CONTACT INFORMATION:

 Website:

https://www.houseofcassady.ca/

 Mailing address:

 Robin Cassady-Cain

151 Marion St

Toronto, ON,

M6R 1E6

437-353-4116

 Email: houseofcassady@gmail.com

 https://www.instagram.com/hocassady_jewellery_and_kilts/

 https://www.facebook.com/hocassady/

Unique opportunity to make your very own Scottish kilt!

There’s nothing more iconically Scottish than the kilt.  They often come in different forms, and variable materials, but there is a long rooted tradition of kiltmaking that has specific methods of construction associated with it.  Almost entirely stitched by hand, an heirloom grade kilt should last more than a lifetime (well, unless it’s really seeing hard wear, such as pipers and dancers).

Come on a kiltmaking adventure with me, Robin Cassady-Cain.  I trained in traditional kiltmaking methods in Scotland at a professional level Kiltmaker’s academy on the Royal Mile of Edinburgh.

Almost entirely stitched by hand, on this four day workshop, you will learn how to measure for making a kilt, how to set up the kilt length to “the stripe”, and the multiple different steps, using a variety of stitches, that go into making a finished, traditional Scottish kilt.

This adventure will take place in November/December this year at the Contemporary Textile Studio (https://www.textilestudio.ca/) in Toronto. The Contemporary Textile Studio Co-operative was established in 2006 by a group of textile artists seeking, among other things, a home for the promotion of textile arts and design. The studio is located in 401 Richmond Street West, a well-known cultural hub in downtown Toronto that is home to many galleries, artist-run centres, and art collectives.

Registration for the kilt workshop will not open until later in the summer, but you can register your interest in the course by email to me (Robin) at : houseofcassady@gmail.com and I will let you know when registration opens.

House of Cassady is the umbrella name for the art and craft of Robin Cassady-Cain. Currently this encompasses contemporary art jewellery and quality, traditional handmade Scottish kilts.

 A BIT ABOUT ME

One of my earliest craft memories are of sewing clothes for my Barbie doll (in my opinion, the only reason for having one!). Both my mother and grandmother have passed on their skills and enjoyment of garment sewing, and my earliest sewing machine was a hand-crank Singer machine. I’ve come a long way since then! I still enjoy dressmaking, but my interests have expanded into custom jewellery making, quilting and most particularly kiltmaking in Toronto.

 I started making beaded jewellery when I was about 15, but it wasn’t until my early 30’s that I started learning goldsmithing skills, progressing from a hobbyist who undertook the occasional special commission, to the professional I am today.

 My life has taken me around Ontario and across two continents. I formally trained as a research biologist, earning an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the University of Waterloo, and going on to do graduate work in Immunology at The University of Guelph (MSc) and University of Cambridge (UK, PhD). However, I’ve always had a love of craft and making, and I’ve variously been invested in: garment sewing, photography, felting, quilting, and beading, in addition to my kiltmaking and goldsmithing, many of which I’ve been engaged in my whole life, and all of which influence and contribute to my work.

 I AM A:

Member of Craft Ontario

Member of the Modern Quilt Guild Qualified Scottish Kiltmaker