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.

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?

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.

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.

Driftless Tannery’s yoga/meditation rugs range between 70” and 72” long and are made with the trimmings from their naturally tanned sheepskin, thus reducing landfill waste and producing a beautiful, functional, comfortable mat for energizing our bodies!

There is a lot of chemistry to understand in the tanning processes. There is biology to understand in the nature of the animal’s skin and fiber. Then there is the art of putting it all together and knowing what is happening and why it is happening.

Choosing natural fibers is choosing to say no to polluting microplastics. Choosing to support tanneries like ours is choosing to support the environment in which we all live and the resources we all depend on.