Come out for a for an extended weekend of immersion into the art of fat and smoke buckskin hide tanning. Hosted in the town of Paonia, Colorado, we will take raw deer skins and transform them into soft buckskin material. The class will cover all the steps involved with fat and smoke tanning hair off skins, with other discussions on hide tanning history worldwide, variations for different animals domestic and wild, why good skinning matters, how the process differs from bark tanning, hair on tanning and more. 

You will leave with your own buckskin to take home, the basic skills of using hide tanning tools, an understanding of each part of the process, and how to take the next steps in making garments or bags out of your skin. You will leave with skills to do the process on your own directly from wild or domestic animals. 

This hide camp takes place near downtown Paonia in our tanning area behind a private studio, and with use of a shared kitchen and bathroom to use at your leisure.  

We will provide one hearty lunch every day from local meat and vegetables, hot beverages morning-evening. More details about the location and class logistics will be provided upon sign up. Let us know your diet preferences. 

We start at 9:30 AM the first morning and end after dinner on the last evening. 

Camping and lodging not provided. We can give recommendations for camping locations on public lands nearby or local airbnbs if you need. Local commuting encouraged. We may be able to host a couple people where we live, just get in touch and we can let you know if we have space.

class is 9:30 AM -5 PM every day with a lunch break.

Limited number of spots available.

Taught by Kelly Moody  

Payment plans are also available through Klarna, shown when you check out. 

payments are not refundable if canceling 10 days before class time.

check out a photo journal of a tanning camp I helped with in 2019 in northern Idaho to get a glimpse into the process (most photos taken by Kelly Moody): 

https://www.ofsedgeandsalt.com/blog/jimcrofts2019tanning