We thought we’d have some fun with our boots!

Now I have it on very good authority that what our avid Celtic Sheepskin followers love to buy most from us, are our heavenly sheepskin boots. I’m sure you all know that we do so much more, and put a great deal of time into our entire collection, but there’s no getting away from the fact that what we do best of all is making our sheepskin footwear.

Hopefully by now you have all seen, flicked through and with any luck sighed with delight over our autumn winter 2010 catalogue, enjoying along with it the fun ways we shot our accessories (p72 – 75). The models had great amusement posing with different expressions and when I’ve watched people flick through the catalogue, everyone without fail raises a smile. It must be something about someone smiling at you that you only want to smile back –especially when they’re making a fool of themselves as a jester would in court.

So I thought I’d try the same with our boots, adding more movement to the otherwise still photos, so you can see just how supple and gorgeous they all are –and from different angles. Of course, we have a great amount of colours and styles, so I've picked out my favourites, and wore each with a pair of our Over The Knee Socks. So sit back and enjoy the show…

And by way of an encore…

- So which ones do you love more now then?!

Have you looked recently at the offer page?

It’s not the most welcoming of weather today - wet and cold - and inspiration for this blog post looked like it was following a similar vein. Last week’s sheepskin craft post had a mixed response, and as great as it is to get people passionate about our blog posts, I didn’t want anyone this week to think they are desperate. After all, a lot of effort goes into these twice-weekly updates on everything Celtic Sheepskin and we’d prefer that the effort is at least slightly detectable! Every blog post won’t suit everyone, but I felt today’s must be aimed directly at our wonderful customers, and this train of thought took me to browsing our offers page. Have you seen it recently? No! Then you should!

We all know, and I’m in no doubt many are excited, fearful and pleased about Christmas Day reappearing around the corner. Shopping for others can be a treat for thousands of us. For me however there comes a point when I feel that I’d like to get more for my money. So why not look at items that are on sale? And I don’t mean to spend less on someone; rather you may get more than you would otherwise have chosen. And if you’re like me, a reduced top for one’s self is completely justifiable, putting it down as a treat for all the hard work I put in to this years Christmas list.

So I thought I’d pick out my favourite things from the offers section. Those that stand out for different reasons, and are still available in a good range of sizes (I find it’s always good to set rules before you start spending your hard earned cash!)

The first to grab my attention is the Pixie Cardicoat. Why on earth this hasn’t sold out already is beyond me. It makes such a great transitional item –you could wear it in the winter or summer with its cropped arm length and open styling. And it’s so warm!

Then there’s our Bell Sleeve. Again, it’s great all year round, and now that it’s reduced there’s less emphasis on investment and more on how many things it will go with in your wardrobe. Creamy, dreamy knits are BIG NEWS this season. I say snap it up while you still can!

Sticking with ladies clothing, who’s spotted the Cord Western Skirt in the offers page? Have you not heard that THE length next season is just below the knee? Now I’m sure there are many who can’t pull off this length, but I’m pretty sure there are a great deal more who can. What a great gift – totally practical, and bang on trend!

And then I noticed our Kimono Knit. This was only the best selling item in autumn 2009, and there are only a handful of these tops left. So boy if you manage to get one will it be worth it. I once wore this to an event with a thick pair of black tights instead of trousers –it’s so adaptable! And so very, very flattering.

Now gifts aren’t always for the various ladies in your life, there are the little ones to think about also. And whether you’re looking for stocking fillers or small gifts for your friend’s children, I think these children’s hooded tops made from Organic Cotton are an ideal gift. As you would expect, the cotton is lightweight, so perfect for layering with a long sleeve tee –if you fancy making the gift part of a set!

Which brings me to my last, and favourite piece. Which, if I’m truly honest, I should admit that I am debating if I’d like to give this jumper to the man in my life who would look just as gorgeous in it, or whether in fact I’m secretly hoping that the model will arrive with the jumper as a gift for me. Either way, lets pretend it’s just a great boy, whoops I mean buy ;-)

It's half term soon and let's get creative with sheepskin!

With half term around the corner, we thought we’d see what crafty things are possible with our scrap bits of sheepskin. Did you know that we sell sheepskin offcuts on our website? No! Then have a look for yourselves – priced only to cover the postage and packaging, it could provide you with something to entertain your children this autumn that their teachers haven’t yet thought of. http://www.celtic-sheepskin.co.uk/home-living/craft-store/

The above image is of a Toscana rug that was made out of off cuts from our Toscana Sheepskin. Quite an amazing talent Lesley has! Now I don’t expect there are many children with such sewing skills, so I’ve run a few experiments at my desk to see what other things you could do with our sheepskin scraps that require less skill, and ultimately are great fun to do.

The first idea I came up with was to make a sheep, and before you say it, no it didn’t take me much time to come up with this plan! This is definitely something you’ll need to do with your child as the skin can be tough to cut and stapling is required. I think they’ll get the most fun out of playing with the scraps as you cut, and the ultimate sheep you make.

So here’s how I did it…

I took a scrap piece of sheepskin...


Then cut it…

Then I trimmed what will become the legs...

Finally I positioned all together (see how simple this is!)

And pulled out my stapler…

Then finally...

And voila!

And yes, I recommend your child draws the face!

Sheepskin is such a great fabric to work with. I think little ones will love simply stroking it. In fact, if you dip their finger in a tiny amount of water, they’ll be able to create pictures as they stroke the suede in a certain direction…

Which leads me onto my next venture. Making a patchwork sheepskin rug (again, adults assistance is required).

Here I first sewed the pieces together, but in fact I think the best option would be to cut out as larger square/rectangle pieces as you can and get your children to draw on them. Then later on, perhaps when they’re in bed, you could sew these together to create a rug for them, or even their favourite pet!

Which takes me onto my final craft, and perhaps the most fun task I’ve ever done at work. Making a picture with sheepskin!

Then you have a finished picture!

So there’s now nothing stopping you and your children from getting really creative this half term. Enjoy! And of course, if you want to take photos of your sheepskin creations, we'd love to see them and post them onto Facebook!

What goes with what?

There’s no denying it anymore, Christmas will soon be upon us. The shops are stocked with baubles and Christmas puddings, and we’re starting to plan who’s going to get what. Gift sets have to be the most popular choice for presents, whether they’re put together for you to make your present more tailored to their needs, or you’ve chosen the separate parts yourself, to make it more tailored to the recipient in general. And then there are those items that just simply look great together!

Yes, you’ve guessed it; today’s blog post is about the latter. Not one for perfect symmetry or identical shoes and bags, I do like to pick out items that coordinate (rather than match) so you look like you’ve planned what you’re wearing without appearing like either a rag or a china doll. The same goes for presents. I like to show a little more thought than the easy option A, by mixing things up a little, but it does help to have insider knowledge!

For today’s post I thought I’d fit some of our winter range together, mixing up the price range and even throwing in something for children and men. So for those of you who want to buy Celtic this Christmas, or for those who know their loved ones will adore you if you do, I hope the following helps…

Let’s start with our boots. What better present than the classic shoe & bag combo (and remember, these aren’t a set, they just go well together!)…

For ladies who enjoy styling up, why not opt for a simple slouchy jumper dress, which can form a base layer for almost any belt, necklace or scarf, then meet with a pair of bang-on-trend Braid Boots and voila! Or for those of us who appreciate the simpler things in life, a pair of Spice Popper Boots and Sheepskin Mittens will certainly make them warm this winter.

If you’re thinking knitwear, then why not add something special to a jumper with a pair of woolly socks? Our Boyfriend Wide Rib Slouch is not only very popular this season and it’s also going to be great in spring too. Add a pair of woolly merino bootwarmers and you’ll be giving a very stylish gift this winter.

Or why not go for something with a little more colour, our fabulous Henley with Snood top works brilliantly with a pair of our Ladies Boot Socks

Then for those who are going all out this Christmas and treating loved ones to a sheepskin coat, what better way to coordinate than with a sheepskin hat – perhaps it could be a smaller gift from the baby?

And as promised, I have no intention of leaving men and children out of this dedicated gift blog post. For him, you could coordinate a chunky jumper with a beanie to keep him even warmer…

And for the little princess, what better way to treat her than with a pair of fluffy boots and a trendy jumper!

It’s wool week!

Hooray, its’s finally arrived. After my initial blog post on 10th June about how Celtic Sheepskin is supporting Campaign For Wool, the official week, that officially launches the campaign for it’s first official time is finally here! You can click here to read my blog post that explained our enthusiasm for the cause as I don’t think I should repeat myself, rather, we need to move the story on…

Today I’m much more interested in what everyone else has been doing! It was last Friday when we realised just how much support the campaign has accomplished. Before this week, all we had to go on was a website and a list of company names described as “brand supporters”, and the odd publicity on how it’s being backed by John Lewis and Marks & Spencers. Our local newspaper, the Western Morning News published an article ahead of the campaign entitled “Socks, Shawls and Blankets are some of the natural wonders of wool” but we really had no idea what efforts companies other than ourselves were putting to this.

So it was a great surprise when viewing Twitter last Friday to read Hilary Alexandra’s announcement that Selfridges are to have a herd of yellow sheep in their shop on Sunday to launch Wool Week! As we’re based in Cornwall I sadly couldn’t attend, but I was quick to forward the announcement onto my sister for her to show my three-year-old nephew. What a site that was going to be! Selfridges have since kindly posted up a picture on their blog for anyone who couldn’t make it. They made quite a site, don’t you think!

To see Selfridges whole blog click here.

There was a great ovine commotion on Savile Row too. Grass had been laid in the middle of the street with farmyard fencing to hold yet another herd of sheep, although fortunately this time they were not dyed yellow! If only we lived in London…

To read the blog above, click through here.

And if that wasn’t enough, London has also put on a display at Chelsea Harbour for this whole week. I’m sure it makes quite a spectacle, but again for those of us who don’t live in or near the city, you can click through to their website to see the display being made.

Today the Daily Mail have written a great feature on the week with a fun fashion theme in their Femail section. And www.vogue.com ran an article on the official party that launched Wool Week attended by Richard Nicoll, William Tempest, Harold Tillman and many, many more. Ooo, if only we had tickets!

To view the story, click here.

There are of course many companies who have promoted the project, not least ourselves with a new dedicated page on our website explaining all about our support of the scheme and what it means for us. To read this, you can click here. And for those who have signed up to our emails, you were all sent a code to use for free postage and packaging in Monday’s email announcing the start of Wool Week.

Of course the week’s not over yet, and we’re really excited to see what else is yet to happen. Here’s hoping that the impact is colossal and we start to improve the farmer’s wage per sheep by wearing more natural wool!