Since 2012, Craft The Leather invites talented students and tutors from the most prestigious and innovative international fashion and design institutes, (schools with a culture of making) to participate in an experiential training project. The objectives are to enhance the knowledge of Tuscan vegetable-tanned leather and enrich the technical know-how of designers/makers intending to work professionally in the international fashion /product system.
The didactic program is composed of two phases:
phase 1
Training workshop in Tuscany
Participants are hosted one week in Tuscany, experiencing a full immersione in the life of the Leather District, following the entire productive process from the tanneries, to the state of the arts water purification plant.
They come to know many types of vegetable-tanned leather, experience industrial and artisan practices, join a master class led by traditional leather craftsmen, and in the concluding creative workshop, the desifners are free to experiment crafting, finishing and personalization techniques on a wide range of natural veg-tanned leathers, using traditional materials and tools. The program includes also vists to traditional artisan bottegas and to museums in Florence.
phase 2
Creative phase and Final contest
Back home at their schools, each designer receives leathers selected during the training workshop in Tuscany to be used for the final phase of the project. They are requested to develop and make a three piece collection of personal accessories, starting from the base of the simple, natural veg-tanned leather, using its unique characteristics as the inspiration for design.
As a conclusion of the training program, the designers’ collections are exhibited at one of the most important international leather fairs and voted by professional visitors and by a technical jury. The winner of the Competition is rewarded with a scholarship.
project tutor
The Genuine Italian Vegetable-Tanned Leather Consortium appointed a professional consultant to create, organize, and coordinate its Craft the Leather didactic projects: Diane Ellen Becker.
Creative consultant, Diane Ellen Becker has worked in the all aspects of the specialty leather business from visual merchandiser and buyer to designer of high end leather goods and shoes, specializing in international trend research, creative brand identity and the aesthetics of values, through consultation and formation, both to fashion/design professionals and educational institutes.
DESIGN
The future meets tradition
A Spiral Dymanic
Hongji Lee
orlandi's opera
Kira Anne Goodey
CUTTING EDGE
Maria Sole Ferregamo
Since 2014 the Genuine Italian Vegetable-Tanned Leather Consortium organises Craft the Leather on the Road. An itinerant training project that has obtained very positive outcome abroad in Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea.
This didactic program aims to enrich the technical know-how of designer/makers of the international fashion system by proposing seminars and workshops focused on the vegetable tanning process and veg-tanned leather technical properties.
The project’s tutor is Diane Ellen Becker.
Creative consultant, Diane Ellen Becker has worked in the all aspects of the specialty leather business from visual merchandiser and buyer to designer of high end leather goods and shoes, specializing in international trend research, creative brand identity and the aesthetics of values, through consultation and formation, both to fashion/design professionals and educational institutes.
Based on the experience of Craft the Leather, a specialised training project for select international fashion and design schools, the Genuine Italian Vegetable-Tanned Leather
Consortium now offers
Craft the Leather Bespoke Edition, an opportunity to create resident learning and experimental programs for individual schools and groups.
This program offers an in-depth exploration of one of Tuscany’s local excellences, vegetable-tanned leather, a material closely connected to the lifestyle, values and culture of this area. Every aspect of this noble traditional material will be encountered first hand, from the technical, experimental laboratories to the state of-the-art purification plants, with the main focus being the visits to the tanneries of the master craftsmen who produce this leather, and to the artisans who work the leather into products renown for quality since the Middle Ages.
CRAFT THE LEATHER BESPOKE EDITION IS THE OPPORTUNITY
TO EXPERIENCE TUSCAN EXCELLENCE.
this district, or historical-cultural visits, or food and wine tours in the many cultural centers between Florence and Pisa.
A very special component of the program is the possibility of experimenting with the leathers in an open hands-on workshop environment, with a master leather craftsperson working together with your group and demonstrating the traditional skills.
Based in the Leather District of Tuscany, with housing and meals of home cooked local products and wines in the historic Conservatory of Santa Chiara, and guided by an expert in both education and design, this is an opportunity to delve deep into a world dedicated to a niche excellence.
or call the number +39.0571.485158.