SHeepskin HIde Tanning
February 14-16, 2026 | North Saanich, Vancouver Island, BC
Turn a sheep hide into Your own Sheepskin Rug.
Be changed by the process of hide tanning.
Take a moment away from screens and your usual routine. Immerse in a three-day tactile experience. Learn the process of hide tanning, the original textile handicraft.
Come prepared to work hard, be on the land at a quiet rural farm, and sink into hide time. Then take home your very own creation at the end: a hand-tanned, ethical sheepskin leather rug.
Natural leather-making is a skill
It’s also an embodiment practice.
I don’t know which I love more: the empowerment I feel knowing how to tan a hide, knowing that no matter where I am in the world, I can rely on myself for this. This textile craft and its clothing, this survival skill of sheltering. This way of moving my body and building strength that gives me confidence in all the other land-based skills I am still learning. Or - do I love the embodiment more. The way my chattering brain turns off when I work a hide. The way I reach flow state without trying, or even noticing.
I’m Mara and I will be your lead on this hide tanning course - affectionately known as a hide camp - where you’ll receive a fresh + prepared hide from us and turn it into natural, sustainable leather yourself. Even as a beginner, you’ll be the one to make it happen. You’ll leave hide camp with your own sheepskin rug, the knowledge to tan more hides, and unique lessons that three days of ancient movement + hard work brought to you.
I am thrilled to welcome new tanners into the craft + to see what you’ll make of hide tanning. Whether this will be your only hide that you tan and cherish forever, or whether this will become a craft you pursue, hide tanning is for everyone.
What You’ll Gain from this course
In this 3-day tactile experience, you will:
✔️ Transform a local farm-raised sheepskin into a plush + functional sheepskin rug
✔️ Learn a time-honoured, land-based skill
✔️ Build physical strength + endurance
✔️ Leave with a finished sheepskin - made ethically by your hands
Special Offer:
Choose your sheepskin fleece colour
We rarely get the chance to offer this!
Choose from a Suffolk white fleece or a Romney brown fleece for your sheepskin.
After sign-up, you’ll have the chance to choose your sheepskin fleece colour. Choose from Classic White or Chocolate Brown, and you you arrive on hide camp day one, your sheepskin will be waiting for you.
Words from our hide tanning students
“I tried tanning on my own and never understood it. After coming to one of the hide courses, I understand the process, and what went wrong with my previous attempts.”
Dallas
“Mara’s gentle guidance made me feel at home in hide camp.”
Tahlia
“I tanned my first hide with Fern + Roe. I didn’t know how much depth there would be in the course, beyond just the hide tanning itself. I highly recommend if you’re looking for a serious retreat/getaway.”
Skylar
The Details
📍 Location: North Saanich, W̱SÁNEĆ Peninsula, BC
📅 Dates: Friday February 14 to Sunday, February 16, 2026
⏰ Schedule: 11am–4pm each day
💰 Investment: $435 CAD (in one or three payments)
🎁 One-time Special: Choose a white or brown sheepskin
All our hides are ethically sourced + re-routed from waste streams to co-create a resilient fibreshed.
All materials, tools, and equipment are provided.
$10 of your course investment goes toward the WSANEC Lands Trust fund to support Indigenous land-back.
The Hide Tanning Process
Our hide camp schedule
.Day One:
Choose your sheepskin. Find the one that calls to you.
Learn to work with a traditional hide frame; weave the hide into the frame
Use scrapers + dowels to begin drying the leather
Day Two:
Learn mineral-tanning (alum-tawing) + how to transform hides into leather with everyday ingredients
Soften your sheepskin leather with softening + dry-scraping tools
Add the finishing work of pumicing + sanding your dried sheepskin leather
Day Three:
Clean + comb the wool of your sheepskin
Shape + cut the leather rug
FAQs
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Thursday calls are 90 minutes and Saturday calls are 2 hours.
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Yes.
Every call is recorded and available in our online space for 12 months after the program end. -
Some instruction is pre-recorded. This helps us move as a group through different time zones + supports the trickier, more technical aspects of hide tanning that need fancy video work.
Pre-recorded videos will be uploaded in the online space.
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Each week you get an email with a “here’s what we are doing in Hide Club” rundown. These emails are also alerts for any pre-recorded material.
To receive emails, you need to be signed up as “yes” to receive email marketing from FloDesk, after registering.
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Rabbit skin
Deer hide
Sheep skin
Framing string + needle
Alum
Calx (lime powder)
Leather oil
Protective gloves
and more!
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the lumber for building your simple at-home equipment (we’ll give you a short list + directions on how to source it). We build these together on a call.
two litres/quarts of white vinegar
a large (10-gal) soaking bin (ie Rubbermaid)
a standard 5- or 6-gal bucket
your own tannins: we recommend 5-10 lbs for your sheepskin. Recommend suppliers and a how-to guide for harvesting are in the online space
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The main instructor is Mara Cur.
Our tech artisan is…TBA! Bonnie Klohn has retired. We will miss you and we love you, B.
We host guest speakers every year and we’ll announce this year’s speakers before the cohort begins.
I’m in!
Click here to grab your materials kit.
You can do this before or after choosing your tuition tier.
It’s not just the skill of hide tanning you grow with each hide you tan
It’s hands-on capableness. it’s connection to ancestry.
It’s community, it’s resilience.
words from hide club
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“All I want to do is gush about how awesome it was and how much more there is to learn. I miss the gathering and all the check-ins."
Renée-Lynn D
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“Thank you again for creating and curating such a magical space and community.”
Katelyn K
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"For so many of us that are hide tanners, the feeling of magic, wonder, and restoration is palpable- this coursework is the inner knowing, made tangible."
Emily M
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“I have left the program feeling held, supported, witnessed, and celebrated by this particularly impressive and deeply kind and supportive community. I feel well resourced + more equipped emotionally, practically, and spiritually to engage in right relationship to this craft ."
Marissa S
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"Such a depth of knowledge from the teachers/mentors and peers alike. There are so many nuances captured in each of our hide practices."
Jackson R
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"The flow of the program was seamless - each session intentional and rich, with enough repetition and hands-on learning to gain confidence and learn quickly. Well done, really, what a successful transition to offering something so tactile online. I’m in awe!"
Laura H
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