Advanced Fish Skin Leather Making (UK)

In this full day course you will discover how to make beautiful fish skin leather utilizing a wide range of tanning agents such as flowers, leaves, stems, roots and fungi.
Through discovering how to succesfully utilize such a vast range of tanning materials, this course goes far beyond (although not excluding) the traditional and well-known tanning methods using bark, eggs, brains and urine, and other ways of preserving fish skin.

The course is a very hands-on and practical course. Different methods and recipes will be shown and explained in depth. Together we will make a wild range of tanning solutions. After the course you will be able to skullfully tan fish skins in different ways, and know which plants/fungi are best suited to a particular recipe and desired outcome. As well as learning how to tan fish skin in experimental and proven ways, you will also learn how to preserve your skin in the softening and drying process. You will leave with a fully tanned and softened piece of salmon leather as well as a whole salmon skin that will be on its way to becoming leather, to be finished at home.

Key points covered

* Foraging walk to gather materials for tannin and tanning.
* Theoretical background to tanning & the history of fish skin leather.
* The physiology of fish skin structure & fish species suitable for tanning.
* Plants, fungi, seaweeds & lichens suitable for tanning & where to find them.
* Other fish skin preservation methods: brains, eggs, urine, alcohol and glycerine, drying etc.
* Preparing different tannin extracts: tips & tricks.
* The tanning process (what strength & duration).
* Tanning recipes.
* Measuring tannin: the senses & the Barkometre.
* Fleshing/scraping techniques and tools.
* Softening techniques & oil/ointment selection.
* Trouble-shooting.