Pictures sent in from customers

Featuring Baileys the dog... Thank you Karen for sending this one in. Buy a lambskin rug from us by clicking here. 

Thank you Jayne for sending this one in of your cat loving one of our sheepskin rugs

Thanks to Chris and Liz for buying an extra large sheepskin rug and sending us this picture.

Thanks for sending this lovely piccy in Eddie, buy your sheepskin cushions here.

Sheepskin for baby

Today at the market a lovely chap bought a medium sized sheepskin rug from us.

Quite regulary people want small rugs for push chairs and car seats. Here's a though; why waste your money on that when you can just fold it up and have it for multi purposes? 

Use it as a play mat, sofa throw, cot, car seat, pram etc etc they are a hundred uses and why not?Our British Sheepskin rugs last for many many years and I bet you a child grows up with it. I've experienced this myself and heard of many instances where kids and even adults still have theirs since childhood. After all another name for it is comforter...

Don't waste your money buy our British Sheepskin rugs. No mucking about!

Funny comments

There's always one...

Normally I'm the person that says stupid things, particularly among my close family and friends. However Being at the market I feel liberated!

Even before we had finished setting up the market stall the first funny comment was made.

A middle aged chap walked up to the stall among his family and partner, giggled to himself and said,

"I thought it said, 'made by British sheep!' How funny."

To which my reply was,

"Now that would be better than an army of flying monkeys..."

Here's the sign which he referred to

There's always one!

What's the difference?

Allow me to set the scene...

We were at market last Sunday and a man in his 30's while looking slightly hungover asked a simple yet funny question...

And here is the build up.

I turn to this young chap as he stands gazing at the various rugs we have on display. He asks very politely about the rugs, normally the question goes like this,

"How much are the rugs?"

Now at this point I spring into my sales pitch and basically tell him one is extra large sheepskin which costs £120 and another is lamb costing £60.

Here is where we go to the title of this post.

'Whats the difference?"

I couldn't quite understand his question. Did this polite young man really not know where sheep come from. Am I going to have to explain to him that lambs are merely baby sheep. Of course this was a man in his 30's, surely he knew about the birds and the bees. But this was a customer, one can't go patronising customers. Especially if I need to build rapport and promote our sheepskin products. So I casually say,

"The lambs hair is much softer..."

To which a quick reply came back along with a laugh,

"Oh right..." Said the young man. 

"Of course the lamb is a baby sheep."

I'm glad to say the awkwardness passed us by very quickly as we had a giggle and he proceeded to justify himself by telling me he was extremely hungover.

Classic

Some more happy customers with our Cossack Hat

Here at British Sheepskin we believe that there is a Cossack Hat for everyone... We already know it looks fab on you. Here are some happy customers from the market.

It's such a joy to see people's faces light up when they walk over and feel the fluffy real sheepskin before they even try it one. All our products are handmade from the very best sheepskin so of course they last and last. And in my best northern accent, "Quality..." I have roots in Yorkshire.

They can be brushed to maintain their fluffy appeal or left to go curly and back to their original state.

My father made my mother a Cossack hat many years ago and we've since been making them for other people.

When you wear one of our British Sheepskin Cossack Hats people will ask you where you bought it from.

Can I pull it off?

Of course you can... the hat speaks for you.

Buy a Cossack Hat here.

Trading on a market

To really get to know your customers I highly recommend trading on a market. This doesn't only help you see how your product is received to the public but it also is a great way to do some PR.

Our market stuff, two people and four bags.

So we take to the road with our market stuff and head to setup for the day. We get to Greenwich market for about 8:30 where the market manager decides where we go.

Setup in progress

Setup process takes about two hours and of course it has to be right. After all this is the way you introduce yourself to new customers. We all know what they say about first impressions.

The skirt is attached along with a smart table cloth.

A trusty mascot is non essential but goes with our charm. It's a sweet little lamb called Corky.

Signs are important and make sure you maximise the space.

You're amongst other market traders setting up while the atmosphere is full of anticipation.

Other traders lend their support and help just like a family unit.

Please note the cup of tea. Very important on an early cold morning.

Our market stall is finally ready.

Bring on the customers.

It's tiring but at the same time so satisfying. We speak to many people during the day about our sheepskin products which we really love and care about. I would highly recommend it to every and all small businesses.

If you would like to buy directly from our website please visit British Sheepskin

Our Cossack Sheepskin Hats

So what's so special about our British Sheepskin Cossack Hats anyway?

This hat is just special and we know and so do people that see it, walk by it and try it on. It literally ticks all the boxes.

1. First of all it's handmade and made from the very best British Sheepskin Rugs.

2. Each hat is unique and can be styled accordingly. What on earth does that mean? Well due to the natural way we have produced our products the fur will start going back to it's natural curly state if not brushed. So this means it can be brushed, blow dried, swept and shook.

      

All the pictures above were taken from random from people who bought from us at the market, a couple of my family and one picture of Nicole and I in a tunnel. Nicole is the one on the left :-)

Here is a picture of me rocking the sheepskin Cossack hat...

 Real people wearing real sheepskin hats...

We've seen the lovely transformations with this hat and may they carry on for many years to come. We said it before and we'll say it again.

It's the hat that suits everyone!!!

The size is approximately 24" but don't worry as due to one of the many natural qualities of sheepskin is it will mould to your head.

To Buy a Cossack Hat please visit our website www.BritishSheepskin.com

Greenwich Market

A few years back while Nicole and I were living in London we visited this lovely market and instantly fell in love with it. We mentioned to each other about having a stand here. This was long before we took on the Sheepskin business so it was really just one of those nice thoughts which wouldn't likely come to fruition. However here we are...

The process was relatively simple.

We applied online and filled in a form, we then had to meet the market manager between 11:00 - 12:00 during the week. Explain our business and introduce ourselves. This was a lot more formal than other markets we attended but we understood why. 

Those of you that haven't been to Greenwich then firstly I would highly recommend it. It's a small market and has so many interesting traders and items to hand. Unlike other markets they cannot afford to have the same items being sold. The market is unique and the market managers make sure it stays this way. So after you have your initial meeting you then get a trial day where they grade your stall and how you present yourself and product. This really is great as they really want to maintain this lovely market.

With all the traders that we have met while doing this PR campaign of getting our brand out there, we realise that in each market it's like being part of an extended family unit. Everyone is very welcoming and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get their brand awareness up.

My advice for anyone doing it like us in the winter period is to make sure you invest in thermals. Buy a thermos and don't drop it! Especially at the start of the day.

Buy British Sheepskin Rugs, Hats, Cushions and super comfortable slippers.

British Sheepskin Demo

Our story

My father made the Irvin RAF flying jackets for 25 years which are made from real sheepskin and not just any sheepskin, they are made from the very best. Sadly he didn't see any growth in the business due to mass production coming into play from other countries and became disheartened.

Luckily for us my mother wanted a pair of real sheepskin slippers and so my father got to work on designing and producing our slippers. My mother still has the same pair he made for her 15 years ago.

Today we sell them exactly as they were originally made, you can buy our sheepskin slippers here

http://britishsheepskin.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=43

They are still handmade and are produced from the very best sheepskin. My father no longer makes the sheepskin flying jackets but I'm glad to say that we still carry the torch for quality handmade Brirish Sheepskin products.

We are still a small family run business and are very proud of of handmade British Sheepskin products. They are most certainly built to last. The Slippers mould to your feet so what could be better than having your very own slippers.

Clara the Sheep

One fine morning in the beautiful countryside of Kent, Clara decided she would go for an adventure. Now, keep in mind that Clara was a sheep and all sheep find that even a tasty new bit of grass can be an adventure. So please don't expect cowboys and Indians along with secret maps with buried treasure and that sort of thing.

Clara was the sort of sheep that thought outside the box, by this I mean she understood that all animals were different and led different lives. I mean when you speak to a cow they think you are mad for not being more cow and why are you on the other side of the fence when you should be with them in the cow zone. I mean really, what nonsense...

The chickens are no better, scared of simply everything and run around as if they have lost their minds. Squawking and clucking at almost everything, even scared of their own shadow. You speak to a chicken for a minute and it makes you want to be flapping and neck jolting. Of course we all know the chicken dance works in most scenarios and especially when a laugh is required at parties. Now we can go on and explain all the various animals among us but this story is about an adventure so lets get back to that.

One morning Clara was chewing on some dew fresh grass when a cat called Stormy proudly strided up to her. Stormy was a dark grey cat with two big yellow cat eyes. He was of course a very proud and egotistical cat very much the opposite to Clara who was so laid back that if she was anymore relaxed she would simply fall over. Now Stormy had seen something fabulous and knew how excited Clara would be once he told her. After much chatting about this special wonderful place that Stormy had seen they decided to start planning their adventure.

The cat and sheep planned this adventure for days. You see sheep like to do a lot of thinking why else would they chew so much grass. Cats on the other hand are 'do'ers but they love tactics, watch a cat hunt and you'll know exactly what I mean. So finally the plan was set, they were going to meet at the secret hole in the fence at first light on the night after the full moon. Of course being the lovely kind nature of sheep Clara made Stormy a perfectly fitted Cossack Hat which was perfect for keeping the chill out. They wandered down and along a dry but earthy lane which had a wooden fence running along the side. Stormy couldn't resist jumping up and down from it, if not showing off his jumping talents to Clara but certainly feeding his well oiled ego.

They finally came to the field which Stormy had described, bright magnificent yellows were everywhere. Big green stalks stood proudly with the most magnificent yellow things hanging from it. This is truly a fabulous place... Clara decided to eat the yellow things and after much crunmching and munching she lay on her back and gazed up to the sky. Today was most certainly a good adventure. They both cuddled together with big grins on their faces.