[shrekfeet]

Just to say, don't waste your sheep skins. Had some tanned last year by these people www.fenland-sheepskin.co.uk great service and great results. Just remember to start salting as soon as the skins are off the beast.

[kanisha]

have to say the serv ice I recieved was less than acceptable. In the end I went else where and won't be going back.

[The Chicken Lady]

Mine took along time and it wasn't cheap but the skins are beautiful.

[the shepherd]

How much was it?

[The Chicken Lady]

I will have to go and look up the price. With tax and courrier each way it became costly.

[Fleecewife]

Sorry you had a problem with Fenland Kanisha.  I have had a lot of skins processed there and nearly always been delighted with the results.  The only breed which don't always come out well are Hebridean  - their fleeces are sometimes naturally rather like soft dreadlocks so they can look like nylon if 'ironed' but they then look scruffy if returned 'au naturel'.  This requires redipping in water I think and I have decided not to go that way again.  But Jacob, Soay, and a whole variety of cross-breeds have come out beautifully.  I have also tried Nicki Port in Hereford, who uses an organic tanning method, but I was not so pleased with those results so am sticking with Fenland.

[kanisha]

I sent one skin to nikki port it came back fine but I wanted to do a comparison with fenland so second skin to fenland as I'm sending from france I sent several emails requesting info ( no reply) so called was given rough processing times and sent the fleece checked again by phone to ensure it had arrived ( even though requested a confirmatory email to which I have never had a reply) sent 7th july arrived 13th ( their confirmation when i called them ) was told before sending over the phone it would take six weeks processing  after checking it had arrvied was told no matter what I had been told over the phone it would take longer ( phonecalls were days apart!) at least two weeks longer but not possible to say ( its not their main business) this phrase was to come back to haunt me.... checked several weeks later as to the progress of my skin  impossible to say they couldn't possibly locate the fleece ( its not their main business)  rechecked a couple of weeks later  as by this time was getting concerned bit of a problem with the processing they hadn't started it yet  and they couldn't say when they would but its not their main business. getting a bit peeved by this time spoke to nikki port and aranged for the skin to be sent to her amazingly they managed to find the skin and send it to her poste haste; the other excuse was that they had had a death in the business last year and its not their main business; i run my own business a business which by its own nature involves various sections which can be completely unrelated depending on the clients needs. I would never in  a million years offer the words ( its not my main business ) either you want the business or you don't in which case just be honest and say so and not mess people about skin is still as yet unprocessed........ I have no aspirations it will get done any quicker  by nikki port

[Fleecewife]

Oh dear! We allow about 4 months for processing at Fenland.  Their business is the mass processing of commercial sheepskins.  The rare breed and small number orders are an offshoot for June Tinnion.  I have always spoken to her direct when arranging for tanning to be done, rather than to the office staff.  The person who died was I think Mark Tinnion, who is either her husband or her son, and the owner of the main business.  So if my memory is correct and it was him who died you can see that that would be causing major disruption.  I just hope they stay in business as their finished product is top quality.  The skins we sent to Nicki Port took ages to get done, and for a deer skin my OH had to go to Hereford and wait while she finished it    Jacob skins we sent there later did an odd thing - the colour ran from the coloured patches.  Also the white parts were yellowed, presumably due to the organic substances she uses to tan.  I love the principal of using organics but as I sell my skins they also need to look perfect and compete with non-organic ones.
We didn't send any skins this year as our hoggets went off in August and I had nowhere to lay them out to salt.  I was looking forward to having shearling skins back as they looked beautiful.  Maybe I will be better organised next year.  I do find though that salting works better when the outside temp is very cold with low humidity.

[kanisha]

If the processing time is four months and thats what I'm told thats fine but to be honest no one had a clue whats going on the site certainly doesn't make any differentiation between commercial processing and the odd rarebreed skin. there is a tannery at Nantes I am not confident of their abilities to process small rare breed fleeces at all but it seems I might as well take my chances with them. the idea of customer service in france is pretty uncommon I didn't expect the same from the UK. As for a death in the business yes it must have been very difficult but at what point does it become an excuse . lets just say I was pretty disappointed all round. I would still love to see my skin as I really had tried hard to produce a good product but it is all a learning curve for me and what I wanted was feed back as to if i am going in the right direction

[Fleecewife]

I agree - good quality sheepskins are well worth having. There is a place in Skye which does good ones but only for local people - I am not local so haven't been able to get mine done there.  They are buying a tup from me though so I'm hoping they might then look kindly on my skins.  It's still a fair distance but a good excuse for a drive through the Highlands.

Kanisha I do think it's worth your while to pursue Fenland, next time you have some skins.  The best thing to do is to speak to June Tinnion in person - she is very knowledgeable and keen, and can suggest the best processing for your breed.  If you phone the office they will tell you when she will be available - the last I knew she worked only part time, but would take calls at home as well as at the office.  They have busy times in the tannery and do the rare breed skins in their quiet times, so turnaround probably varies with the time of year.  If you deal with her in person then you will get feedback from her in person
I should also mention that the experience I had with Nicki Port was a few years ago and perhaps the issues I raised have been dealt with now.  Nicki did a huge service to all breeders when the EU made it almost impossible for us to get our skins back from the abattoir.  She was prepared to share imformation and provide back-up for anyone having difficulties, and was instrumental in getting us back the right to have our own sheepskins back.

[andywalt]

Its been an education reading this topic well done and thanks very much, I hope next year to have some skins back and tan them, where is Fenland ? or is there any company down southeast that tans the skins?

[Fleecewife]

Fenland Sheepskins, Axe Rd, Colley lane Ind Est, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 5LN.  01278 427 586 ask to speak with June Tinnion.  Salt your skins very thoroughly and you can send them by post.

[andywalt]

is it easy to salt them? also what do they charge for the tanning and where do you sell them when they are returned to you?

hope you dont mind me asking?

andy

[woollyval]

My pennyworth.....

I live near Bridgwater, I know the Tinnions well and have been around the factory many times. I do lots of business with them and it must be remembered that they are one of the last wool on tanneries in Britain. They are a commercial tannery and the service for smallholders is special! You must send skins between June and December otherwise wool break can occur and wool must not be too long. Skins sent from afar must be prepared properly or they will not tan properly and you must allow about 10 - 12 weeks. All skins are marked with unique code on arrival and its very rare for any to be lost.
I have occaisionally had a problem with a skin, but its usually my fault for getting it there late....i take mine in straight from the abbatoir.
The cost is approx £22 plus postage, petrol costs etc depending where you are.
I cannot speak too highly of them....its an amazing place!

[andywalt]

how do you salt the skin? is it difficult?