Welcome to The Tartan Zone, the entry point to our fun and fabulous stores featuring all things tartan! Whether you can trace your Scottish ancestry back many generations or whether you just love tartan and the spirit of Scotland, this is the place for you!
Scroll down this page to see all the interesting things we've got going on, and discover a few things you didn't know about tartan...
Do Good While You Shop!
The Tartan Zone is the first of Dezine Design's "Shops with a Mission", a program designed to support good causes around the world by donating 33.33% of sales revenue to charities and non-profit organizations. Therefore, one third of the money you spend on our Scottish Fine Art Prints and our Tartan-themed Apparel & Merchandise is donated to The Scottish Tartans Authority.
What our Tartan Zone stores have to offer...
Click on whatever you'd like to see!
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Fine Art Prints of the wonderful "Highlanders of Scotland" watercolor series by renowned Victorian painter, Kenneth MacLeay.
- Download information sheets on your MacLeay prints.
- Tartan-themed Apparel & Homewares...from tartan tiles to mugs, clocks, t-shirts and more...
- Tartan Books & Maps, featuring publications of interest about the history of tartan. You can find further titles in The Scottish Tartans Authority Online Bookshop too.
- Fine Art Prints featuring Raphael Tuck's Scottish Clans series, originally published as innovative postcards in 1906.
- Click here to read about the life & times of Raphael Tuck and his extraordinary creative ventures.
- Fine Art Prints featuring R.R. McIan's series, Clans of the Scottish Highlands (mid 19th Century).
Preview all our Scottish Fine Art Galleries:
About the Scottish Tartans Authority:
The Scottish Tartans Authority is the world’s leading source of information on Tartan and Highland Dress. From the old frontier cattle town of Crieff on the edge of the Scottish Highlands, it services an industry and a membership that is spread around the globe. It maintains the de facto official tartan register – the International Tartan Index – and registers around 120 new tartans each year. Its woven tartan archives are the largest in existence and its information and education programmes are backed by Scotland’s leading weavers, retailers and tartan academics. As a registered charity, the STA is funded solely by its membership dues, donations, sponsors and trading activities. If you would like to support the Scottish Tartans Authority you can visit our Tartan Zone Fine Arts Store (one third of proceeds from sales is donated to the Scottish Tartans Authority to help it continue its valuable work) or visit their website directly...it's a goldmine of information and interesting facts!
Are you interested in tartan? Would you like to help maintain an important part of Scotland's history and culture, and preserve it for posterity?
Why not become a Member of the Scottish Tartans Authority? Sign up today and start enjoying the benefits of membership!
So, what exactly is a Tartan?
It has been said that whilst you can’t tell exactly when night changes into day, you can tell the difference between the two. So it is sometimes when deciding what is and what isn’t a tartan.
Essentially, tartan is an ancient Celtic woven art form (the earliest known example dates from 750 - 1200BC) which, by happenstance, survived and grew in the tiny country in northwest Europe that we now know as Scotland.
The pattern comprises a minimum of two (and usually a maximum of six) distinct colors which form a repeating pattern along the length and across the width of the cloth. The colors can be in broad bands and narrow lines and their layout conventionally forms a recognisable square pattern or ‘sett’. Where different bands of colour cross, intermediate hues are formed which create the many subtle shades that give tartan its much-admired aesthetic appeal.
For a more in-depth exploration of tartan and its fascinating history, be sure to visit The Scottish Tartans Authority website where you'll find all you could ever wish to know about tartan!
Do you know whether your family has a tartan?
You can use the Scottish Tartans Authority's famous "Tartan Ferret" to do a search on your name and find out whether you have a family tartan! Just click on the ferret and find out in seconds! When I looked up my husband's surname, I couldn't believe how many tartans he has linked to his family...it's exciting to know we're part of such a rich history, and that we can wear our tartan with pride!
We only found this out recently, when we started chatting to our friends at the Scottish Tartans Authority...Did you know you can design your very own own tartan? How's that for a great idea? Click here now to find out more and get started!
NEED SOME INSPIRATION? WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Why not browse through our Tartan Book List... As well as interesting and informative books to give you plenty of ideas, you'll find tartan maps of Scotland and more...The Scottish Tartans Authority Online Bookshop also has a wide range of titles, which are worth taking a good look at!
Want to help support The Scottish Tartans Authority via your own website or blog?
If you'd like to help promote and support the Scottish Tartans Authority, you can add links from your own website or blog to our Tartan Zone stores...33% of all Dezine Design's proceeds from these stores is donated directly to the Scottish Tartans Authority. You can find a range of appealing banners & links for your website by clicking here, and scrolling to the bottom of the page. Thank you for your support!
