Photo Credit : Heather Birnie
For 2024 we are introducing Wales Week / Berkshire Spotlight Days, a chance for you to learn more about some Welsh organisations, benefit from a discount code where applicable and listen to some of their favourites tunes which you can find on the Wales Week / Berkshire 2024 Spotify Playlist.
Xanthe makes beautiful sheepskin boots and slippers from her small workshop in south west Wales. Each pair is made to order from her website using the finest ethically sourced sheepskin and premium quality leather.
I caught up with Xante to hear all about the business, her sheep and her life in Wales and she had this this to say ....
"My mission is to make the best boots and slippers with the lowest environmental impact. I aim to make boots that will be loved and worn for many years. One way I do this is by offering a personal service, where my customers can choose the height, colours and type of sole for their boots and I make them especially. When people have an emotional connection with their clothes, when they love their clothes, there is no place for the disposable fashion industry.
I moved to Wales in 2006 with my husband, we love the landscape here and being near both the sea and the hills. I’ve learned a little bit of Welsh, our children are both fluent.
I keep a small flock of sheep, they’re a variety of primitive and rare breeds, so they look unique and very beautiful. Working with textiles I get really excited about the combinations of textures and colours. We keep them for meat, but believe in wasting nothing, so the skins are saved, cured and tanned. We have lots of sheepskins in our home, they’re so cosy to live with, either on a chair or on the floor."
All contributors and collaborators have been asked to share their top 5 favourite songs and In Xante's workshop while she's sewing she listens to a lots of different types of music. She chose to share a Welsh carol, which makes her skin tingle it is so beautiful. Xante remembers first hearing it at her kids' school show. "So I started with that and the rest flowed from there."
You can buy Xanthe’s Welsh Sheepskin Rugs and Beautiful Sheepskin Boots and Slippers from her website and enjoy a 5% discount during Wales Week / Berkshire.