Photograph of painters from Robertson Decorators Ltd painting the Royal Box at Hamden for the Commonwealth Games in 2014
Posted on 18 June 2025

Meet our Members – James Robertson

In our regular feature, we find out about members of the Scottish Decorators’ Federation. This time, we hear from James Robertson, the third James in his family to lead Robertson…

Ivor Cluness
Posted on 10 April 2025

Meet our Members – Ivor Cluness

In our regular feature, we find out about members of the Scottish Decorators’ Federation. This time, we hear from Ivor Cluness, from Shetland-based decorating firm Anderson & Cluness Ltd. What’s…

Vans with Orr & Sloan signage
Posted on 5 February 2025

Meet our Members – Douglas Orr

In our regular feature, we find out about members of the Scottish Decorators’ Federation. This time, we hear from Douglas Orr from the Hamilton-based decorating firm Orr & Sloan What’s…

Photograph of a wall of Crown paint samples at Material Source in Glasgow.
Posted on 14 November 2024

Interiors resource in Glasgow

Neil Braidwood travels to Material Source, an innovative shop window of interior products designed to inspire.  Everyone needs inspiration. Even if you are just slapping magnolia on a stairwell wall,…

Photograph of decorator Sarah Hughes wearing ProDec painting trousers.
Posted on 3 October 2024

The future of workwear

Decorating Matters Editor Neil Braidwood discovers that workwear is changing with the times. Why do painters and decorators wear white? The tradition dates back to the 19th century when painters…

John Christie in the Presidential chains of the National Federation of Master Painters and Decorators in Scotland (a pre-curser to the Scottish Decorators' Federation).
Posted on 1 September 2024

Painting the Queen Mary – John Christie’s lecture

If you enjoyed our feature on the painting of the Queen Mary ocean liner, here is the full transcript of John Christie’s lecture from 1936. John oversaw the decoration of the entire ship between 1935 and 1936 while he was working for Glasgow decorating firm Guthrie & Wells.