Learn to Improve Your Leather Edges and Refine the Look of Your Watches, Belts, Collars and Straps for Bags
We all want to make the best leather goods that can command a high $10,000 price tag, but how many of us hold our work and our practice to a $10,000 standard? There have been many times in my life where I thought I was doing something well only to be totally schooled by a mentor or another maker.
When I first learned to sew, I thought I was god’s gift to leatherwork until I looked at the back of my stitches and saw how much more I had to learn. Maybe you’re like me and can spend hundreds of hours looking at Instagram and Pinterest reviewing the work of the top leather makers and designers out there today, deconstructing and refining your own practice. Or maybe you’re searching for that kind of inspiration to improve your work even more.
Even if you are actively searching for better examples, you know that is only part of the journey. The most important part is practice. You may be familiar with the 10,000-hour rule popularized by Malcolm Gladwell, but did you know that this also is only element of journey to mastery?
Sheer number of practice hours of will not make you better, if you are not practicing the right things in the right way. It is what Anders Erickson, the author of the study that Gladwell derives his findings, calls ‘deliberate practice.’ This means you have to push past what you are comfortable doing so that you can tackle the areas that need improvement. You must continually challenge yourself to do better.
Seeing Things Up Close
I recently had guests fly in from Korea to visit us and take private lessons. One of them said something that really stuck with me, “You really learn so much about someone and their techniques when you can see it up close and in-person.”
I have invested a huge amount of time, resources and research into our online courses and now I want to add more ways of providing that information to the Fine Leatherworking community.
When you work along-side someone, you are able to watch how they move and time their work so you can apply this new perspective to your individual work in the future. I used to pay close attention to how my teachers looked at my pieces to see what angles they viewed it from and where they looked closer. The benefits from these moments came after I had a working knowledge of the right techniques and concepts.
Working in-person, when you are ready, will help you to improve your edges and other finer leatherworking techniques to help you to push beyond where your current abilities. I’d like to invite you to benefit from that experience.
Create a Bespoke Leather Project in One Day and Learn to Master Intricate Leather Edges
Introducing the Finishing Leather Edges Workshop, an in-person leatherworking workshop for aspiring craftspeople that want to create a bespoke leather project with luxury quality construction.
In this workshop, you will focus on one small project, a watch strap or a bracelet. Although this seems like a small project, it touches several techniques that helps to elevate ordinary work into exceptional work. You’ll learn hands-on how to master the intricate detailed work of finishing edges, including painting and creasing at a small scale that you can use on larger projects.
You’ll also use the same tools and materials as the best designers and makers today to create better projects than you ever have before. Learn tips and tricks needed to use those tools and materials effectively, allowing you to unlock the secrets of creating finely crafted leather edges. Each day we’ll apply the techniques you learn to a project that you can take home with you.
Dates & Locations
This is a TWO-day, all-day workshop. There is a an optional pre-course technique workshop. The sessions are as follows:
Berkeley, California
Pre-Course Technique Workshop: Friday, March 24th
Two-Day Strap Course: Saturday and Sunday, March 25th & 26th
Class is from 9 am to 5 pm each day.
Take the course in our Berkeley studio on 5th St, just south of the Fourth Street neighborhood. It’s a 5-minute ride (Uber/Lyft) from the nearby North Berkeley BART Station.
The Live Finishing Edges Workshop course includes:
- SIXTEEN hours of in-person detailed instruction over two days
- A five-part tutorial showing the processes used to finish edges on luxury leather goods
- Specific practice activities to help you refine your edges
- Tutorials on how to finish different types of edges including burnishing and painted and creased leather edges.
- Learn hand-sewing for leather including advanced techniques if you are already practiced in this skill.
- An introduction to better hand skiving and cutting leather.
- All the required materials and a chance to try out the tools from our store.
- Creating one bespoke edge projects to help master your new techniques. Choose from a watch strap or bracelet as your project.
- Learn construction details for similar strap projects including belts and pet collars.
PLUS: Join the FULL version to get a package of essential tools bundled together at a discount. Normally this set would be $355 but you’ll get it for 15% off, a savings of $53. In this bundle of ten items, you’ll get:
- Doldokki upright knife. A versatile knife for cutting and skiving.
- Doldokki cutting knife of your choice; curved, right or left.
- Set of two awls sewing and marking.
- Set of green and black sharpening compound.
- Pack of #4 John James needles.
- 12″ combination imperial and metric ruler.
- Rule Stop.
- One polyester spool in the color and weight of your choice.
Bonus: As part of the class you’ll get FREE access to Fine Leatherworking’s online course, Finishing Edges, so you can practice on your own and re-review the material that you learned.
Refine Your Technique With a Pre-Course Technique Workshop
Add an extra day for just leatherworking technique. We’ll work on improving your skills so that you are better prepared for the main part of the course. If you are new to the finer techniques of making leather goods or if you are out of practice or need to learn a core skill, you will benefit from our pre-course workshop. We’ll cover hand-sewing, cutting, gluing and several other core leatherworking skills so that you can improve them before working on your bag project.
Practice At Your Level
One common question I get is, “how advanced is this course?” We spend a lot of time refining the project and the techniques for the course so that we can accommodate multiple levels. When someone is more advanced, we help them with a more complex project and when they are more beginner level, we help them with their fundamentals.
We will meet you where you are in your experience and tailor your project to maximize your learning. That can mean:
- focusing on the minute details of skiving leather by hand for the first time with a real knife or
- fine-tuning your sewing with thread choice, tension and stitch count or
- stepping back to improve your overall construction sequence so that your cuts and measurements stay accurate and consistent with each production piece.
Before the course even starts, we’ll get to know you and your current level of experience to make sure the course is the right balance for you. If you are unsure of your skill level or would like some help in discussing your options, feel free to email us or call us at 1-415-800-2978.
Choose Your Course Options
We’re offering a two-day and a three-day course to suit your needs and schedule. Add the tool package to take home an essential bundle of items.
1. Live Finishing Leather Edges Course and Pre-Course Workshop (Three Days)
If you have any questions about the course, please feel free to call or email us
1-415-800-2978
store@fineleatherworking.com.
We’re happy to help!
2. Live Finishing Leather Edges Course (Two Days)
If you have any questions about the course, please feel free to call or email us
1-415-800-2978
store@fineleatherworking.com.
We’re happy to help!
COVID Safety
We take your safety and well-being seriously. Please know that we will comply with all state and county safety protocols for the course duration.
We are closely monitoring directives from state and local authorities regarding the most current guidelines and restrictions for business operations. Currently, we ask that you please join us in abiding by the following safety and cleanliness protocols:
Safety and Cleanliness
- Please wash your hands and/or use sanitizer upon arrival.
- Wearing a mask is optional but recommended if you are feeling sick.
- Keep the table-tops and work areas clean.
- Popular, frequently touched items may be sanitized as needed.
- Hand sanitizer and tissues will be available.
We are keeping the class size small, both for safety and so that we can give each student more personal attention. Please let me know if you have any questions, concerns or hesitations. We want you to feel comfortable and at home while in class.
Who This Workshop is For
As with every offering at Fine Leatherworking, we want to make sure we’re matching the right people with the right solution for them. You should NOT join this workshop if you are:
- ‘Grazing’ on techniques. We don’t offer a scattershot of information and hope something sticks. In this workshop, we’re going to dive really deep on a few aspects of leatherworking in order to improve your craft.
- Looking for a short spring. This is a long workshop and, I’ll be honest, last time we did it a few people started to fade toward the end. We aim to accomplish a lot over the course of two days. I will be there to support you all the way, but it’s going to require a bit of focus and stamina.
- Wanting just the executive summary. If you’re looking for a quick-fix, this workshop may not be for you. I don’t do high-level bullet points and we our cover a lot of detailed materials and techniques. Creating world-class leather goods requires another level of practice that can be challenging.
About the Course Instructor
Sean Aquino has been making leather goods for over ten years. He runs the blog and website FineLeatherworking.com, the go-to resource for advanced tools, materials, and luxury leather craft inspiration since 2012.
We’ve Got Your Back Until the End
Each workshop day ends at 5 pm, but we will help ensure that you can master these techniques by giving you extra time each day. If you are struggling but have the endurance to keep going, I will stay and coach you, 1:1 if necessary, until you feel confident. During one past session, our students did 9 hours on the first day and 10 hours on the second day. It was a marathon, but they had some amazing work to show for it.
Benefits of a Live Fine Leatherworking Course
Our instruction is more than just watch and learn. We approach teaching as a give and take between the course objectives and what each student needs. For instance, we’ll provide a simpler or a more challenging version of a project so that a student can improve from their current level rather than over-extending or breezing through instruction.
A Blend of Traditional and Modern Techniques
Fine Leatherworking courses provide expert instruction that is founded on traditional techniques and improved with modern updates. We take into account the wider range of tools, improved materials and different starting point of our students. Traditionally, an aspiring leatherworker would start an apprenticeship at a young age and have years to improve their work before embarking on a professional career. Today, few people have the opportunity to do this kind of approach.
Time and experience are still required investments to improve in this craft. We develop our techniques to maximize that time so that you have the potential to learn in weeks and months rather than years and decades.
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