Catherine Aitken - Harris tweed bags and accessories made in Scotland

Catherine Aitken's studio is in Leith, Edinburgh, where she creates bags, scarves and other accessories for both men and women from Harris tweed and other high quality materials. Catherine sent some of her products for me to have a look at. All are beautifully-made. 

I love bags made from tweed. As a material, it's strong, comfortable and the colours go with anything. The duffel bag is robust, comfortable to use and well-designed.

For more information and to buy, visit Catherine Aitken's website and blog. To see her collection of men's bags and scarves, visit here.

Scott Fraser: a designer to watch - knitted ties and duffel bags

I'm lucky enough to hear on an almost daily basis from designers and entrepreneurs who are excitedly bringing new products into the world and want to share their creativity. Sometimes the products aren't to my taste - often, however, I see the exciting and novel. 

One example of the latter is Scott Fraser, whose duffel bags and, more recently, beautiful knitted ties and scarves, hit the spot for me. Subtle colours and superb quality combine to make products worth taking notice of - and they're made in Britain. 

I haven't yet seen the ties in the flesh, but the bags are beautifully made. The clever use of colour and texture makes Scott Simpson's (who's behind Scott Fraser) creations so different and yet classic at the same time. See Scott Fraser.