About
The story of
Tan y Derw
Tan y Derw- Under the Oaks.
Oak is just one of the barks we extract to make leather here in the tannery, we also work a lot with willow, sweet chestnut, Western Hemlock, Spruce and others, too many to name here.
We are a traditional tannery based in North Wales. We are unique, because we work all our skins by hand, using the traditional methods of bark tanning and brain tanning.
We stay intentionally small scale, to be able to give each skin the unique attention it deserves.
Tan y Derw has evolved out of Oak and Smoke Tannery- a collaboration between Jane Robertson and Jessie Watson Brown. Over 10 years we have been teaching hide tanning and have passed on our skills to hundreds of people over this time. We love teaching, so if you are inspired to have a go at this ancient craft, we'd love for you to come along to a camp and have a go.
About Jane Robertson
Back in 2013, as a fairly squeemish vegetarian, i found myself tanning my first buckskin. After 6 months in America learning how to brain tan hides and so much more, i returned to the UK with the bug and since then i have deepened in my hide tanning practice every year.
Bark tanning has emerged as my passion and greatest joy within the craft. I love extracting tannin solutions from trees, and watching how they interact with the skins, creating something that is so much more than the sum of its parts.
It is a journey thats taken me to Sweden, Norway, all over the UK and more to learn and teach these methods. Now, settled in Wales, i manage a woodland where bark harvesting is built into the management plan, in a sustainable and ecologically enhancing way.