Just before the holiday season hit and the existential drizzly grey of winter in Scotland was temporarily suspended for twinkly lights and feasting, we were asked if we would like to collaborate with the Alaskan Scottish Club. Of course, we would. Why on earth wouldn't we?
That being said, I am fully aware of how incredibly bad I am at demonstrating this willingness to play well with others on the site. It's not that I don't work on other projects; it's just that I get so locked into 'our thing' that too often gathering together the images, text, and outcomes gets sidelined while I'm buried in research or excitedly pulling together the latest map.
I aim to change this. I will try to share with you the projects I have been working on, and maybe it will show other prospective collaborators that I'm not the creative goblin hiding in a cave (or in reality, on a mountain) that I may sometimes come across as.
The Alaskan Scottish Club does great work celebrating Scottish heritage, history, and teachings in (as the name would suggest) Alaska, including an annual Highland Games. This is where we come in - Hogmanay gifting. They wanted to include our 'Mythical Beasts of Scotland' map in their annual gift bundle.
Since we knew how many they wanted and we would be creating a specific size for them, we realized that it gave us room to incorporate some of their branding and to edition the run. We included an information sheet about us and the ASC and numbered each of them so they would act as a certificate of authenticity.
It was a joy to revisit the map and work with the ASC. It's great to see that the famous Scottish warmth has travelled over the Atlantic. If you're in Alaska, make sure to check out their events over the coming years. Scottish or not, I am sure you will be in for a warm welcome and a great time.
Sláinte!"
