Leather Working for Beginners
7/31/2026 - 8/2/202610:00 AM - 4:30 PM EST
Location: Art Place Studios, 2015 Asheville Hwy, Hendersonville, NC 28739-7821
Registration ends on 7/31/2026
Event Description
Instructor: Thomas Slavicek
Date: 7/31, 8/1, 8/2
Time: 10 am - 4:30 pm
Member: $265 Non-Member: $285
You will have time to work on 4 or more leather depending on size and complexity. Choices for your projects can be from the following: Make a leather shoulder bag or two, make a tote, learn how to use a wood burning tool to inscribe a design onto the leather and then colorize it. With your first bag all done on Day One you can make some accessories for days two and three, such as a leather belt, phone pouch, key fobs, “magic braid” bracelets, and other smaller projects…OR…you can make another bag such as a Fringe Bag, portfolio, etc.! All leathers, materials, tools, and instructions are provided, along with templates. If you have an idea for a leather project you can bring it and can make it real. As time allows you can learn how to make tassels and fringe to add to your projects. No artistic ability is necessary, nor is any previous leather working experience. Bring a lunch. Bring your enthusiasm, and your desire to make something beautiful!
Artist Bio:
Tom Slavicek has been leather crafting since he was a Boy Scout, when he earned his Leatherwork Merit Badge on his way to becoming an Eagle Scout. During his career days as an executive director for the Boy Scouts of America, his hobby managed to stay alive and thrive in the form of creating numerous Native American leather/beadwork outfits and articles of clothing, along with his favorite item, hand-crafted leather pouches and shoulder bags. After a 37-year career serving young people, Tom retired in 2011 and he and his wife, Karen, moved to Dahlonega, GA. He then served for three years as executive director for a non-profit transitional housing facility for the homeless he helped to organize in Dahlonega. His enjoyment of working with leather is coming to fruition through his crafting of various styles of pouches and bags, with the added feature of inscribed images on the front of the pouches. Tom uses a wood-burning tool to inscribe the images free hand directly onto the leather. The color on the bags is created by adding India Inks and/or acrylic leather paints. Each pouch is a unique work of art, and no two are alike. Currently Tom teaches leather classes at about a dozen venues across north Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina including Blue Ridge Art enter in Seneca, SC, Quinlan Center for the arts in Gainsville, GA, and the William Holland School of Lapidary Arts in Young Harris, GA. www.blackeagleleather.com
Date: 7/31, 8/1, 8/2
Time: 10 am - 4:30 pm
Member: $265 Non-Member: $285
You will have time to work on 4 or more leather depending on size and complexity. Choices for your projects can be from the following: Make a leather shoulder bag or two, make a tote, learn how to use a wood burning tool to inscribe a design onto the leather and then colorize it. With your first bag all done on Day One you can make some accessories for days two and three, such as a leather belt, phone pouch, key fobs, “magic braid” bracelets, and other smaller projects…OR…you can make another bag such as a Fringe Bag, portfolio, etc.! All leathers, materials, tools, and instructions are provided, along with templates. If you have an idea for a leather project you can bring it and can make it real. As time allows you can learn how to make tassels and fringe to add to your projects. No artistic ability is necessary, nor is any previous leather working experience. Bring a lunch. Bring your enthusiasm, and your desire to make something beautiful!
Artist Bio:
Tom Slavicek has been leather crafting since he was a Boy Scout, when he earned his Leatherwork Merit Badge on his way to becoming an Eagle Scout. During his career days as an executive director for the Boy Scouts of America, his hobby managed to stay alive and thrive in the form of creating numerous Native American leather/beadwork outfits and articles of clothing, along with his favorite item, hand-crafted leather pouches and shoulder bags. After a 37-year career serving young people, Tom retired in 2011 and he and his wife, Karen, moved to Dahlonega, GA. He then served for three years as executive director for a non-profit transitional housing facility for the homeless he helped to organize in Dahlonega. His enjoyment of working with leather is coming to fruition through his crafting of various styles of pouches and bags, with the added feature of inscribed images on the front of the pouches. Tom uses a wood-burning tool to inscribe the images free hand directly onto the leather. The color on the bags is created by adding India Inks and/or acrylic leather paints. Each pouch is a unique work of art, and no two are alike. Currently Tom teaches leather classes at about a dozen venues across north Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina including Blue Ridge Art enter in Seneca, SC, Quinlan Center for the arts in Gainsville, GA, and the William Holland School of Lapidary Arts in Young Harris, GA. www.blackeagleleather.com