Cultural champion of all things Celtic

Everyday when Innis Campbell goes to work, he helps strengthen ties between Nova Scotia and his Scottish ancestors. Today it’s John MacLean, a Scottish immigrant who plays a rare type of Gaelic music not taught anymore. “These are some of the last connections to old old Scotland,” says Campbell.

The 37-year-old owns the Scottish Lion Import Shop, a Dartmouth, N.S.-based store that sells products made in Nova Scotia and Scotland such as kilts, bagpipes and mugs, to clients all over North America. Campbell’s first foray into Scottish culture was one of necessity. For his single mom, faced with the choice of enrolling her kids in hockey or bagpipe lessons that cost $1 an afternoon, it was a no-brainer.

Back then, when Campbell was living in Glengarry, an eastern Ontario town with a vibrant Scottish culture, he became enamoured with the music of his ancestors. When he was 27 he was invited to play with the Halifax Citadel Pipe Band and soon after moved to the Maritime city.

Campbell became interested in preserving Celtic culture, ties that go back to the years between 1773 and the 1850s, when Scots immigrated to Nova Scotia from the Highlands and Islands. When the opportunity arose to buy the brand name Scottish Lion Import Shop, originally a U.S.-based company with a catalogue and Internet clientele of 50,000 customers, he jumped at it.

Campbell focused on developing partnerships with two other companies that retail Scottish goods in North Carolina and New Hampshire to do bulk shipments from Scotland and use each others’ connections. Customers include restaurant owners who want 40 kilts for their staff to Nova Scotians who need two pounds of haggis to celebrate Robbie Burns’ birthday.

The most recent addition to Campbell’s business is a woman from Inverness, Scotland, who was put in touch with him through his connections to Scotland. As for MacLean’s Gaelic music, Campbell plans to scan the transcripts and put up recordings on his store website for people to download.

“We’re three times busier than when we started,” says Campbell. “The Scottish community is very much afloat in Nova Scotia. If people are buying these products it means they want to participate in the culture, so it’s a good sign."