Bill Watters, who co-owns Northern Watters Knitwear, just opened a new tartan shop next door that sells authentic Scottish and Irish clothing and food.
Bill and Wanda Watters have expanded their Charlottetown business to include a taste and feel of Scotland and Ireland.
The couple, who owns and operates Northern Watters Knitwear on Victoria Row, has turned approximately 700 square feet in a basement location right next door into a full-fledged tartan shop.
There are tartan blankets and tartan pillows, utility kilts, jacobite ghillie shirts, harris tweed bags for women, kilt flashes, sporns, Sgian Dubh's (a ceremonial knife worn in the sock) and the list goes on and on.
The newly added tartan shop opened full bore three months ago.
“At first we were just playing with it. It went well with the 10 per cent of Scottish stuff that we brought in here,’’ Bill Watters told The Guardian. “We moved it upstairs in the main store for the winter, then we went down here full fledge . . . 99.9 per cent of the product in here now is Scottish and Irish.’’
They’ve got two suppliers sending product directly from Scotland — things like jams, shortbread cookies and kilts – with four Canadian-based Scottish suppliers.
Tourists like cruise ship passengers have been wandering in so now they’re trying to get the word out to Islanders.
“We have a computer down here. If we need to look something up we do it right there with the guest. This is (a store) the tourists have been asking for for about four to five years. It’s hard to find products like this in such a variety.’’
Guests, as he calls the customers, will often get a story along with their shopping experience.
Maybe he’ll talk about how the heathergem jewelry is made directly from the wooden part of a plant, is cleaned, dyed, compressed and cut into a stone, high polished and put into earrings, bracelets or pendants.
As with anything in retail, Watters said demand will decide whether the tartan shop lasts long term.
“It’s scary in retail. Do I have the right product? As we grow, we will have the product that’s required and delete the product that doesn’t sell well. Same as the main store. We’re going to do our best.’’
