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Sheepskin Tanning Workshop June 4-7
Please join Jordan Culotta and me (Kara Tyson) for a sheepskin tanning workshop in Orleans, California.
In this workshop, you will learn how to naturally tan a salvaged sheepskin with emulsified oils and smoke (and your own elbow grease). You will leave with a beautiful sheepskin and the skills and understanding of the process that will enable you continue tanning any hair-on hide at home. This course is beginner-friendly but would also be appropriate for anyone who has tanned before and would like to brush up on or deepen their skills.
While the focus of this class is tanning with oil and smoke (often referred to as brain-tanning), we will also have a bark tea brewing and will lightly cover bark tanning. It would not be possible for us to go through the bark tanning process in its entirety in three days, but we hope to give you an understanding of the fundamentals of this practice, so you feel empowered to experiment with it in the future as well.
We welcome you to bring any hair-on hides you’ve salvaged in the past and don’t know what to do with. We can throw them in the bark pot, or you can brain-tan them on the side—we will help you troubleshoot!
Some topics we will cover:
Sourcing sheepskins/other fur-on hides
Procuring tools and building tanning infrastructure
Fleshing
Braining (brain recipes)
Softening
Smoking
Tanning history
Fundamentals of bark-tanning
Useful resources
(if any of these topics don’t make sense within this context, that’s ok—you will learn!)
We will be packing a lot into this workshop, but we trust you to engage with the material in the way that best supports your learning. There are lots of ways to tan a hide! That being said—hide tanning is a physically demanding process. Please expect to move your body a lot.
Some notes on Location:
This workshop will take place in unceded Karuk territory (Orleans, CA). You are very welcome to camp with us! There is space for both car and tent-camping. You will have access to running water, coolers (for food storage), and toilets. We will provide nourishing, high-quality dinners for the group but you are responsible for your breakfasts and lunches. Please bring a camp stove and/or know how to cook over a fire if you need heat to prepare your breakfast/lunch etc. We ask that you arrive by 5 pm on the evening of June 4th for a shared dinner and opening circle. Depending on the flow of the group, there may be time for plant walks and or river/dips! The land we will be on is scent-free (this applies to essential oils/natural scents as well) and non-smoking (it will be fire season). A couple and their dogs live here. Unfortunately, because there are already dogs onsite, and dynamics can be a distraction, pets are not invited to this workshop, no matter how well behaved yours might be. Racism, misogyny, homophobia, and/or transphobia are not welcome and will not be tolerated. You will receive more information about our spot/meals/etc. upon sign-up, but feel free to email me with questions!
To create intimacy and a high quality of instruction in this container, there are only 12 spots available.
Payment:
The cost of this course is on a sliding scale:
Tier 1: $500
Tier 2: 650
Tier 3: 800
If you are not familiar with sliding scale pricing, we’ve attached a loose chart to help guide you in selecting your tier.
We understand that our prices might seem high upon first glance, but running a three-day workshop is costly. Both of us will have to take significant time off our normal work to not only be present for this course, but also to plan and set up for it. Materials and set-up require an up-front cost that we must be able to cover as well. We will not be able to afford to run the course if everyone chooses tier 1. With that in mind, please be honest with yourself if you need support. Please reach out about our BIPOC and land-tending/work trade scholarships!
To register for this workshop, email me at azizathemouse@proton.me. Regardless of chosen tier, we will require a deposit of $200 to hold your space. Because this course requires a lot of planning, preparation, and materials, your deposit is non-refundable. We must receive payment in full by May 21. After May 28, the entire course cost is non-refundable* (some exceptions might be made for emergencies at our discretion). These guidelines are an effort to create as grounded and intimate of a container as possible. In addition, please understand that this workshop requires cost upfront—if you cancel on us last minute and we can’t fill the spot, we will lose money in holding the course.
Through this course, we will be holding space for a full tanning intensive. We are so excited to have you join us. The container we create will not be limited to the three days we spend together—in participating in this course, you will be a part of Jordan’s and my tanning lineage. We will be available to answer questions, troubleshoot, and provide further resources for you in the future.
Due to our pricing model, you must email me at azizathemouse@proton.me to sign up for this course.
Please join Jordan Culotta and me (Kara Tyson) for a sheepskin tanning workshop in Orleans, California.
In this workshop, you will learn how to naturally tan a salvaged sheepskin with emulsified oils and smoke (and your own elbow grease). You will leave with a beautiful sheepskin and the skills and understanding of the process that will enable you continue tanning any hair-on hide at home. This course is beginner-friendly but would also be appropriate for anyone who has tanned before and would like to brush up on or deepen their skills.
While the focus of this class is tanning with oil and smoke (often referred to as brain-tanning), we will also have a bark tea brewing and will lightly cover bark tanning. It would not be possible for us to go through the bark tanning process in its entirety in three days, but we hope to give you an understanding of the fundamentals of this practice, so you feel empowered to experiment with it in the future as well.
We welcome you to bring any hair-on hides you’ve salvaged in the past and don’t know what to do with. We can throw them in the bark pot, or you can brain-tan them on the side—we will help you troubleshoot!
Some topics we will cover:
Sourcing sheepskins/other fur-on hides
Procuring tools and building tanning infrastructure
Fleshing
Braining (brain recipes)
Softening
Smoking
Tanning history
Fundamentals of bark-tanning
Useful resources
(if any of these topics don’t make sense within this context, that’s ok—you will learn!)
We will be packing a lot into this workshop, but we trust you to engage with the material in the way that best supports your learning. There are lots of ways to tan a hide! That being said—hide tanning is a physically demanding process. Please expect to move your body a lot.
Some notes on Location:
This workshop will take place in unceded Karuk territory (Orleans, CA). You are very welcome to camp with us! There is space for both car and tent-camping. You will have access to running water, coolers (for food storage), and toilets. We will provide nourishing, high-quality dinners for the group but you are responsible for your breakfasts and lunches. Please bring a camp stove and/or know how to cook over a fire if you need heat to prepare your breakfast/lunch etc. We ask that you arrive by 5 pm on the evening of June 4th for a shared dinner and opening circle. Depending on the flow of the group, there may be time for plant walks and or river/dips! The land we will be on is scent-free (this applies to essential oils/natural scents as well) and non-smoking (it will be fire season). A couple and their dogs live here. Unfortunately, because there are already dogs onsite, and dynamics can be a distraction, pets are not invited to this workshop, no matter how well behaved yours might be. Racism, misogyny, homophobia, and/or transphobia are not welcome and will not be tolerated. You will receive more information about our spot/meals/etc. upon sign-up, but feel free to email me with questions!
To create intimacy and a high quality of instruction in this container, there are only 12 spots available.
Payment:
The cost of this course is on a sliding scale:
Tier 1: $500
Tier 2: 650
Tier 3: 800
If you are not familiar with sliding scale pricing, we’ve attached a loose chart to help guide you in selecting your tier.
We understand that our prices might seem high upon first glance, but running a three-day workshop is costly. Both of us will have to take significant time off our normal work to not only be present for this course, but also to plan and set up for it. Materials and set-up require an up-front cost that we must be able to cover as well. We will not be able to afford to run the course if everyone chooses tier 1. With that in mind, please be honest with yourself if you need support. Please reach out about our BIPOC and land-tending/work trade scholarships!
To register for this workshop, email me at azizathemouse@proton.me. Regardless of chosen tier, we will require a deposit of $200 to hold your space. Because this course requires a lot of planning, preparation, and materials, your deposit is non-refundable. We must receive payment in full by May 21. After May 28, the entire course cost is non-refundable* (some exceptions might be made for emergencies at our discretion). These guidelines are an effort to create as grounded and intimate of a container as possible. In addition, please understand that this workshop requires cost upfront—if you cancel on us last minute and we can’t fill the spot, we will lose money in holding the course.
Through this course, we will be holding space for a full tanning intensive. We are so excited to have you join us. The container we create will not be limited to the three days we spend together—in participating in this course, you will be a part of Jordan’s and my tanning lineage. We will be available to answer questions, troubleshoot, and provide further resources for you in the future.
Due to our pricing model, you must email me at azizathemouse@proton.me to sign up for this course.