FUR TANNING NORTH CAROLINA

Fur Tanning at the Mountain Readiness Spring Expo in Harmony, North Carolina!

Before modern tanning agents, people turned raw hides into usable leather with simple techniques and materials. Learn to turn a raw skin into incredibly soft, warm, durable fur using one of humankind’s earliest tanning technologies! Using readily available materials from the surrounding environment, we will walk through the steps of this transformation.

What to expect:

This is a standard 2-day fur tanning course using grey fox. We will be using a variation of fat tanning with lecithin as the dressing agent*. While it may not suit the squeamish, the end product is worth the work! We will cover:

• Rehydrating dried fur

• Removing the meat and fat from the inner skin surface (flesh side) of the fur

• Applying the tanning agents, and then

• Softening the skin

• Smoking the fur so it can be easily washed

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In addition to enthusiastic instruction, I provide comfortable, easy-to-use tools and detailed handouts covering the tanning process, along with ethnographic anecdotes and a list of helpful literature for those who want to deepen their knowledge of tanning! So, please join me for a course sure to contain plenty of memorable moments, lots of practical information, and, if you put in the work**, one that will see you heading home with a beautiful, unique, and usable traditionally tanned fur!

* The use of brains or egg yolks as an alternative dressing agent will be covered.

** Please be aware that a reasonable amount of fitness is required for this course. I will teach proper technique and timing with the skins, but you will need to be on your feet and active for 6 to 8 hours per day.

Please discuss any serious injuries with me before booking the course.

Come say hi! I'll also be at the Expo on Saturday, 1 May, giving two 1-hour demonstrations about skin processing, and just hanging out. Come and find me!

Additional Information:

Duration: 2 days (Sunday, May 2nd, 09:00 am – Monday, May 3rd, ± 5:00 pm).

Prerequisites: None

Price: $399

Location: Mountain Readiness Spring Expo, Harmony, North Carolina, USA

Venue, food and accommodation: Details coming soon!

Included: All course materials, coffee/tea.

Instructor: Theresa Emmerich Kamper

A bit about me:

I'm an avid practitioner of traditional living skills and various forms of primitive technology. My interest came in part from growing up in the USA's Rocky Mountains, where backpacking, hunting, and fishing are deeply rooted in the culture. This passion led me to the academic field of Experimental Archaeology, where I earned a PhD from the University of Exeter in the UK.

My work has appeared in documentaries and popular TV shows, including Alone Season 8 and Surviving the Stone Age. I've been tanning skins using traditional methods for over 30 years. Learning to tan was a natural extension of my desire to use as much of an animal as possible, and it also produced a beautiful end product.

In my instruction, I share a wide range of information—from the intricate details of skin morphology to helpful tips for dealing with the numerous, frustrating problems often encountered when you're first learning to tan. Check out all my courses here.