My name is Natalie, I am the owner of 'Angus Oliver Luxury Sheepskins,' and I am passionate about sheepskin rugs, cowhides and reindeer pelts.. I live in Alberta, Canada, if you are familiar with Alberta you, may ask yourself what on earth made me choose to start a business selling animal pelts and sheepskins in Alberta!
Alberta is well know for its oil production, big trucks and beef cattle definitely not its sheep production. I did in fact raise sheep many years ago here, Romneys and Babydoll Southdown along with a few alpaca's. I remember trying to find a veterinary practice that had any experience with either being a real escapade. However, it was apparent that I was not a good farmer as I found myself upset for weeks even months every time a sheep died of natural causes.
I bought my first sheepskin rug in 2019, after living with PTSD for a number of years I wondered if it may help make my life slightly more comfortable and calm.
I found a shop online to purchase from and the sheepskin arrived scrunched up in a tiny box and as I opened the box the the scent of sheep hit my nose but I didn't care about the smell, I couldn't stop touching it and I could feel it! It was soft, so soft and in other places it was coarse and a bit wire like and I could feel all of it! Due to my current state I had lost the feel in my hands and feet, but the sheepskin feel registered with my brain straight away. The colours were fascinating, as I moved my hands back and forth through its fibers my eyes scanned the rug noticing all the individual fibers displaying different warm hues of beautiful. Then I placed it on the floor and placed my bare feet on it, oh my gosh my feet registered with my brain and I could appreciate all that this lovely but slightly smelly sheepskin rug could possibly offer. (Our sheepskins don't have that pungent scent).
After that I was hooked, I had found something that revived my physical senses, and greatly improved my mental well being. I was present and in the moment every time I was touching a sheepskin rug, it was calming and grounding. This was something that I could invest my precious energy into, this was something that I was now passionate about. If sheepskin rugs could help me that much, imagine how many others it could also help.
The fleece of a sheepskin has excellent insulating properties and it is also resistant to flame and static electricity. Wool is considered by the medical profession to be hypoallergenic. Sheepskin is a natural insulator, and draws perspiration away from the wearer and into the fibers. There, it traps between 30 and 36 percent of its own weight in moisture. Pets love them, possibly more than you will so it is suggested to purchase more sheepskin rugs so that you are not fighting over one.
We chose tanneries that were equally passionate about what they did for a living. Since we purchase a large amount of European sheepskins we chose tanneries that specialized in processing the particular beautiful hides that we wanted to purchase. It takes a lot of skill to tan a hide properly, we chose tanneries that utilize environment friendly practices by way of any chemicals used. All of which abide by very strict European standards.
By the way, our sheepskins are not 'smelly' like my original purchase, I remember being so happily surprised when my first shipment arrived! This is connected to how the hides are tanned.
Sheepskin is relatively easy to maintain, a good brush once a week and a good shake or even gentle vacuum (no rotating brush please) and it will last for years. You can spot wash areas if need be, or you can have the whole rug professionally dry cleaned. I myself have quite a few cats and dogs in the household, each loves the fact that we have sheepskins and the sheepskins remain easy to maintain.
I chose a huge selection of sheepskins to start this business, (honestly I could not simply chose one type) each possess unique character, shape, colour and substance. Each breed of sheep has its own characteristic of fleece depending on its natural demographic area in which it thrived. Icelandic is a double coated breed, a long lustrous outer coat with a soft fuzzy undercoat and the colours come in a huge range of beautiful. Swedish sheepskins tend to be a little curly, very luxurious, gorgeous and soft. German sheepskins are large, with long and lustrous fleece, with fabulous colours. Our British sheepskins are normally quite short in fleece length, extremely fine and soft to the touch and are usually rich warm colours. As I discover more sheep breeds I shall continue to bring them into the shop and offer them to you for purchase.
All of the sheepskins, cowhides and reindeer pelts in my shop are valuable by-products of the meat industry, none of them were raised for their hides. Think of it as truly appreciating these creatures for all their wonderful attributes and adoring these beautiful animals by utilizing the hides as a rug, seat cover or clothing and to help humans leave no waste behind.
I hope that you discover just how wonderful sheepskins are too!
