Affordable, traditionally tanned, genuinely made by hand & not mass produced. naturally tanned possum skins - natural possum skin cloaks/blankets.
Bark Tanned Brushtail Possum Skin Cloaks, blankets, bedspreads, baby blankets & some garments. Check this page out to learn more about how I prepare them, how pricing is decided etc. If you want something custom, don’t hesitate to contact me as I have a list of people always wanting stuff.
our process
First the skin is fleshed by hand. The skin is cleaned of all flesh & fat, washed in water with natural soap. It is left to soak in a Mimosa/Acacia Mearnsii bark tannin solution from 4 to 10+ days. It’s then pulled out & washed of excess tannin particles.
The skin is then “skudded” or scraped on the beam again to remove residual membrane. It’s then left to completely dry out near a fire or in the sun. Once dry, the skins are oiled, exposed to heat, cabled on a wire & stretched by hand. It is then stretched until it is supple, sanded by hand with pumice to yield a professional, smooth finish.
Possum Skin Blanket
How do i price the cloaks?
Fairly. I aim to not over-charge for my service, and to not under-charge. Deposits need to be acquired first to ensure my time is not being wasted and so that I can purchase skins for your blanket/cloak. Thank you for your understanding & support.
Custom orders & pre-made cloaks
First, I need a non-refundable 50% deposit
I buy skins from trappers, covering the costs myself.
I tan, cut & sew the skins into the blanket/cloak.
You transfer the rest of the funds over, officially purchasing the item.
I send it to you.
The average skins I use are Small/Medium sized skins. Bringing them to a price of $52 per skin. blankets made of juvenline skins would be $46 per skin.
Contact me to get a price, or check out the store to see availability. Price is dictated by amount of skins used for blanket & time per skin.
can you tan my possum skins ?
I most definitely can at a rate of $17 per skin. Ofcourse, it is not guaranteed that you will get back each individual skin. 1-2 might not survive the journey. The cost of the skin would in that case not be taken into consideration for the final price. A 50% deposit would be required also.
what is the waiting time or turn around for a cloak/blanket?
Anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks time. It depends on your place in the queue, the size, specifications of the design, how many skins are tanned, how many skins are ready, the season etc.
can you tan my possum skins & then sew them into a cloak?
Definitely. I would charge $17 per skin for tanning & $16 per skin I work with. So $33 per skin in total.
How much do 60 skin cloaks cost?
If you are specifically wanting a queen sized possum blanket. It will cost anywhere from $4,120 to $5,160. a 50% deposit is required when an order begins.
do you do trades for cloaks?
Larger ones that are 26+ skins, no. Smaller ones for babies, definitely maybe.
what is the average size of the possum skins used in the cloaks/blankets?
19 × 33 cm is the average size.