LEARN TO MAKE LEATHER
Soft Sheepskin Leather
This course is most suitable for people living locally to Aberystwyth/ Machynlleth.
In this winter tanning series we will go through the process of bark tanning a sheep skin with the hair off to make a lovely thin leather. Using local sheep skins diverted from landfill, and locally harvested oak bark we will transform these skins into leather which you can work with and keep for potentially a whole life time.
Starting with a raw skin we will go through liming, deliming, tanning, oiling and finishing the leather. Following the process of bark tanning from start to finish over 4 sessions.
By the end you should have learned all you need to make leather confidently again in the future.
This course is based out of my tannery workshop in Tal-y-bont near Aberystwyth, Mid Wales.
Sessions will be roughly 2 hours on Sunday mornings-
8th, 15th January and 5th, 12th February 2023
Sessions will start at 10am and be 2 hours long on average, with some sessions being longer than others.
Tea, coffee, biscuits and a warm fire make this a cozy winter craft!
£165 (there are a couple of concessionary places available for unwaged folk, just email to enquire)
For more details and to book your place send an email to oakandsmoketannery@gmail.com
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
This Hide Camp was a wonderful experience. It was a brilliant few days - fantastic food cooked over an open fire, lovely people, and so interesting learning about natural tanning from two highly knowledgeable tutors. Jessie and Jane explained everything with such patience and expertise - it was truly fascinating, and great inspiration on many levels. Thier kindness and sensitivity with people and the elements meant we learned a lot and really enjoyed all the processes involved. I feel very connected with the skins I worked on, and have become much more conscious of other materials around me, and where they come from. Highly recommended.
-Nikki Chambers, course participant 2018
I had no idea what to expect but the whole experience was mind changing. The tutoring in hide preparation was excellent, but the bonus was the introduction to a culture so removed the pressures of city life, away from the windows we look through every day, be it house windows or TV and computer screens. A true appreciation is gained of the work our ancestors had to do to turn hides into clothes.
- Phil Joyce, course participant 2016
This Hide Camp was a wonderful experience. It was a brilliant few days - fantastic food cooked over an open fire, lovely people, and so interesting learning about natural tanning from two highly knowledgeable tutors. Jessie and Jane explained everything with such patience and expertise - it was truly fascinating, and great inspiration on many levels. Thier kindness and sensitivity with people and the elements meant we learned a lot and really enjoyed all the processes involved. I feel very connected with the skins I worked on, and have become much more conscious of other materials around me, and where they come from. Highly recommended.
~ Anna Ricketts, course participant, 2018