My leather journey (to England)

Puns aside, I started my leather journey in 2024 by ordering a couple of horse hides from Italy and a set of various tools.

Or maybe it started in 2012, when I moved to Italy and jumped headfirst into avant-garde fashion, deadstock textile and French lace? (But that story is for another time.)

Back in the day, I was browsing the leathercraft internets for courses, patterns and educational videos. I learned a few things, I crafted a few things. There are plenty of amazing craftspeople to learn from. Nevertheless, I was struggling to make sense of why and how things should be made. I was overthinking, arguing, looking for shortcuts and my own techniques. Somehow I couldn't get it right...

Until I discovered videos by Nigel from Armitage Leather and it changed everything. For example, instead of a quick tutorial on a saddle stitch, Nigel has three 1-hour videos on this single seam, exploring it in depth. And I'm the kind of person who needs to understand exactly why I'm doing things the way I do. When done right, this level of detail is never boring; such details matter when you crave full awareness.

In the workshop

Now I have some skills and some understanding of what I'm doing with my craft. And before going any further, it's a good idea to fine-tune my skills and habits and take a closer look at where I can grow. It was the best time to go back to England, especially since the last time I'd been there was 31 years ago.

Nigel's workshop is located in the Midlands on a farm close to Birmingham, just next to Burton upon Trent. Without a car it can be challenging to get there, but it's not too difficult: just spend a night in Burton and enjoy some famous local ales.

I arrived in the countryside at 9 AM and almost got distracted by a herd of alpacas and a bunch of geese, but there was no time for socializing with locals.

We jumped right in and started the course.

I guess you can learn a lot of the same things in Nigel's Secrets from the Workshop or in YouTube videos. But in person you get instant feedback and practice, a lot of things become more obvious and you get quite a few a-ha moments that you missed when studying by yourself.

To me it was important to review my techniques and have someone to talk to about my challenges in pattern making or struggles with difficult leathers.

Oh, plus it's amazing to see all the tools you have never touched before, and try them out properly. Different pricking irons, knives, skiving and beveling tools, etc.

What did I learn? Why should you?

Do you like lists? I like lists!

1. Improve your techniques and habits. Like in any craft, it's very important to get the basics right. A lot of things can be much easier when you know what you are doing.
2. Get feedback, inspiration, advice. It's not often that you can talk in person to someone who is that knowledgeable and skillful. Again, this applies to any craft.
3. Make a list of questions that you want to discuss. What's bothering you? When I was preparing, I wrote down a bunch of things, from exact and detailed issues to wider topics.
4. Review your journey and plan your next steps. It's important to understand both: what's the most daring project you are willing to do, and what's the road to get there, what's your next step. To me it was bag making and patterns for complex bags with difficult shapes.

And what exactly...

We spent most of the time working on simple techniques and templates and here are some key things that changed for me:

• Small improvements in stitching. I understand the thread sizes and tension better. Especially because of a different type of leather and using KS Blade irons in a different style from what I usually use.
• Working with cardboard templates and being extremely precise with them. Such details accumulate and change your approach. For example, measuring through the stitch holes makes a lot of sense, so on the next step it would be easier to work with gussets and difficult shapes.
• Cutting and skiving. Getting the basics right takes time. I'd found some shortcuts for myself with laser cutting and acrylic templates when I was studying by myself. And now I see a lot more clearly the value of proper cutting techniques and tools.
• Pattern-making and evolution. I often jump ahead and struggle with very challenging projects. Here I could better explore all the steps I need to get through. How to make good gussets, darts, shapes, etc.
• Casual conversations and values. Nigel and I have slightly different aesthetics, but a lot of our values align. Like the value of hand-stitching, functional forms, making things to last ages, etc. Each artisan has their own vision and set of skills, so it's easy to get lost in all possibilities and styles: from western beveling to wet molding. It's important to have your own vision and to reflect on why it is the way it is.
  

So if you are really into something, don't isolate yourself from the world. Go out and try to have a meaningful conversation, find someone who can give you more perspective on your skills.

Just one more thing

When I was talking to Nigel, he told me something that I needed to accept. Making wallets as a craft is a crazy idea: it takes a lot of effort and time to make a wallet right. All the time you spend making a wallet could be much better invested in making a bag.

I'm lucky that this is not a business I bet my life on (yet), so it's a luxury that I can spend all this time and effort doing the thing that I enjoy.

You can find all my wallets and purses here. Or DM me on Insta for a custom project. Especially if you want something from horse culatta leather.