THE FIRST tannery in the UK to make products entirely of fish skin has opened in Sussex.
Felsie, in Lewes, uses salmon skin that would otherwise be thrown away to make wallets, and will soon launch its range of dog collars and jewellery.
Company director Antonia Gillett, 28, was inspired by her time living in Zambia, where she worked making jewellery from waste products.
"I am a keen fly-fisher that firmly believes our native fish and rivers deserve protecting,” she said.
“Fish leather is the most stunning, undiscovered material which should be celebrated. It is stronger than you might think, surprisingly lacking in fishiness, and aesthetically pleasing too.
“Felsie products are made solely with fish leather, rather than a mixture of leathers often used by producers.”
Antonia uses skins from a Scottish smokehouse making smoked salmon, and willow bark from the cricket bat industry to tan the skin.
Some 50 per cent of all profits will go towards conservation projects. The Missing Salmon Alliance, working to protect the species, will receive half, while the remaining amount goes to the Wye and Usk Foundation, which helps rivers in Wales.
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