who we are…

Balgonie Kilts is a small, family run Kilt hire studio established in February of 2019, our Shop is based in the beautiful village of Falkland on Cross Wynd, just left of the Bruce Fountain.

And when we say we are a family run business…we really mean it! Currently ran by Helen and her daughter Sandie. Most of our models are also reluctant family members.

We’ve only been here a short while and still pinch ourselves that we get to work here. One of our mantras from day one has alway been “community over competion” so to now be a part of an amazing community of fantastic businesses to really put that mantra fully into practice is a great feeling.

how it all started…

The business was first launched by Helen from her home, specifically her summerhouse in her back garden. The whole idea for Balgonie Kilts started as a coversation between Helen and her daughter Sandie about Helens frustrations with work at that time and her underlying desire for change. They decided to view a retail unit they had seen locally that was up for sale. Which turned out to be a fantastic space but way out of budget for a start up. So sitting in a pub after the viewing over a glass of wine, feeling a sence of “ok we need to make this happen, how do we make this happen?!” Sandie suggested “what about the summerhouse?” and right there the seed was planted!

Humble Beginings…

The summerhouse in question is located in Helens back garden and was inherited when they bought their house back in 1990. This was Balgonie Kilts first home. Previously known as “The Shed” before it was lovingly restored and renovated by Helens late husband Sandy and their friends as a parting gift to Helen. The love put in to it can still be felt, it is a very special place for Helen and Daughter Sandie! So it just made sense, it felt right, this was going to be where the story began.

The dream was indeed coming to life and “Sandy’s Summerhoose” was going to become “Balgonie Kilts Studio” it was out with the bunting and cane furniture and in with the dark paint a industrial style bespoke units to house their kilts. The studio always had a very cozy and inviting atmosphere, peoples reaction to it when they firsted visit was always one of suprise. Which is something we hope we’ve managed take with us to Falkland.

The Future…

So as we settle ourselves into our new shop and community, the hard work continues. We don’t currently make our own kilts in house which is something we want to change in the near future, we would love to offer a truely bespoke kilt making service.

We have expanded our retail shop with some more lovely highlandwear accessories as well as some beautiful gifts from Scotland.

We are still adding to our shop and have loved finding some amazing new suppliers but also being able to support our die hard favourite suppliers has been a great feeling! We will always shout nice and loud for these hard working crafts people.

So with plenty of ideas for expansion and growth for our future, Helen and Sandie have big plans for the business and are very excited to see how far they can take the dream!

Watch this space!