So many of our loyal customers discoved how worn out their slippers were during the lockdown when they found themselves wearing them more than usual.
With my colleagues furloughed I had no alternative than to spend all my waking hours sewing, cutting-out and trying to keep up with the orders pouring in. Marketing and posting pictures on different platforms has rather fallen by the wayside.
I was raised to be modest and not to show-off so using words to describe my work like: ‘fantastic, amazing, brilliant, awesome’, feels a bit pompous even if it is trendy.
Having said this, the sheepskin boots, slippers and other products we make are all these superlative things and much more besides.
Over the summer we have been working hard, filling the workshop shelves with handmade sheepskin crafts in an array of colours.
Xanthe has made a range of beautiful baby boots that are both cute and practical. A fiddly sewing task for sure but they are worth all the effort.
Paula and I have come up with a new sheepskin bag design that we think you will like.The comfortable shoulder strap is made of suede so it doesn’t slip easily, there is an inside clip for keys, optional inside phone pocket, magnetic closure fastener and of course, lots of colour possibilities.
We are considering making them larger for laptops or iPads but will wait for customer feedback on this one.
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So sorry there are so may ‘out of stock’ boots and slippers on our website. Well obviously I am not really sorry because it means we have sold loads but it can look a bit daunting if you are searching to buy a pair immediately. There are still most sizes in stock in the workshop – just about.
In the New Year I am planning to remove all the sold-out pictures and add many of them to the ‘made to order’ page then reduce the turn-around time to 2 weeks.
New boots and slippers for the ‘ready now’ page are slowly trickling through the system but we have been madly making up our orders customers have placed before the end of November. That’s how it goes. I thought we had made enough of everything over the summer months but no, we are running out.
Big thanks to Xanthe, Paula and Ed. Their gifted skills have lifted our sheepskin products to a whole ‘nother level. You are stars and such a pleasure to work with.
As winter draws closer, we’re keen to show all the variety of colours that we have in stock this winter season
We have pretty much every colour you can think of in stock for this winter to make you feel that little bit more cosy, or even some brighter colours for those of you who dread the cold weather and can’t wait to get back into the warmer months. We have something for everyone and have already started taking orders for Christmas.
Our handmade boots give you the opportunity to effectively design you own boots by deciding on the length of the boots themselves, the colours, and even the braid that you’d like to include on them. Something that only we are able to do in the whole of the UK, and also something we’re very proud to say. We also do all sizes from little babies to us full grown adults, so there really is nothing stopping you.
This is a big decision for most, and with there being so many options to choose
from this winter, you’d better start thinking about it soon. But if you do need a few ideas to help you along the way, then take a look at our shop here.
We look forward to seeing you. Or why not pop in and see us so you can see for yourselves what we really do have to offer this season.
Here at Susie’s Sheepskin Boots we purposely create each boot with a lot of love an enthusiasm in order to make your boots as unique and exclusive to you as possible. Which is why we’re proud to say that our boots are doing a great job of setting us aside from those made in Australia and the rest of the world.
Whilst being established for over 30 years in the UK now, we’ve used our experience to develop new ideas for the shop and our website which has already made us raring to get stuck in, and help our customers stay warm through another welsh winter.
All of our boots are made with genuine UK sheepskin and are available to you in a wide range of vibrant or natural colours. Available to you in any size, from little babies to fully grown adults, each pair of boots with be individually made in our very own workshop here in Narberth. So if you are ever in the area, please do pop in and say hello, we could also help you choose your perfect pair of boots for this up and coming winter.
Alternatively why not have a look at our stock on our website to buy there and then, or to 
even give yourselves a little bit of inspiration to create your own. We’d love to hear your ideas and to get your boots with you for this Christmas, so be sure to get ordering soon, as we’re already getting our Christmas orders in for those looking to give our handmade boots to a loved one this Christmas.
Over the summer we have made loads of boots and slippers but we have also been working on new autumn ideas that we have promised our lovely customers like fingerless mittens, and new shapes in hats and bags.
The ‘wildside’ boots are looking good and have proved to be very popular so far. I have made some with an appliquéd denim section at the side, the denim is from upcycled jeans and looks very cool and a bit funky.
Last year we made lots of mittens with and without embroidered braid but the new fingerless ones enable you to drive and shop etc without having to take them off.
We have enjoyed making a huge variety of slippers as we can’t resist trying out different colour combinations. There is a slightly new design that doesn’t go so far up at the back and looks more conventional – we are calling these ‘clogs’ and some people may prefer them. Personally, I love the original ones with the pointy backs that you can pull on so easily – the idea for these came from my Sri Lankan son-in-law and I think the cultural cross-over gives them a certain style. Other slippers we make are based on the Moroccan ‘babouche’ so although they are mules, they come up quite high on your feet so fit comfortably while keeping your feet warm.
Needless to say I haven’t managed to put everything in the workshop up onto our website but I live in hope. We always welcome telephone and email inquiries and I am quite good at sending photos of what we have already made in your size.
This is my first blog entry and for weeks I have wondered what I would write about when I finally forced myself to make a start. I have no idea if anybody ever reads these things but I have been encouraged to set up a blog to go with my website as it seems the fashionable thing to do. But what to write about? I might aswell start at the beginning as I have been making sheepskin boots for thirty-five years now and there are many stories to be told.
My Tenby Granny and Great Aunt Maud were both wonderful craftswomen and smocked silk dresses every Christmas for me and my cousins (well the girls anyway). My Mother, to find her own identity became a gifted knitter so I guess craftwork is part of my inheritance. When I was a teenager in boarding school I secretly gave up Latin to take up needlework without ever telling my parents. Later on when I was studying to be a teacher I specialised in weaving and developed a love of making rugs which I still do whenever I can find the time. In the early 70s I moved to Wales and married a potter named Simon in Narberth, Pembrokeshire. We lived in a house that had once been a bakery. There was a pottery workshop in the back and a retail shop in the front. I made intricate hippy clothes, reversible quilted waistcoats in Liberty lawn, flouncy skirts, rouched sundresses, peasant blouses and men’s trousers in velvet, calico and canvas. We also sold wrap-around-skirts and dresses made from batiqued Indian cotton. Nobody had ever seen these in Wales at that time and the clothes offered an exciting contrast to the pottery. It was a great little shop.
At that time I suffered with chilblains in the winter and I met a lady from New Guinea who was making Ugg boots on a small scale based on a pattern brought from her home. I bought a pair and my chilblains disappeared, I instantly became a devotee and have never had another chilblain to this day. After a while the New Guinea lady, who lived on a farm, wanted to keep pigs instead of making boots so she sold me the business. The boots in those days were rather baggy, they were made in small, medium and large and were either white or occasionally brown with no support going around the heel and the soles had no grip, bounce or flexibility. Over the years they have evolved and become a much more tailored design and a snug fit. I make them in different heights, a choice of soles and a wide range of colour possibilities and sometimes adding special touches like embroidered braid running up the back or sides. It was fun selling them in the pottery shop and in the winter I used to spend long hours sewing after the babies had been put to bed. Sometimes we would take the pottery and the boots to craft markets and the whole family would pile into the VW camper van and we’d make an adventure of it. I have been searching for photos to post with this blog but it was the pre-digital era and people weren’t so snap-happy. I did find a black and white one of Simon painting goblets in the pottery workshop out the back of our kitchen. See Simon Rich website.
