It's nearly spring and I want to talk a little about how I am decorating my studio apartment for this season. I recently discovered an amazing shop called Auchenstroan which sells handmade fleece accessories for the home.
A bit about the brand- run by Nicole and Adrian Doyle, the brand offers a range of handmade felted fleece rugs which are “sheep-friendly” and "vegetarian" because no animals are harmed in the process of making these special goodies. All of their items are made using the sheep on their small farm, which means that they are locally-made and super sustainable for the environment. As smallholders, the brand's focus is on keeping their animals happy and giving them the best possible life whilst still earning a living from the land in order to be sustainable.
So what are smallholders? Smallholders can be distinguished from commercial farmers as they are not tied to large corporations so they can be really creative about what the farm produces and sells. Nicole's sheep are lucky as they get to live out their days as we don’t breed or sell them- the brand simply uses their wool to make an income.
One of the new range of items that the brand sells are cute pictures of their sheep going about their daily business against the beautiful landscape of South West Scotland. Nicole kindly sent me two sheep paintings from their sheep pictures collection which was recently launched so that I can decorate my new studio apartment. Take a look below!
The paintings are drawn by Nicole's talented brother Matty, who runs his own website here. Each of the paintings can be bought on their website, and you can buy printed copies, framed prints or the original painting. All of their sheep paintings are of members of their flock, and each comes with their own individual characteristics and story. I love how beautifully painted these pictures are. Sheep paintings are always lovely to have in the home as they bring about a calming, relaxing pastoral scene, which fits the decoration of a lot of modern homes.
As you can see, the paintings looked beautiful on my cabinet and shelves. I put one of the paintings on a picture rack and put it against my cabinet, and the other painting is currently leaning on my wall next to plants. I really love how the sheep paintings look in my studio flat. I think the framed prints are well-worth getting because they're extremely high-quality, affordable and I feel so rewarded knowing that I'm helping a small business out. The paintings are also very detailed, beautiful and I got so many compliments from friends when they saw them in my house!
Auchenstroan also sells some of the most gorgeous rugs and pillows that I've seen. The sheep wool that they use are absolutely lovely because the texture of "natural" sheep wool is unlike the normal commercially-processed ones. They're more substantial and thicker, which means you get a totally different look and feel, in which to decorate your home with. It's well worth buying!
Check out Auchenstroan's instagram page HERE.
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