Make it, don’t buy it! In this Leather Crafting class students will create items such as belts and sheaths that wear well and look great.

Students will learn to cut leather from a side (half a whole cow hide). You will learn how to discern and choose the parts that work best for your project. You may decide to cut and finish a belt, a sheath or scabbard for a pocket knife, multitool or phone. Emphasis will be on practical use, then final finish.

Skills learned will include the use of knives, molding tools, harness needles and thread, finishing tools and methods of finishing. These introductory leather crafting skills can then be used to produce other leather crafted items as desired.

There will be a materials fee. This class will be held in the morning and repeated in the afternoon.

Meet your Instructor

Duncan Clarke

I was born and raised in Western New York in a Christian Science family. Our house was along the lake shore west of Buffalo. The family had a dairy farm and my father owned a feed mill in Buffalo. We had a pony and a larger horse we all rode in the 50s and 60s so I was familiar with livestock. I graduated from Principia College 1976, attended the National Outdoor Leadership School, in Lander, WY, and later The Landing Boat School to learn small boat design. I have a Masters in Industrial Arts Education from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, TX.

One day I bought an antique set of harness makers tools because of an interest in old tools and trades. I moved to Abilene, TX and asked a saddle shop owner if he could help me learn to use the harness makers tools. He actually hired me and I worked there for two years. For twelve and a half years after that, I was the ranch manager for Sanborn Western Camps where I was responsible for the riding program and the cow/calf ranch. I also operated a sawmill which was used for educational programs for colleges and high schools. My old boss at the saddle shop and I had remained close friends, however, and he wanted to pass the shop on to someone he knew. So he encouraged me to give it a try.

From 2002 until 2017 I worked for the Colorado Department of Corrections in the Correctional Industries saddle shop and continued to work part time for another five years. Since my final retirement, my wife, Patti, and I have lived in Yuma, Colorado where she babysits and I operate my saddle shop near our house about thirteen miles north of town.