In this class, we will turn raw deer hides into beautiful and versatile buckskin. You will learn a natural method called combo-tanning which involves aspects of both traditional brain-tanning and bark-tanning. Buckskin is a soft & strong suede-like material and is perfect for garments, bags, shoes, and more.

Hide tanning is a skill that was practiced by nearly all of our ancestors and is a skill, I believe, we should all know today. It is a chance to combat waste culture (most deer hides are sent to landfills) and a way to show reverence to our animal relatives. Plus, it’s fun!

This class is taught by Callan Shore (she/her) and is for Women, femme, and non-binary folks only.

This is a physically demanding class. If you have physical limitations or have questions about whether this class would be a fit, please reach out.

Class will be held outside in the woods of Weaverville, North Carolina. Due to the unpredictable weather of April, we will have a fire to stay warm by if need be, but will not have an indoor space, so dress warmly! We will have a potluck the first night of class, but otherwise food and lodging are not provided.

OVERVIEW

Day 1: Graining

We will start out first day with introductions and a brief overview of the buckskin process. The rest of the day will be devoted to removing the hair and grain layer on your hide. We will finish the day with a potluck!

Day 2: Making the Bark Solution and more

On the second day we will do one more quick scrape on our hides and then spend the rest of the day chopping up bark and boiling a big cauldron full of bark solution.

Day 3: Softening

For our last day, we will wring our hides and soften them, which means stretch, stretch stretching until they dry!

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