Winter Is Coming

Well, if you live in the southern hemisphere it is, anyway. I like so many others have been watching Game of Thrones despite the fact that I don't need to see naked breasts every thirty seconds to get wrapped up in a series. I have to say that while the King's Landing outfits are too gauzy and gaudily ornate for my tastes, I really love the utilitarian yet exceptionally detailed vibe the costuming department has developed for the Northerners' outfits and decor. The quilted leathers, the pelts of fur lining coat lapels, the patchwork of skins that make up little crippled Bran's duvet. Now I'm not one who thinks killing a fox exclusively for fashion is acceptable, but I can't say I don't think like the Native Americans in terms of utilizing every part of an animal that's killed for food. Um, so why am I writing a post that may incur 'meat is murder'-like wrath? Because I discovered  Black Sheep White Light, which sells culturally significant animal pelts as a byproduct of their local food industries and can't help but be reminded that there was a period in human history where such now fashionable items were the only things keeping people from freezing to death. Anyone who's walked through a medieval building like the Edinburgh Castle or even wood-build Nijo Castle knows that they do not exactly a cozy home make.

An Icelandic sheepskin in a rare grey shade.

Gigantic winter coated buffalo hides feature a rich pattern of colors and fur patterns.

Hides taken from farms used by the Scandinavian Sami people to raise reindeer meat have some of the most haunting patterns and shapes.