A Week on the Estate: New Leather, Old Skills & Craft Renaissance

“I make leather products individually to order. Full-thickness hides are used for sturdy items like belts and dog leashes. Leather split down to a thickness of 2.5mm is used for finer items. I take full tanned hides and personally design, cut and dye with an eye on minimising waste.

“I have a room in my house set up as a workshop. I work with leather for 4-5 hours per day. I find it more rewarding than I expected but then I’m a hands-on, crafty person. I crochet, knit and sew as well. When I first spoke to Jon about this project, he thought I’d be a natural fit even though I had no leather experience.

“Learning leathermaking involved a bit of trial and error, but I benefitted from online mentorship courtesy of Nigel Armitage. I’m hoping to get a professional qualification next year. I’ve enjoyed finding a connection to a tradition I was barely aware of. The best ways to work with leather were figured out over generations. There would once have been a leatherworker or saddler in every town.

“It’s opened up for me the world of heritage crafts such as woodworking, weaving and bookbinding. These trades need continuity and new blood or they die out. There seems to be a bit of a renaissance in this area which is exciting. When I speak to people at markets, they’re pleased to see a new leatherworker as the last one retired.

“Leather is surprisingly sturdy on the bench and working with it is physically demanding. Cutting belts needs the sharpest of blades and it feels a bit like trying to get through 0.5cm of fibreboard with a razor. The cut edges need to be smoothed and finished with a wood polisher and beeswax. It’s hard on the hands and muscles, particularly when it comes to making holes and shapes. Working on earrings and other jewellery is a bit like cutting out cookies with a hammer.

“It took me six months to reach a consistent standard and now I’ve refined my process and know exactly which tools to use and how to approach a piece of leather. You definitely have to work towards an object that suits the material. I spent ages designing a full-size, bi-fold wallet, only to realise that with 2.5mm leather it could end up 1” thick!

“I use a rotary cutter for thicker leather as it’s easier to sharpen and replace. I use various other blades and I sharpen them for 20 minutes at the beginning of each session. It’s become a pleasant ritual. I work on hides that are up to 7’ by 4’ and I used to find them pretty unwieldy. It’s nice now that I know what I’m doing and I get into a real rhythm. It’s rewarding to be able to just go and work with my hands in a skill I’m proficient in.

“I did Louth Christmas Market last weekend and it went well. People were pleased to see me and my goods. It’s hard to predict what people will want; it’s so variable from place to place. I generally offer a variety of gifts and practical items.

“We’ve also gone live online with our core range and there’s been a pleasing amount of interest. I’ll be at the Mablethorpe Christmas Market on Saturday 3^rd December. If you’re passing, do pop in and say hello.”

Speaking of artisans and markets, Master Distiller Tristan Jørgensen will be offering warming sips of his award-winning craft gins to shoppers at the Woodhall Spa Christmas Fayre on Friday 9^th December, the Harby Winter Wonderland on Saturday 10^th December and the Horncastle Christmas Market on Sunday 11^th December. He’s a busy chap at this time of year but he’ll always find time to talk gin.

Finally, our succulent, pasture-raised, heritage-breed turkeys are available at 2021 prices at the time of writing but demand is high and stock is limited. We talked turkey with Mark Vines.

“We said earlier this year that we’d guarantee 2021 prices and we’re sticking to that despite inflation,” said Mark Vines. “For the quality of bird we’re offering, our pricing is highly competitive.

“We’ve proactively managed the risk of bird flu and we’ve started preparing our birds early for Christmas. People are buying further ahead than they did last year. We’ve already taken orders for nearly a third of our stock from people who wanted to make sure they had a bird on their table on Christmas Day.

“We’re doing birds at three sizes and price-points. You can get a 4kg-5kg bird feeding 4-6 for £70, a 5kg-6kg bird feeding 6-8 for £84 and a 6kg-7kg bird feeding 8-10 for £98. You’ll have options including local delivery and click & collect.

“You can also find us via the NFU Turkey Finder, a searchable directory of British farmers producing poultry to the highest possible standards.”

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