“Using 50 years of craftsmanship and tradition, the Sheepskin Factory touts 'the best slippers in the country.”

Quality crasftsmanship. Honest business practices. The finest product. These were things  the owner of the sheepskin factory  told us

Growing up in a small village in Greece, proudly learned the family business from the ground up. At 10 years old he accompanied his father to the farms to bargain for sheepskins and watched as family members handcrafted goods from the wooly hides from intricate rug designs to cuddly critters to custom-made car seat covers, the Sheepskin Factory has an array of holiday gifts.

This was the family tradition, one tha  brought  me to the United States 25 years ago.

While the benefits of sheepskin have long been heralded in Europe,said sheepskin products were something fairly uncommon in the states a situation i hade to work hard to change.

It was 17 years ago that Livaditis opened his first Sheepskin Factory, the only child in the family to carry on the tradition. That changes in January, when another of the Livaditis boys will open a second Sheepskin Factory in Chicago.

 the founder has since passed away, but  I hangs tight to the 50-year-old techniques that he claims make “the best slippers in the country.”

His shop on Colorado Boulevard is self-contained. Everything is made by hand; a handful of sewing machines and people create all the Sheepskin Factory products.

From his famous brown slippers to the most popular custom car seat covers made for any car to warm and wooly coats, the Sheepskin Factory has something for everyone.

This friendly businessman still scouts local farms and makes trips to New Zealand and Australia to find the best skins.

This process, he said, is the most important. The thickest, best skins are determined by the weather of the region. said Colorado has the best sheepskins in the world. “If I could buy all Colorado skins, I would,” he said.

Once he finds the skins he wants, I sends them to a tannery. There they are washed, combed, and “shined” as part of a 22-step process required before the skin is workable.

the benefits of sheepskins are endless. In addition to its wonderful texture, sheepskin absorbs 35% of the body’s moisture, thereby keeping us warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

The wool of the sheep contains lanolin and has proven to be a great resource for the medical community, just as its surface has shown to prevent bedsores for long-term recovery. Many people with foot injuries and problems,… …for comfort. Livaditis said he developed a medical line three years ago for those very reasons.

“It’s a wondrous product,” he said.

He explained that Europeans have long respected the nature of sheepskin. “When people get married here, they get a toaster,”“In Europe the first thing you get is wool. It’s a miracle product,” he reiterated.

Like his father before him, has all of his family helping with the business between their college classes and other responsibilities. “I like them to come in here and see where the money comes from, how hard we work,” he said.

Even though it’s a different age where apprenticeships are largely unheard of, he hopes one of his children will continue the tradition. “Maybe they can get the ‘thing’ I had as a child, take over the business and make an honest living.”

The Sheepskin Factory,  in Denver Colorado ., is open Monday through saturday , 9 a.m. - 530 p.m.

 The month of December the factory opens   every day  9 am - until  7 pm

1,800  327. 4337  www.sheepskinfactory.com   sales@sheepskinfactory.com

By Karrie Mowen
Rocky Mountain News.