At Driftless Tannery, we didn’t go to school for forensic science. But in a way, our work as tanners often feels like stepping into that role.
Read moreIntroducing...Bethany
Bethany Storm prefers to work behind the scenes. Telling stories and sharing knowledge is what she enjoys the most about the business.
Read moreIntroducing...Danielle
Danielle Dockery is the voice on the other phone when you call Driftless Tannery.
Read moreWhere do Driftless Sheepskin come from?
Sheep production in the US is increasing. We will do all we can to capture and make use of this byproduct of the sheep industry. We champion the usefulness of naturally tanned sheepskin in its most natural state as a sheepskin rug or throw, or with the help of other creatives using the oldest known textile to create useful household goods and clothing.
Read moreBark Tanned Leather
There are many benefits to using mimosa as a leather tannin, most notably, mimosa provides a consistently soft and easy to dye leather.
Read moreIcelandic Sheepskin
Icelandic make beautiful, iconic sheepskin. Very Viking with their wispy long fibers. They also happen to be one of the more finicky of all sheepskin to tan.
Read moreEnvisioning the Future of Driftless
What if we could create a place here in the Driftless where we can tell the story of traditional, sustainably crafted sheepskin to a wide audience by designing a workspace that is conducive to tours with large viewing windows into the tannery operation and a gathering space for educational programs?
Read moreTakeaways from Our Trip to the United Kingdom
We have been back from the UK for about a month now. Our trip was everything we had hoped it would be. Our only regrets are that we didn’t make the trip sooner and that we weren’t able to stay longer.
Read moreGreasy Hides in Natural Tanning
There are two main causes for greasy leather: improper cure and an older, fatty sheep. The former can be avoided, the latter cannot and may not become evident until the last stage of our process.
Read moreThe Universe
The universe has always been good to us at Driftless Tannery. Let me explain.
Driftless Tannery started with very little capital investment. Just a few hundred dollars from our family budgets. We wrote a business plan which included getting a bank loan and signing up for training from Organic Sheepskins in the UK, the only place in the world offering such training. We met with our local Small Business Development Center to map out a plan. That plan was to get training, spread the word, and start gathering hides… Then in March of 2020, the COVID 19 pandemic locked down the world. We couldn’t travel for training. It felt too risky to go to the bank for a loan but we needed capital. So we set up a small farm stand and sold perennial plants. Plants that came from our amassed personal gardens. We posted it on our local Soil Sisters* listserve and we sold out of plants day one. So we dug up some more plants and we sold out of those. As soon as we ran out of spare pots, friends showed up with pots for us to reuse. Friends brought both empty pots and pots they donated full of perennials from their own yards. As soon as our farm stand emptied it was replenished by our community. We earned enough that first week to purchase a small piece of equipment. And so it went for the past five years. We didn’t keep the farm stand open, but when we are faced with a challenge, financially or otherwise, a solution shows up. The universe provides. It has dozens of times over the past 5 years.
As we move into our 6th year of business we received our latest signal from the universe. We have seen an increase in the demand for our services and we feel ready to invest in some equipment to handle the increased workload. A couple of weeks ago, we began planning a trip to the UK to see other natural sheepskin tanneries like ours and to learn what equipment they use to help manage the process. After all these years of operating a tannery we had never actually seen another operation. Last week, Legacy Leathers, a custom leather tannery working in the fashion industry, contacted us. They are moving their operation from Sheboygan, Wisconsin to Tennessee and they will have some extra equipment that they won’t be bringing with them! So yesterday, we took our first tannery tour at Legacy Leathers in Sheboygan. Dan, the owner, was amazing. He’s been in the leather business since 1997. He spent over an hour with us imparting knowledge and showing us how things work. His tannery is full of equipment, old and new. While the leather industry is different than ours in many ways, the equipment we use is universal. We got to see some machines in action and found that he has many smaller pieces that he no longer employs that will definitely help us here!
We are still planning our trip to England and Wales in January. Yesterday confirmed our belief that seeing other natural sheepskin tanneries is a must at this stage of our journey. We are so grateful for the willingness of Organic Sheepskins and Welsh Organic Tannery to show us around their operations and we can’t wait to share with you what we learn here and on our social media accounts.
Thank you, as always, for sharing this journey with us and for supporting our tiny tannery.
*Soil Sisters are a community of people who identify as women supporting each other, building networks locally and nationally and sharing the inspiring stories of our successes alongside failures and learning along the way, inspiring more women to follow their dreams of cultivating soil and community. You can find out more about this dynamic group of women here.