How to Care for Sheepskin Lamp Shades
Sheepskin lamp shades are made of this rawhide skin of the sheep and doesn’t have any wool or suede attached. The rawhide is pliable when wet, and in that condition, it’s worked on a lampshade frame and stitched or sewn into place. The colors give off a warm glow creating a pastoral appearance when they’re lit. Unlike a synthetic or fabric lampshade, a sheepskin lampshade has to be cared for on a regular basis to ensure years of use and excellent looks.
Screw an light bulb of the appropriate wattage to the lamp and limit its use. The heat from a light bulb dries from the sheepskin. Generally speaking, do not use an incandescent bulb with a greater wattage than 100 watts, with a 75- or 60-watt wax chosen. Cooler burning compact fluorescent and LED lights provide off less heat compared to a comparably rated incandescent and are recommended for this type of application.
Wipe on a vegetable-based oil periodically to replenish the natural ingredients in the sheepskin and pay particular attention to the seams. The lamp shade should never permitted to become fragile, and the seams must always remain slightly pliable. Apply a thin coating of oil but don’t saturate the rawhide.
Dust the lamp colour gently with a feather duster. The less pressure used to remove the dust, the smallest amount of pressure or damage which can be done to this colour itself.
Set the lampshade in an area which doesn’t get direct sunlight to safeguard its integrity. The ultraviolet rays from the sun can dry and crack the rawhide over time.
