Private
Hide Tanning instruction
FOR GROUPS

LET’S CREATE A GROUP HIDE TANNING EXPERIENCE

Private instruction
Hides + materials provided
Stay at our farm + tannery - or we travel to you

We collaborate with organizations, colleagues, outdoor schools, fibreshed committees - and groups of friends.

Your group may travel to us and stay on the WSÁNEĆ Peninsula on southern Vancouver Island, near the city of Victoria. Or we can travel to you within western Canada. (USA: coming soon!).

Book a Private Hide Tanning Course

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What to Expect in a Private Hide Tanning Course

  • Hide camps are multi-day, all day events.

  • We arrive on site one day early for setting up equipment + may need to stay the day after a hide camp to take-down equipment

  • Participants are required to attend each day of the hide camp to ensure they finish their hide.  At the end, everyone takes home the leather, buckskin, or leather rug they created.

  • We ensure every new tanner has thorough instruction and guidance. New tanners can pair up two people to a hide if desired.
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Cost Structure for Private Hide Tanning Instruction

  • The initial investment for any group is $4400.

  • This cost includes instruction for up to 8 participants where we travel to you; or up to 10 participants where you travel to us.

  • Additional participants are a cost of $435 each, including one person working their own hide provided by us.

  • Our tuition costs additionally have GST applied and are PST exempt.

A group hide camp is for you if:

✔️ You have a group of people excited to tan together

✔️ You can travel to Vancouver Island or have a venue ready

✔️ Your group is ready to commit, work together, and create beautiful tanned hides - that you all keep

Your hide facilitators

We are Mara and Mark. We met one hunting season in Montana when Mara was collecting hides for the year ahead and Mark was working as a game butcher. Shortly before our second hunting season together, we eloped.

Mark is now up in Canada and shares the Fern + Roe tannery on Vancouver Island, making tools and custom tanned hides. We teach together for 1:1 mentorships at the studio and co-facilitate many private hide camps.

You may request one of us or the other for a group up to twelve. For groups over twelve, both of us will be your group’s facilitator and/or we may hire apprentices to facilitate large groups.

Pictured here: making an Acacia bark extraction for bark-tanned leather