Article: Star-Spangled Banner Tartan – Commemorative Prints Now Available
Star-Spangled Banner Tartan – Commemorative Prints Now Available
On This Special Day in the U.S.A.
By Stevie Sim—Arbroath, Scotland
Today feels more than just a date on the calendar. It’s Election Day in the USA—a day when voters take an important step in choosing their country’s future.
But it’s also just the beginning of a longer process that will unfold over the coming weeks and months.With that in mind, it felt especially fitting to share something very close to my heart today—the launch of the Star-Spangled Banner tartan limited editions, a tribute honoring 250 years of American independence.
A TRANSATLANTIC TRIBUTE ACROSS TIME AND OCEAN
IT ALL BEGAN BACK IN 2014, when I was working on the Declaration of Scottish Independence tartan. That project sparked an idea—to one day weave together two chapters in the shared story of freedom: Scotland and America, through the timeless language of cloth and color.
Over the years, that quiet idea took shape and blossomed into what you see today.
I write now from Arbroath, Scotland—home to the historic Arbroath Abbey, where, centuries ago, people declared their right to freedom in what became known as the Declaration of Arbroath.
This place means a great deal to me. It’s the foundation of my work as The Tartan Artisan®—a constant source of inspiration and pride.
It also stands as a living link between two nations whose shared ideals of freedom still resonate across the Atlantic, as the United States prepares to celebrate a remarkable milestone in its own journey of independence.
THE SPARK THAT REIGNITED THE FLAME
This project has been close to me for many years.
I first began developing the Star-Spangled Banner Tartan print editions five years ago for the 245th anniversary—but life, as it often does, stepped in. The idea rested quietly until July 2025, when Nicola Livingston from Friends of Arbroath Abbey reached out with a kind request.
The Friends had been invited to represent Arbroath at a special America250 launch event at the U.S. Consulate in Edinburgh. Nicola wondered if I might have something from my work to offer as a gift—a gesture linking our shared heritage. Despite family challenges and a demanding schedule, her gentle encouragement spurred me into action. I printed, embossed and signed a unique A1-sized fine-art piece from an early PRESENT edition of the series and gave it to the Friends with gratitude. It was presented on my behalf to the Consul General—along with a smaller framed desktop print—a quiet moment of connection between Scotland and America.
That gesture rekindled the project in me. It reminded me that this design still had something to say—that it could carry meaning beyond cloth or print. And so, the concept was refined and reborn as the official 250th Anniversary Edition—two fine-art tartans, PAST and PRESENT, celebrating freedom’s enduring echo.
THE TARTAN
TWO EDITIONS – ONE SPIRIT
Two flags, two moments in time—woven together by one unchanging idea, freedom.
The Star-Spangled Banner tartan fine-art prints are now available to order.
- THE PAST EDITION—drawn from the faded hues of the original 1814 Star-Spangled Banner—the very flag preserved by the Smithsonian Institution, which kindly granted permission for registration of this tartan. Its soft reds and smoky blues echo history itself.
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THE PRESENT EDITION—carries the confident colors of America today—vivid reds, clean whites, steadfast blues—a reflection of a living nation and its continuing spirit.
Prints are museum-grade, signed, and uniquely identified by their individual edition number printed on the artwork and a matching Certificate of Authenticity.
Available framed and unframed, each edition is limited to 1,776 prints—a nod to the year American independence was declared. Published prints also include a Certificate of Authenticity clearly bearing the same edition number as the artwork.
FINE-ART PRINTS — REGIONAL FULFILLMENT
The Star-Spangled Banner Tartan commemorative prints are now available to collectors worldwide. Each piece is produced through my trusted publisher—theprintspace—ensuring the highest archival standards with a regional production and delivery service across continents.
LOCAL FULFILLMENT
In the United States, prints are produced in New York—meaning local delivery from within the continent, NO IMPORT TAXES, and REDUCED SHIPPING IMPACT. In Europe and the UK, each order is also printed as close as possible to its destination. It’s a modern, sustainable way to share art and story across the world—exactly as it should be.
A QUIET REFLECTION
As evening light fades over Arbroath Abbey, across the ocean a new dawn will rise in the United States where the Star-Spangled Banner flies once more. It humbles me that a design born here—in this Scottish coastal town where freedom was boldly declared centuries ago—now honors that same enduring ideal far away. I’m not an American citizen—instead, a proud Scot—so this isn’t about politics, and I live outside the realms of US influence.
It’s simply a gesture of respect—for freedom, perseverance, and unity, values that quietly tie us all together across oceans ...and generations.
May these editions remind folks that freedom is a shared thread, weaving lives together across oceans and borders.
If this story moves you, the door is open.
—a keepsake for now and always.
Slàinte Mhath,
Steven Patrick Sim—The Tartan Artisan®
Scotland 🏴
Explore the Editions →
→ Read the Story Within the Threads
→ View the Fine-Art Editions & Order Your Copy
Written by Steven Patrick Sim
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