Re-animate your world
with natural hide tanninG

Welcome! I’m Mara. Fern + Roe is my Vancouver Island-based natural hide tannery. I’ve been a tanner for fifteen years and a teacher for seven. Myself + a host of guest guides at Fern + Roe offer in-person workshops and online trainings to make your own leather and fur textiles.

Through our commitments to cultural integrity + ethical sourcing, you learn to tan hides in a space of curiosity, dignity, and play.

We also have an online shop with our self-designed, artisan-made tools and the natural ingredients to tan hides on your own.

 

You belong here

 
 
 

hide tanning is transformative

When we turn animal hide into quality leather + fabric, we step into an ancient practice of embodiment.

We are changed by the process, through hard work, creative endurance, and rich reward.

 

 how to learn with Us

  • 1. Courses

    In person. On the ground. Multi-day group courses open to all skill levels. We host these in southern + coastal British Columbia, from March to October.

    find an upcoming course

  • 2. Private Instruction

    Personalized mentorship. Come to the studio on Vancouver Island or invite us to your community. Customized instruction for 1:1 learning + groups.

    customize your learning

  • 3. Hide Club

    Two-month online cohorts. Each Hide Club season a theme, where you immerse into a specific method, modality, or species. Next Hide Club opening is May-June, 2025.

    join Hide Club

With hides discarded from local farms and from hunting, our approach re-routes waste product into the craft market. Hide tanning is sustainable, ethical, and necessary alternative to the commercial leather industry - and you get a high quality product that you make, with our guidance, to last a lifetime.

Sheepskin Rug

Sheepskin Chamois Cloth

The Tool Shop

We source hand-made and small-batch tools from artisans who love hide tanning as much as we do. Many of the tools in the shop were designed by Mara. Afters over a decade working in tree planting and manual labour, I knew the value of the right tool - and the right fit.

Tools that fit the tanner is the starting place for a high quality tanning practice. Tools that fit the climate is how you ensure your investment lasts a lifetime.

Our tools are made with high quality steel, our fleshers are stainless so you can work salted hides in the rain with no fear of rust, and they are ergonomic to hold and use for hours.

Hide Club

Our online, powerhouse learning program.

A comprehensive training program, we guide you to skill-build in each natural hide tanning method, learn the historical + cultural contexts of this craft, and become a proficient tanner in this time of hide tanning revival.

Hide Club’s Foundations Course runs February-March, 2025.

  • BYO hides or purchase a materials kit from us

  • Weekly Zoom sessions + online space for recordings + resources

  • A team of teachers + guest speakers

 Through hide tanning, we mitigate the impact of the chemical leather industry.

And REclaim land-based skills for our ourselves and our communities

Industrial leather production is one of the world’s most damaging supply chains. Toxic wastes impact workers, their communities, and local habitats. It has taken hide tanning out of community and disrupted the precious folk customs surrounding this craft.

But handmade textiles – and the skills to create them – are foundational to humanity. From the care of wild and domestic animals to the process of turning hide into fabric, hide tanning has shaped humanity + connects us to the more-than-human world.

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About Fern + Roe

I am Mara; as you explore this site, most of what you see will be taught by me.

I have been a hide tanner for fifteen years and a teacher for seven. Hide tanning is many things for me. Trauma-healing vessel, ancestral re-connection medium, community-generator, and now, livelihood. I have always been inspired by land-based skills and handcrafts, which give us so much more than it seems on the surface.

A fern is one of many plants that can create leather from animal hide. A roe is an old English word for deer, and now means a specific species of deer who originated in the Caucasus, a place where I have ancestral ties.

Fern + Roe also hosts some incredible mentors and guest guides in our online program HIDE CLUB. Click below to meet us + see what we’re about.

get to know all of us at Fern + Roe

Connect on Instagram

June’s sheepskin course is switching it up. We’re tanning once a week, + starting from scratch. We open with washing and alum-tawing the fresh sheep skins. One week later, with no hidework energy from us in the meantime, the skins are
T h i r t y - s i x I tanned this hide the days in between Mother’s Day and my birthday. I turned 36 with some of my dearest kin, nestled deep in these island’s woods for a few days in my classic taurus sun x moon style. • Thirty-
The theme of “pause-points” comes up a lot in Hide Club. If we want to incorporate hide tanning into our lives, this is one of the most important things to think about. Before I’d ever invest in infrastructure or a wide array of too
The most challenging part of hide tanning is not the body aches or the new muscle building. It’s not the endurance we push through in the 11th hour of scraping and softening. It’s the re-integration into our regular routines afterwards.
A couple months ago I noticed a sudden drop in this Insta account’s reach/likes. I was wondering if I finally came upon that mythical shadow ban thing I’ve seen many ppl experience. Then I switched from a “biz” to a “cre
Sometimes, simple answers are the most profound. And sometimes, simple answers are the most misleading. One of the most important tasks in this life is learning to discern which is which. Revel in the beauty of the first kind; dismantle our egos
On a hide road trip to Huu-ay-aht Nation and their beautiful hahuułi, the west coast of vancouver island. One little pup off to his forever home on my way up. One mama dog adjusting to life after her second litter. Two more days of tanning hides b

Testimoninals

  • “An incredible experience! The weekend was filled with hands-on skills and information to translate into my own life. It’s evident that Mara deeply respects the animals that she works with and this translates through her knowledge and work.”

    VICKIE G.

  • “I came away with so much information as well as a desire to learn more. I highly recommend her classes as she has a wealth of knowledge and is easy to understand.”

    BARBARA P.

  • “This workshop was more than just learning a skill; it was also a chance to live deliberately and intentionally for a few days, to use the skills we were learning not just as skills but also as a way to be mindful. Mara has a unique ability to guide and facilitate and is a gentle and inspiring and knowledgeable teacher, you won’t regret it!”

    AMIKA K.

  • “I left the workshop wanting to continue hide tanning and purchased my first set of tools. Miigwetch to a wonderful instructor who was truly born to do what she does. She was a wealth of information and I will definitely take another class from her. This is an absolutely amazing skill to reclaim and to be able to pass on”

    MARA K

  • I have tanned 3 hides since the workshop and found her very approachable when I’ve had problems or questions. I enjoyed it so much I’m planning on taking an alum tanning course in September.”

    EILEEN M.

  • “Mara you have been such a delight to learn from your knowledge and teachings go above and beyond! Hope to partake in a sheepskin class soon!”

    AURALIE WESTIE

  • “Best wildcraft ever! Be prepared to be astonished”

    TYLER PAN

  • “If you have a chance to take one of Mara's workshops, I hope you seize the opportunity! AMIKA K.