Flourishing local business preserves Scottish culture

SUMMERLAND—Penticton can thank the Okanagan Hockey Academy for the city becoming the home of Western Canada’s premier kilt making business.

“Andy Oakes and Larry Lund invited me to come to Penticton to play at the academy,” said Paul McPhail, a hockey player in his native Scotland.

Paul and his wife Amanda own McPhail Kilt Makers, #204 -1475 Fairview Road (The Cannery).

Participants in the academy must attend school, so Paul enrolled at Pen High even though he already had his high school equivalency.

“We met in 2002 in Mr. Hannah’s Grade 11 social studies class,” Amanda said.

Paul went home to play hockey before returning to Penticton and marrying Amanda.

“I was married in a suit because I couldn’t afford a kilt. That memory has stayed with me for years,” Paul said.

A few years later he saw a notice at the Penticton library for bag pipe lessons and was soon playing with the Okanagan Caledonia Pipe Band.

Amanda learned to play the tenor and snare drums and is now a member of the Summerland Pipe Band.

In 2007, while working for TELUS, Paul decided to make his own kilt, so he bought three books on kilt making and some inexpensive cotton-polyester fabric for practice.

“180 hours later I had something that sort of looked like a kilt,” he said.

The couple with their two children, Penelope and Eli, now aged 12 and 10, respectively, moved to Scotland, so Paul’s parent could become well acquainted with their grandchildren.

In Scotland Amanda and Paul began attending Highland games and learning more about kilt making.

“I began to think we might actually be able to do something,” Paul said.

After their return to Penticton, they were asked in 2010 to make a kilt for a member of the Okanagan Caledonia Pipe Band and then a request for two kilts came from the Fraser Valley Pipe Band Society.

They made kilts in their home before renting space for manufacturing purposes on Main Street.

“In June 2016, kilt-making became a fulltime occupation for both of us,” Paul said.

This past spring McPhail Kilt Makers moved to The Cannery where business is growing at a brisk pace.

“We make traditional, made-to-measure, 100 per cent hand sewn kilts,” said Amanda.

She does most of the stitching which can take up to 20 hours per kilt.

She also knows the importance of precise measurements, because an error of only a few millimetres on the first pleat can become significant by the last.

Kilts typically have 20 pleats and require eight yards of material.

“We’ve sent kilts to France, South Africa and have a wholesale customer in New Zealand. Most of our Canadian sales are to customers from Manitoba west,” Paul said.

“For women we make tartan skirts, usually worn to formal affairs, and kilts for those who do Highland dancing,” Amanda said.

The McPhails also rent kilts for weddings and other special events.

The basic rental package consists of the kilt, a Prince Charlie jacket and vest, hose and shoes called ghillie brogues.

Included are a sgian dubh, a knife in a sock, and a sporran, a pouch that functions as a pocket.

Most rentals are to customers in the Thomson-Okanagan while some kilts have gone to continental Europe and even to Scotland.

“Our goals include increasing our stock of rentals,” Paul said.

“We also carry a variety of tartan items— scarves, shawls, sashes and ties, to name a few,” Amanda said.

For those wanting a taste of Scotland, there are Candy Selection Boxes, crisps and Irn Bru, a popular carbonated soft drink.

The McPhails attribute their success not only to their skill and the quality of their product, but also to the increase in Scottish national pride and to more North Americans exploring their family history.

For information call (250) 462-2998 or visit www.mcphailkiltmakers.com.