Let’s hear it for sheep
Style
When people walk into the sheepskin-laden Wilson & Dorset shop in Wanaka, owner Amanda Dorset said she can see them ‘‘visibly relax’’.
And if she can get them to sit in one of her sheepskin ‘‘shaggy bags’’, she knows they will be there for a while. ‘‘It’s a moment of ecstasy,’’ she said. ‘‘You go off into a different world.’’
She designs and sells the $1490 shaggy bags (she won’t call them bean bags) with exporter husband Ben Wilson at their ‘‘concept lounge’’. A large floor rug costs $3750.
Other designer sheepskins can be found thrown over rustic benches in high-end restaurants across the globe and draped at the end of beds in stylish magazine shoots.
So how did the skins go from being tacky tourist tat to a luxury must-have?
Wilson reckons it’s ‘‘the move back to nature and natural materials. People are beginning to see wool as a miracle fibre.’’
His family has worked with sheepskin and other primary products for generations. ‘‘Now, we specialise in enhancing the natural character of curly sheepskins. Not that straight, fluffy stuff you see in tourist shops.’’
He grew up in the 70s in a house with a corduroy couch and wall-to-wall sheepskin carpet – ‘‘the height of cool at the time’’ – but by the 1990s sheepskin had lost its allure.
The synthetics industry was doing a great job of heralding its products as a better alternative to natural fibres, Dorset said.
Now the pendulum has swung back. ‘‘Sheepskin adds a natural warmth and texture to your living space,’’ she said.
‘‘It has no odour, it’s hydrophobic, a natural dehumidifier and it’s incredibly robust. I spilt a bottle of red wine on a shaggy bag once and just took it outside and shook it off.
‘‘It’s incredibly robust. I spilt a bottle of red wine on a shaggy bag once and just took it outside and shook it off.’’ Amanda Dorset
Apart from being a waste of Central Otago pinot, there was no damage done.’’
Auckland stylist and owner of A&C Homestore, Alex Walls, first used sheepskin in her home about six years ago as a cover up solution for an old stool.
‘‘It was a classic Kiwi sheepskin style I picked up from a farm craft store in Kaiwaka,’’ she said. ‘‘I loved the texture it brought to our lounge and have used sheepskin in my homestyling ever since.’’
Her favourite type is sustainably sourced New Zealand wool skins in their natural colour and form.
‘‘The best thing about a sheepskin is that it is so versatile. It brings a bit of texture to any little corner that is lacking – I’ll often use them on a lounge chair, draped on the end of a bed, on the floor in front of a sofa.’’