“But this is Dartmoor” I said, as it was explained to me that the tannery, one of the oldest and best tanneries in the world, could no longer sell sheepskins locally. The Axminster Carpet factory was closing, with the loss of 300 jobs and the factory shop, which was where sheepskins were sold. An idea was forming. But could we make it work selling just sheepskin?
Could we really run a shop that sold just sheepskin?
We started DartmoorSheepskins.co.uk knowing that we would need to reach the whole of the UK in order to make it work. We built an online shop specialising in hand selected sheepskins, often patterned or with beautiful brown spots. Each unique, each one hand picked from the tannery. We fell in love with them and wanted them in our lives. We wanted to bring them into other people’s lives, as well as supporting an ancient craft. We are Chris and Shannon, this is our story.We started DartmoorSheepskins.co.uk knowing that we would need to reach the whole of the UK in order to make it work. We built an online shop specialising in hand selected sheepskins, often patterned or with beautiful brown spots. Each unique, each one hand picked from the tannery. We fell in love with them and wanted them in our lives. We wanted to bring them into other people’s lives, as well as supporting an ancient craft.
Since then we have grown into the store we have today, still called Dartmoor Sheepskins. Our range of products has grown with our customers. We now sell:
- Scented oils, including Rose, Agarwood and Patchouli
- Natural Dyes, including Mimosa, Madder and Henna (coming soon)
- Incenses, including Copal, Palo Santo, Frankincense and Myrrh
- Butterfly Pea Tea, a refreshing antioxidant tea (you get a free sample from us)
- And, the best sheepskins in the world
Are Sheepskins Ethical?
The more we looked into the industry, the more we knew we wanted to sell sheepskins. Millions of people eat lamb, and millions of lambskins are destroyed as a waste product of the meat industry. Only 0.45% of sheepskins are ever tanned. Conversely, the supply of more ethical fur is met with plastic fakes, designed to mimic the real thing.
We believe that a great deal could be gained from falling in love with sheepskin again. As a natural British resource, and as an utter luxury, but also as a pragmatic way to reduce waste and petrochemical use. British sheep have a pretty good life, Dartmoor sheep particularly so.
Sheep are generally raised outside in the UK. There is simply no reason to keep them indoors, so they enjoy a life on the land. The sheepskins we source are raised on Dartmoor. Read more about the ethics and the industry here.
Evocative scents that don’t cost the earth
Agarwood has a rich woody scent with fresh spice, faint floral hints, tobacco, leather, honey. A pleasant masculine fragrance. Strong. Agarwood is one of the most expensive woods in the world, but our oils are just £4 for an 8ml bottle. Have a look at our range here.
We supply the finest ceremonial incenses from within the UK, sacred wood, resin and gum. Choose from Frankincense, Myrrh, Copal and Palo Santo.
Butterfly Pea Tea is a delicious refreshing brew, rich in antioxidants and beautiful in colour. It responds to a little lemon juice by changing from blue into purple, see try it both ways to see which you prefer. Kids love to play with it and it’s good for them too.
We look forward to serving you, if you have any questions or suggestions we’re all ears. Remember, we started selling just sheepskin! Feel free to join our mailing list, where we give subscriber discounts and exclusive offers.
Dartmoor Sheepskins | Mailing List
We send one email each month with sheepskins we both admire (genuine personal recommendations) – plus special offers where noteworthy.
Unsubscribe link at the foot of every email.