Refining Your Leathercrafting Technique With Hajime Niwa
In-person Course in Berkeley Fall 2024
Deepen Your Leatherworking Practice and Make Even Your Simplest Creations Stand Out
When I started Fine Leatherworking, I posted an image of what I thought was the best example of a skilled leatherworking technique. Many years later, it’s still one of the most referenced and viral posts we’ve shared. Mr. Niwa’s famous ‘rainbow’ edge has inspired many leatherworkers to improve their work, especially edge finishing. That particular piece inspired me to reach out to him all those years ago.
Many people don’t realize that the key to creating this quality of a finish starts way before the final edging work. When I first visited Mr. Niwa in Japan, he said, “I have been asked the same question by many foreign leather crafters: ‘How did you get such edges?’ As you know, we can’t get beautiful edges just by finishing.”
The fundamental core skills of sharpening, cutting, and gluing are as critical, if not more important, than the final finish. It’s the same advice as the famous quote, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.”
Anyone who has taken one of our courses will have experienced the same methodology. Little by little, we help you improve your leatherworking technique so that by the end of the course, you have a solid foundation to work with. Before the class starts, students often wonder, ‘How hard can it really be to cut leather? Isn’t it pretty much the same after a while?’ Only when they start to explore the subtle variations and improve do they realize how detailed of a practice it is and how deep you can go with even a simple skill like cutting.
In my time with Mr. Niwa, I’ve come to better understand why he focuses on depth over breadth of technique. It creates work that has such quality that it jumps out at you. You can easily see the difference in photos (and even more so in person) in how a simple but flawlessly executed piece can really stand out. If you’re ready to focus on deepening your technique and taking your leatherworking skills to the next level, our next course with Mr. Niwa will be perfect for you.
You may have seen our online course, Refining Your Leathercrafting Technique. This course originated as an online and in-person course in collaboration with Mr. Niwa. We had three packed sessions and wanted to do them again, but the pandemic hit, and we closed our in-person classes. We’ve since reopened them and are excited to run this hit class once again.
Refining Your Leathercrafting Technique: In-Person Sessions
Join us for Refining Your Leathercrafting Technique With Hajime Niwa, a three-day course for students looking to add depth in technique and design to their work. In this course, we will focus on his unique style of crafting leather goods, including:
- The fundamental techniques that make his work stand out.
- Combine all of the methods you learn to make a well-crafted card wallet.
- How to properly sharpen your tools and make better cuts.
- The subtleties of how he prepares and cuts his leather.
- How hand-planing is used in leatherworking and, of course,
- His detailed process of finishing edges to perfection.
Course One: Refining Your Technique
This first course starts with the core skill of sharpening. Mr. Niwa uses sharpening as a foundation for all other techniques to help you build more sensitivity and awareness with your hands. From there, we cover cutting, skiving, and gluing, all in preparation for edge finishing.
The course continues with building a small case, including sewing, so you can apply the techniques you learned.
PLUS: Many people took the first in-person course or the online course. If you are one of these students, you can continue your leathercrafting journey and improve your craft with a new course on making a zippered wallet.
Zippers can be a confounding component to build, especially small ones like this on a wallet. This one runs along three sides and is a prominent part of the piece. When you get it wrong, it really shows. All of the dimensions matter on this piece, as the zipper has to fit around the case, be open enough for access, and bend smoothly. It’s a lot to consider.
In a NEW three-day course, The Zippered Wallet, you’ll learn how to:
- Measure and make a pattern for this complex project.
- Make the interior wallet components, including a gusset.
- Properly sequence the construction to install the interior onto the exterior smoothly.
- Prepare and install a custom-length zipper.
- Add a reinforcement layer to add structure to the piece.
- Finish painted edges.
These last two techniques are some of the most requested tutorials by our current online course students. Adding reinforcement or structure to a leather project intimidates many leathercrafters. I often get questions on what material to use, how thick it should be, and how and when to install it. We’ll introduce these concepts in this course and help you overcome this hurdle so you can incorporate them into your repertoire.
The other tutorial most requested is how to finish painted edges. If you’ve taken Refining Your Leathercrafting Technique, you know that a veg-tan finished edge has many preparation steps that build upon each other to get those perfectly burnished edges. In session two, you’ll learn how to finish painted edges, an equally detailed but different process.
Course Two: The Zippered Wallet
With some foundational techniques under your belt from course one, we’ll tackle a more complex project: a zippered wallet. We will guide you through some challenging construction details, including zippers, gussets, and reinforcements, so you can more easily add them to your next project.
Included in this course is the other major variation of edge finishing technique, painted edges.
AND ONE MORE THING: To supplement that work, we’re excited to offer a collection of tools and supplies that Mr. Niwa recommends for his students in Japan. Register for the course and add the kit to get a set of tools to take home with you.
Course Kit
Add the materials and tools package to your registration to fully take advantage of this workshop. We’ll be using specialized tools and materials during the workshop that most leatherworkers don’t usually have. The package includes tools essential to the course, plus a few of our custom-made tools. Take these items home with you to continue refining your practice. The package includes:
- Upright Knife – the same type of knife as shown in the course.
- Mini Plane – used for Mr. Niwa’s style of edge beveling.
- Sewing Awl – our custom sewing awl in walnut.
- Marking Awl – our custom marking awl in walnut.
- Glue spatula and wide-mouth container – used for the course’s gluing technique.
- 4oz contact cement.
- Flap punch – a custom die for the card case flap. Use by hand or in a clicker press.
- Skiving Jig – used for skiving and shaping curved edges.
- Cork Working Block – a favorite item of Mr. Niwa’s used to raise your work up close.
- Punching Mat – just like the ones we use in class. A combination of leather and rubber surfaces.
- Thread Snips – Japanese snips for cutting your thread precisely.
Get the above tool package for an additional $400. This bundle normally costs $470, a savings of $70.
Dates & Locations
There is a SIX-day and a THREE-day, all-day workshop. The sessions are as follows:
Berkeley, California
- Refining Your Leathercrafting Technique –
Friday, October 11th through Sunday, October 13th.SOLD OUT - The Zippered Wallet –
Monday, October 14th through Wednesday, October 16th.SOLD OUT
All courses occur in our studio at 2223 Fifth Street in Berkeley, CA. It’s about a 10-minute walk to the nearby 4th Street shopping area and a 6-minute Lyft ride from the nearby North Berkeley BART Station.
Course Options
We offer several options to suit your needs and maximize your time with this special teacher. Depending on what you’d like to learn and your experience, choose one or more sessions.
New Student Options
If you are a first-time student with Mr. Niwa or new to our courses in general, choose from these two options:
Refining Your Leathercrafting Technique and The Zippered Wallet (Six Days): Choose six days to take the foundational course, solidify your practice, and learn more essential techniques for expanding and improving your leathercrafting abilities in the second course.SOLD OUTRefining Your Leathercrafting Technique (Three Days): Take the Refining Your Leathercrafting Technique course and learn the foundational skills to improve your leatherworking.SOLD OUT
Returning Student Options
If you took the original in-person course or the online course, you can choose from the following three options:
Refining Your Leathercrafting Technique and The Zippered Wallet (Six Days): Take the first course to refresh or solidify your learnings and then build upon them to expand your skills with the second course.SOLD OUTRefining Your Leathercrafting Technique (Three Days): Take the Refining Your Leathercrafting Technique course in person. You might need a refresher or simply prefer to take the course with Mr. Niwa there to guide you. You can get instant feedback and work alongside other students to solidify your understanding of the course.SOLD OUTThe Zippered Wallet (Three Days): The second course builds upon the first one, and Mr. Niwa recommends that they be taken sequentially. Important: This second course builds on the first course. If you’ve already taken Refining Your Leathercrafting Technique and don’t need a review, you are welcome to take just the Zippered Wallet course as a returning student.SOLD OUT
Not sure which option is right for you? Feel free to call or email us
1-415-800-2978
store@fineleatherworking.com
1. Refining Your Leatherworking Technique and The Zippered Wallet Six-Day Course
The two-session course lasts six days. It is a robust course for both new and returning students. Each course offers the chance to solidify your leatherworking technique and complete two complementary and distinct projects.
- SIX 8-hour days of in-person detailed instruction over two courses.
- An optional kit of unique tools for the course.
- All materials included.
- Complete an entire bespoke project in each course.
- An opportunity to try out a wide variety of our tools, including the electric creaser and our newest products.
- sharpening an upright knife for leatherworking
- preparing and sharpening your sewing awl
- how to cut with an upright knife, straight cuts, curves, stop cuts, and more
- skiving short, long skives, stop-skives
- edge shaping, the foundation for great edges
- pattern making fundamentals
- sewing, including better preparation and improving your backstitch
- gluing leather properly, cleaner, and faster; and
- the ultimate guide to finishing veg-tan leather edges
- pattern-making for a zippered wallet project
- Techniques for making interior wallet components, including a gusset.
- How to sequence the construction to install the interior onto the exterior smoothly.
- Preparing and installing a custom-length zipper.
- How to add a reinforcement layer to add structure to the piece.
- The steps and techniques for finishing painted edges.
Get Your Spot in The Course
Combined Six-Day Course Session: Berkeley (October 11-16) SOLD OUT
Two Payment Options
Join the Course
4 Monthly Installments
Package Options
Six-Day Course with Package for $599/monthSix-Day Course for $499/month
Best Value
Pay in full and save $97
Package Options
Six-Day Course with Package for $2299Six-Day Course for $1899
Sorry, “6-Day RYT Course” is not available for purchase.
The Six-Day Course is sold out. Join the waitlist to get notified of course openings.
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. Refining Your Leatherworking Technique Three-Day Course
Join the three-day Refining Your Leatherworking Technique course and build a better foundation for your skills so you improve the quality of your work.
SIX 8-hour days of in-person detailed instruction over two courses.- Three 8-hour days of in-person detailed instruction
- An optional kit of unique tools for the course.
- All materials included.
- Complete an entire bespoke project in each course.
- An opportunity to try out a wide variety of our tools, including the electric creaser and our newest products.
- sharpening an upright knife for leatherworking
- preparing and sharpening your sewing awl
- how to cut with an upright knife, straight cuts, curves, stop cuts, and more
- skiving short, long skives, stop-skives
- edge shaping, the foundation for great edges
- pattern making fundamentals
- sewing, including better preparation and improving your backstitch
- gluing leather properly, cleaner, and faster; and
- the ultimate guide to finishing veg-tan leather edges
pattern-making for a zippered wallet projectTechniques for making interior wallet components, including a gusset.How to sequence the construction to install the interior onto the exterior smoothly.Preparing and installing a custom-length zipper.How to add a reinforcement layer to add structure to the piece.The steps and techniques for finishing painted edges.
Get Your Spot in The Course
Refining Your Technique Course Sessions: Berkeley (October 11-13) SOLD OUT
Two Payment Options
Get Your Spot in The Course
4 Monthly Installments
Package Options
Three-Day Course with Package for $369/monthThree-Day Course for $269/month
Best Value
Pay in full and save $79
Package Options
Three-Day Course with Package for $1397Three-Day Course for $997
Sorry, “3-Day RYT Course” is not available for purchase.
The Refining Your Technique stand-alone option is sold out. Join the waitlist to get notified of course openings.
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!
3. The Zippered Wallet Three-Day Course (Returning Students Only)
Join the follow-up three-day course and dive into a more complex project to help improve your technique even more.
SIX 8-hour days of in-person detailed instruction over two courses.- Three 8-hour days of in-person detailed instruction
- An optional kit of unique tools for the course.
- All materials included.
- Complete an entire bespoke project in each course.
- An opportunity to try out a wide variety of our tools, including the electric creaser and our newest products.
sharpening an upright knife for leatherworkingpreparing and sharpening your sewing awlhow to cut with an upright knife, straight cuts, curves, stop cuts, and moreskiving short, long skives, stop-skivesedge shaping, the foundation for great edgespattern making fundamentalssewing, including better preparation and improving your backstitchgluing leather properly, cleaner, and faster; andthe ultimate guide to finishing veg-tan leather edges- pattern-making for a zippered wallet project
- Techniques for making interior wallet components, including a gusset.
- How to sequence the construction to install the interior onto the exterior smoothly.
- Preparing and installing a custom-length zipper.
- How to add a reinforcement layer to add structure to the piece.
- The steps and techniques for finishing painted edges.
Get Your Spot in The Course
Zippered Wallet Course Sessions: Berkeley (October 14-16) SOLD OUT
Two Payment Options
Join the Course
4 Monthly Installments
Package Options
Three-Day Course with Package for $369/monthThree-Day Course for $269/month
Best Value
Pay in full and save $79
Package Options
Three-Day Course with Package for $1397Three-Day Course for $997
Sorry, “3-Day Zippered Wallet Course” is not available for purchase.
The Zippered Wallet Course stand-alone option is sold out. Join the waitlist to get notified of course openings.
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!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to take the first course to take the second course?
Yes, you must have completed the first course, Refining Your Leatherworking Technique, either in-person or online to take the second course, The Zippered Wallet,
Is the Course in English?
Yes. Mr. Niwa mostly speaks Japanese, but he will instruct the course in English. I lived in Japan for several years and will help translate where needed.
What tools and materials do I need for this course?
We provide all of the materials you need for the course. However, you should expect to bring your leatherworking tools. You’ll receive a full list of required items. If traveling, they should all fit into a checked bag.
If you have been doing leatherworking, you should already have most of what you need: knives, awls, irons for punching stitch holes, thread, etc.
You may not have some tools Mr. Niwa uses in class. These tools are uncommon in the US and are included in the optional course kit: a mini-plane, a sewing awl for shaping into an almond point, a glue spatula, a wide-mouth glue container, and water-based contact cement.
Lastly, there are tools that you might have or a modified version of them. This is chiefly sharpening stones. Many of your existing sharpening setups will work, and some will need modification. There were too many variations to account for, so we omitted stones from the kit. In most cases, if you have a sharpening setup, it will work. You’ll receive recommendations and can choose the best combination that fits your needs.
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 course’s techniques to accommodate multiple levels. When someone is more advanced, we help them with a more complex project; 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 ensure 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.
Tailoring our classes for where you are in your level and location
More time in class, access to a specialized space and tools. These are just a few of the benefits we provide to better help you learn leatherworking. We also travel around the country to make these classes more accessible for you to take.
Instead of building an elaborate project, we’ll start small so that you can focus on the details.
Join a Community
When you attend our group courses, you’re also getting the opportunity to work with fellow like-minded students who are just as focused on improving their skills. Finding a good community of leatherworkers can be difficult. During the courses and well after they finish, we foster the growth of a community of like-minded fine leatherworking enthusiasts.
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.
Who this workshop is for
As with every offering at Fine Leatherworking, we want to make sure we’re matching the right people to 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. Sometimes it’s tempting to sample a few exercises and then not really improve. In this workshop we’re going to dive really deep on a few aspects of leatherworking in order to really improve your craft.
Looking for a short sprint. This is a long workshop and I’ll be honest, last time we did it a few people started to fade at the end. Our revised format gives you a bit more of a break but we aim to accomplish a lot in the course of five days. I will be there to support you all the way, but it’s going to require a bit of focus and stamina.
Want just the executive summary. If you’re looking for a silver bullet solution that requires no hard work or practice, this workshop may not be for you. Learning how to create world class leather goods will take time and patience.
A Centrally Located Studio With Easy Access
Our studio is located in West Berkeley, just south of the Fourth Street neighborhood. Berkeley is home to the University of California, the Gourmet Ghetto, many gardens, farmer’s markets, and a diverse collection of vibrant neighborhoods.
Our studio is centrally located in the Bay Area. It’s a 5-minute ride (Uber/Lyft) from the North Berkeley Bart and a 5-minute drive from the Marina Hilton. La Quinta is just an 8-minute walk away.
It’s a 10-minute walk to both the 4th Street and the San Pablo and University shopping and restaurant areas. And we’re just steps away from the closest restaurant, Tomate, and a short walk to the famous Viks and a great cafe.
Many Students have benefited from Mr. Niwa’s Courses
Mr. Niwa’s techniques for finishing the edges to look professional were amazing.
– Angelita F.
Working with Mr. Niwa on the techniques that are unique to the Japanese style of leathercraft (gluing, skiving, cutting) was fantastic. I also really enjoyed/appreciated learning how to sharpen my Japanese knives, seeing as how I had incorrectly sharpened them with a severe angle to the bevel in the past. Seeing the cultural/mental aspects of why he always starts with sharpening was enlightening and interesting. Lots to reflect on!
– Tim H.
I most enjoyed the simplicity of Mr. Niwa’s process, yet the dedication and depth of understanding that process makes it work so well.
– Maynard H.
Explore the Bay Area and Stay Near the Workshop
There are several hotel and AirBNB options in the East Bay. We can help you find one that is close to the workshop and fitting of your needs.
If you have extra time, there are also many other leatherworking-related places to check out in the area as well as the variety of attractions like Napa Valley and San Francisco.
Master Your Leatherworking Technique
Join the course and learn from one of the best leather goods makers working today
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