Highland Folk Museum

‘Aside from the threat of moths and light damage, and the problems posed by delicate fabric and never enough storage space, there’s an additional challenge with costume collections…fighting the desire to dress up!’ This is a quote from curator at the Highland Folk Museum, Helen Pickles. In 2020, they came to XpoNorth as part of their research process for a project looking at the different ways they could bring their collections to a wider online audience - specifically how social media filters could help them address their dressing up challenge!

We helped them explore the capabilities and costs of the technology and also connected them with local designers in the area. This helped them come to the decision to focus on the head and shoulders rather than going for a full body experience at this stage and using accessories such as hats. After a successful funding application to the Esmee Fairbairn Collections Fund, they embarked on a project entitled Folk and Fabric, where one element was creating these social media AR filters.

They selected two hats from their collection which are quintessentially Scottish – the green tam o’shanter with red toorie and a 19th century white cotton mutch, with frills and a ribbon fastening. Find out more here and have a play around - https://www.highlifehighland.c... I think you’ll agree that they look great!