Magnificent Fleece | September 27-30, 2024

A four-day | in-person | hands-on course.

You receive a fresh, fancy sheep skin salvaged from Vancouver Island farms, an animal raised for meat whose hide is typically discarded. Learn to tan it yourself using the mineral alum, the classic natural preservative salt, and a mix of fats. Take home your transformed creation at the end: a plush sheepskin rug.

We have been saving Magnificent Fleeces just for this course. Icelandic, Romney, Karakul + more. A range of fibres from white to spotted to colourful + rich tones. Each of these hides is unique.

One week before the course, you’ll get to choose the sheepskin you’ll work with. We send photos out on a first-come, first-served basis; the earlier you register, the more choice of a sheepskin for you.

Schedule: Friday to Monday, Sept 27 to 30, 2024
Times: 12:30pm start Friday; 10am start Sat-Mon; closing between 3-4pm each day
Location: North Saanich, W̱SÁNEĆ Nations territory

Click “learn more” to register. You’ll be asked to create an account first.

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Staying on the land

You are welcome to stay on site during the hide tanning course (affectionately known as a “hide camp”).

We have unlimited camping spots available in a secluded meadow + The Loft guest suite above the horse barn.

Spending down time with your new tanning cohort makes the weekend take on a whole different dimension. It’s a true retreating out of time and into an immersion of nature, community, and ancestral reverence.

  • A handbuilt suite in the old hay loft of the farm barn. Watch the horses, goats, and sheep from your balcony.

    Amenities:

    - kitchenette

    - double bed + pull-out sofa

    - dining area

    - composting toilet

    - clawfoot bathtub

  • For $24 CAD/night per person, stay in the meadow along with other participants of the hide course.

    Amenities:

    - electrical outlet for charging phones

    - water

    - indoor bathroom with sink, toilet, and shower

    - indoor fridge + food storage

To hone your hide tanning craft,

is to also hone your somatic relationship with the natural world.

Physical movement, hard work - the motions that humans have moved through for millennia - meet tactile, landbased skill in hide tanning.

You are invited to step in the complexity, the challenge, and the healing of hide tanning.