Our Story

Once upon a time I was living in a small apartment in a cold and rainy region of Wales, and did not realize that my heating wasn’t working for a full year. A very sweet older woman, Frances Marshall, gifted me an old sheepskin rug and when I brought it home an unexpected love story began. For brief moments, inside a 1’ x 2’ area, I remembered what it felt like to be warm and cozy in my own home. I would put it next to my bed so the chilly mornings could begin with me sinking my bare feet into newfound toasty comfort until I had soaked up enough fluffy courage to brave the day. They were trying times, but being able to see my breathe indoors, by contrast, created a deeply glowing impression of my little sheepskin.

Fast forward a few years and I was in America, alongside one of my good friends who had taken on regenerative farming as a family, faith, and community lifestyle. They were working beyond hard to raise these sheep in an organic sustainable way. One day out of curiosity I asked her what happens to the sheepskins once the sheep were sold and she said, “They just get thrown away since people mostly only buy the meat from the processors.” What?! I was shocked. I was left wondering why such an amazing resource would be lost when it had the potential to be transformed into something beautiful that had brought me so much goodness.

So began another unexpected endeavour. It was 2016, if people had done this in the middle ages I didn’t need a factory and million dollar machines to do this right? I began inquiring if I could convert these sheepskins myself and researching how it was done. Then I started going and saving the messy, raw pelts from being lost and learning how to bring out the distinct qualities each one naturally held.

There were a lot of questions, endless hours of research (including buying over 100 century-old books on tanning and leather work), and a few years of hands-on discipline to begin to understand the art of crafting these beauties. While simple and easy are not words I’d use to describe these labours of love, worthwhile and rewarding certainly are.

And a large part of that reward was getting to share it with people. I loved knowing I could bring another level of warmth and coziness into people’s lives and homes with these little natural beauties, just like someone had once done for me.