Sexy is back…

“Sexy is back” are the words of Harpers Bazaar editor Lucy Yeomans, in her Editors Letter for September’s magazine. What an exiting season we’ve got in store for us then Lucy! In fact if I’m honest, it wasn’t originally these words have drawn me to write about Harpers Bazaar in this week’s blog, rather the sultry fashion feature spreading across 14 pages entitled “Woodland Spirit”. Not quite the woodland scenes we’ve featured in our new Autumn Winter catalogue, and if you’ve not seen it then imagine our models in the same location, same hair & make up, same shearling jackets and then nothing else –totally nude, or a simple pair of lacy knickers! The photos are truly enchanting, and definitely worth a peek.

So after my eye grabbing moment, I re-traced my steps to the editor’s letter and at that point became inspired for the subject of today’s blog post. After Harpers Bazaar had gone to so much effort to take the Celtic Sheepskin catalogue and make a sexy woodland shoot, I thought I’d take this September’s Harpers Bazaar and make it, well, purchasable!

In her letter, Lucy explains that Marc Jacobs heralded the return of the curve at the Autumn Winter catwalk for Louis Vuitton, featuring the nipped-in, fifties style silhouette. Well, whatever the designers can do us mortals can follow. So I’ve been rummaging in the wardrobe that is www.celtic-sheepskin.co.uk (virtual wardrobes are so much easier to find things with their special search engine helps!), and I’ve pulled out a few pieces with Marc Jacobs’ theme in mind.

Thinking 1950s, you imagine a lot of tailoring, and as Lucy put it “nipped in waists” and this is not such an obvious style for Celtic Sheepskin - but you’d be surprised what I’ve found! A coat that first jumped into my head was our Heritage Fit & Flare, but also the Hazelwood Waxed Jacket has gorgeous high waist detailing. And what 1950s tiny waist would be without a Polo Neck for winter? This autumn we’ve got polo necks coming out of our ears!

Then I began considering our Short Cape Jacket, which was another style credited to the 1950s and one that can help the many ladies who aren’t blessed with a jaw dropping hourglass figure. And subsequently my imagination began leaping miles ahead, as I pictured sophisticated ladies of the 50s with berets and long gloves – in fact Marc Jacobs featured elbow length gloves in his collection, to the same length as our Long Cashmere Gloves. Then adding that all important sheepskin detail (billed to be HUGE this season) I thought of our fabulous Fluffy Handmuff – so very 1950s!

We’re flying the ethical “Made In Britain Flag” even higher this Autumn Winter

In case you didn’t know, we make our gorgeous sheepskin Celt boots by hand in Cornwall at the head quarters for Celtic Sheepskin. However these aren’t all we make in Britain. In fact, I’ve just sat and counted the catalogue and there are 167 pieces in our new Autumn Winter catalogue that are made in Great Britain! Applying my maths skills even more, that means over 81% of our entire catalogue is made in the UK with the rest predominantly made in Europe (and those are mainly southern Ireland)! We’ve always been proud to manufacture in Great Britain, and with a collection of 205 pieces - excluding the different colour ways - it has been no small challenge.

I have seen first hand the extreme lengths our Directors Kath and Nick Whitworth have gone to, to make sure quality does not falter on any item in the new collection, and feedback from our customers so far has been excellent. This attention to detail moved into the introduction of two pieces made from British Wool from Bluefaced Leicester sheep.

The wool has been used in two of our new garments, namely the Drop Back Fisherman’s Jumper and Chunky Cable Waistcoat. Both of which are absolutely stunning, and even bang on trend as cable knit is tipped to be very popular this autumn winter.

So what’s ethical about making clothes in Great Britain I hear you ask? Well, firstly the UK has a minimum wage structure set up; so immediately that ticks the “Fair Trade” category. The clothes haven’t travelled far to get to our Cornish warehouse, using roads rather than air travel. Then of course there’s that great argument for buying locally and putting money into our local economy. The recession has hit factory workers just as other industries, and it feels right to be supporting our own. We have many very wonderfully talented people in our country and it’s great to show off their skills.

So on that note, I’ll leave you with a few more images of our new items that have been made in Britain and feature in our new Autumn Winter catalogue. Which is your favourite…?

Celtic Sheepskin on the new trends… and up first is Shearling!

I’ve already hinted that shearling is big this Autumn Winter and the glossy magazines have been out in force singing the praises of the glorious fabric that is sheepskin. This is of course GREAT news for Celtic Sheepskin fans because you can shop with the knowledge that no matter what sheepskin coat, hat, scarf etc you fall in love with, you’ll be bang on trend this season for wearing it!

The biggest named brand to encourage the use of sheepskin was Burberry Prorsum on the AW10 catwalks last February. The range encompassed many different styles of the Classic Flying Jacket, and there are few magazines that don’t feature an advertisement for their coats. Our Classic Flying Jacket hits the trend right on the head, and coming a close second is the Sheepskin Biker Jacket, both of which are available on our website.

The fashion week’s catwalks in February also saw a super collection from Marc Jacobs featuring sheepskin and fur trim coats, jackets and capes boasting big fluffy colours and cuffs. Putting this style against our own Celtic Sheepskin’s range, you’d be hard pushed to find the difference next to our Toscana Coats. The top two contenders I think are the Three-quarter Toscana Trim Coat and the Short Quilted Biker Jacket.

Chanel was one of the biggest designers to bring Faux Fur into the trends of Autumn Winter 2010. Of course at Celtic Sheepskin we do not work with fur instead we use sheepskin, which is the eco-friendly alternative as all sheepskins are a by-product of the meat industry. Chanel’s collection featured big fur boots and our sheepskin Mongolian and Toscana tipped alternatives make a great statement to rival these.

Alongside Chanel, Oscar De La Renta, John Galliano and Antonio Berardi also had big furry coats, gilets and jackets on the catwalks dubbed the “Shaggy” trend by Grazia in their magazine last week. Celtic’s examples of this style sit with the fabulous Reversible Gilet and Long Himalayan Gilet. These two designs are wonderfully adaptable and make great statement pieces without the cost of a full coat.

Why not have a look at the new catalogue for yourself, and see what you think of our new collection and how it matches up to the trends. View the online catalogue here

With the launch of the biggest ever Celtic Sheepskin catalogue one day away and on the month of the directors 20th anniversary...

...we set one of the best people to go undercover and tell us more about the infamous husband and wife team -their daughter!


Clare Whitworth is the loving daughter of Nick and Kath; the couple that co-founded Celtic Sheepskin 20 years ago to this month. Nick and Kath on the whole like to keep themselves to themselves, which is not much to ask really, not when you spend so many hours at work! However when Clare was challenged with the task of drafting a blog post, she - their devoted daughter - felt it was about time everyone learnt what makes her parents tick. I must add at this point that Nick and Kath also have a son Mike, who has very smartly stepped back from his sister’s mission!

So Clare, what can you tell us about Nick…

After obtaining three A levels in Economics, Geography and History, which when asked the results "were not good", Nick joined the RAF aged just 18. For nine years he worked as an aircraft engineer and ended up primarily on Nimrods. This took him to a posting at RAF St Mawgan, a couple of miles out from Newquay, and led to Nick falling in love with not only Cornwall but with Kath [ah, that’s words from their loving daughter, nice to see she includes those all important gushy details!].

Nick and Kath were later married and it happened that 5 months after their wedding Nick left the RAF. He then joined BT for almost three years and grew to love Cornwall [and Kath!] more and more. Nick only chose to leave BT when he saw an advertisement in the local paper selling a business called "Hide & Feet". This business became his own on the 20th August 1990, and today is known as the great Celtic Sheepskin Company Ltd.

Twenty years later Nick is no less hands-on with his now thriving business [tomorrow Nick and Kath are launching over 50 new knitwear pieces and approximately 14 new styles of sheepskin outerwear! Quite a feet from taking on a business that had only a few pairs of boots in its stock books!]. So on the rare day off that Nick takes (this summer he’s taken only 7 days in total), he practices his avid grow-your-own skills, recently converting the whole garden and proudly picking his produce [it sounds like Clare is often used as a taste tester for his vegetables!]. He does however ensure that one week every winter he hits the slopes to enjoy his passion for snowboarding. [We say; good for you Nick!]

And what about your mum…

Kath has always lived in Newquay and left school at 17 with O Levels and a commercial/secretarial course, wanting to go out and earn money. She started as a secretary and was soon trained up in telesales with Canon. For a couple of years Kath ran their office in Truro [proud daughter speaking again!].

At 19 she became an administrator in a local estate agents where she subsequently trained to become one of their main agents. This ended when Kath was 24 and expecting their first child, Mike. Whilst on her maternity leave, Kath set up a wholesale sandwich company alongside Nick, which they ran from 1990-1993 [yes, this was alongside Nick’s new business “Hide & Feet”, what a couple!]. In 1993 they sold this business to concentrate on the now Celtic Sheepskin and also a board bag manufacturing company. They ran the surfboard bag business from their garage, providing bags for big companies such as Rhino, Buffalo, Rappac, Second Skin and Gul. Well, when you live in a surfing town, it’s quite a natural to run a business that is based around surfing.

Just to add to her super woman CV [ah, there’s Clare’s adoring side coming out again!], they also ran a weekly holiday cottage, had rooms to let in their home to pay for major renovation works that were needed and looked after their now two children who at the time were both under the age of 3!

Just like Nick, Kath’s days off aren't a common occurrence, but when she does get some time to herself she enjoys getting out and about around the Cornish countryside and walking along the white sandy beaches with their new puppy Alfie. For more regular time-out activities, Kath also escapes to her weekly "Spinning" classes (5 a week!), and for those who haven’t heard of this sport, it’s a 45-minute indoor cycling class to music.

It's evident that the mixture of love for Cornwall and determination for success, this pair aren’t been afraid of hard work. Constantly adding bar jobs to their string of positions making themselves adaptable to the seasonal trends of Newquay.

Clearly there’s one very proud daughter out there! Well done Clare, and thank you!

For those who like to enjoy pictures with their stories, Clare has gathered a few together for us. Enjoy...

With the new catalogue launch only days away, we thought we’d introduce the stars of the show… Natalia, Nicole & Amelie

With the new catalogue launch only days away, we thought we’d introduce the stars of the show… Nicole, Natalia & Amelie

We understand it’s still summer, and we too are hoping the sun doesn’t disappear yet. We just can’t help getting excited about the new catalogue that will be landing on your door step very soon!

It has been customary for a few years now to choose two female models in our catalogue, but with the vast expansion of our range this season we chose to use three, absolutely stunning ladies.

First up is Natalia. Modelling the Cabra Jacket and Wide Suede Belt whilst posing at our local Colan Woods. With her gorgeous red hair, she’s every bit the star and we were extremely impressed with her adaptability on the shoot.

Next is Nicole, who I’ve already featured in a sneaky peek blog a few weeks ago (I’ve still not told the directors about that!). Isn’t she breath taking! Standing on Newquay’s Fistral Beach, Nicole is wearing the new Bamboo Fluted Tee and Cashmere Ribbed Beanie.

Then finally is our gorgeous Amelie, who is no stranger to the pages of our catalogue. This is her 5th Celtic Sheepskin catalogue she’s appeared in, and Amelie usually takes pride of place on the front cover. This season however her top spot was beaten by Nicole (only just though!). Below Amelie shows off the gorgeous new Hazelwood Waxed Jacket.

So you now only need to wait a few more days (until Friday), before you can flick through the pages of our online catalogue for yourself and see just how fabulous these girls really are!

In the mean time, I’ll leave you with a few pictures that the girls would probably prefer you didn’t see; it’s pretty clear they had fun on the shoot!

Modelled above is the new Hooded Celtic Drape Cardigan, the new Tegrados Wrap and new Mutton Sleeve Top with Cashmere Fairisle Beret and Fairisle Fingerless Gloves

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 :-)