On the agenda for your workshop visit:
- Welcome with coffee/tea.
- Introduction to the material (leather swatches, textures, finishes), how it is made, and its uses (the different trades connected to leather).
- Presentation of the machines and tools used.
- Craft demonstrations: presentation of the different stages in the work of a leather goods maker, using a leather item as an example: pattern making, prototyping, upholstery, marking-out, cutting, skiving, gluing, assembly, stitching, fitting accessories, and finishing.
- Discover the showroom and the items made in the workshop: schoolbags, pencil cases, coin purses, card holders, wallets, key rings, backpacks, handbags, travel bags, cases, aprons…
- Discussion and questions throughout the visit.
Astrid, +10 years of experience
Artisanal Leather Goods Maker
I am Astrid, an artisanal leather goods maker, working in my workshop Petit Grain de Peau.
After studying visual arts and art history, I turned to social work for about ten years, in France and abroad (India, Peru, Cambodia).
I then returned to hands-on practice through a professional retraining in craftsmanship, earning a CAP in leather goods: this is how I began to discover this material—leather—which I have always loved and whose possibilities I wanted to explore.
I continued training with leather goods makers and tanners from Gironde and the Basque Country, while also exploring the techniques of artisans from Andalusia and Morocco:
to better understand in depth the transformation of hides into leather, all the way to their transformation into everyday items, and thus gain a broader vision of the entire process of working this material…
And to keep pursuing my ever-renewed discovery of leather goods, and continue blending into my creations different influences and techniques that left a mark on me and moved me during my travels, through artisan and human encounters…
Which continue to shape my path…
My artisanal leather goods workshop, Petit Grain de Peau, is located within the Tiers-Lieu La Manivelle Ô Vents,
dedicated to crafts and the arts.
This collective brings together several artisans: a jeweler, a piano restorer-tuner, a knitter, a stained-glass artist, a basket maker, and a screen printer.
In the workshop, you will discover all the equipment I use to make leather goods. And you will find the familiar scent of leather!
Cancellation policy:
Free cancellation if more than 48 hours before the experience starts. Between 48 and 24 hours before, 50% of the amount is due. Less than 24 hours before, cancellation is non-refundable.