Founded in 1976, Cloud Nine has spent
almost thirty years putting together one of the largest
selections of sheepskin slippers and sheepskin accessories
in the country. Their commitment to a standard of
excellence has shined through to thousands of customers
over the years.
Originating in 1891, Washington Shoe Company
is one of the Seattle area's oldest companies. They
started their business by selling rugged work boots
to the thousands of men trying to keep warm when making
their fortunes in the harsh conditions of the Alaska
Gold Rush.
Today, over 100 years later, Cloud Nine Sheepskin still
strives to keep your feet comfortable in every season.
Pure and Simple
Sheepskin: the "Natural" Choice. For centuries, sheep
farmers and country folk have known that no natural
or man-made fiber possesses the virtues of 100% sheepskin.
The unique combination of leather skin on one side and
wool fur on the other lends it remarkable properties.
What Kind of Sheepskin Do We Use?
We use only the finest premium grade sheepskin
pelts, selected for their density, strength,
and quality. Almost all the sheepskins used
in our production are from Australia, New Zealand
and the USA. The hides are tanned with the best
technology available, in factories all over
the world. We tend to select Merino and Romney
sheepskin from Australia and New Zealand, or
Hampshire, Cheviot, and Suffolk sheep from the
USA.
The hides are either tanned at the source
or in other premier factories in the country of
production. Sheepskin is a world commodity and
is shipped worldwide.
The raw sheep hides are first purchased by the tannery
from a raw skin dealer or meat packing house. Then they
are graded, salted, packed by the raw skin dealer and
then shipped to one of our premier tanneries around
the world.
Washing
The hides are unpacked at the tannery
and then trimmed and graded for size and quality.
Next they are washed several times to clean and prepare
them for tanning.
Tanning
Next, the skins are chrome-tanned,
a process that ensures good durability of both the
wool fiber and leather backing. This process preserves
the hide and allows our finished products to be washed
with minimal shrinkage.
Degreasing
The next step is to degrease the skins
by washing and dry-cleaning them to remove the fat
liquor content from the hides. This important step
in the tanning process removes unwanted odors in the
finished hide and insures that the skin will remain
soft and silky.
The skins are ready to be cut and sewn to create
the beautiful sheepskin products you see here. The
beauty of sheepskin is that it is a natural product
and every pelt is different. Each and every design
we make using natural pelts will end up to be an
individual work of art. As hard as we try to make
each product look precisely the same as our original
drawings, no two finished items end up looking exactly
alike.
Dye
The skins are dyed to our color
specs and dried to perfection before moving on
the final finishing step. The hot water dyes used
are famous for being permanent, stable dyes that
won't rub off or wash out of the finished product.
Finishing
Finally, the skin side is buffed
smooth and the wool side is trimmed, brushed, and
ironed to a silky finish using the best technology
available.
Hand-Cutting Sheepskin
...And the Finished Product!
You'll Love the Comfortable, Cozy Feeling
of Wearing Cloud Nine Sheepskin! Just try them
and you'll see!
