Craft the Leather Tuscan Residency
What is the Craft the Leather Tuscan Residency?
A 7-day leather craft program in San Miniato, Tuscany.
October 4–10, 2026.
The Craft the Leather Tuscan Residency is a bespoke program created and led by Seemore Global, set in the heart of Tuscany’s vegetable-tanned leather district of San Miniato.
For over a decade, the world’s leading design schools have sent students and faculty to this region to study vegetable-tanned leather alongside Italian master craftsmen. Seemore Global created the Craft the Leather Tuscan Residency to open that experience to a wider community of makers for the first time.
The residency is designed, organized, and run by Seemore Global, with the endorsement of the Consorzio Vera Pelle Italiana Conciata al Vegetale — the body that safeguards the heritage of Tuscan vegetable-tanned leather. It’s built for design professionals, faculty, researchers, and makers at every level who want to understand the material from origin to object.
Over the week, you’ll trace vegetable-tanned leather from the tannery floor to your own hands — its chemistry, its making, and its creative potential — working closely with an Italian master craftsman.
The program is held entirely within the Fondazione Conservatorio Santa Chiara, a 14th-century former convent in the medieval center of San Miniato. Access to the Conservatorio requires formal committee approval and is granted exclusively to educational programs.
Access to the Conservatorio is granted exclusively to approved educational programs through formal committee review; a distinction that shapes the entire character of the week.
No prior experience is required; this program welcomes participants at every level of making experience!
This program is designed for professionals who understand the value of slowing down, learning deeply, and making something real.
What will we do each day?
Sunday, October 4 | Arrival
Participants arrive independently at the Fondazione Conservatorio Santa Chiara in San Miniato. The evening opens with a welcome dinner, the first gathering of the full cohort.
Monday, October 5 | Material Origins
The week begins with an educational session on the chemistry, sustainability, and certification of vegetable-tanned leather, offered with the support of the Consorzio Vera Pelle Italiana Conciata al Vegetale. A guided look at how the material is made follows, the full production process from raw hide to finished leather, seen firsthand. The afternoon returns to San Miniato for an outdoor foraging session: sketching textures, observing materials, and beginning to develop a design language informed by place.
Tuesday through Thursday, October 6–8 | The Workbench
3 full studio days with an Italian master craftsman. Participants work directly alongside him, hands on the material throughout; cutting, constructing, finishing, and refining. Techniques covered include hide selection, pattern marking, cutting, edge finishing, burnishing, hardware setting, construction, and final assembly. The environment is experimental, community-driven, and open to makers at every level of experience.
Friday, October 9 | Culture & Community
The studio opens for independent work in the morning. The afternoon is a guided cultural excursion in the San Miniato region. The week closes with a farewell dinner.
Saturday, October 10 | Synthesis & Departure
A final group critique and presentation of finished work. Participants depart with the object they made and the material knowledge to continue.
What will we learn and make?
You’re learning and creating:
A foundational understanding of vegetable-tanned leather; its origin, chemistry, sustainability credentials, and material properties
Hands-on craft skills developed under the direct guidance of a master craftsman
A finished object made by your own hands
Connection to an international cohort of designers, educators, and makers
Professional development documentation available for institutional grant applications and reimbursement submissions
Formally endorsed by the Consorzio Vera Pelle Italiana Conciata al Vegetale.
Where we are staying?
All rooms include daily breakfast.
Room preference can be indicated at registration and assignments are confirmed by Seemore Global prior to arrival.
The Conservatory sits directly on Via Roma in San Miniato's medieval center, steps from the town's piazzas, restaurants, and viewpoints. The studio, dining room, museum and living spaces are all within the same complex.
Expect historic character, quiet contemplative atmosphere, and purposeful simplicity allowing for deep, focused work.
The Fondazione Conservatorio Santa Chiara is a working academic residence; one of a small number of approved venues in Italy granted to educational programs of this caliber. That distinction defines the quality of the experience.
Overview of Details
Dates: October 4–10, 2026
Location: Santa Chiara Conservatory, San Miniato, Tuscany, Italy
Capacity: 18 participants
Investment (per person): $4,950 double occupancy (shared room)
$5,495 single occupancy (private room)
Included: 7 nights accommodation, all leather materials and hides, a guided material-origins session and tannery visit, breakfast, 4 dinners, studio access, cultural excursion.
Not included: International airfare, travel insurance.
Getting there: the nearest airport is Pisa (PSA). Airport transfers can be arranged on request, or a taxi is straightforward.
Cancellation: full refund for cancellations made before August 1, 2026.
Registration closes August 15, 2026.
Group rates available contact Hello@seemoreglobal.com
18 makers
October 4–10, 2026
This is Seemore Global’s bespoke edition of Craft the Leather — a week in San Miniato spent in close study of vegetable-tanned leather, working at the bench alongside an Italian master craftsman. For the first time, it’s open beyond the academic network that has long known it.
We hold the cohort to 18.
Everyone has a bench, the master’s attention, and the space to make something considered. Places are confirmed in the order they’re claimed; worth securing yours early.
Two pricing options cover accommodation, all leather and materials, and most meals for the week.
$4950- shared double room ensuite bathroom
$5495- single room ensuite bathroom
If you’ve been looking for the right reason to go, this is it.