Learning Leatherworking From A Master

Study Abroad

By Dan Anderson

Learning how to work with leather in a workshop that could be fifty years old seems idyllic and romantic, and in fact it can be. What's more, travellers can do it.

Craftsman Jorge Maigua doesn't often stop smiling. He's been working with leather for more than 25 years in the Saccardi handbag store, where he started as a child and which he now owns. It hasn't changed that much; venerable foot-powered sewing machines have been converted to use electricity and where there is no division between workshop and store, as it was when he started.

He also teaches leatherworking in the nearby college, and has apprentices for three month stints in the shop, many of whom are travellers.

Lessons begin simply choosing the piece of leather to properly cut leather with scalpels on metal-topped tables, how to sew it well and without breaking needles, and how to design bags and other items. He'll teach you how to make sure your design is strong, how to make sure the seams are solid and waterproof, and how to make balsa bags, too. In short, he knows every technique needed and used, and is happy to share.

Apprentices can work as much or as little as they want, though most travelers come in for about three hours every weekday, he says, and with the pride of a father he describes how many former apprentices have gone home and started their own leatherworking businesses.