07 May 2024
Nestled in the heart of historic Edinburgh, you’ll find the 100 Princes Street Hotel, marking Red Carnation Hotels’ debut in Scotland. This new hotel pays tribute to Scotland’s rich heritage, with every detail carefully crafted to reflect its culture. In a seamless collaboration with Red Carnation Hotels, Araminta Campbell embarked on a journey to create five unique tartans, each echoing the essence of the hotel and the personalities intertwined with its story.
Custom Designs: The Beauty of Collaboration
At Araminta Campbell, the creative process for a custom design begins with a belief in the beauty of collaboration. Understanding the significance of individual narratives, Araminta worked directly with the Tollman family to create these bespoke tartan designs, inviting them to embark on a shared exploration, delving into their vision and preferred colours. Whether it’s a cherished memory or a family milestone, every detail is carefully considered to weave a story unique to each tartan.
Guided by this collaborative spirit, the design process unfolds in three dynamic stages, each informed by client feedback. From initial sketches to refined iterations, Araminta and our creative team guide clients through a spectrum of possibilities, from fine tailoring to luxurious interiors.
With the design perfected, our Scottish mill partners take the reins bringing each vision to life with unrivalled craftsmanship and quality materials, all overseen by Araminta and her creative team. It’s a testament to tradition meeting innovation, where centuries-old techniques merge seamlessly with contemporary vision, all while supporting the Scottish textile industry and its artisans.
Crafting Tradition: Araminta Campbell’s Bespoke Tartans
The 100 Princes Street Tartan, the official tartan of the hotel, embodies a sense of timeless elegance. With deep green, navy, black, brown, and bolts of red delicately woven into its design, it pays homage to the Red Carnation Group and its first Scottish Hotel.
Named after the visionary designer of the hotel, The Brennan Tartan exudes a captivating allure with its deep green and navy hues with bolts of pale blue and grey-pink checks. It encapsulates the essence of creativity and innovation that defines the hotel’s aesthetic.
Lourie, a bold tartan with bright green, dark navy and intricate red checks, pays homage to Mrs Tollman’s maiden name. Its vibrant palette reflects the warmth and hospitality that are at the core of the hotel’s ethos.
Tollman Tartan, crafted to honour the founder and chairman, embodies a sense of depth and mystery. With its dark greens, blues, and reds, combined with intricate checks of light blue, it captures the essence of leadership and vision.
Swerling, named after the founder and chairman’s mother, evokes a sense of opulence and tradition. Its rich green hues, ranging from emerald to dark green, adorned with delicate white checks, celebrate the heritage and legacy that underpin the hotel’s ethos.
Weaving Together Past and Present
These bespoke tartans, each a piece of art in its own right, serve as a bridge between the past and the present, weaving together the threads of history, culture, and Scottish craftsmanship. Through their intricate patterns and rich colours, they invite guests to embark on a journey of discovery, where every corner reveals a new facet of Scottish heritage. Whether you are drawn by the allure of our bespoke tartans, the promise of unparalleled comfort, or Edinburgh’s historic charm, a stay at 100 Princes Street promises to be an exceptional experience.
Discover the art of bespoke creation with Araminta Campbell. If you are longing to infuse your style and personality into a custom design, reach out to us below. Together, we will embark on an unforgettable journey of artisanry and innovation.
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We are guardians of people’s stories...
We ourselves are stories that weave and take shape through the thread, thanks to the gentle hands of the weavers.
The yarn, the loom, our and your stories, are the tools we have chosen to make what cannot be seen or touched, real and wearable. We give shape to the values in which we believe, we give voice to stories to be shared with those dearest to us, forever.
Not just exquisite works of art to wear, but ambassadors, ‘talking’ objects, timeless storytellers of meanings and values that we want to preserve and pass on.
Meet Isabelle, one of our talented handweavers!
Isabelle has long had an interest in textiles, ever since her grandmother taught her to sew.
She discovered weaving when visiting universities before applying to study. Immediately captivated by the woven textile displays at Loughborough University – the home of our George Wood looms – She became fascinated by how these complex woven structures could be created from just a few cones of yarn.
Isabelle enjoys the slow, hands-on process of weaving, appreciating how it demands your full and present focus, and is always excited to share the complexities of handweaving to our visitors.
Meet Helen, one of our talented handweavers!
As an advocate for sustainability and ethical production, handweaving appealed to Helen as the embodiment of slow, responsible craft.
She fell in love with the challenging yet meditative weave process during her textile degree at the Glasgow School of Art.
Helen adores that she can name the alpacas in the pieces that she weaves, as this level of provenance imbues the pieces with deeper meaning for both weaver and future owner.
We choose 100% undyed British alpaca fiber for our designs because it embodies the values we hold dear: sustainability, durability, and unparalleled luxury. Each fleece is sourced from carefully chosen UK farms where animal welfare is a top priority.
Our close relationships with breeders enable us to trace many of our yarns back to the individual alpacas, ensuring exceptional quality and transparency. The alpaca’s fleeces are left undyed, allowing the natural richness and unique tones of their coats to shine through in every piece.
In the UK, only 5–10% of alpacas produce fleece of the exceptional quality we require. Every fiber is meticulously selected for its fineness, crimp, luster, and colour, ensuring our pieces meet the highest standards of luxury and craftsmanship.
It has taken years for our weavers to attain the skill and knowledge required to create our handwoven items.
Handweaving takes precision and patience, with each warp prepared by hand and meticulously threaded through the shafts of the loom. Once weaving is complete there is a lengthy finishing process involving darning, stitching, washing and brushing – all by hand.
It can take our handweavers anywhere between 2 to 6 weeks to complete one of our Signature pieces.
Each piece in our Heritage handwoven collection has been inspired by Araminta’s deep love for the natural beauty of the Scottish landscape.
From the golden glow of the beech woodlands surrounding her family home in the Royal Deeside Corridor during autumn, to the ethereal light of the Scottish Highlands at dawn and dusk, the landscape is a constant source of inspiration for Araminta. The shifting interplay of colours, textures, and natural rhythms informs each handwoven piece, translating fleeting moments into timeless design.
Any moment in time could become Araminta’s next creation.
Meet Lisa, one of our talented handweavers!
Lisa studied weaving at Heriot Watt University, in the borders of Scotland – an area renowned for its textile production.
She always enjoyed creating things and was recommended to study textiles by her art teacher. When first starting out in her weave degree, she found the slow process of setting up challenging, yet today it’s her favourite part.
She finds peace whilst threading the loom, enjoying and embracing the flow.
Each piece has been lovingly handwoven and finished in our Edinburgh Atelier by our team of handweavers on vintage George Wood looms.
Araminta Campbell is one of the largest employers of handweavers in Scotland, fostering employment for talented craftspeople in Scotland plays a vital role in preserving the rich legacy of Scottish textile craftsmanship. Every thread woven in the Atelier carries with it the heritage and passion of centuries-old traditions, brought vividly to life through contemporary designs, and the work of our talented weavers.
It has taken years for our weavers to attain the skill and knowledge required to create our handwoven items.
Handweaving takes precision and patience, with each warp prepared by hand and meticulously threaded through the shafts of the loom. Once weaving is complete there is a lengthy finishing process involving darning, stitching, washing and brushing – all by hand.
When you choose one of our handwoven treasures, you’re not just owning a piece of Scotland’s rich textile heritage – you’re connecting with the hands that brought it to life.
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