On the 10th and 11th October 2015 I tried some leather moulding with Katherine Pogson from designercourses.com

The weekend was spent working with natural russet leather and moulding it over forms. We looked at using existing items like plastic trays and also creating forms using plaster of paris. I used dariole moulds and some cat food trays. The results are below. I have tried other shapes and used leather acrylics to decorate the leather.

Here are some more ideas.

On the rather glorious Saturday 19th September I ran a course at someone's house for those interested in making a sheath for hunting knives. There was also the opportunity to make a belt for those new to leather work. The sheaths were hand stitched and completed in a day. Well done class!

I prepared some sample patterns to work out the logistics of constructing a sheath. I do like making patterns and seeing an idea come to life. My samples are below.

On Thursday 13th August I taught my first class at Queens Park Arts Centre. What a great day. Students had the opportunity to make a belt that fits them. They could also experiment with surface decoration (stamping, painting and punching) and make coasters, key rings and straps. Making a belt is a great introduction to leather work. A pleasure to work with keen and lovely people. A sample of the belts is pictured below.

A visit to Greenshoes. On Saturday 8th August I went to learn more about how to make shoes at Greenshoes (http://www.greenshoes.co.uk/) in Devon. This was a one day shoe making workshop. Greenshoes live in Moretonhampstead, in an old chapel. An amazing space. Alison and Emily were our tutors and took us through each stage of making a pair of shoes to fit us. The day started with measuring and trying shoes on to get the best fit, before chosing leather and starting to cut everything out. I made a pair in the 'willow' style in red and green leather. They fit like a dream.

If you have an interest in leather work and shoe making this is a great place to go and learn more about the craft. My shoes are below.