt, you're like putting your energy into it and you could be making a kilt for like a family member, and they're gonna have it forever. So it's not like you're buying it in the shop. It's like you're actually making it and it's just really important to keep it alive. Yeah, there's something going into it if you're making it for yourself or you're making it for someone else. It's an energy sharing thing, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I do think that, like, my type of kilt making is you look at the person, you look at the body shape. The discussions I have with my customer before I even start, you know, it's like, where's your weight journey? Are you likely to change shape? And yeah, you just kind of look at the. The body, because the body form is a 3D thing. So the type of coat making that I'm teaching you're making a 3D garment, it will never lie flat. You can see a bum in it. So it's just this beautiful creation that you're making and you're taking this flat piece of fabric and you're creating that 3D garment. It's just something really magical, I think. Anyway, yeah, I feel I was put on this earth to do this. Well, that's fabulous. I really love this holistic look at it about your body shape and how this is going to grow with you. You are a member of the Creativity Found Collective and have been since the word go, basically, which is super. Why do you think it's important. And why do you like to be a member of a community of kind of like minded people? Well, you just said it there. It's like being like minded. I think everybody inspires everybody else as well. And you can be in your little zone and then some other creative could come along and be like, hey, have you thought of this? And I just feel like it opened your mind to be part of a creative community and everybody bounces off each other, which is what I love about it. Yeah, I agree. To get ideas. I've always found that you come away with little nuggets of something that you don't expect when you might first be meeting someone. And what about plans for the future? I mean, it must have been a big thing to do the online course in the first place because as you said, you weren't doing that until Covid, so that must have been a big job and you're maintaining that, which is beautiful. Do you have any thoughts for the future? When I first met my business mentor, Moira. I think you're aware of Moira Dorty. Yes. And we had that very first phone call and she'd said to me, paula, you need to do online training. And I thought she was bonkers. I was just like, do you realize what I actually do? And the intricate sewing and, you know, eight stitches an inch and I have to teach that via video. I'm like, it can't be done. But you know, I invested in myself. I did a video making course and she taught me all the tricks on the business side, which like you said at the beginning, it's so hard when you're a creative to think business like as well. It takes so much energy out of you. But you know, the first course I did was uber organic. And those students came with me and we're learning more. I've got a kilt club. You learn the first course and then there's another course after that for a different style and then there's a kilt club and then there's more styles as well. So I'm busy rejigging my website and my plan is to have all these different kilts available to make on the website so that there's a continued training because people don't want to make one, they make one and they're like, I want to make another one. They get so excited about it. And also it's not cheap, so you want to get your money's worth, you know, so you want to make another one. So my plan is just to keep these people Interested? Show them everything that I've got so that there's all these beautiful kilt makers out there. Yeah, because there's markets for them everywhere, you know. And like I've got a few people that are actually starting their business and yeah, it's going to be amazing. And have you ever thought of those people that use talk to make their kilts starting their own business? Now you've been through this business experience, are you considering giving them that kind of help as well with the actual kilt making business? Definitely. Like my business is growing all the time and I do have a bunch of people who just want to do it as a hobby. But then I've got those that are like, we're deadly serious about this and we want to make money at it, we want to make a business at it, you know. So I am considering doing two different levels. So there would be just the let's have some fun and make some kilts, but then come on, let's do some business stuff at the side. So I'm just looking at that at the minute. Wow. So yeah, there's growth everywhere in everything that you do. There's always learning to be done, isn't there? Yeah, that's brilliant. And what about real life classes again? Do you have any inkling to do those? Are you already doing them? I am just in the process. I'm in my loft in temporary work accommodation. So I'm in my loft and I've got a Ramsey ladder. So obviously I can't have students up here, but it's an amazing space. All the plans are done through the council, they're ready to go. So I'm just waiting for a joiner to get back to me regarding getting a staircase in here and getting this room into a workspace. And as soon as that's done, then I'm back to doing in person classes which are brilliant. Woo hoo. Woo hoo. For studio. Woohoo. For in person classes. Yeah, I know, I love it. It's completely different. What you get from online, online is amazing. And the fact that you can rewatch the videos, I feel you learn quite quickly. But in person it's a different type of person that wants to come to you. They come for the community and they come for, you know, the creative thing and the mental health and the therapeutic thing that is involved by using your hands and making something with people at the same time there's just something really magical happens, you know. So yeah, so some people are like not doing online. Paula, I'm waiting for you. And I'm going to come back. So I've got a wait list for people which is like incredible really, isn't it? Yeah, that's super. No, I completely agree. There's something said about singing and the actual scientific results from that. Your hormonal loveliness is even more, when you're doing it with other people, 100%. Thank you so much, Paula. It's been really lovely to hear. And all of these things have happened since you've been a member as well, since we've known each other. Yes, these things have all happened in that short time. So that's absolutely brilliant. If you want to know more about everything that Paula does, there is a link in the description here to Paula's page at creativity found. Basically creativityfound.co.uk so Paula Duncan Kilts and you can find links to her website, links to her courses and links to all her social media there. Thank you so much, Paula. I really, really enjoyed it. Thank you for having me. It's been my pleasure. Thanks so much for listening to Creativity Found. I hope you enjoyed this episode and gained some value from it. If you did, perhaps you'd like to contribute a small monetary sign of appreciation either by becoming a regular support supporter from as little as $3 per month using the link in the show notes or if you are listening on a value for value enabled app such as Fountain Trufans or podverse, Feel free to send a few sats my way. I also occasionally promote products that I personally use, so please use the affiliate link where relevant if you are buying from those fine companies. Thanks so much, I really appreciate it.