Finding out about… Tanya Hamilton, the factory supervisor at Celtic Sheepskin

Almost a month on from our last “finding out about”, we have interviewed our marvellous factory supervisor Tanya Hamilton to hear more about what she does. With the new autumn winter collection due to launch any day now, the factory has been busily getting ready all the new and existing styles of boots and slippers, so Tanya gratefully leant us a few spare minutes of her time…

How long have you been working at Celtic Sheepskin?

I joined the company in 2002, when there was only 7 employees!

What do your day-to-day duties mainly consist of?

My main duty is to make sure the factory runs smoothly, but I also cut the boots and slippers, adapt our patterns to suit the fashion of the season, and make sure the sheepskin quality is the highest standard.

What was your original title?

When I first joined the company I started as the posting department, the telephonist and quality checker! I progressively moved into cutting, so I think I know everything there is to know about sheepskin boot making now.

When were you promoted to Factory Supervisor?

As we got bigger and moved to new premises, the warehouse and factory were split into two buildings creating an opening for a supervisor. I grabbed the opportunity with both hands!

If you could have anyone’s job in the company, whose would it be and why?

My first thought is the company pet! He gets to play with scraps of sheepskin and cardboard boxes, and when he’s old enough he’ll go on all the shoots and model when he’s in the right mood!

If I were to give a sensible answer however, I would firstly add how much I love my job now, but as my outside interest is photography I would love to have more to do with developing the catalogue.

If you had just one favourite item in the new winter collection, what would it be? It doesn’t have to be something for you!

Apart from our boots –which I now could never live without- the first thing I am going to treat myself to is the Chunky Cable Waistcoat. It was love at first sight!

What’s kept you in Cornwall all this time?

I spend as much time as I can on the beach so it has to be that and the easy way of life.

If you had only on phrase that you lived by, what would it be?

Laugh, love, live.

Ladies! There’s a new male model in our soon-to-be-launched Autumn Winter catalogue…

O la la! As wonderful as it would be to personally introduce our new model Ben to all our customers at Celtic Sheepskin, the logistics of coordinating such a journey around the world is frightening – especially when we’ve got a new catalogue to launch next month!

So instead we thought we’d present him to you in the second best way – through his stunning photographs taken at our Autumn Winter shoot. This also means that you get a preview of a few pieces from the new menswear range coming out next month. It’s a cake with icing and a cherry on the top! Ben is clearly very talented at what he does, and we won’t bore you with his full repertoire but you may be interested to hear he’s done some work for Marks and Spencer’s. Not that we’re suggesting he gets around, heaven forbid! We are just very pleased to have the opportunity to welcome another fresh face to our winter catalogue, which is set to launch in August. Not long now!

As soon as the new catalogue is out, we’ll let all our blog followers know about it, and you can then have the opportunity to enjoy more of Ben's stunning images :-)

A visit to our local Newquay Zoo

After work yesterday Celtic Sheepskin’s Press Officer & HR Manager Charlotte Cole had the pleasure of attending Newquay Zoos “Baby Shower”. Newquay Zoo is the only zoo in Cornwall so we felt very privileged to be invited and see the animals at a time when they’re usually tucked up in bed.

The zoo explained the vast amount of babies they have welcomed this year and also the great numbers of endangered species they look after as part of the European endangered species programme. What a nice relief it was to hear how well our neighbour is doing! Of course, looking around at the cute animals was a great perk too J

Without a professional camera it’s difficult to show just how adorable the new babies are, but a blog isn’t much fun without some pics so we’ve added below a few snaps taken around the zoo. Newquay Zoo has posted a film on You Tube a trip outside for one of their first Fishing Kittens, so if you have an extra second, it’s well worth a peak CLICK HERE

Keeping up with the trends –using our discounted treats

There are sales everywhere at the moment; you can’t walk down a high street without seeing large signs advertising “up to 70% off”. It doesn’t get much better than shopping right now, especially when the weather can’t guarantee beach days.

So I thought I’d look to our own offers. They are rare (as a rule, we don’t have sales at Celtic Sheepskin) but if you look in our offers section, you can find some great bargains.

Take for instance our Short Wool Skirt. We all know that nudes are in this summer, and the camel coat is going to be BIG news this autumn winter. If you don’t believe me, read this month’s Vogue who writes, “The Camel Coat is a highlight of the new winter wardrobe”.

In fact, when it comes to camel, Vogue notes down “If there is one colour that exemplifies this new mood, it’s sumptuous camel –the good news? Anyone can wear it.” They’ve even dedicated a whole photo shoot to it, which includes a camel skirt!

So if it’s mentioned in Vogue and it’s discounted from £65 to £20, there’s very little reason why our skirts will hang around in our offers section for much longer (hint, hint, grab it quick!)

And while you’re browsing, why not take a peak at the reduced Hide Buckle Sandals, which at the beginning of this year were priced at £45 and are now dropped to £30!

The sandals compliment the camel skirt wonderfully, and if you don’t already know; kitten heals are back in for Autumn Winter. We’re all going to be saying goodbye to big platform shoes with 6-inch stiletto heals and hello to sophisticated style. Phew!

What the top mags have picked as their favourites for summer from Celtic Sheepskin

It’s not long now before the new Autumn Winter collection goes online, so I thought it’s about time I warn you that the summer range could soon be sold out!

With that in mind I’ve pulled out five pieces from our summer range that top magazines and newspapers have picked out and featured. After all the summer isn’t quite over yet (even if the rather disagrees!)…

A sneaky preview of the new Autumn Winter 2010 catalogue

IF I followed the rules, the above picture would continue to be held under wraps until the great unveiling of our new autumn winter catalogue, which is due out the end of next month. But when has following rules ever been exciting?

So in my regulation-breaking mood, I’m posting up the above image of our stunning new model Nicole wearing one of our new cardigans that will be featured in the next catalogue (don’t tell my bosses!). Pre-empting your questions, I’m afraid you can’t buy it now. You will however be able to go on line at the end of next month and place your order for it then if you love it as much as I do! This cardigan is our new Circular Knit Cardigan, made from Organic Merino (a new yarn we’re introducing in the catalogue) and has been knitted in Great Britain. It will cost approximately £85 and after trying on the sample, I’ll vouch that it’s worth every penny!

Our new catalogue has even more stunning photography than ever, and has been meticulously designed to carry your mind to Cornwall and picture yourself standing on that beach wearing the same beautiful cosy garment. In fact the new catalogue is at the printers as I type, and as always we’ve filled it with pieces predominantly made in Great Britain that have all been carefully designed in the UK by our highly dedicated design team. Well-done guys!

So all you need to do now is sit tight, and the moment the new collection goes online, I’ll let you know!

Charlotte Cole

Press Officer & HR Manager

Looking more at the settings for our catalogue images –The Harbour

Newquay’s Harbour has often been used as a backdrop for pictures in our catalogue. In the current spring summer catalogue our model Amelie was taken to the harbour to show off the natural elements in our bamboo and organic cotton clothing featured on pages 18 & 19 of the catalogue.

As you can imagine, the history of Newquay’s harbour goes back a long way, in fact it was as a result of the new harbour (the quay), that the town became known as Newquay…

It all began in 1439 when Bishop Lacey of Exeter allowed the burghers of what was then called Towan Blistra to build a New Quay. This was the beginning of the town’s second life as a fishing port culminating in the arrival of the great pilchard shoals of the 18th century. Then when the pilchards went, the Industrial Revolution came, and this turned Newquay from a fishing to a commodity port loading tin, lead and china clay. Below is an image of the harbour as it stood in 1904, when train tracks lead from Newquay’s main station through the town into the harbour. This goods line worked by horses opened in 1846, and remained in working order for a tremendous 80 years with the last last trains to run through to Newquay Harbour in about 1924.

Today Newquay is too often seen as a place for where only teenagers visit and enjoy in groups. There are so many other tourists who come to the town and enjoy spots like the harbour, where often a seal’s head pops up to try and pinch the fisherman’s catch! In fact there is so much more to Newquay if you only scratch the surface. The town is the backdrop for most of the images in our catalogue, and the rest are taken from places less than 30 minutes away by car, so we are very proud and feel very privileged to live in such a beautiful area.

Newquay’s Harbour was even the setting for our back cover shot of Amelie wearing the Chunky Bell Sleeve Knit, Tinder Pouch, Over-The-Knee Socks and Biker Boots. We absolutely love this image!

Supporting our local community: The Newquay Carnival

At Celtic Sheepskin we care a lot about our environment and everyone in it. We donate gifts to charity auctions and raffles and are very keen to help where we can. We don’t have one big charity that receives a percentage of our sales, instead we choose to donate on an individual basis, supporting local and national charities as the assistance is requested.

This last weekend our local town Newquay, hosted its annual carnival and Celtic Sheepskin’s Press Officer & HR Manager, Charlotte Cole - who is a member of the Newquay Lions Club - was there to get involved in raising the awareness of the carnival and helping to coordinate the smooth running of the event on the day.

Finishing work a little early on Friday, Charlotte took part in a live interview with our local radio station BBC Radio Cornwall to promote the event and drum up entrants and spectators to ensure it went off with a bang. You can listen to the interview by clicking here

On Sunday 4th July - the day of the carnival - Newquay Lions hosted a sandcastle competition on the local Towan Beach, which despite the overcast weather was very well attended. That evening the carnival kicked off just after 7pm and was filled with all the fairy queens, adults in fancy dress and willing children you would imagine at a local carnival.

The amount raised is yet to be announced, but last year over £2000 was collected and this year’s event is on target to exceed that figure, which is tremendous! These raised funds will be used in our local community to support residents who live in and around the town with necessary resources and funds, which they would otherwise not receive.

We’re all so proud of our town and enjoyed watching the carnival and celebrating our local community. It was a great end to our sunny weekend!

Some pictures from the evening …

Finding out about… Karl Headleand, the General Manager of Celtic Sheepskin.

As you expect, the directors and founders of Celtic Sheepskin Nick and Kath Whitworth are talked about often, even their dog Alfie is making quite a name for himself! However there are so many more people behind company lines who are working just as hard to make the business successful. So I’ve decided to start a little interview process, perhaps one person a month, asking people who work in the company to comment for all to read.

So for the first “Finding Out About” blog, I’ve rallied Karl Headleand into answering a few questions. Karl is the General Manager of Celtic Sheepskin; the man responsible for the day-to-day management of the warehouse, sales staff and IT systems. What a challenge that must be!

How long have you been working at Celtic Sheepskin?

10 long years. Kidding of course, it’s flown by, a little too quickly if I’m honest.


What do your day-to-day duties mainly consist of?

Every day is different, it’s one of the challenges I like about my job. The main role I carry out is essentially ensuring each department is running without any (or at least too many!) issues. Not only on a day-to-day basis (it sounds so simple when it’s written down!) but also making sure they are prepared for the up-coming season. On the day-to-day side this means I look at things like the performance of the sales and posting department, reporting on sales and posting rates and dealing with the whys and wherefores of any problems, or indeed congratulating them on a stellar performance!

On the planning side I look at things like the staffing within each department, agreeing when and how many extra employees we will recruit, whether they will be temporary or permanent etc. I also work closely with Nick and Kath, the directors. Helping to decide policy within my departments, seeking ways to improve them for the coming years.

Also I currently have, but am about to pass on, overall responsibility for Health and Safety and the management of our ISO14001 environmental standard. This usually means I spend a fair amount of time reviewing the various aspects of each of those, ensuring that we stay compliant with the regulations and standards they set.


What was your original title?

I was originally taken on as a temporary telephonist, and there were only 8 employees back then!


When were you promoted to General Manager?

I’ve been the General Manager for about 5 years now; the role and scope has changed quite significantly in that time.


What do you love about your role?

Variety of tasks and freedom, and the buzz in the middle of Winter when we’re at our peak trading.


If you could have anyone’s job in the company, whose would it be any why?

Graphic designer. If I actually had the artistic ability I’d love to be able to use it every day. Unfortunately my skills with crayons haven’t really progressed since play-school!


If you had just one favourite item in the current summer collection, what would it be? It doesn’t have to be something for you!

The Skress. I bought it for Rach who wore it on a girls night out and she looked great. Not that I went on a girls night out of course; but before she went out she looked stunning. Not that she looked bad when she was out. I appear to have dug myself a hole here! She looked great!


What’s kept you in Cornwall all this time?

I kind of fell into staying here and then settled! Initially I was only working for Celtic temporarily whilst waiting to join the RAF. That fell through and I stayed on, enjoyed the work, met Rach (when she came back to Cornwall after uni) and bought a house. That said, I couldn’t see myself living anywhere else. I’m close to my family and a close group of friends, and of course Cornwall is a wonderful place to live. Why move away and only get to come back down on holiday for just a couple of weeks a year! I get to stay here all year round.


If you had only one phrase that you lived by, what would it be?

I’m not really a phrase lover but one that tends to come to my mind when I meet new people, particularly when the subject is not something I’m familiar with. "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt!"

And a couple of others - "All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy". Which is quickly followed by “Expenditure always rises to meet income” dammit!